Location: Chicago

June 2020

Liz Jones

Liz Jones serves on the Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah.  She is the Senior Corporate Account Manager at Cara Chicago, where she supports individuals experiencing poverty in all aspects of their job search and builds multifaceted relationships with employer partners … Continue reading

18th Jun, 2020

Jacob B. Handelman

Jacob B. Handelman serves on the Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah. He is a lawyer by trade and enjoys a passion for making communities safer and giving medium-income families a chance to own a home instead of renting. He loves … Continue reading

18th Jun, 2020

Abby White

Abby White serves on the Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah. She is an alum of the Avodah Justice Fellowship in Chicago. She grew up in Evanston, IL and holds a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. After spending … Continue reading

18th Jun, 2020

Jessica Schaffer

Jessica Schaffer serves on the Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah. An Avodah Alumna (Chicago ’07-08), Jessica serves as Director of HIAS Immigration & Citizenship, part of JCFS Chicago’s family of services. She has more than a decade of experience working with … Continue reading

17th Jun, 2020

May 2020

Absera Melaku

Absera Melaku serves on the Board and Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah.  She is a public health practitioner with a specialized focus in health equity and social justice, adolescent health and youth development, and community-based public health programming, implementation, and … Continue reading

5th May, 2020

March 2017

Ilana Zafran Walden

Ilana Walden serves on the Board and Chicago Advisory Council at Avodah.  Ilana Zafran Walden is a public sector and nonprofit executive leader with over 15 years of experience in developing and leading programs, initiatives, and strategies designed to alleviate poverty … Continue reading

14th Mar, 2017

Sarah Thompson

Sarah Thompson is the executive director of Christian Peacemaker Teams. She’s from Elkhart, Indiana (traditionally Potawatomi land) and now lives in Chicago, Illinois. She received her MDiv from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 2011 and graduated summa cum laude from … Continue reading

1st Mar, 2017

December 2016

Ursula Wagner

Ursula Wagner wasn’t sure if she was in the right place on her first day as an Avodah Justice Fellow, but it didn’t take long for her to realize that she was exactly where she belonged. Ursula is a social … Continue reading

30th Dec, 2016

Ben Levenson

Growing up as the child of a rabbi, Ben Levenson was surrounded by Jewish life, attending day school during the year and Jewish camp during the summer. As he grew older, there was a long period when he distanced himself … Continue reading

28th Dec, 2016

July 2016

Rachel Sumekh

“On that first day, I got ready to walk into the bayit (house) in Chicago, so I checked the weather and saw that it was raining. Being from California, I thought it made sense to put on my winter boots … Continue reading

19th Jul, 2016
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