Noa Kushner, Founding Rabbi

Rabbi Noa Kushner founded The Kitchen in 2011 in response to friends who were looking for an informal, transformative shabbat experience that they couldn’t find. Along the way, she crashed head first into what has now been well documented as a generational trend away from many established religious institutions. The Kitchen quickly grew from a local shabbat experiment into an active doorway for San Francisco’s Gen X and Millenials looking for serious Jewish life. Through an emphasis on first-hand experience and “doing jewish” over pedigree, The Kitchen has become an international resource, growing to serve thousands of modern families annually in seven years. In working with IDEO and by emphasizing design + communications, The Kitchen has also changed the ways religion is perceived and integrated into daily life.

After graduating with a degree in Religious Studies at Brown, Kushner was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1998. She then served as a Hillel Rabbi for both Sarah Lawrence College and Stanford University.

The Kitchen has been featured internationally in Ha’aretz, Tablet, The Forward, and Medium. Kushner has been profiled in SF Magazine’s Power Issue and the final Newsweek / Daily Beast: Rabbis to Watch list. Her written work appears in many publications including, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, and the Prayers of Awe series.

Noa is married to Michael Lezak, the Rabbi at GLIDE. Together they have three daughters: Zella, Bluma and Minna.

To get in touch with Rabbi Noa please email Lily Atkinson at lily@thekitchensf.org

Jessica Kate Meyer, Rabbi / Chazzan

Jessica Kate Meyer has served for the past 4 years as a rabbi of Romemu in New York City.  She was ordained by Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and strives to build community through prayerful music, and music through prayerful community. At Hebrew College and in Jerusalem, Jessica studied Sacred Jewish music with rabbis and paytanim from Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions, and performed as a vocalist with ensembles in New York, Boston, and Jerusalem.  Before ordination, Jessica worked for Encounter in Jerusalem, Temple Beth Zion and Temple Ahavat Achim in Massachusetts, and Havurat Tel Aviv in...Tel Aviv. After graduating from Wellesley College with a degree in Middle Eastern Studies, Jessica pursued graduate theater training in London, and appeared in many film, theater, and television projects in Europe and the United States: most notably, as a principal role in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist. Jessica is beyond thrilled to join the clergy team, and to serve The Kitchen community!

Email Jessica. 

Katie Quinn, Chief Operating Officer

Katie grew up in Victoria, British Columbia and earned a B.A. in history from the University of Victoria and a dual M.A. in Jewish Professional Leadership and Near Eastern Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. Katie has worked in the San Francisco Jewish community since 2011, most recently as the Associate Director at Camp Tawonga.  During her seven years at Camp Tawonga, Katie lead summer staff hiring and training, oversaw food service operations including managing the dietary needs of 500 people daily and launched new initiatives with innovation and care. Katie started the Teen Leadership Institute and launched Tawonga’s first Young Alumni Board and Teen Winter Retreat. Through her work in Jewish camping, Katie has presented nationally on a wide range of topics including LGBTQ inclusion, gender and sexuality, young adult programming and staff development. Prior to her role at Tawonga, Katie worked for other Jewish Organizations across the United States and in Canada; including The Vancouver Hillel Foundation and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston.

Katie is ecstatic to be part of The Kitchen community. When not working, Katie can be found enjoying San Francisco with her family, exploring the outdoors, skiing and pursuing her love of baking.

Email Katie.

Joel Abramovitz, Senior Family Educator

A long-time Kitchen member, Joel has served as Judaic Studies Principal and the Middle School Principal at the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School on the north Peninsula for the past 3 years; prior to that, Joel taught middle school Judaic Studies. Joel loves to teach and learn Bible, analyze Jewish comedy, and think about how his work as a Jew and Jewish educator intersects with social change. He is also deeply involved in the local organizing work of Bend the Arc, focusing on criminal justice reform. Joel is a graduate of the DeLeT (Day School Leadership through Teaching) Program at Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, and received his Master’s degree in Jewish Education from HUC-LA. Despite receiving much of his education in Southern California, Joel is a proud third-generation Bay Area native and lives in Berkeley. When not working, Joel can be found in his kitchen, baking or studying cookbooks as if they were sacred texts.  

Email Joel. 

Danielle Beiser, Director of Operations

Danielle was born and raised in the Bay Area and earned her B.A in International Studies from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. After finishing her undergraduate work, she received her M.A in International Relations from The American College of the Mediterranean in Aix-en-Provence, France. Since, she has focused her work in business operations previously at Silicon Valley Venture Firm, Portfolia. At Portfolia, Danielle managed investment operations, CRM database and the architecture of the investing member experience. Through this role, Danielle has had exposure to the many facets of how to structure and operationalize a growing organization. Danielle’s connection to the Jewish community is primarily through Camp Tawonga. She first began as a camper in 2000, and was on staff for six summers as a counselor, Assistant Unit Head, Unit Head and Program Director. Danielle is thrilled to join the Kitchen community and contribute her operational skills to the team.

Email Danielle.

Reed Kolber, Community Organizer / Peer Connector

Reed is a hospice chaplain, educator, and bodyworker. They received their Bachelors of Arts from Brandeis University in Women's and Gender Studies. Reed studied at Pardes in Jerusalem in the Year Fellowship Program and then for two years at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. They completed their chaplaincy residency at St. Mary's Medical Center and have been working in home hospice ever since. Reed is completing a Masters in Judaic Studies at the Academy of Jewish Religion of California with an emphasis on LGBTQI+ Youth Empowerment.  Reed is a certified massage therapist, yoga teacher and has had a bodywork, spiritual counseling, and life cycle facilitation private practice for the past seven years. Reed often weaves music into their work whether it is in the classroom, at a patient's bedside, or at ritual gatherings. They are also a passionate educator with over ten years of experience across Jewish movements, interfaith settings, and various arenas of study. Reed is thrilled to join the Kitchen team as a community organizer and peer connector!

Email Reed.

Tarlan Rabizadeh, JEN Rabbinic Fellow

Tarlan was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, in the Persian Jewish community affectionately known as "Tehrangeles." In 2008, she graduated from Boston University with a bachelorʼs degree in Public Policy and Education, with a minor in Hebrew. After college, Tarlan worked as an interior designer in Los Angeles. In 2010, she began her career as a Jewish professional by attending the HUC-JIR Rhea Hirsch School of Education in Los Angeles, graduating with a masterʼs degree in Jewish Education in 2013. For the next year, she served as Assistant Director and then shortly after as the Interim Director of the Religious School at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village, CA. During her years in rabbinical school, Tarlan has fulfilled internships for Temple Beth Am in Monessen, PA, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, B'nai Israel Synagogue in High Point, NC, and the HUC-JIR National Office of Recruitment and Admissions. Tarlan is thrilled to contribute her artistic sensibility towards creating meaningful Jewish experiences at The Kitchen.

Email Tarlan. 

Lily Atkinson, Events & Operations Associate, Administrative Assistant

Lily was born and raised in San Francisco. She recently received a B.A. in geochemistry from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where she also studied harp performance. Since graduating, Lily has worked at Black Canyon National Park in Colorado and lived in India for two months, studying agriculture and doing yoga. Lily has worked at Camp Tawonga for several summers, where she enjoyed connecting to the Jewish community through nature, music, and art. She is excited to join The Kitchen and become involved in the Jewish community in San Francisco!

Email Lily. 

Josh Levine, Branding Partner

Josh Levine is an educator, designer, and author, but above all, he is on a mission to help organizations design a culture advantage. Even though his day job is Principal of Great Mondays, a 10-year-old culture design company, Josh is most known as Executive Director and Co-Founder of the international non-profit Culture LabX. His new book Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love is available on amazon. You can find him around the web @akajoshlevine.