Rabbi Marisa Elana James

is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She spent more than five years living, working, and studying in Jerusalem, where she worked for Encounter Programs and co-created and led the rabbinical student program for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. She most recently worked for Romemu and T’ruah in New York City, where she lives with her wife, contrabassoonist and translator Barbara Ann Schmutzler.