Staff

Keren Soffer-Sharon
Project Director
Keren Soffer-Sharon joined Rise Up as the Project Director in May 2022! Keren served as an organizer with Jews for Economic and Racial Justice and a leader in the Jewish social justice landscape for nearly a decade, organizing thousands of Jewish people to take concrete and meaningful action for the liberation of all people. Keren also co-founded the first ever Mizrahi & Sephardi Caucus in the country and built JFREJ's largest education and organizing program to date. Harnessing a cultural organizing strategy rooted in Sephardi ritual, spirituality, and heritage, the caucus also laid the groundwork for historic and transformative Jewish and Muslim solidarity work. More recently, Keren built JFREJ’s largest education and organizing program to date with 11 neighborhood-based chapters and over a thousand participants across New York City. Throughout her career, she has trained over 5,000 people, developed over 500 leaders, and stewarded over 30 teams. Keren is also the co-author of Understanding Antisemitism: An Offering To Our Movement.
"I cannot wait to help build the spiritual resilience of my beloved Jewish community in its work for justice. Rise Up’s incredible roster of grantees leaves me in awe, and I’m eager to get started so I can raise and redistribute resources to support their vital work.”

Josh Bloom
Project Administrator
Josh Bloom has spent 25 years engaged in international peace-building, human rights, and socially conscious travel planning. Before joining the Rise Up team, Josh was a travel planner with MEJDI Tours and a consultant to the Nathan Cummings Foundation. He has previously worked for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Rabbis for Human Rights, Mercy Corps, American Jewish World Service, the Conflict and Health Programme at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Amnesty International USA, the Health and Human Rights Programme at the University of Cape Town, and UNICEF.
Leadership Team
Rise Up's Leadership Team provides strategic thinking and grant recommendations.
The Leadership Team includes:

Rabbi Elan Babchuck
Founding Director, Glean Network and Director of Innovation, CLAL

Rev. Jen Bailey
Founder and Executive Director, Faith Matters Network

April Baskin
Founder and Director, Joyous Justice

Shifra Bronznick
Social Change Strategist-in-Residence, Auburn Seminary

Melissa Carter
Interim Director, Global Spiritual Life, New York University

Zahara Zahav
Community Organizer, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
Advisor

Isaac Luria
Director of Voice, Creativity and Culture at the Nathan Cummings Foundation
Rise Up Stewardship Team
Rise Up’s first Community of Practice is stewarded by five grantee members:
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Arielle Korman, Executive Director, Ammud: Jews of Color Torah Academy
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Aurora Levins Morales, Poet-in-Residence, Rimonim Liturgy Project
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Ayana Morse, Executive Director, SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshivah
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R. Mónica Gomery, Kol Tzedek Synagogue and co-founder of Let My People Sing!
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Rachel Plattus, founding steward of Taproot