Rabbi Tamara R. Cohen, RRC ‘14, has received a prestigious 2023 Covenant Award, which honors groundbreaking and influential Jewish educators.
According to the Covenant Foundation’s announcement, this year’s recipients are “meeting a complex moment in Jewish communal history with a powerful blend of courage, commitment, and compassion.”
Cohen is chief program officer at Moving Traditions, an organization serving youth, creating programs at the intersection of gender, wellbeing and Judaism.
Cohen will receive $50,000, and Moving Traditions will receive $10,000. According to the announcement, these monetary awards represent an “ongoing and steadfast commitment on the part of the Foundation to elevate the work of Jewish educators and highlight their invaluable contributions to the community and field.”
At Moving Traditions, Cohen oversees programmatic and educational initiatives. She heads national strategy for partnership and growth, and spearheads organization-wide conversations and commitments around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Rabbi Cohen has made significant contributions to the national field of Jewish teen education and engagement through envisioning, designing, and guiding her educational team to implement curriculum for three programs that target underserved populations,” the announcement stated. “Rabbi Cohen also teaches, leads workshops, develops innovative curricula, and works closely with partner organizations on key issues facing teens today.”
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism, called the award a “well-deserved recognition for a tremendously deserving rabbi and educator. Rabbi Tamara Cohen powerfully models the impact Reconstructionist rabbis are making in and on the world. May this recognition and support further advance ways in which Jewish wisdom can help young people navigate life’s many questions and challenges.”
