Who We Are
JCUA is a community of changemakers working to transform Chicago and Illinois into a home for all of us. We harness our values, traditions, and experiences as Jews to organize for systemic change and work to ensure that everyone in our region has the safety, dignity, and resources they need to flourish.
We do this by:
Developing powerful leaders to shape the future of our city and state
Mobilizing our community to take action for racial and economic justice
Building a world free of racism, antisemitism, and white supremacy
Our Work
JCUA brings together the Jewish community to pursue justice in partnership with our neighbors across Chicago and Illinois. Rooted in Jewish values, traditions, and experiences, we organize for systemic change and ensure that everyone in our region has the safety, dignity, and resources they need to flourish.
We support the growth of powerful leaders.
JCUA provides training, mentorship, and political education to our 2,000 members who become powerful social justice leaders.
We build a multiracial, intergenerational Jewish community
JCUA celebrates and sustains the diversity within our Jewish community. We bring together Jews of Color in our Kol Or Caucus and young Jews in our Youth Caucuses.
We organize for transformative change
JCUA mobilizes Jewish individuals and institutions to participate in campaigns that address inequitable and unjust systems of power and resource distribution.
We strengthen neighborhoods across Chicago
Through our zero-interest loan program, JCUA funds affordable housing and economic development projects in neighborhoods across the city.
We build the world as it should be
JCUA confronts the growing threats of racial injustice, antisemitism, and white supremacy, and build a future where all of us are safe.
Our People
JCUA’s power comes from our people. We are a multiracial, multigenerational community of activists, educators, clergy, artists, parents, children, and neighbors from across Chicago and Illinois — sharing a common purpose and vision for our region. As a member-driven organization, JCUA's nearly 2,000 members are advocates and coalition partners working to address the root causes of disparity and oppression in Chicago. We mobilize our members to take action in partnership with community organizations in order to create a more just and equitable city.
JCUA's Board of Directors
President — Karyn Bass Ehler
Vice President — Sara Cantor
Treasurer — Rich Amend
Secretary — Cydney Wallace
Immediate Past President — Rabbi Fred Reeves
Founder — Rabbi Robert J. Marx (z"l)*
Directors
Daniel Epstein
David Feinberg
Sonje Hawkins
Karen Jacobs
David Levinson
Benetta Mansfield
Jessica Nepomiachi
Matthew Owens
Rabbi Steven Philp
Jackie Rassner
Gregory Rothman
Steve Rothschild
Randi Stern
Jeff Zaluda*
Emeritus Board
Kay Berkson
Rabbi Capers Funnye*
David Graham
Sidney Hollander*
Steve Keen*
Peggy Slater*
Nikki Stein*
*Past President
JCUA Staff
Judy Levey | Executive Director | judy@jcua.org
Marla Bramble | Associate Director and Director of Organizing | marla@jcua.org
Brian Gladstein | Director of Development & Advancement | brian@jcua.org
Jackie Baldwin | Director of Antiracism & Equity | jackie@jcua.org
Jonathan Elbaz | Director of Communications & Engagement | jonathan@jcua.org
Maetal Gerson | Field Organizer | maetal@jcua.org
Joe Grant | Community Organizer | joe@jcua.org
Jonah Karsh | Avodah Organizer | jonah@jcua.org
Becca Lubow | Community Organizer | becca@jcua.org
Julie Mansfield | Development Manager | julie@jcua.org
Mauricio Román | Database Manager | mauricio@jcua.org
Jimmy Rothschild | Community Organizer | jimmy@jcua.org
Anna Rubin | Political Director | anna@jcua.org
Rose Shapiro | Community Development Manager | roseshapiro@jcua.org
asia smith | Community Organizer | asia@jcua.org
Hannah Sugarman | Communications Associate | hannah@jcua.org
Mara Wolkoff | Manager of Youth Engagement | mara@jcua.org
