Hi JWA! I'm so glad you're focusing on LGBT activism this month. I'd like to highlight the work that Jewish Mosaic accomplished on behalf of LGBT inclusion in Jewish communities.

In 2002, I co-edited Queer Jews (with David Shneer) which was published by Routledge. It's still in print 10 years later, and has been adopted in numerous university courses on the sociology of American Jewish life.

The national book tour for Queer Jews prompted me to co-found Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity in 2002 (along with David Shneer and Gregg Drinkwater). I was proud to serve as Jewish Mosaic's director of research until the organization merged with Keshet in 2010.

Jewish Mosaic was the first national research and policy org devoted to creating a more inclusive Jewish world. We conducted comprehensive needs assessments of LGBT Jews for Federations in New York, San Francisco, and Colorado, and we influenced policy makers to devote staff and financial resources to LGBT programming in those cities. Jewish Mosaic participated in a collaborative study of LGBT inclusion in synagogue life across all denominations. We organized conferences for Jewish educators and professional staff, and convened national meetings on how to create safe, LGBT-inclusive Jewish communities and build a visible, national movement for LGBT equality in Jewish life. Jewish Mosaic also created the first comprehensive website of LGBT Jewish resources, documents, curricula, etc. on a range of topics.

Hope that's helpful. I'm really proud of what Jewish Mosaic accomplished in the 8 short years of its existence.

All the best, -Caryn Aviv

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