Keshet Starr has recently joined the Shalom Task Force (STF) team as the new chief executive officer. STF works to combat and prevent abuse in the Jewish community and provides many crucial resources. It operates a confidential hotline that one can call at any point in their relationship if one feels unsafe, or for family or a friend to call if they fear their loved one is in danger. It also hosts a legal department to assist with legal issues associated with domestic abuse. STF runs educational programs in schools, colleges, and for leaders of communities to help people understand domestic abuse so the community can better respond to these incidents and train the next generation with the tools necessary to identify healthy relationships.
Starr, who lives in Hillside with her husband and children, was raised in both Hawaii and Ohio. She went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for her undergraduate degree. Following her graduation from University of Pennsylvania Law School, Starr began a one-year fellowship for STF focusing on custody and matrimonial litigation. After her fellowship, she joined the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) as a case advocate—the third member of the ORA team. During her 13 years at ORA, the team grew to 10 staff members and became a widely known force in the Jewish community. Starr served as CEO of ORA for the past seven years before joining STF several weeks ago.
As the CEO of ORA, Starr worked on augmenting the organization both internally and externally. “I worked on building an organization with a great culture, so the values on the inside match those that we argue for on the outside,” she said.
Some noteworthy accomplishments during Starr’s tenure at ORA included the organization’s success in helping over 500 women receive their gets, normalizing the Halachic Prenup among Orthodox couples prior to their wedding, the concept that get refusal is a form of domestic abuse, and creating Cheirut, a network of different organizations around the world that are fighting for agunot to receive their gets. Cheirut has been key in streamlining the process for helping a woman receive a get and extremely useful in enabling different organizations with the same goals to share resources.
In her new role as CEO of STF, Starr is focusing on bringing a fresh and innovative perspective to the organization. As the definition of domestic abuse has evolved since STF began over 30 years ago to include psychological and financial abuse, Starr sees the need for more thought leadership and education within our communities. “A crucial component to ending the cycle of abuse is providing communities with the knowledge of the signs of the various different types of abuse and providing them with the resources to support victims of abuse in their community,” she said.
STF has a legal team that handles orders of protection, matrimonial law and family law matters based in New York State. In addition to extensive experience in New York courts, the legal team is skilled on the specific needs of Orthodox abuse survivors and can represent survivors in cases in the beit din. Currently, for matters outside New York, STF has access to resources that can help those based in other states.
In addition to her role overseeing the operations of STF, Starr sees part of her role as going into different communities and speaking at events or programs about domestic abuse. She emphasized that these events can be engaging, lifting the taboo of talking about domestic abuse so that more people will learn about it and help end it. “People may not understand the issue as much because it’s such a heavy issue, so being able to present it in a way that is approachable and engaging is critical in reaching a widespread audience,” Starr said.
Starr is very excited for her new role. “It is a gift and honor to serve the community in different ways, and this transition has been about growth. I was able to help spread awareness at ORA and now I am able to spread the message about domestic abuse in a larger way. I chose to become Orthodox. I love this community, and approach everything I do from a place of respect, and with confidence that our community can grow in how we respond to abuse. With effort and love, we can create a community that everyone feels safe in.”
