JWA Staff

Gail Twersky Reimer, Ph.D., Executive Director

Gail Twersky Reimer is Founding Director of the Jewish Women’s Archive, a pioneering organization dedicated to uncovering, chronicling and transmitting the rich legacy of Jewish women in North America.

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Reimer received her Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Rutgers University. She began her professional career as a faculty member at Wellesley College where she was awarded fellowships from the American Association of University Women and the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College and received the prestigious Pinanski Prize for excellence in teaching.

From 1988 to 1995, Dr. Reimer was Associate Director of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (MFH), the state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In the early 1990s, Reimer conceived and co-edited two path-breaking anthologies of Jewish women’s writings—Reading Ruth: Women Reclaim a Sacred Story and Beginning Anew: A Woman’s Companion to the High Holy Days. This work led to the founding of the Jewish Women’s Archive in 1995.

The Jewish Women’s Archive has become a leading advocate for and center of education in Jewish women’s history, ensuring that we remember the women who came before us, honor the women among us, and inspire those who will follow us. Reimer’s leadership of JWA has been acknowledged with numerous awards including being named by The Forward as one of the 50 most influential Jews of the year in 2001 and by Womens e-news in 2006 as one of its “21 Leaders for the 21st Century,” and in 2011 being honored by Auburn Theological Seminary at its “Lives of Commitment” event and by Hebrew College with the Dr. Benjamin J. Shevach Memorial Award for Distinguished Achievement in Jewish Educational Leadership.

Email Gail Reimer / Tel: (617) 383-6752

Stephen Benson, Executive Assistant

Stephen Benson has worked previously in executive administrative positions at the New England Eye Institute, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, and Jackson & Company public relations. He has taught theatre classes and directed productions at the College of the Holy Cross, Tufts University, Middlesex Community College, and Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. in English and Theatre from Tufts University.

Email Stephen Benson / Tel: (617) 383-6751

Ari Davidow, Director of Online Strategy

Ari Davidow is focused on how small archives best make information available, findable, and engaging online. He founded the Jewish forum on the WELL, an early, influential online community, co-founded Jewishnet (predecessor to Hebrew-College–based Shamash network, and is best known today for the KlezmerShack, a website devoted to Jewish Music. His virtual work is complemented by a long history as an expert on multilingual typography. He contributed chapters to both volumes of Computers and Typography, Rosemary Sassoon, ed. (Intellect Press, UK, 1993 & 2002) and taught typography online for a decade at the New School for Social Research Graduate Media Studies Department. Davidow holds a Masters in IT Management from Brandeis University where he teaches at the Rabb School for Graduate Professional Studies. He is also cofounder and Steward of the DuraSpace Small Archives Solution Community.

Email Ari Davidow / Tel: (617) 383-6766

Patrick Dash, Web Producer

Patrick Dash brings his enthusiasm, technical knowledge, and passion for web development to JWA. Patrick studied English at Boston University, where he also discovered his interest in web design, building a new website for the Student Activities Office. He has since worked for various companies designing and maintaining websites, and spent several years working for a student financing company in many capacities, including Information Management. Patrick is excited to continue his career at JWA.

Email Patrick Dash / Tel: (617) 383-6767

Programs

Judith Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Director of Public History

Judith Rosenbaum brings her love of women's studies and Jewish studies, teaching and research, to her work as Director of Public History at the Archive. A former JWA Research Fellow, Judith develops and directs JWA's major educational projects, including Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution, the national Institutes for Educators, and the Go & Learn lesson plan series. She earned a BA in History from Yale University and received her PhD in American Civilization, with a specialty in women's history, from Brown University. She has taught women's studies and Jewish studies at Brown, Boston University, the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Hebrew College, and Gann Academy: The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston.

Email Judith Rosenbaum / Tel: (617) 383 6762

Ellen K. Rothman, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Like JWA's founder and Executive Director, Ellen K. Rothman comes to JWA from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities where she served as Associate Director for 11 years. A graduate of Radcliffe College, she received her Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from Brandeis. While trained as an academic historian, she has spent most of her career in the public humanities—working in museums, developing curricula, producing programs for public radio and college-level distance learning, and creating an electronic almanac of Massachusetts history, MassMoments. Her book, Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America, was published by Basic Books and in paperback by Harvard University Press.

Email Ellen Rothman / Tel: (617) 383 6756

Etta King, Education Program Manager

Etta King combines her enthusiasm for learning and her passion for working with people in her role as the Education Program Manager at the Jewish Women’s Archive. Etta earned a B.A. in Education Studies from Brandeis University and studied community development in the Washington Semester Program at American University. Before joining the JWA, Etta taught at the Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor, MI, as well as with Boston-Area Jewish Education Program (BJEP) in Waltham, MA.

Email Etta King / Tel: (617) 383-6763

Communications

Leah Berkenwald, Online Communications Specialist

A long-time blogger, journalist, and social media enthusiast, Leah Berkenwald is thrilled to be at the Jewish Women's Archive. Leah earned her B.A. in American Studies and Journalism at Brandeis University and her M.A. in American Studies at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. Before joining JWA, Leah taught a Jewish literature course for teens at Congregation B'nai Israel in Northampton, MA, and taught journalism and media studies at the Florence Learning Center, an alternative public high school program for at-risk youth. She is currently pursuing a second M.A. in Health Communication at Emerson College, in collaboration with the Tufts University School of Medicine, and blogging at Ms. Magazine.

Email Leah Berkenwald / Tel: (617) 383-6761

Deborah Fineblum Raub, Consulting Communications Manager

Following a dozen years on the Living and Business staffs of a daily newspaper and after co-authoring a book on toys for Consumer Reports, JWA's Consulting Communications Manager Deborah Fineblum Raub served as Public Relations Manager for Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston for 8.33 years. Deborah continues working as a freelance writer/editor (mostly for Jewish nonprofits), and as an award-winning contributor to Hadassah Magazine. She also leads Jewish LifeStory "Bootcamps" for seniors and boomers in the US and Israel with her LifeJourney Books partner Naomi Grossman, and manages the blog for an Israel-based philanthropic foundation focused on Jewish disabilities rights. Just for fun, Deborah also writes the occasional J-NAG (Jewish New Age Grandparent) advice column.

Email Deborah Fineblum Raub / Tel: (617) 383-6753

Development

Nancy Gunn, Director of Development

Nancy Gunn comes to JWA with 20 years of senior level development experience in higher-education and the arts. At JWA she enjoys pursuing her life-long commitment to raising funds to support the empowerment of women through education.

Email Nancy Gunn / Tel: (617) 383-6764

Jacqui Kasper, Annual Giving Associate

Jacqui Kasper brings her passion, commitment, and knowledge of development along with her outgoing personality to JWA. Jacqui received her B.A. in Communications from Worcester State College. Her previous development experience includes higher education and healthcare. Jacqui is thrilled to be continuing her development career at JWA.

Email Jacqui Kasper / Tel: (617) 383-6757