Sara seeks to understand the way relationships influence and improve our practice, help us to understand our work, and engage effectively with others as we build equitable, just communities and workplaces. It is in this relational space that Sara has come to appreciate the roles gender, power, and privilege play in understanding work and learning, on the way to building equitable Jewish workplaces. Sara supports Jewish organizations as they develop cultures rooted in equity, support alignment with vision, and shift from hierarchy to flatter, networked organizational relationships. Sara also coaches individuals and teams as they imagine change, inextricably intertwined with the continuum of relationships and connections that make up our communities and workplaces.
Sara holds an EdD from The William Davidson Graduate School of Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary where her research focus was on the social networks of Jewish educators, as professionals and as alumni of particular learning programs. She holds a BA in Near Eastern and Jewish Studies from Brandeis University and an MA in Jewish Education from JTS, and was a fellow in the Senior Educators Program of the Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora at Hebrew University. Sara is a Certified Salary Negotiation Specialist (CSNS) and holds Advanced Career Facilitation for the 21st Century (ACF21) certification, as well as a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida. As a complement to her work, Sara is receiving coaching certification from CRRGlobal (ICF), with a focus on organizational and relational systems. She serves on the board of Camp Ramah in New England and American University Hillel. Sara is the proud parent of a son who allies every day for people of all genders, and actively advocates for others as he strives to make the world around him a better place.
Firesenay is a researcher, writer, and cultural worker based in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended the University of Tennessee and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, and also holds certification in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida. She has spent the last few years traveling around the world exploring the themes of culture, global foodways, and communal gatherings through research and public activations.
Food is one of Firesenay’s biggest passions in life. She has been cooking since a young age and loves bringing together a community of people through a family-style dinner at a long table. Food has always been the lens through which Firesenay explores culture, and she enjoys learning about a group of people through what they eat. She seeks to expand her knowledge at the intersection of nature and culture in order to be an advocate for a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Sara Beth is proud to partner with the Gender Equity in Hiring Project. Sara Beth, a writer, podcaster, and storyteller, has spent her career as an Experiential Jewish Educator and Consultant, working on curriculum development, teen programming, professional development, and programmatic initiatives. Her decades of work in the Jewish nonprofit sector has prepared Sara Beth to train people in all levels of their careers to negotiate, self-advocate, and ask good questions.
Sara Beth currently serves as the Director of Youth and Family Education at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. Sara Beth worked on a remote educational startup at The Jewish Education Project, ran the Newish Jewish Professionals Institute & the Graduate Fellowship at UJA-Federation NY, served as the Nadiv Educator at URJ Camp Coleman and Davis Academy in Atlanta, and as the Associate Director of Storahtelling. She has spent time working for the Foundation for Jewish Camp and other summer camps after beginning her career in Human Resources at Penguin Group (USA). Sara Beth is a graduate of the University of Florida (BA) and the Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary (MA). Sara Beth is a Certified Salary Negotiation Specialist (CSNS) and holds Advanced Career Facilitation for the 21st Century (ACF21) certification, as well as a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida.
Advisory Circle
Our Advisory Circle draws on a non-hierarchical model that weaves together a network of advisors who share in organizational decision-making. With our professionals, our Advisory Circle offers advice, sets goals and designs outcomes, while engaged in a reflective, collaborative and strategic process. Advisory Circle members are experts in their various domains, engaged in Jewish professional and communal life, members of our networks, and deeply involved in striving for gender justice and equity. As such, they offer their wisdom and advice to set our course for the future.
The GEiHP Advisory Circle addresses questions that guide us toward integrity and justice in our work. We practice this governance process grounded in seeking advice from those affected, and not just leaders and experts. We take a multitude of perspectives into consideration, accessing collective wisdom on our journey toward action. This process dismantles typical power structures and distributes leadership and power to anyone who seeks initiative and advice. We believe that this exemplifies our feminist values in action, as a radical partnership and collaboration that will lead toward more equitable hiring, employment and workplaces, and model how we can work together in more equitable ways, too.
Help us grow our circle. To be fully equitable, we must embrace a full reflection of the Jewish community in the voices, profiles and people who are a part of our Advisory Circle. We are not there yet. We hold open seats around our Circle for communities, perspectives, opinions and people who are not yet represented in our work. If this is you, we invite you in. Please reach out to us at info@genderequityinhiringproject.org for more information.
Meet the Advisory Circle
Bree Becker, Ed.D.
Bree Becker, Ed.D.
As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and daughter and granddaughter of refugees, Bree Becker (she/her) has been acutely aware of the need for inclusion, equity, and a more just society for as long as she can remember. Growing up in rural Maine as part of the only Jewish family in her small town, Bree became deeply familiar with being the other and occupying an insider-outsider status. Bree’s career has largely been in college/university administration, Jewish communal work, and at their intersection. She holds a PhD in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education and an MA in Student Affairs Administration, both from Michigan State University, as well as a BA in Jewish Studies with a minor in Holocaust Studies from Scripps College. Her doctoral cognate was in Gender and Sexuality Studies; her dissertation explored the role of Christian privilege in the experiences of Muslim and Jewish undergraduates. Bree has created and led workshops/trainings that celebrate diverse identities and address systems of oppression. She brings an international perspective from coordinating study abroad and a history of reshaping programs and organizations to be more equitable and inclusive. Bree is a scholar-practitioner and brings that orientation to her work with clients. For five years she was a Research Associate with the National Study on LGBTQ Student Success, publishing and presenting, and continues to publish and engage in academic research. Bree also sits on the Advisory Team for Fat Torah.
About
Khylie Gardner
Khylie Gardner
Khylie Gardner (she/her, they/them) is an artist and advocate living in Tucson, Arizona. Khylie’s career began in Jewish non-profits in NYC, where her identity as a chronically-ill, working class, Mizrahi person was rarely acknowledged and virtually never reflected back to her in meaningful ways. This realization led her to call for a more expansive idea of Jewish identity and communal belonging, oftento the chagrin of her peers and supervisors. Khylie left the Jewish professional world in 2021 in order to cultivate more joy and balance in her life, and now works as Director of Marketing for the University of Arizona College of Education. She is thrilled to have transitioned into lay-leadership, and currently facilitates a social group for interfaith couples and young families at the Tucson JCC with her partner DeVonte.
About
Rabbi Yechiel Hoffman, Ed.D
Rabbi Yechiel Hoffman, Ed.D
Rabbi Yechiel Hoffman, EdD (he/him) empowers individuals to embark on personal journeys through meaningful collective learning experiences. As a community activist, he serves as a rabbinic adviser, activist and outreach expert for issues related to LGBTQIA+ inclusion, women’s issues, and education. Yechiel’s educational leadership has enriched the Jewish journeys of children and adults in as diverse settings as Jewish Day Schools, community organizations, synagogues and Jewish edtech. Yechiel received the prestigious Pomegranate Prize from the Covenant Foundation, earned a Doctorate in Education from Northeastern University, and is the co-founder of JedLAB.
About
Sophie Hearne
Sophie Hearne
Sophie Hearne (she/her) is the Director of Partnerships and Special Initiatives at the Jewish Federations of North America. Prior to joining JFNA, she was the Director of Engagement and Communications at the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, a public-private partnership between the City of Boston and the Greater Boston business community, working towards the elimination of the gender/racial wage gap. She is a passionate advocate for gender pay equity and fostering collaboration between employers and individuals on intersectional wage gap education. Sophie also serves as the Entwine JDC National Council Chair, Entwine Board Committee Co-Chair, and a JDC Board Member. In her local community, she is on the Board of Jewish Family Services of Metrowest and enjoys spending time with her Little as part of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters.
About
Larisa Klebe
Larisa Klebe
Larisa Klebe (she/her) is Director of Development for ProChoice Missouri. She has served in the Jewish community across a variety of positions, including as the Curriculum and Resource Writer at Sacred Spaces, an organization that partners with Jewish institutions to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and other abuses of power, as Director of Nishmah—women and girls’ programming—at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center, and as Associate Director of Programs and Education at the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA). While at JWA, she directed the Rising Voices Fellowship, a national thought leadership program for teens who are strong writers and passionate about Judaism, feminism, and social justice. Larisa has written regularly for Jewish Women, Amplified and eJewish Philanthropy, and has had pieces published in The Forward, Jewish Educational Leadership, Current Affairs, and The Boston Globe. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and European Cultural Studies from Brandeis University, a Master’s degree in History and Museum Studies from Tufts University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from The Institute for Nonprofit Practice.
About
Jessica Rothbart
Jessica Rothbart
Jessica Rothbart (she/her) is a fierce advocate for equity across professional spaces – without exception. Her specialty is operations and HR. She is a partner at an executive search firm and worked as the COO in an educational access organization for underprivileged, high-achieving students. She has also worked in Jewish professional spaces, from camps, to synagogues, to the US’s largest Jewish professional educators organization. Before entering the world of people ops, she had a short but storied career as an advertising copywriter. She possesses an MBA and a Masters in Jewish Professional Leadership from Brandeis University, and a BS in Communication from Boston University. Jessica is married to Isaac and has twin boys, Asher and David. She lives in Maplewood, NJ.
About
Rabbi Jeremy Winaker
Rabbi Jeremy Winaker
Rabbi Jeremy Winaker (he/him) is the Executive Director of the Greater Philly Hillel Network (GPHN). Prior to GPHN, he has served in a variety of Jewish communal roles: as Albert Einstein Academy’s Head of School, as University of Delaware Hillel’s Senior Jewish Educator, as a pulpit rabbi, and more. An active member of the Gender Equity in Hiring Project Advocates Network and a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, his primary interest is in bringing Jewish Wisdom and people together wherever they may be. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Rabbi Winaker also holds a BA with Honors in Philosophy from Swarthmore College. He has lived in Wilmington, DE with his family since 2009.
About
Funders and Partners
Fiscal Sponsor
The Gender Equity in Hiring Project is fiscally sponsored by Beloved Garden. Beloved Garden supports and nourishes open-hearted spiritual leaders as they create and sustain new spaces of sacred belonging. Our Beloved leaders have a vision for a world they want to cultivate; we are here to help them bring that vision to fruition. Beloved offers wrap-around organizational support, including fiscal sponsorship, trainings, mentorship, accounting, bookkeeping, and more. This support is part of our practice of providing our leaders and their projects with individualized care and attention just as they do for those they serve. For more information about Beloved Garden, click here.
Funders
Any statements, views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by the Gender Equity in Hiring Project are the responsibility of the organization and do not reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of their funders.
