Amy Rubin
Amy Rubin believes that she must make the world a better place because she’s Jewish – one of the principal reasons for her work. Her work on domestic abuse within the Jewish community in Chicago is one she never knew she would be so passionate about. After a series of jobs out of college, Amy Rubin applied to be the assistant to the director of B’nai B’rith Women’s Great Lakes region Regional Director. Amy joined a committee focused on domestic abuse in the Jewish community, where she rose from the regional board to the national board, eventually becoming the national program chair. Additionally, Rubin launched Jewish Women International (JWI), which focused on domestic abuse and healthy relationships in the Jewish community. She became Director of JCares (Jewish Community Abuse Resources, Education and Solution), a coalition of Jewish and secular organizations, agencies, rabbis, and advocates that support initiatives and policies to prevent, address, and respond to abuse in the Jewish community. Rubin lives in Morton Grove, Illinois, and still works for JCares. She is married and has two children. Rubin belongs to a Reform synagogue, and her activism continues to influence Chicago’s Jewish community.
Rubin shares her family history and challenging childhood in Chicago. Growing up in a predominantly Jewish area, she was unable to look critically at her secular Jewish upbringing. Although high school was difficult, she blossomed at Northern Illinois University, growing more understanding of her personal identity both as a Jew and as a feminist. After a series of jobs out of college, Amy Rubin applied to be the assistant to the director of B’nai B’rith Women’s Great Lakes region Regional Director, excited that it was both a Jewish and women’s organization. Shortly after this, she joined a committee focused on domestic abuse in the Jewish community, where she rose in the ranks from the regional board to the national board, where she became the national program chair and enacted the Jewish Women International (JWI), which focused specifically on domestic abuse and healthy relationships in the Jewish community. Amy Rubin’s experience leading committees around the topic of domestic abuse in the Jewish community led her to the position of Director of JCares, and she discusses her experience with the nonprofit.
