Age: 30

Pronouns: She/Her

Primary Gig: Doctoral Candidate

On the Side: Moishe Pod Resident, former Interfaith Innovation Fellow (through Interfaith America), Starfish Mentor (college prep program)

How long have you lived in Indianapolis? 5 years

Describe yourself in 100 words or less: I'm a passionate researcher and clinician-in-training studying the social psychology of chronic pain. I'm driven by curiosity and conviction in my mission to help improve the ability healthcare institutions to treat patients with chronic illnesses (particularly patients from under-resourced or minoritized backgrounds). I have loved exploring my Judaism through community-building with Moishe Pod over the past three years and I hope to continue contributing to my community.

How do you give back? I give back through my community-building efforts- through Moishe Pod, my support as an academic mentor through the Starfish Initiative, and my own initiative, SPARC, which supports advanced trainings in spiritual and religious multicultural competencies for future mental health clinicians. SPARC was supported by a generous grant from Interfaith American, a civic engagement nonprofit headquartered in Chicago.

Celebrity Doppleganger: Patrick Starr

Who is a Jew who inspires you? Esther Perel, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

How do you envision the Indianapolis Jewish community in the next 10 years? I envision more togetherness, both physical and via programming and joint initiative among Jews from different denominations and practices.

What is one thing you look forward to as we come out of this Pandemic? Looking forward to enjoying community gatherings, in person, with less fear of spreading or contracting covid.

What is your proudest accomplishment in the past 10 years? Probably my progress through graduate school. I'm currently in the final years of my doctoral program in clinical psychology! It's been a journey to get here.

Any advice for younger professionals? Embrace the process and take your career day by day. Let it be driven by the questions that most need answering.