About Me
Thank you for visiting my site! I’d love to share a little about myself.
My Jewish roots come from my amazing rabbis and community at Temple Sinai in Rochester, NY. I was active in NFTY, and I attended and worked at URJ Eisner Camp. I earned a B.A. in Politics and a minor in Law & Legal Studies at Brandeis University. While in college, I was involved in Jewish communal life and acted in and directed musicals.
After graduating, I moved to Washington, D.C. for a year-long fellowship as an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. There, I represented the Reform Movement in interfaith and secular progressive coalitions on a variety of policy issue areas including civil rights, gun violence prevention, and LGBT equality. I also spent two years as a research and communications associate at the Justice Policy Institute before attending rabbinical school.
I was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2017. As a student, I served for three years as the rabbinic intern at Woodlands Community Temple in Greenburg, NY. I was blessed to have powerful learning and professional experiences with T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, the URJ’s Leadership Institute, and Temple Judea in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. While in school, I was honored to be a part of the Tisch Fellowship, directed and taught by Larry Hoffman, which focused congregational leadership, spiritual development, innovative thinking, and contemporary religion in North America.
Since ordination, I have served at Congregation BJBE in Deerfield, IL. At BJBE, I have taken on responsibility for adult education, social action & social justice, played a significant role in technological innovation in response to the pandemic, and been active in the life of the congregation. I am honored to serve on the Core Team of RAC-Illinois
I met my wonderful spouse, Gavi Young, at Brandeis. We were married right before we went to Israel for my first year of rabbinical studies. She is a talented early childhood and special educator and currently teaches Kindergarten at a Jewish day school. We are blessed with two sweet, amazing, silly, musical kiddos who are 2.5 and almost 5-years-old.
I love musical theater, playing board games, and am a lifelong Mets and Buffalo Bills fan. And, no, I have never jumped through a table, but, yes, I am picky about my Buffalo wings.
I bring a passion for social justice, Torah, and meaningful relationships to all of my work and strive to lead and build meaningful Jewish communal life with compassion and innovation rooted in tradition.
