Noah S. Leavitt is a teacher, author, community organizer and attorney. He serves as President of Congregation Beth Israel in Walla Walla, Washington. He is also a Visiting Assistant Professor with Whitman College. He earned his B.A. from Haverford College, his J.D. from the University of Michigan, and his M.A. in Social Sciences from the […]
Lewis R. Gordon is professor of philosophy, African American studies, and Judaic studies at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He is an Afro-Jewish philosopher, political thinker, educator, and musician who grew up in the Bronx, New York, where he attended Evander Child’s High School, played jazz in NY night clubs, and went to Lehman […]
Rabbi Rigoberto Emmanuel “Manny” Viñas was born and raised in the traditional Sephardic home of Cuban Jewish parents who came to Miami after the Cuban Revolution in 1960. As an Orthodox rabbi with a Masters in Social Work, Rabbi Viñas is the founder and director of El Centro de Estudios Judíos “Torat Emet,” a Spanish-language […]
Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi is is the rabbi of Congregation Chevra Thilim, the oldest Orthodox synagogue in San Francisco. He received his rabbinic ordination from the Rabbinical Academy in Jerusalem and New York. Rabbi Zarchi comes from a Hasidic family of rabbis that goes back six generations. Growing up in Brooklyn, he learned Hebrew and Aramaic […]
Dr. Gary A. Tobin was the founder and president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, San Francisco. He was also a senior fellow with the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. He earned his Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He served as Director of the Maurice […]
Rabbi Irwin Kula is an eighth-generation rabbi, nationally known speaker and teacher, and the president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. A regular guest on Oprah and The Today Show, he is also the host of the public television broadcast called The Wisdom of Our Yearnings. Irwin Kula is the author of […]
Robin Washington grew up in Chicago in a family of black and Jewish activists during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Participating in sit-ins and protests when he was three years old, he recalls those events fondly as “family outings.” A nationally award-winning journalist, Washington has appeared on National Public Radio, MSNBC, Fox News, […]
Helen K. Kim is the Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Prior to her appointment, Helen served as Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion from 2018-2019. She is currently Professor of Sociology and Director of Encounters, Whitman’s First Year Experience. Helen has held various administrative positions at the […]
Born in Ethiopia where he got his early education, Dr. Isaac holds a BA degree in Philosophy, Chemistry, & Music (Concordia College); an M. Div. (Harvard Divinity School); a PhD in Near Eastern Languages (Harvard University); and D.H.L. (honorary, John Jay /CUNY). He was Professor at Harvard (1968 -1977). The first professor hired in Afro-American […]