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Rabbi Steven Wernick calls himself a "wandering Jew." After living in Manitoba, Minnesota, California, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, Wernick's latest stop brings him to the center of the Conservative movement.

Wernick, who spent six years as associate rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill and the last eight as the spiritual leader of Adath Israel in Merion Station, Pa., began a new position this week as executive vice president and CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), replacing the retired Rabbi Jerome Epstein.

Approached about the job by USCJ International President Dr. Raymond B. Goldstein around the time of the High Holidays last year, Wernick was attracted by the possibility of spreading the lessons he learned within synagogue life to a broader audience.

"It's an opportunity to take everything that I learned and all the success I've found at the micro level and see if I can apply it to the macro," Wernick, 42, said in an interview with The Jewish State.

One of Wernick's top goals will be to increase the USCJ's responsiveness and accountability to local synagogues, he said. In addition to helping them create a "dynamic Conservative Judaism" through more meaningful prayer and Torah study programs, Wernick said the USCJ also needs to help synagogues with innovative youth programming during a time when teenagers prefer Facebook and Twitter to sermons.

"Today's teenagers are living in a global marketplace of ideas," Wernick said. "The particularistic minds of synagogues don't speak to them."

The USCJ's education efforts need to include spreading Conservative Judaism at the college level through initiatives like placing rabbinical students on campuses as role models, and then re-instilling religious commitment among 20- to 30-year-olds as they trickle back into local synagogue life, Wernick said.

Wernick's focus on education and youth programming was prominent at Adath Israel, as he helped the shul's United Synagogue Youth (USY) group win International Chapter of the Year in 2004. He also served as a co-chair for four years on the Conservative Movement Leadership Council of the Mid-Atlantic Region, which brought together 55 synagogues for innovative programs such as a 2007 pre-Passover event that attracted 750 people to the Franklin Institute's King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia.

Adath Israel experienced a significant turnaround under Wernick's guidance, successfully merging with a smaller congregation and gaining greater financial stability due to Wernick's fundraising skills. During an economic recession that has proved challenging for all non-profit organizations, the USCJ needs avoid getting distracted by projects that aren't real priorities and secure funding from grants as well as other outside-the-box sources, Wernick said.

Using his experience from a wide array of Jewish communities across North America, Wernick hopes he can enable the USCJ to help large numbers of Conservative synagogues identify priorities, articulate visions, and engage with their members.

"By being on the front lines, so to speak, I know the challenges synagogues are facing," Wernick said. "I feel blessed that I've experienced Jewish life in many different places, as a child and an adult."

Much of that childhood was spent in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, one of several cities where his father, Rabbi Eugene Wernick, held pulpits. Eugene, who is now the rabbi at Congregation Beth Ohr in Old Bridge, said that Steven has been a leader and a consensus-builder from a young age. Steven helped grow Winnipeg's USY chapter from 10 teenagers to about 250, Eugene said, and was captain of the basketball team in a public high school environment that wasn't always friendly to Jewish students.

"He always had the ability not to be just a shining star himself, but a team player," Eugene said. "He won't set agendas by himself [at the USCJ]."

Steven's humility is another one of special qualities, Eugene said, recalling how Steven turned down a camp director position while studying at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles because he thought he was too young for the job.

"He is very level-headed, very well-rounded," Eugene said. "Unlike many people, he has a very good grasp for his capabilities and is not hesitant to ask for advice."

Lisa Harris Glass, who is based out of Edison as director for the USCJ's New Jersey region, said she was immediately impressed by Steven Wernick's personality and his work for Adath Israel when she met him at the USCJ Mid-Atlantic Region's annual dinner in April. Wernick was honored at that event, before his new role was announced.

"You could tell he was very well-liked and personable," Harris Glass said. "I think that he has vision and he believes in what the United Synagogue provides to local organizations."

Strengthening local communities will remain Wernick's focus, he said, even as Conservative Judaism faces increasing polarization of the right and the left within its population. The Conservative movement should not be evaluated mathematically based on affiliation numbers, Wernick said.

"The more meaningful measure [of Conservative Judaism's success] is impact," he said.