Whitney Fisch has spent her professional life venturing into the unknown to face new challenges. The Georgia native has now taken up her latest adventure into the wilderness as the CEO of the youth mental health organization BaMidbar.
Fisch was previously the director of the Miami University Hillel in Oxford. During her tenure there, she witnessed the rise in antisemitism on campus. Dealing with those challenges helped lead her to her new position.
“The Jewish world is so focused on combating antisemitism, but who is taking care of the long-term mental health of Jewish young adults,” she said. “Who is supporting the caregivers, the educators, the community leaders? When I saw this role, I knew—that’s where I need to be.”
Fisch has been working with young adults for years, but it isn’t where she thought she would end up after college. She attended The College of Wooster in northeast Ohio, and it was there that Fisch made her first trip into the wilderness to find purpose.
“I was a theater major for two years, and then I decided I did not want to do the starving artist thing, so I switched to a starving social justice career instead,” she said.
Fisch moved to Washington, D.C., after college, hoping to pursue a career in political science, but the high cost of living quickly pushed her to reconsider. She relocated to Athens, Georgia, to work for Hillel at the University of Georgia. She began working with young adults, marking the start of her career in Jewish communal work.
While working at Hillel, Fisch felt the pull of wanting to go deeper into Jewish education.
“I could plan programs in my sleep, but I always had to outsource the Jewish education component,” she said. “I wanted to be my own resource. That experience was a turning point — it made me realize that I needed a deeper Jewish knowledge to support students and help build a stronger community.”
That revelation led Fisch into the wilderness again when she had a chance to study at the Pardes Institute in Israel. That led Fisch to briefly consider Rabbinical school.
“I met with several female rabbis, and they were honest—being a female rabbi, especially a single one, would mean sacrificing everything,” she said. “While studying, I met a social worker who kept framing discussions through that lens. I realized I could do what I wanted—uplifting communities—through social work instead of the rabbinate.”
Fisch returned to the U.S. to work at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago, then pursued a Master’s in Social Work at the University of Michigan. She then moved to Florida with her husband and joined the Anti-Defamation League.
During her work with these larger Jewish organizations, Fisch realized she wanted to work with young adults again. And took another leap and became a school counselor at Sheck Hillel Community Day School in Miami.
“One day, the chief academic officer [Sheck Hillel Community Day School] called me into his office and said, ‘You can stay in your role, or we need another school counselor — I think you’d be exceptional,” she said. “At first, I wasn’t sure if it was even ethical since I didn’t have a clinical degree, but they offered to train me. It ended up being the best decision I ever made.”
That career shift led to a nearly decade-long career in school counseling, eventually working at the Milken Community Day School in Los Angeles, CA where she built the school’s counseling department.
“A former colleague became Head of School at Milken and called me up saying, ‘How would you like to come and build a counseling department for the high school?’ I thought, ‘You keep offering me incredible opportunities that I don’t feel qualified for.’ But of course, I took it — how could I not? It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a new opportunity to leap into the unknown came up again: The executive director position at the Miami University Hillel. Fisch had never visited Cincinnati or the area before; she was ready to move her young family out of L.A. and learn new skills.
“I wanted to step into a real leadership role and learn executive skills—how to run a budget, hire staff, and fundraise,” she said. “I didn’t think anyone would take a chance on me without fundraising experience, but I figured applying was just asking a question. And they answered.”
After four and a half years at Hillel at Miami University, Fisch saw firsthand the toll rising antisemitism and post-pandemic stress took on Jewish students. Because of a phone call with a family member, she heard about the position open at BaMidbar.
“I wasn’t actively looking, but when I read the job posting, I knew immediately — this was it,” Fisch said. “I had spent months thinking about who was caring for Jewish young adults beyond crisis response, and BaMidbar was the only organization focused on that. It was exactly where I needed to be.”
Now an independent nonprofit, BaMidbar was founded at Ramah in the Rockies as a therapeutic wilderness program, but it shifted during the pandemic to focus on education, clinical services, and training for Jewish professionals.
Fisch wants to expand BaMidbar’s impact by training more Jewish professionals in trauma-informed care, embedding therapists in schools, and building partnerships to fill gaps in mental health support. She aims to make BaMidbar the go-to resource for Jewish institutions seeking mental health guidance.
She also hopes to shift the conversation around Jewish identity beyond antisemitism, focusing instead on resilience and well-being. She aims to ensure young adults feel supported and equipped to navigate life’s challenges.
“I want BaMidbar to be the leader at the intersection of Jewish identity and mental health. When people think about fighting antisemitism, they think of the ADL. But who is taking care of the long-term well-being of Jewish young adults, educators, and parents? That’s the space we need to own.”
