Sarah Chandler
Sarah Shamirah Chandler is the CCO (Chief Compassion Officer) and team leader at the Jewish Initiative for Animals, where she works to support Jewish institutions in establishing meaningful food policies rooted in Jewish ethics and animal welfare. Kohenet Shamirah was ordained as a Kohenet in 2015. She is a Jewish experiential educator, community activist, and earth-based spiritual leader. She recently served as the Director of Earth Based Spiritual Practice for Hazon’s Adamah Farm, responsible for Food, Farm, and Forest Jewish Educational Programming. Sarah holds an M.A. in Jewish Education and an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary, as well as a certificate in Non-Profit Management and Jewish Communal Leadership from Columbia University. She teaches, writes, and consults on a national level on issues related to Judaism, earth-based spiritual practice, the environment, mindfulness, food values, and farming. In the words of Rabbi Sheila Weinberg, "Sarah combines great knowledge and passion with the skill, creativity, and sensitivity of a gifted educator. Sarah loves life and imparts a spirit of adventure, engagement, and fun to everything she does. She was my student at the Jewish Mindfulness Teacher Training, and I continually marveled at her ability to articulate the relationship between the natural world, our minds and spirits, and Jewish traditional texts and teachings. Sarah is an activist in the sense of her willingness to see things in new ways and to risk acting to make her dreams into realities."