Daniel Kaplan is a social worker and community organizer in Ann Arbor by way of Chicago. Daniel organized Jewish community to play a strategic and accountable role in racial justice campaigns while working at Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. He is currently completing a Masters in Social Work and a Certificate in Jewish Communal Leadership through the University of Michigan’s Jewish Communal Leadership Program. Outside of class, Daniel participates in racial justice organizing on campus and in Ann Arbor. Daniel enjoys cooking, yoga, and singing about revolution in Yiddish.
Meet JOC & ALLIES
Joelle Asaro Berman is committed to building strong, healthy and resilient communities. She recently served as the executive director of Amplifier, a network of 125 giving circles inspired by Jewish values. She is part of the ROI Community, a global network of social entrepreneurs, and is a Schusterman Fellow. Joelle lives in Brooklyn, where she manages a community-supported agriculture project that provides access to local, organic food for 140 families, regardless of income. She is also on Repair the World NYC’s Advisory Board, and co-leads the Homebase Giving Circle, a small group of women who pool resources to support local social justice efforts.
Marshall Hatch Jr. attended Bates College, graduating in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science & Religion. After working as an Admission Counselor, Marshall moved back to Chicago, joining Urban Prep Charter Academy as Director of College Counseling. His passion for education, social justice, and spirituality grew substantially from these experiences, leading him to pursue dual Master’s degrees in Divinity and Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago in 2014. Upon graduation, Marshall joined his father, Pastor Marshall Hatch Sr., in full-time ministry at New Mount Pilgrim Church in Chicago.
Alison Rollman currently works as a Food Justice Fellow with Repair the World in NYC where she focuses on mobilizing volunteers around issues related to urban farming and tenants rights. She is a graduate of Pitzer College and a native of Los Angeles’s conservative Jewish community. She is a teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, and has served as an intern for Or HaLev Center for Jewish Spirituality & Meditation. Her senior thesis, titled “Youth-Centered Notions and Applications of Self-Compassion,” applies her studies of Sociology with her interests in holistic health and psychology.
Ilene Siemer brings nearly 20 years of experience in PR and marketing to Olive Tree Arts Network. She is a forward-thinking project management professional who excels in strategic planning and execution, resource management and staff development. Her strengths include budget oversight, stakeholder/customer relations management, vendor relations, creative problem solving, team building and workstream and marketing/PR management. In 2015, Ilene made a career change to follow her passion and focus on social justice causes. She joined OTAN as an associate director, and after a year was promoted to executive director. Her compassionate and visionary leadership has proven a successful formula for the growth of the organization. She enthusiastically seeks educational and professional opportunities to broaden the impact of the organization.
Lauren Bernstein is a curator of inclusive philanthropy, currently serving as the Major Gift Officer at UpStart, an organization that fuels and amplifies the powerful ideas of Jewish leaders. Lauren served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon for two years, and previously worked at a women’s homeless agency on Skid Row. Her life mission statement is to pursue equality and justice, by living and leading authentically as an ally, and always promoting self-awareness and human connections. Lauren was born and raised in Camarillo, CA and currently resides in Oakland with her partner. Lauren loves riding her bike, frolicking at the beach or in the woods, traveling the globe, and hearing people’s life stories.
Natasha Santos is a Brooklyn native who is committed to community building and outreach. For the past 15 years she has worked in various capacities in the nonprofit sector from advocacy to program directing. She is a lover of books, ice cream, intentional living and cuddly dogs. You can usually find her riding her bike around Brooklyn with her bright pink helmet. She is currently a full-time student at Bard College where she studies liberal arts.
Elisheva Thompson, 34 is a born-and-raised Angelen, self-identified Jewish mystic and marketing and communications expert. She is currently the Communications and Content Manager at UpStart, and organization that fuels and amplifies the social ventures of the Jewish community’s boldest leaders. As a biracial and bisexual Jew, Elisheva is passionate about elevating the voices of minorities. Whether by the communication efforts she leads at UpStart, or in her personal endeavors she seeks to promote dialogue, compassion, and equality both within the Jewish community and beyond. Elisheva lives in Torrance, California and has been married to her wife, Chelsea, for 10 years.
Riki Robinson went to Pitzer College where she graduated with a degree in sociology and Asian American Studies. She worked as a Program Coordinator at Pitzer College’s Center for Asian Pacific American Students where she helped start a dialogue series and bike share program. She believes education is key for social connection and transformation; in particular, it’s integral to honor that different forms of knowledge can be liberating for people from historically marginalized backgrounds. She also enjoys making and trading zines! b. Picture is attached in the email.
Beckee Birger My passion for working with young people has led me through a variety of jobs, such as special education attorney, AmeriCorp program manager, and grad school career advisor. I am currently the Program Director, Teen Leadership and Philanthropy at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. I believe engaging teens in political education and activism is critical to our future (plus they are funnier and smarter than adults). In my free time, I’m helping to build a space for Jews of Color in Chicago, and I’m an avid board game player.
Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs is the Youth Director of Women’s March. Tabitha led the Youth EMPOWER team in leading the Enough! National School Walkouts that saw 1.6 million students walk out of schools demanding sensible gun relations. She coordinated the Women’s March Youth Ambassador program. She co-led the global one day strike, A Day Without A Woman. Tabitha consulted with Penguin on the kids book, Little Activists. Tabitha was recognized as one of Glamour Magazine’s 2017 Women of the Year. She has been featured in the book, 200 Women Who Will Change The Way You See The World.
Roberta Samet is a social worker, living in Brooklyn. She is a social worker by training and has devoted her work life to a balance between psychotherapy and large scale social interventions. This large scale work includes developing the first mental health programs for people affected by HIV/AIDS while working for the NYC Department of Mental Health, co creating the clinically informed HIV prevention program at GMHC, building new housing for People with HIV/AIDS with Henry Street Settlement, and was the mental health Program Director for the Sept. 11th Fund. She is an avid kayaker, former modern dancer, and loves Brooklyn.
Molly Rae Bock has been a member of Kolot Chayeinu her entire life. Adopted at birth by a white Jewish family, Molly Rae knew only one black Jewish adult as a child. Amina was a role model. After she died, Kolot’s Rabbi formed the Race Task Force (now Race Working Group) specifically to address issues Amina had raised that were not addressed during her lifetime. As Molly raises her own son within the same congregation it is important that Amina’s work to end the racism that exists within our Jewish community, is carried on into the future.
Autumn Leonard inherited a love of equality from her parents who braved laws against interracial marriage and got legally hitched in 1959. Autumn worked as the Creative Action Coordinator for United for a Fair Economy, using theater techniques to help craft press events and stage creative social actions. She has been a trainer for Ruckus and a puppet builder for Art & Revolution; she has chaired the Race Task Force at Kolot Chayeinu in support of other Jews of color and taught at Kolot’s K’tanim program. Autumn is currently the Social Media Coordinator for Hand In Hand, the domestic employers’ network, and teaches yoga at Urban Yoga Foundation in Brooklyn.
Maya Hawkins I am a New Yorker, who just graduated from NYU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and a minor in Creative Writing. I have acted as Youth Education Coordinator & Staff Manager, and Education Coordinator at Camp Gilboa over the past few years. Currently I am an education justice fellow at Repair the World.
Jaz Twersky is an Education Justice Fellow at Repair the World NYC. They attended University of California, San Diego where they majored in linguistics and served as the Editor-in-Chief of their university’s independent newspaper, reporting on controversies at the school and bringing to new issues to light.
David Alexander Gumpert grew up with his Chicano family in East LA and his Jewish family in West LA. He also identifies with Indian culture as his German grandparents fled WWII to Mumbai, where his father was born and lived until he was 17. David moved to Berkeley for 16 years where he received his BA in World/Comparative Religion and Native American Studies. He went on to receive his doctorate in clinical psychology. His primary interest is Community Mental Health and creating greater access to therapy services for underserved populations.
Eliana Kaya is an international speaker and human rights advocate. An expert in interfaith community organizing and conflict transformation, she has 15 years of experience in bridging cultures through radio production, advocacy training, and resilient leadership development. She presented on making the uncomfortable familiar at a global conference for religious pluralism with leaders from 72 nations. A veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, her military experience is a vehicle to address trauma and public narratives of fear. Awarded by NCJW as an Emerging Leader, Kaya redefines Jewish leadership, transforming advocacy into an accessible tool, creating opportunities for all to thrive.
Reuben Telushkin is a Black Ashkenazi Jew from the northeast US who now resides in Detroit. He is a multimedia artist and also the Midwest Regional Organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace, a US-based, mostly Jewish organization working in solidarity with Palestinians. Reuben values arts and culture as important components of effective organizing. He is excited to participate in this gathering, and looks forward to developing capacity to align practices across diverse Jewish backgrounds for collective action, and working out important, urgent internal conversations within the Jewish left that can shape the discourse in pivotal ways for years to come.
Adina Alpert is the Program Manager for Bend the Arc’s Selah Leadership Program, which transforms and connects Jewish leaders and organizations to build a powerful social justice sector. In this role, she works with program founder and CEO Stosh Cotler and former program director Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block to continue evolving Selah programming, including future cohorts and Network gatherings. She also manages and supports work on our organizational culture and norms as well as our racial equity goals. An alum of the Avodah Justice Fellowship and Resetting the Table Facilitation Training, Adina comes to this work with a background in education and facilitation.
Rabbi Jessica K. Shimberg is founding spiritual leader of The Little Minyan Kehilah, an eco-conscious, tikkun olam-fueled congregation in central Ohio formed in 2005 and affiliated with ALEPH and the Reconstructionist movement. Rabbi Jessica engages her congregation and others in exploring new connections to the Sacred and to a Deep-Rooted Judaism for 21st Century Living. A trained mediator and facilitator, as well as a former litigator, she is an active advocate for social and environmental justice, addressing issues of economic disadvantage, food justice, immigration, and our Earth through a spiritual lens. She loves the dynamism of interfaith work and is involved with Faith in Public Life, T’ruah, and myriad local and national organizations.
Ellie Axe joined Story Starters as a co-director in the summer of 2018. Ellie has over 15 years of experience building system-wide change through organizing in faith-based and secular institutions. After a number of years as an organizer, Ellie became intrigued with how organizational behavior and operations are drivers for success in social change institutions. This led her to pursue an MBA at the Simmons School of Management. Most recently Ellie was the Director of Operations at JOIN for Justice where she guided the strategic planning process, supporting the organization to pursue its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ellie lives in Newton, MA, with her husband and their two daughters.
Megan Madison is currently pursuing her PhD at Brandeis University. Her research examines the impact of “colorblind” policymaking on racial inequities in early childhood education. She also works part-time as a trainer, facilitating anti-oppression workshops for teachers. Megan is very proud to have been recently elected to the governing board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In her free time, she loves reading, eating, and organizing with the Jewish Multiracial Network, Bend the Arc, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Megan holds an MS in early childhood education and an AB in studies in religion.
Gab Sussmann is a Head Third Grade teacher at the Rodeph Sholom School. She is a co-facilitator of RSS’s SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) groups. Gab is also the facilitator of the school’s faculty and staff of color affinity group. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree from Fordham University in Educational Leadership and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Loyola University Maryland. Gab is a native New Yorker and a proud child of a Haitian immigrant. In her free time, she enjoys being active, bingeing Netflix, and spending time with her pet rabbit bunnicula.
Graie Hagans is the National Organizer and Training Manager at Bend the Arc where he helps American Jews discover their own capacity to build a better and more beautiful world. He holds a MPP from Rutgers University and serves on the board of the Philadelphia Student Union and Jews in All Hues. He is a native of St. Louis and has a deep love for the midwest. Before joining Bend the Arc in June 2017, Graie was an interfaith organizer with the PICO National Network. He is a transmasculine Black Jewish G*d fearing justice lover.
Leili Davari joined Bend the Arc as Bay Area Regional Organizer in March 2016. During this time, Leili has supported local leaders to organize on issues including SB54, DREAM Act, Money Bail Reform Act, and “Interrupting Trump” in CA Congressional District 10 as well as supporting a local Jews of Color community. As a Mexican/Iranian-American hailing from El Paso, TX, Leili spent six years in Los Angeles where she first got involved with Bend the Arc as a Jeremiah Fellow in 2011. In 2018, Leili participated in the 2nd Jews of Color SELAH cohort, which was successful in developing her leadership and organizing skills as a Jewish Woman of Color. In the future, Leili looks forward to utilizing her passion and expertise in community organizing to help strengthen, support, and sustain Jewish People of Color.
Halli Jastaran Faulkner I teach healing yoga workshops for women who have experienced sexual trauma. I am a survivor, teacher, and healer.
Erika Moritsugu recently joined the ADL to lead a team of a committed professionals devoted to combating hate in all forms through advocacy and intergroup and interreligious dialogue. Her commitment to effecting change in communities and for individuals is embodied in her professional and personal life – including service for Senator Tammy Duckworth, the Obama Administration, Senator Daniel Akaka, and Senator Harry Reid. She has founded voting rights and AAPI coalitions, led a political empowerment organization, and volunteered for mentoring, veterans, and disaster relief efforts. Erika is an older mom of young kids, who she is proud of more than anything else.
Michele Freed Michele appreciates being outside – in the outdoors and of her comfort zone. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, and serves as the Associate Director of National Young Leadership at ADL. Prior to New York Michele lived in Washington DC as a Moishe House resident and worked at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation as a Grants and Leadership Fellow. A trained dialogue facilitator through the University of Michigan program on Intergroup Relations and through Resetting the Table, Michele is committed to bringing everyone into the conversations that are difficult but important to have.
Oraneet Shikmah Orevi Oraneet Shikmah Orevi is an Israeli-American, Mizrahi, bisexual/queer woman of color, feminist, and Jewish social justice activist who grew up speaking Hebrew and Spanish. Due to her various identities, Oraneet is especially interested in intersectional movements and how the differences between identities overlap to reveal united communities and commonalities. Oraneet received her Bachelor’s Degree from UC San Diego and her law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. Currently, Oraneet is a poverty lawyer specializing in eviction defense to fight against displacement of our families and communities; she is deeply committed to creating and contributing to spaces where everyone belongs.
Eric Greene A graduate of Stanford Law School, Eric Greene is a writer and civil rights activist based in Los Angeles. Eric serves as Associate Communications Director for Diversity and Campus Climate at UCLA, working with senior leadership to meet the needs of marginalized populations, address ethnic and political tensions and ensure that commitment to inclusion and equity is integral to the university’s communication and marketing strategies. Previously Eric was Southern California Regional Director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance, overseeing local community organizing, policy advocacy, leadership training and coalition-building efforts. Eric was formerly senior policy advisor at the ACLU of Southern California working on policy strategy, national, state and local issue advocacy, ballot campaigns, public education initiatives, community coalition work and communications strategy. Eric also does informal social organizing of Jews of Color in Los Angeles and has served as a consultant to Jewish organizations looking to more authentically incorporate ethnic diversity. While working at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, following his graduation from Wesleyan University, Eric also began writing cultural criticism. He has since written or contributed to over half a dozen books on race, the arts, and politics.
Jared Jackson is the Founder and Executive Director of Jews in ALL Hues, a consulting, education and advocacy organization that is building a Jewish community where intersectional diversity is normative. A Philadelphia-born multi-heritage Jew, Jared is an internationally renowned Jewish diversity leader, consultant, facilitator, speaker, writer, musician, and entrepreneur. He is an alum of the Selah leadership program through Bend The Arc: A Jewish partnership for justice. Jared holds a certificate of nonprofit management from LaSalle University and was named one of the “Jews That Will Change the World” by periodical, Ma’ariv.
Janu Mandel Janu was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica where he had his bar-mitzvah in a sand-floored synagogue and developed his life-long love of reggae music. He completed his B.Sc. in Political Science in 2005 at the University of the West Indies. He then moved to Miami, where he worked in corporate business for seven years. Seeking something more meaningful, he found his home in Miami’s Jewish community, and realized that this was where he belonged professionally. He was recruited as an Outreach Fellow for Temple Beth Am, Miami in 2013 and managed their young adult engagement efforts. He joins Repair from his role as Director of Engagement at University of Miami Hillel. Janu has always had a passion for engaging in service, social justice and politics, which led to his election as Head Boy in high school (yes, like in Harry Potter). Having the opportunity to take a more active role in community building makes him truly excited to have joined the team at Repair.
Valencia Gunder “I am Vee, and I feed people…” this is how Valencia Gunder, Founder of Make the Homeless Smile, usually introduces herself. A graduate of Florida A&M University and a leader in the community, Valencia (known to most as “Vee”), has firsthand experience with homelessness. What stood out the most to Vee during her experience, was the internal hopeless she felt. Turning that experience into a catalyst for change, Vee began working tirelessly to serve the homeless, but she took an approach deeper than charity. Vee has chosen to heal the homeless, and actively develops initiatives that will make them smile. Vee believes that it is not just about feeding or clothing the homeless, it is about making sure homeless individuals and families find wholeness and healing by feeling empowered. Vee seeks to treat homeless and end the cycle of poverty that leads to homelessness for so many.
Esther Rakel Joseph attributes her start in social justice to her parents. As her parents wanted Torah to be more than archaic words but rather a charge for social justice action with a focus on vulnerable populations. This charge has never left Rakel. Rakel is a proud graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work, with a concentration in Policy. And works as a social worker, adjunct lecturer, a research/teaching assistant on issues such as: systemic oppression and health disparities, trauma and inequality. She is excited to have the opportunity to merge faith and advocacy, and looks forward to learning and growing. Through, this cohort Rakel hopes to obtain skills on empowering communities and working alongside communities to create alternatives.
Andrea Hodos Along with Tasneem Noor, Andrea is the Program Co-Director of NewGround; a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change in Los Angeles, CA. Each year, Andrea and Tasneem convene and facilitate an adult and a teen cohort to support them in transforming their communities through the power of resilient relationships. For the past twenty-five years Andrea has been the Director of Moving Torah, harnessing movement, writing, and theater to explore Jewish text and Jewish story. Andrea is a founding member of the Shtibl minyan along with her husband, Aryeh Cohen, Professor of Rabbinics at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and Rabbi in Residence at Bend the Arc SoCal. She and Aryeh landed in Los Angeles in 1995 and are grateful to have raised two children in LA, anchored in the Jewish community, while connected to the larger fabric of the city she has grown to love. Andrea is honored to be invited into this space by Eric Greene, and looks forward to learning and listening in this cohort so she can be a better participant and stronger ally in the communities in which she is involved and engaged.
Sheba McCants is the Outreach Director for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Sheba moved to Denver, Colorado, from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was the Community Engagement & Events Manager for DAIS (Domestic Abuse Intervention Services). She serves on the Board of the Center for Trauma and Resilience, who provides culturally and linguistically responsive programs, health promotion and crime prevention education. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking and doing yoga. Sheba holds a Bachelor’s Degree from New York University (NYU), where she studied how the arts can be used to create social justice and community change.
SooJi Min-Maranda believes in the power of personal stories. Whether providing direct services, advocating for policy change, or fundraising for nonprofit organizations, Min-Maranda begins with personal narratives that illustrate the need for programs, policies, and resources that raise the voices of those underserved and underrepresented in mainstream society. A seasoned nonprofit executive with 18 years of executive management experience, Min-Maranda brings a for-profit mindset to the nonprofit arena. She advocates for strategic partnerships and efficient, effective resource allocation. Min-Maranda currently is the executive director of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. A national nonprofit, ALEPH brings spiritual vitality and passion into the daily lives of Jews through programs that empower leadership, build communities, and generate powerful experiences and practical resources. Previously, she was the executive director of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH), a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization that focuses on adolescent sexual health and parenting and Korean American Community Services, a comprehensive social service agency in Chicago. The Asian Health Coalition of Illinois presented her with its Outstanding Community Health Advocate Award in 2008. Min-Maranda served on Governor Quinn’s Illinois Human Services Commission from 2010-2012 and is a member of the Selah Leadership Program’s National Executive Cohort 9. She was a 2010 Chicago Community Trust Fellow and a 2010 Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Awardee. She is a 2007 Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Delegate and a 2006 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. A graduate of Barnard College, Min-Maranda holds master’s degrees from Northwestern University and The University of Chicago.
Tikvah Womack
JOC & Allies Project Director
Tikvah (Nadia) Womack is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and an Expressive Arts Therapist, specializing in trauma and cultural sensitivity. Utilizing arts and with a 20-year span of experience in the mental health field her clinical experience expands over mental health clinical and community settings ranging in modalities and population. She develops, facilitates, and consults groups across the developmental spectrum, professional trainings, and community and affinity conversations.
During Tikvah’s graduate studies at Lesley University in Expressive Arts Therapy with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, she traveled to South Africa and Guatemala exploring the intersections of music and visual art, cultural identity, and trauma. Tikvah’s thesis entitled A Generational Perspective on the Effects of Community Violence on Mothers of the Africana Diaspora and the Curative Benefits of Soulful Expressive Arts paved a particular focus on community healing with Black women.
Tikvah works full-time at an outpatient community agency in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, she is currently serving as the JOC-Allies Project Coordinator at Dimensions. She has been involved since the first JOC-Allies Cohort in 2016 as a cohort member, as well as a member of the first JWOC Cohort.
Tikvah and her family are deeply involved and rooted in their local community. She is a part of a vibrant Jewish community and a board member of a diverse and growing modern orthodox synagogue. She is also an active member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. With all of this, Tikvah spends most of her time generously loving on her husband, young boys, and Kerry Blue Terrier. In addition to her love and devotion to family, identity, work, and community, Tikvah enjoys dancing, music, roller skating, and Valerie Wilson Wesley novels.
Yosef Webb (pronouns: they/them/theirs or he/him/his) builds opportunities for people to authentically engage across identity differences and to interrupt their biases that keep them from treating themselves and others with dignity. Born in North Carolina, raised in Germany, California, and Colorado, Yosef joined the Navy on their 18th birthday desperately wanting to see the world. After their time in the boiler room of an aircraft carrier, they worked in kitchens, they worked on cars, they answered phones and landed in college where they received a BA in Anthropology with a focus on Archaeology, where they were the first Black man in their family to go to college. They now have a Masters degree in Divinity, is a pacifist committed to restorative justice, and is the Co-Founder and Senior Educator for the Calico Hill Collective, where they do work committed to building socially just homes, schools, places of worship and communities. Yosef, their partner, Beth, and their cat, Miroku, laugh a lot, walk a lot, create cool things, and eat a lot of curries, lentils, and injera. Yosef is also a Co-Founder and Senior Educator at the Calico Hill Collective. The Calico Hill Collective is a group of educators who seek to further solidarity, justice, truth, and reconciliation.
Haftam Yizhak-Heathwood I was born in Ethiopia in 1987. My family fled the country and emigrated to Israel when I was 3. It was still a struggle however, but my family and I got by. When I graduated from high school I enlisted in the Israeli Army. I knew I was meant for bigger things and I was not going to achieve them in Israel. I came over to the US as a nanny when I was 24 and have been working for families ever since. I am ready for the next step in my life. I am walking away from nannying and using my experiences and ideas to not only help me, but help all like me.
Miriam Messinger has devoted much of her professional life to working to ensure that communities are healthy – with resources, a sense of connectedness, and engaged residents driving community development. At IISC, Miriam works on strategy, staff development, and assessment. Her work with clients has a particular focus on organizations and networks focused on racial equity and change efforts and health equity. Prior to joining IISC, Miriam served as an independent consultant helping foundations and other non‐profits work towards realization of their visions by addressing challenges with attention to passion, excellence, and stakeholder inclusion. She facilitated health equity grants and learning strategy at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. Earlier in her career, Miriam loved the work she did mentoring, learning, and building organizational capacity as executive director of The City School, a youth and social justice organization. Her professional experience also includes organizational change and research and capacity building on issues of youth, public health, and workplace health. Woven throughout is a deep commitment to including multiple voices, authentic and collaborative leadership, and structures that help us to live our values. One of Miriam’s favorite jobs was as a baker in Cambridge. She was delighted to spend the wee hours of her mornings measuring, stirring, mixing, and kneading, returning home at 7 a.m. covered in flour and chocolate. Miriam believes deeply in humanity’s ability to envision and create more equitable and loving ways of living together. She lives in Boston and considers her life work to be parenting her two children in ways that bring more goodness into the world.
Rachel Faulkner has spent her career creating social justice through educational equity. As a City Year AmeriCorps Member and Manager, then as Founding Site Director for Match Education, she piloted programs that combined academic and socio-emotional supports to support underserved students in staying on track to graduate. From 2014-2017, Rachel lead Citizens of the World, a diverse-by-design school in L.A. that uses mindfulness, socio-emotional curriculums, and constructivism to build students to be courageous and compassionate. Now, Rachel is the Program Director at Reading Partners, where she oversees volunteer-lead literacy interventions at 19 schools in D.C. Rachel is always on the hunt for new books, recipes, and cities to explore!
