The Jewish Center or Justice has officially welcomed in its summer class of high school and college fellows. Over the course of the next few months, this group of university and high school students will engage in learning sessions, advocacy opportunities, resource building and overall justice work, all still virtual while being as “hands-on” as possible. Stay tuned to this blog and our social media channels (including Tik Tok) to see their contributions to our justice work.
Meet the Jewish Center for Justice 2021 summer fellows.
Vivienne Scott
Senior
Aragon High School
I am passionate about environmental justice, especially because we have issues that are extremely time sensitive and need addressing now. I know that environmental justice and other social issues are extremely intertwined, and that preventing the suffering of an individual or community through lasting measures such as legislation is extremely important. I am passionate about working towards leaving this earth in a better place than how it was given to our generation— even the smallest change means something!
Benjamin Weiner
Junior
Kenyon College
I’m currently studying English with aspirations to go into higher education and academia. I’m very passionate about a wide range of social justice issues relating to the environment, education, criminal justice reform, and immigration.
Dylan Westheimer
Freshman
Windward School
I have been interested in social justice my whole life, starting with environmental justice which led me to creating a blog on ways to help the environment, envirocarela.com, and later a podcast on ways to help the environment, called envirocast. As someone who always wants to fight for a better future, living through 2020 has been an unfortunate but eye-opening experience which showed me that there is more needed to obtain a brighter future. I am excited to have the opportunity to make it better and I am ready to fight all the hardships. I am still passionate about fighting for environmental justice, but I am also excited to dabble a little in voting rights.
Jude Hebert
Junior
Alexander Hamilton High School
I am a JCJ Summer Fellow and am excited to be working towards creating a more equitable and just society. I am passionate about working on voting rights. I want to help make sure voting is as easy and accessible to people as possible. I am also passionate about affordable housing and ensuring equitable living conditions.
Simon Bank
Sophomore
Geffen Academy
I am passionate about all the issues that JCJ works on, but specifically I am passionate about LGBTQ+ Rights, Environmental Justice, and Racial Justice. I am passionate about working to make sure that no one is discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, gender, race, or class. I am also passionate about making sure we work to save our environment and make sure our world is healthy and safe for everyone.
Maddie Goldblatt
Senior
New West Charter High School
I am passionate about pretty much every issue, but I primarily focus on LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, rights to an equitable education, racial issues, and disability rights. I am just passionate about making people feel safe in equitable spaces and expanding those spaces as well as opening uncomfortable conversations for everyone to join no matter their level of understanding on a given issue.
Jacob Posner
Freshman
Macalester College
At Macalester, I am planning on majoring in political science because I want to learn about the government and how it runs so I can make change through social justice. I am passionate about a lot of issues, specifically voting rights, gun control, and racial justice.
Rebecca Lazarus
Sophomore
The Archer School For Girls
I am very passionate about many types of justice especially as most of the work done at JCJ connects to other aspects of injustice. I am particularly interested in environmental justice, economic justice, and voting rights as they are all such relevant issues to current events and our hope for a better future.
August Hochman
Junior
Kenyon College
I am a history major with a focus on colonialism. I study history because it allows me to understand how historic inequalities are deeply entrenched in the United States. With this understanding, I hope for a future in which our justice system is rooted in love and rehabilitation, our government represents its people, and our values promote individual expression.
Ryan Altman
Freshman
American University (Washington, DC)
I come back to JCJ because I care for my community; JCJ provides an incredible platform to make positive change and learn through action. As someone with an interest in public policy, JCJ is a great place to grow as an analyst, and, more importantly, as a person.
JCJ Summer Fellowship Director
Julia Berg
Rabbinical/Master of Educational Leadership Student (4th year)
Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR)
I am the Summer Fellowship Director this year, and in the Fall, I will be starting my Master in Educational Leadership at HUC-JIR. I am passionate about fighting for equitable housing with access to public transportation because I know that this is how we can provide people with dignity, allow for economic opportunity, and work to protect our environment.
For more info on our programs, go to jewishcenterforjustice.org/programs or email rabbisimonds@jewishcenterforjustice.org.