The Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership of Yeshiva University is proud to welcome the Sacks Scholars Graduate Fellows in Ethics and Entrepreneurship, 2022-2023. The Fellowship honors the memory of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, zt”l, the influential ethicist, faith leader, and former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth.
In this inaugural interdisciplinary cohort coordinated by Dr. Shira Weiss and Dr. Erica Brown, the first initiative in YU’s history to bring together students from the university’s 10 graduate programs, candidates were selected to create and implement a project of social value that impacts their field, as well as publish an essay on an ethical topic that contributes to the scholarship of their discipline.
Congratulations to the following Sacks Scholars:
1. Rebecca Kreiser (Cardozo)
Rebecca will research and assess how current legislation will impact drug costs and identify next steps Medicare can take to make drug costs more affordable for its beneficiaries and competitive with private market prices.
2. Hillel Broder (Revel)
Hillel will develop a text study guide guiding schools and training educators to fuse educational research and best practices with sophisticated textual study to enhance students’ spiritual development through tefilla.
3. Talya Gordon (Ferkauf)
Talya will create and implement a trauma-focused psychoeducational intervention to empower homeless individuals to process their trauma before relocating into homes.
4. Jordan Soffer (Azrieli)
Jordan will develop online resources of best practices of the customer-service industry and tools for implementation to enhance Jewish day schools’ ability to serve stakeholders.
5. Daniela Weiss-Bronstein (Wurzweiler)
Daniela will develop supplemental training for clergy and premarital counselors working with couples with trauma histories, as well as online resources for couples to access.
6. Daniel Gottesman (RIETS)
In a partnership between RIETS and Wurzweiler, Daniel will assess rabbis’ needs when working with trauma victims, and collaborate with Daniela Weiss-Bronstein to train rabbis/counselors to support individuals/couples with trauma histories.
7. Andrea Maxi (Wurzweiler)
Andrea will facilitate psychoeducation groups of immigrant Latino mothers to address postpartum needs, promote medical and mental health awareness and increase cross-cultural practices, as a new program for Wurzweiler’s Care Café.
8. Paul Kutner (Fish)
Paul will coordinate workshops for teachers, museum educators, parent groups and professional organizations to teach how to mitigate Holocaust distortion effectively and propose improvements in Holocaust education.
9. Neti Linzer (GPATS)
Neti will create an intellectual forum and reader for values-driven YU undergraduate students to engage in text-based discussions with peers and faculty centered around the integration of Jewish and philosophical sources on topics of applied ethics.
10. Alvin McLaughlin (Wurzweiler)
Alvin will facilitate psychoeducational workshops to advance mental health as a mechanism for improved emotional development of African American youth and their parents, extending the reach of Wurzweiler’s Care Café.
11. Jillian Rossi (Katz)
Jillian will advocate and provide accessibility to free speech and language services for children who no longer qualify for early intervention due to national change in developmental speech milestones.
12. Marc Eichenbaum (Ferkauf)
Marc will develop a resource book for Judaic studies teachers/students that weaves psychological sources and guidance on critical topics in adolescent mental health into Judaic studies curricula.
13. Bracha Teigman (Syms)
Bracha will implement IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) as a YU program and facilitate a tax subsection of Syms’ Accounting Society to train undergraduate students to provide low-income residents with free tax preparation services.
For more information, see https://www.yu.edu/sacks/scholars, or contact Dr. Shira Weiss: [email protected]
By Shira Weiss
