SF Hillel's Student Leadership Platform
​Design Tribe

Are you or someone you know looking to be more involved as a leader in your community?
​Reach out to Sarah Birch for more information!​
What IS DESIGN TRIBE?
A transformative engine for students who seek customized personal development, Design Tribe is an one-year experience for open-minded and action-oriented individuals. Design Tribe builds a community of diverse students who are thinkers and feelers and gives them the tools and resources to be activated into experimental doers. Design Tribe connects each participant with a mentor to support their ideas, connect them to resources, and unlock their potential. Participants will learn to channel the innovative spirit of San Francisco and create authentic and quality experiences for themselves, their friends, and Hillel community. In addition to personalized mentorship and leadership retreats, most tracks offer stipends.
The history of design tribe
It all started when we looked around and realized things could be different, both at SF State and at USF. 

In 2017, we dove into a 6-month period of exploration at SFSU. We surveyed students utilizing Design Thinking methodology, asking them to share what drives and motivates them and what they want and need. In Fall 2018, we launched the same exploration process at USF. For both, we started with one big question: 

How might we create a culture of experimentation at SF Hillel dedicated to activating a broad range of students to create compelling Jewish experiences for themselves and their peers, to live more intentional lives, all while discovering their best selves? 

In 2017, after 120 hours of student interviews at SF State, we gained exciting insights which inspired us to articulate a design challenge and concept that launched our new vehicle for student activation: Design Tribe.
​
  • Design Challenge: Create a culture of confident transparency at Hillel at SF State, dedicated to activating an inclusive range of students to create compelling experiences for themselves and their peers, and to live more intentional lives while discovering their best selves, in the process creating Jewish community.
  • Design Concept: Develop a platform that activates and supports a broadly inclusive range of students to create compelling experiences that help them discover and live as their best selves, and through that create and participate in Jewish community.

Since then, we have continued to iterate on this student leadership model. After the discovery process at USF, garnering an additional 60 hours of student interviews at USF, we knew Design Tribe wasn't limited to SFSU's campus, leading us to integrate this leadership model across both campuses.
IS DESIGN TRIBE RIGHT FOR ME?
Design Tribe is right for you if you:
  • are looking for an experience and relationships that will take you to your next level.
  • want to be a part of a cool cohort of unique people, but still get the space to receive personalized coaching.
  • have passions and ideas that you need help launching.
  • you want to bring the vibrancy and innovative spirit of San Francisco to your campus experience. 
  • are looking to grow personally, professionally, socially, maybe even spiritually. 
  • you're going to be around for the 2020-2021 academic year.
  • ​found yourself nodding to any of the above statements. ​​

*Studying abroad? Email Sarah!

Design Tribe 2023 - 2024

Meet the fellows!

Alex (SFCM)

Campus Programming Commitee & Executive Commitee

Alyssa (SFSU)

Campus Programming Commitee

Remy (SFSU)

Campus Programming Commitee

Marissa (SFSU)

Campus Programming Commitee & Executive Commitee

Hank (SFSU)

Operations Intern

Arden (USF)

Campus Programming Commitee & Executive Commitee

Kyle (USF)

Campus Programming Commitee

Alissa (SFCM)

Campus Programming Commitee

Sophia (SFSU)

Service Engagement Intern

Ashley (SFSU)

Campus Programming Commitee & Challah Back Girls

Sophia (SFSU)

Israel Committee

Bella (SFSU)

Israel Committee

Zachary (SFSU)

Israel Committee

Eve (USF)

USF Shabbat Committee
​& Marketing Intern

Bekah (USF)

Challah Back Girls

Clare (USF)

USF Shabbat Committee

Julie (USF)

USF Shabbat Committee

Thomas (USF)

Israel Committee

Melanie
​(UC Law SF)

Grad Leadership Committee

Grady
​(UC Law SF)

Grad Leadership Committee

Ben (USF Law)

Grad Leadership Committee
Bio
Bio
Grady is a 2L at UC Law San Francisco. This past summer, he worked for the Alaska Attorney General’s office in Juneau, Alaska. He is passionate about criminal law, environmental law, and election law, but is not quite sure where that will lead post-graduation. Outside of law school, he does research work for one of his undergrad professors from Georgetown. He also works with Jewish teens involved with BBYO. He has led several BBYO summer trips, including one to Italy and Slovenia and one to Germany, Austria, Czechia, and Poland. He previously lived in Alabama and Washington D.C. 
Bio