LABA EAST BAY STAFF

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Sarah comes with an extensive background in theater and music performance, as well as lecturing/leading workshops on arts education and arts for social justice in academic, educational, and community settings.  Sarah most recently managed the programming department at Arts Umbrella, the largest arts education organization in Canada.  When not singing lullabies to her children, Sarah is the JCC East Bay’s Director of Public Programs.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

From 2012-2017, Elissa co-directed LABA in New York alongside current Artistic Director Ronit Muszkatblit. She is a writer who covers culture, gender, and parenthood. Currently a columnist for CNN.com, her essays, op-eds, and reported pieces have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Glamour, ELLE, the Forward, and elsewhere. She is writing her first book on caregiving. More at www.elissastrauss.com.

LABA EAST BAY FACULTY

 Jake is a poet, performer, and educator. He is the author of three poetry collections: Cosmic Diaspora (2020), The Neighbor Out of Sound (2018) and Jazz Talmud (2012). He also released two klez-jazz-poetry records: Purple Tentacles of Thought and Desire (2020, with Cosmic Diaspora Trio), and Hermeneutic Stomp (2013). Jake is the poetry critic for Tablet Magazine.  Jake is the poetry critic for Tablet Magazine and works as the Education and Programming Director of the Bronfman Fellowship.
https://jakemarmer.com/