I work with interfaith couples and families and the organizations that support them to explore how to bring meaningful Jewish life into their relationships and homes in ways that recognize and honour their unique dynamics.
I coach and train Jewish professionals, educators, clergy and communal lay leaders as the Director of Professional Development at 18Doors, and in the past I have designed programs for interfaith families. I frequently give talks at community events on personal and familial identity in interfaith families, develop resources, and work one-on-one with individuals and couples.
My work also extends to working with Jewish grandparents who wish to explore how they can foster Jewish identity in their grandchildren without stepping on the toes of their children and children-in-law.
Undergirding this work is my philosophy that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to Jewish engagement in interfaith couples or families. I endeavour to meet people where they are and work collaboratively to determine where they want to end up.
My passion for this work is personal as well as professional. Growing up in a home with one Jewish and one lapsed-Catholic irreligious parent, and with a close relationship to my Jewish grandparents, I have lived the experience of negotiating what a collective Jewish identity can look like in an interfaith family.
This personal connection led me to pursue training in this work, first with Big Tent Judaism, previously called the Jewish Outreach Institute, and most recently completing a fellowship in the inaugural cohort of Hebrew College’s Interfaith Families Jewish Engagement Certificate, the only program of its kind in the Jewish educational ecosystem.
I am lucky that I have been able to turn this into my full-time work, having joined the staff of 18Doors (formerly InterfaithFamily) in October 2019.