Deborah Kahn-Harris
Deborah Kahn-Harris’s passion for education has steered her career. After her ordination by Leo Baeck College, Kahn-Harris served as the National Student Chaplain for the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain (now known as Reform Judaism) until a new department was built around her work and she was appointed Director of Student and Young Adult Work on the Senior Management Team of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain. She then taught in Jerusalem for a year and served as assistant rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne, Australia. After her return to the UK, Kahn-Harris served on the rabbinic team at Sha’arei Tsedek North London Reform Synagogue, taught at Leo Baeck College, and served as the Teaching Fellow in Jewish Studies at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She completed her PhD in Bible at the University of Sheffield in 2011 and, since September of that year, has been principal of Leo Baeck College (LBC), the only progressive rabbinic seminary in the UK. She continues to teach and publish in addition to her other responsibilities running LBC. She currently sits on the executive boards of both the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the European Union for Progressive Judaism.