This past Sunday, more than 1,200 people from all over the globe attended the 2017 Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) Conference. Many “Wexner” faces attended the conference and among the esteemed presenters that facilitated exciting conversations and gave participants skills, resources and inspiration were Mijal Bitton (WGF Alum, Class 24), Zev Eleff (WGF Alum, Class 22), Michael Emerson (WGF Alum, Class 23), Dasi Fruchter (WGF Alum, Class 25), Ariel Groveman Weiner (WHP Member, New York 16), Yehuda Kurtzer (WGF Alum, Class 15), Rachel Tessler Lopatin (WGF Alum,Class 3), Asher Lopatin, (WGF Alum, Class 5) and Ethan Tucker (WGF Alum, Class 11). The excitement, passion and authenticity in the room was palpable, as many participants remarked that JOFA is making feminism and engagement with Judaism mainstream. With many sessions ending with people sitting on the floor and standing room only, JOFA is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, WGF Alum (Class 20) is the Executive Director of JOFA. Previously, she was the Director of Recruitment for Yeshivat Maharat, the Director of Online Engagement at the Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education, and the first Orthodox woman chaplain at Harvard University. Sharon earned her doctorate at New York University in Education and Jewish Studies, having concentrated on the female staff experience in the Jewish summer camp setting. She studied Talmud and Halakha at The Drisha Institute for Jewish Education and received her Masters in Education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Yeshiva University. She can be reached at sharon@jofa.org.
