Jay is an artist, program manager, and clinician with a passion for creative learning and storytelling. Prior to joining Keshet, Jay worked in the mental health field as a clinical social worker, most recently as the Director of Community Services at the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health where they had the pleasure of leading and growing community-focused programming. They bring experience managing teams under pressure, advocating for social change, building adaptive programming, and cultivating a compassionate and trauma-informed work environment. They hold a BA in Sociology from Bryn Mawr College and a Masters in Social Work from Simmons University.
Jay is also an illustrator whose work explores ancestry, queerness, gender, and longing. In 2015, they were the recipient of the Arts and Healing Network Award for Arts and Social Change. Their work was also displayed in 2016 in partnership with the Amplifier Foundation and the Women’s March on Washington at the Center for Contemporary Art in Seattle and has been featured in Lilith Magazine. They have collaborated with and designed work for Nishmat Shoom, the Jewish Women’s Archive, T4Torah, Positive Women’s Network, Abortion Care Network, Siddur Davar Hadash, Boston Workmen’s Circle for Jewish Culture and Social Justice, the Radical Jewish Calendar, and many others. In 2021 they were a Scholar-Artisan Fellow in the Atiq Maker Kollel, and they are currently a fellow in the Artist Beit Midrash in partnership with the Jewish Arts Collaborative and Hebrew College.
In their spare time they enjoy watching survival reality television, slowly learning biblical Hebrew, queering Torah, and picking up insects and amphibians while hiking. They currently reside on occupied Nipmuc/Pocomtuc land/