EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Miriam (she/her) is the Executive Director of Judaism Unbound and host of the Tales of the Unbound Podcast. Miriam served as Senior Rabbi of Temple Sholom in Cincinnati, Ohio for 13 years, founded JustLOVE, a multi-faith movement for activists and teaches in the UnYeshiva and at HUC-JIR. She is active on several boards and committees within the Cincinnati community, including serving as immediate past president of the Board of Rabbis and sits on the National Clergy Advisory Council for Faith in Action. Miriam was ordained in 2010 at HUC-JIR, Los Angeles and received her BA in Philosophy of Religion and Studio Art from Scripps College. Miriam loves to write, paint, and make ridiculously fun videos about Jewish values. She lives in Ohio with her daughters, partner, and dog.

FOUNDER + SENIOR FELLOW

Dan (he/him) is the Founder of Judaism Unbound and currently serves as President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah. Dan co-hosts the Judaism Unbound Podcast and The Oral Talmud videocast, and he teaches in the UnYeshiva. He served as president of Judaism Unbound from its founding until 2023. Dan previously served as Executive Director of the University of Chicago Hillel and Director of New Initiatives at Harvard Hillel, and he serves on the faculties of the HUC-JIR Zelikow School of Non-Profit Management, the Bronfman Fellowship, the Wexner Heritage Program, and other programs. He is a 2009 AVI CHAI Fellow and received the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence award, Hillel International's highest professional honor. Dan attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and was an articles editor of the Harvard Law Review. Dan is the translator of The Orchard by Israeli novelist Yochi Brandes and the translation editor of The Secret Book of Kings by the same author. He lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, two children, and two dogs.

Contact Dan at Dan@JudaismUnbound.com

SENIOR JEWISH EDUCATOR

Lex (he/him), in his role as Senior Jewish Educator of Judaism Unbound, co-hosts and produces its weekly podcast, facilitates many of its live digital events, and oversees the UnYeshiva: a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in Judaic Studies, and was ordained as a rabbi in 2021 by ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. You didn’t ask, but he would like you to know that his rabbinic ordination speech looked at OutKast’s song “Hey Ya” through the lens of Jewish numerology. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lex lived for two years in Jackson, Mississippi — working for the Institute of Southern Jewish Life — and he currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife Valerie. He serves on advisory boards, or boards of directors for The Shalom Center, Tikkun Olam Productions, Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations, and Mitzvah Matzos.

Contact Lex via Lex@JudaismUnbound.com.

MARKETING + COMMUNICATIONS + CREATIVE MAVEN

Katie (they/them) makes things beautiful and makes sure people know what’s happening at Judaism Unbound. Katie has served as a marketer, editor, designer, and writer at several justice-focused organizations and nonprofits across the globe. They have long been an advocate of non-traditional, digital-first Jewish life and education having spent most of their adult life in places without progressive English-speaking Jewish communities. Katie was selected for the 2019 Ya’ad Young Adult Leadership Fellowship with the UK Reform Movement and was the convener of New Moons Manchester, a seasonal, earth-based, queer Rosh Chodesh gathering. They have a B.A. in Art History from Washington College and have lived in 14 cities around the world, though New Delhi and Cairo will always share their heart. In their free time, Katie enjoys cooking, sewing, and spending as much time as possible exploring wild spaces on their bike. You can find their writing at Hey Alma and The Tempest. Katie can be found among the olive trees in the Spanish countryside or saying kiddush over Tinto de Verano on sunny terraces in Madrid.

Contact Katie at katherine@judaismunbound.com.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & STRATEGY

Todd (he/him) is an expert in operations, strategy, and project management with a burning passion for new modes of Jewish communal life. He is the author of a research paper on 21st-century independent Jewish spiritual communities completed in connection with receiving an Executive Master’s in Jewish Professional Studies from the Spertus Institute. Todd also serves as the Director of Operations & Strategy at Judaism Unbound an is a Board member and Treasurer of Lab/Shul. His favorite Jewish sages are Maimonides and Martin Buber.

Contact Todd at Todd@judaismunbound.com

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

Micah (she/her) is thrilled to be joining Judaism Unbound as a longtime listener turned team member! Micah is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she received her B.A. in Religious Studies in 2023. In addition to her work with Judaism Unbound, Micah is also a Synagogue Educator and Outreach Coordinator at Temple Emunah in Lexington, Massachusetts. She previously worked with WashU’s Office for Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life, where she coordinated the Interfaith Fellows program and innovated a university conversation series called ‘Panels on Life.’ Micah is also a former Youth Counselor for the Bronfman Fellowship, and was also a Bronfman Fellow. Originally from New Mexico, Micah has loved living in the Southwest and Midwest but is an excited newcomer to Boston. She loves music and is passionate about thinking of ways to lead joyous and fulfilling lives together as people.

Contact Micah at Micah@JudaismUnbound.com.

DIRECTOR OF THE UNYESHIVA CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Rena Yehuda Newman (They/Them) is a Jewish, transgender writer, educator, independent publisher, and illustrator living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Working in personal and commercial contexts, Rena Yehuda creates graphic illustrations, zines, comics, and even workshops that touch on wide-ranging topics including public health, sex, Jewish teachings, archival justice, and systemic oppression. A former Editor of the Jewish Student Press Service’s “New Voices Magazine”, Rena Yehuda’s experience in publishing and art travels throughout the Jewish world, including as a consultant and illustrator for T’ruah’s publication “Fragments”. Their zines are distributed internationally, including their landmark publication, “The Testosterone Survey Zine“. Rena Yehuda is deeply passionate about communal memory, the power of art and storytelling, and queering the line between the personal and political. They are so excited to be working as Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva Certificate Program Director to help create more opportunities for robust, chutzpadik, unbound Jewish learning!

Contact Rena Yehuda at renayehuda@judaismunbound.com