I am thrilled to introduce you to Keshet’s new Chief Communications Officer, Thea Hillman! Thea brings extensive experience as both a writer and activist to her role at Keshet as well as an exuberant commitment to justice work. In these challenging times, I especially appreciate her combination of rigorous skills and a joyous, open-hearted approach to the work of building a better world. But let’s hear from Thea in her own words: 

What inspired you to join the team at Keshet?

I’m thrilled to join an organization that brings a queer Jewish lens to the work of advancing equality and belonging. 

Tell us about your experience as an LGBTQ+ rights activist.

As a lifelong anti-war and human rights activist, my organizing work became much richer — and more creative — in my late 20s when I came to understand that I didn’t just “have a health condition” but that indeed that health condition meant that I was intersex. Learning the social, political, and emotional implications of my childhood experiences changed my life, my art, and my activism.  

How does your identity as a Jew inform your commitment to LGBTQ+ equality?

I have always embraced that the best way for me to practice my Judaism is to create a better world — and that until all of us are free, none of us are free.

You can learn more about Thea, including her Lambda award-winning book, here.

As we get deeper into this election year, we know that we must make clear that our rights are at stake. We know that amplifying our voices as queer Jews — telling our stories and telling them well — matters perhaps, truly, more than ever. I’m so grateful that Thea has joined the team at Keshet to help us chart a bold and clear path in these critical days.