BBYO Establishes Center for Adolescent Wellness Led by Noted Child Wellness Expert, Drew Fidler

WASHINGTON, DC—BBYO announced today that it has hired respected child wellness expert, Drew Fidler, LCSW-C, to establish and lead the BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness. The Center will help BBYO develop and adhere to best practices in health, wellness, protection and safety for the adolescents in its care, and will continue to strengthen BBYO’s commitment to ensuring its experiences are inclusive and accommodating for teens of all abilities.

A noted child wellness expert with experience educating, promoting, and implementing policies and practices to support children and adolescents’ physical, mental, and emotional health. Drew is an honors graduate of NYU Silver School of Social Work and Skidmore College (cum laude), and a licensed clinical social worker. She spent the last six years with the Baltimore Child Abuse Center in Maryland, most recently as the Director of Prevention and Education. Drew has been a key resource for Jewish and non-Jewish camps and youth serving organizations (YSOs) throughout North America, crafting policy and providing support and training to staff on various issues of child protection. She has also played a critical role in developing BBYO’s internal policies and has offered mandated reporter training to BBYO’s professional team.

“At BBYO, we believe we can enrich the life of young people in a profound way by bringing Jewish teens together to form powerful, authentic relationships with each other and with inspiring adult role models,” said Matthew Grossman, Chief Executive Officer of BBYO. “Because we deliver this impact through relationships and experiences, it is imperative that we adhere to the highest standards of safety and well-being. We couldn’t be more thrilled about the addition of Drew to our team and the opportunity we have to offer her skill set and expertise to other youth serving organizations in the Jewish community.”

Drew’s expertise will not only be available to BBYO, but to other YSOs focusing initially in three primary areas: policy development, training, and crisis support. BBYO will seek philanthropic support to maintain the Center and with the hope that its services can be offered at low or no cost to other Jewish YSOs. Work done outside of BBYO will be conducted with a strict firewall of confidentiality and supported by an independent advisory council of industry experts. The Center and its services are expected to be available in the second half of the year.

“I am thrilled to join BBYO,” Drew shared. “Together, we can build future leaders that are socially and emotionally knowledgeable, secure, and resilient.”

BBYO aspires to be a safe and welcoming community where teens develop their own personal Jewish identity. The teen-led programming is fun, with an emphasis on connectivity between young Jews all over the world. Teens emerge with precious friendships and practical leadership skills that will serve them well into the future. Committed to a pluralistic experience, BBYO welcomes all Jewish teens regardless of background, denominational affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, race, socio-economic status, or abilities.

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About BBYO

BBYO is the leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. For more than 90 years, BBYO‘s leadership programs the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA, high school fraternity) and the B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG, high school sorority) have been providing exceptional leadership programs and identity enrichment experiences, shaping the confidence and character of more than 400,000 alumni who are among the most prominent figures in business, politics, academia, the arts, and Jewish communal life. Now, BBYO’s network of Jewish teens, alumni, parents, volunteers, and philanthropists serves as the Jewish community’s most valuable platform for delivering to the post Bar/Bat Mitzvah audience fun, meaningful, and affordable experiences. With year-round activities in hundreds of local communities and inspiring world-wide travel experiences, BBYO’s broad program menu enables teens to explore areas of leadership, service, civic engagement, Israel education, and Jewish values.

Please note that BBYO should not be referred to as the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, but rather as “BBYO.”

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