FEATURING

Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer

Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer is president of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Yehuda is a leading thinker on the essential questions facing contemporary Jewish life, focusing on issues of Jewish peoplehood and Zionism, the relationship between history and memory, and questions of leadership and change in the Jewish community. He is the host of the Identity/Crisis podcast, and the author of two books and dozens of articles and essays about contemporary Jewish life. Yehuda has helped lead the Institute’s rapid growth as a leading research and educational center of the Jewish community. Yehuda is trained as a scholar of ancient Judaism and rabbinics with a doctorate in Jewish Studies from Harvard University and previously served as a member of the faculty at Brandeis University, where he held the inaugural Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation. He lives in New York with his wife Stephanie Ives and their three children.

HONOREES

Erin Beiner, Director of J Street U

Erin joined J Street in 2019 as Southeast Campus Organizer for J Street U. She served as Deputy Director for J Street U before taking on the role of J Street U Director in 2022. Prior to J Street, Erin was the DC Community Organizer for HIAS while a participant in the Avodah Jewish Service Corps in Washington, DC. Erin holds a Masters in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a BA in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Georgia. During her time at UGA, Erin was active in Jewish life and was a member of Sigma Delta Tau, including serving as SDT President in 2016. Erin was raised in Sandy Springs and is an alumna of Epstein and Weber. Erin grew up attending Camp Ramah Darom and spent five summers on staff including Unit Head in 2018. Erin currently resides in Washington DC.

Matan Berg, J Street U Board Vice President

Matan Berg is a rising junior in the LSA Honors Program at the University of Michigan studying philosophy, politics, and economics with minors in public policy and Middle Eastern studies. He is the Vice President of the Midwest for J Street U, formerly served as his chapter’s President of J Street, and is the Vice President of Internal Operations for Michigan Hillel.

Lauren Haines, past J Street U Board member

Lauren Haines recently graduated from the University of Michigan, where she majored in public health and minored in political science. She was involved with J Street U all four years of college, serving as Midwest VP and National Board President during her junior year. She was born and raised in Athens, Georgia, and was Bat-mitzvahed at Congregation Children of Israel.