Gail Twersky Reimer
A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Reimer began her professional career as a faculty member of Wellesley College shortly after receiving her Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Rutgers University. While at Wellesley she was awarded fellowships from the American Association of University Women and the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College, and received the prestigious Pinanski Prize for excellence in teaching.
From 1988 to 1995, Dr. Reimer was Associate Director of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (MFH), the state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In the early 1990’s, Reimer conceived and co-edited two pathbreaking anthologies of Jewish women’s writings — Reading Ruth: Women Reclaim a Sacred Story and Beginning Anew: A Woman’s Companion to the High Holy Days. This work led to the founding of the Jewish Women’s Archive in 1995, where Reimer served as Executive Director until 2014.
During her tenure, the Jewish Women’s Archive has become a leading advocate for and center of education in Jewish women’s history, ensuring that we remember the women who came before us, honor the women among us, and inspire those who will follow us. JWA emphasizes the power of new technologies to transform both our practice and knowledge of history, and is nationally recognized as a unique and vital contributor to a more expansive and inclusive vision of Jewish life, past, present and future. The Jewish Women’s Archive’s award-winning website, jwa.org, has the most extensive collection of material on American Jewish women on the web.
Dr. Reimer was Executive Producer of the film Making Trouble and produced and directed the film In the Footsteps of Regina Jonas.
Dr. Reimer lives in Boston with her husband. They have two daughters.