For the last 28 years, Elaine Leeder has been working in prisons. She has seen that there is redemption, remorse, and contrition behind the walls, finding that people can be transformed even in the most oppressive of circumstances. She will discuss the Jewish values of Teshuvah, Chesed, and Tikkun Olam that deeply inform her work. Her presentation will focus on real situations that will inspire and touch you in profound ways.

Elaine Leeder is a Professor Emerita of Sociology and the Dean Emerita of the School of Social Sciences at Sonoma State University. She has 48 years of distinguished accomplishments and experience in academia and public service. She is a co-founder of the Jewish Studies program and the producer of the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove and the Anne Frank tree installation at Sonoma State University. Leeder has an MSW from Yeshiva University, an MPH from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD from Cornell University and has published six books and numerous articles.

Free for NCJW/JCC Members; $15 Guest

This talk is co-sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and Society.