LABA East Bay Staff

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. More at www.elissastrauss.com.

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.

LEAD TEACHER

Josh is the West Coast Director of Education for Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. He has an MA in Jewish Thought from Tel Aviv University, and received rabbinic ordination from the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is currently a Doctoral student in Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Previously, he was the Dean of Student Life and Jewish Life at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay.