The woman who helped build a Bay Area presence for the Progressive Jewish Alliance will be “stepping sideways” beginning Monday, March 1.
Rachel Biale, who grew PJA into a viable part of the Bay Area social justice community, will shift gears from regional director to strategic adviser after four years at the helm of the activist organization.
“When I came to PJA, I took on the task of putting PJA on the map in the Jewish community,” Biale said.
At the nonprofit’s annual fundraising dinner in October, Biale looked out at a sold-out crowd of 300-plus people and knew she had accomplished what she set out to do.
“Now that we’re on the map, I really felt like PJA needed a new leader who more clearly embodies PJA’s profile as the organization that is engaging the next generation of Jewish activists,” Biale said.
Biale will still serve in a consulting role, and will occasionally speak at PJA events. The native Israeli also hopes to spend time in Israel with relatives.
Biale’s replacement — for the time being — will be Susan Lubeck, a lawyer, organizational development consultant and active member of San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav. She will begin her role as the transitional regional director on Monday, March 1.
“My role is not to just hold down the fort while we search for a permanent director,” Lubeck said. “PJA made a decision to get someone who could really anchor the Bay Area office and support the staff and keep the work going. The plan is to have me do that for a period of months.”
Lubeck first got involved in economic justice efforts in college, and that inspired her to go to law school. She has spent the past 10 years working as an independent consultant to nonprofits and social justice groups, helping them make sustainable internal changes and expand their community outreach efforts.
She was a driving force behind Sha’ar Zahav’s involvement in the San Francisco Organizing Project, encouraging the congregation to be the first synagogue to get on board.
“There’s incredible power in being able to draw on both the prophetic voice and spiritual aspect of our religious tradition,” she said. “Judaism is a way to light a fire under us, and can also sustain us and nurture us as we do social justice work.”
Her initial responsibilities will be to support the PJA working group in its new campaigns, reach out to the Peninsula PJA chapter, continue the hotel workers campaign, help grow PJA’s food justice and immigration rights efforts and help sustain PJA’s Jeremiah Fellowship and the inaugural New Ground Fellowship, which brings together young adult Jews and Muslims.
Rabbi Dorothy Richman of Berkeley Hillel is the chair of the Bay Area PJA regional council. Though not directly involved in hiring Lubeck, Richman and other lay leaders gave their input during the search for an interim regional director.
“The organization is going through a lot of transition right now, and we felt that Susan was the right choice to help us navigate the transition from strength to strength,” Richman said. “Susan comes to us with so much experience and expertise. The combination of her professional expertise and commitment to social justice made her a perfect choice.”