Founded in 2017, the Jewish Center for Justice is a distinguished social justice, education, and leadership development platform that meets each individual where they are in their journey to inspire change.
JCJ’s mission is to empower current and future leaders to build a more compassionate and just society.
LEADERSHIP
Rabbi Joel Thal Simonds
Founding Executive Director
Rabbi Joel Thal Simonds is the founding executive director of the Jewish Center for Justice, where he envisioned the need for a Jewish justice organization to reach the unaffiliated and expand the breadth and scope of the wider Jewish community. Previously, he served as a Rabbi for University Synagogue in Los Angeles and West Coast Legislative Director for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rabbi Simonds served for seven years as Rabbi of the Synagogue for the Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles and as instructor in multiple courses. Rabbi Simonds in the founding President of Partnership for Growth LA, and serves on the clergy team at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles.
Michelle Sampson
Board Chair
Max Rosenblum
Communications Director
Immediate Past Chair
Julie Bank is the Founding Board Chair of the Jewish Center for Justice. She has a Master’s of Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. Julie has worked both professionally and as a volunteer in the Public Policy and Social Service areas for organizations such as the Chicago Urban League, Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Children’s Home and Aid Society, and the Jewish Federation. She is currently serving as the Chair of the Economic Justice Task Force of the Commission on Social Action for Reform Judaism and is a trustee-at-large on the Union for Reform Judaism North American Board.
Honor Julie Bank’s incredible leadership by making a donation to the Julie Bank Fund for Women, Family and Youth Advocacy
OFFICERS
Heather Lazarus
Vice Chair
Jennifer Haarmann
Treasurer
Jennifer Haarmann is a Founding Board Member of the Jewish Center for Justice, where she shares the vision of community and faith-based advocacy that speaks to the needs of all people, in the Jewish spirit of tikkun olam. Jennifer serves as a Board Member of University Synagogue in Los Angeles, as well as a volunteer with the Shalom Institute in Malibu. She also continues her work in accounting and client development in private practice with a firm in Marina Del Rey.
Abbi Hertz
Secretary
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nicole Blank
Ellie Caple
Stephanie Carson
Rabbi Elias Chajet
Teddy Levitt
Nick Melvoin
Mike Montomgery
Rabbi Leah Sternberg
Ellie Caple is an Account Director at Sunshine Sachs. Prior to joining the firm, Ellie served as senior staff on the Kamala Harris presidential campaign and was the youngest member of the senior team. Before that, she worked as Senior Associate for SCRB Strategies, running state and federal campaigns in California and consulting for private sector clients. She has also worked for Kamala Harris’ 2016 Senate race, FWD.us, the Center for American Progress, and for major campaigns and elected officials in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Ellie graduated with honors from Tufts University with a B.A. in Peace and Justice Studies, with a concentration in Media and Public Policy.
Stephanie Berg Carson lives in Los Angeles with her husband Jonathan and three children. Now a Mindfulness Coach, she began her career as a Campaign Associate in the Women’s Division of The Jewish Federation in Chicago. Upon moving to Los Angeles Stepanie entered into the corporate world of Entertainment and Sports Marketing working for DirecTV, RollingStone.com and Fox Feature Film Productions. She left the corporate world to take on the job of “Head Air-Traffic Controller” for her family and raise her children. To battle stress and anxiety she found herself “crisis meditating.” Quickly she noticed significant shifts in her own life and began her trainings to share her experiences and learnings. Today Stephanie is a Meditation and Breathwork Teacher, Intuitive Healer, Sound Healer, Reiki practitioner and leads Cacao sessions. She currently serves on the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital Board of Advisors as well as The University of Michigan Dean’s Advisory Council.
Rabbi Elias Chajet is a US Navy Chaplain currently stationed at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, the Navy’s boot camp. Rabbi Chajet earned his Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion where he also earned a Master’s degree in Jewish Education from HUC-JIR’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education. Prior to joining the JCJ Board Rabbi Chajet served as Director of advocacy and Jewish engagement from 2021-2023. He holds a B.A. from Hofstra University.
Teddy Levitt is the Manager of the Client Development team at Altruist, a fintech startup in Venice. Before joining Altruist, his prior roles included VP, Financial Advisor at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, Relationship Manager at Causeway Capital Management, and Financial Communications Analyst for The Walt Disney Company. Teddy earned a B.A. in international relations from Stanford University and an MBA in finance from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a former president of the Anderson Student Asset Management Fund, a quantitative investment group managing approximately $1 million of the university’s endowment assets. Teddy is also a four-time national fencing champion.
Nick Melvoin serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Prior to his election, Nick worked as a teacher, public interest attorney, nonprofit director, and was an active board member for a number of community and Jewish organizations. Nick has also worked in the Obama White House and the U.S. Attorney’s office. Nick’s work is focused on increasing parent and community engagement, transparency and accountability; directing more resources to schools; protecting our most vulnerable students; and bringing a new spirit of partnership and collaboration to LA’s public schools. Nick is a graduate of Harvard College, NYU School of Law (Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar), and Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education.
Mike Montgomery is the President of The Montlake Group, a public affairs and government relations consulting firm. He is the former National Finance Director for former San Francisco mayor (now California Governor) Gavin Newsom. Mike is a frequently published voice in print and digital outlets and is a Forbes contributor. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Liana and daughter Ella.
Rabbi Leah Sternberg is the Assistant Rabbi at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ. Rabbi Leah received her Rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles where she also earned a Master’s Degree as well as a certificate in Jewish Nonprofit Management from the Zelikow School at HUC. Prior to joining the Board, Rabbi Leah served as the Manager for Jewish Engagement and Advocacy for JCJ where she oversaw our cohort programs as well as our legislative agenda. She holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
IN MEMORIAM
On August 27, 2022, the Jewish Center for Justice community suffered a devastating loss with the sudden and untimely death of Board Member Micah Bycel (z”l).
The JCJ community has created a special fund to honor Micah’s memory and secure his legacy. Micah was a kind and compassionate soul. He saw a broken world and was determined to make it better for his kids and the next generation. In his honor, The Micah D. Bycel Fund for Legislative Fellows will help shape the next generation of Jewish justice activists.
In addition to the Fund, we have renamed the program, The Micah D. Bycel Legislative Fellowship. All future fellows will learn of Micah’s memory and advocate for justice in his honor.