Sarah Groustra is a Massachusetts-born, Brooklyn-based writer and theatermaker. Her menstrual advocacy work has been profiled by Teen Vogue, the Boston Globe, ATTN, and NPR. Her writing has appeared on the JWA blog and in Lilith magazine. She is a proud alumna of the Rising Voices Fellowship (2015–2016) and Kenyon College. Sarah's plays have been produced in New York City, California, and beyond. You can read more at sarahgroustra.com. 

Abby Richmond (she/her) has worn several hats at JWA: a '15-'16 Rising Voices Fellow, Communications Intern, and most recently, Assistant Editor for RVF. A recent graduate of Columbia University, Abby currently works as a middle school English teacher in New York City. In her spare time, Abby runs a Brooklyn-based Jewish women's book club, leads creative writing courses, and hangs out with her cat.

Ariela Basson is a senior at Needham High School in Needham, MA. She is passionate about journalism, Judaism, feminism, and fashion. She writes for her school's newspaper; is a member of her school's very first feminist club, Girls Achieving Leadership and Service; and is a Vice President of her temple's youth group board. She also enjoys taking art classes at school and skiing on her school’s ski team. Ariela aspires to someday incorporate her feminist principles and love for writing into a career in the fashion industry.

Rana Bickel is a coffee-addicted senior at CESJDS, a pluralistic school in Maryland. Her senior jersey says Rana The Riveter. When she isn't busy procrastinating, Rana enjoys acting, reading, keeping up with the news, learning Talmud, and writing. When she grows up, Rana wants to be a Maharat and go into social justice.

Eliana Gayle-Schneider is a junior at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan, with a love of all things literary and musical. Her passion for writing includes poetry as well as playwriting, creating her own dramatic scripts, and working with budding young writers. Eliana spends much of her time singing with the Heschel Harmonizers, a leading Jewish high school a cappella group, and performing in school plays. She has also been a member of a traveling troupe of "Sosua, Dare to Dance Together," a Jewish-Dominican teen production exploring issues of discrimination and identity. Eliana is an activist at heart, and looks forward to adding her own voice to the Rising Voices Blog.

Caroline Kubzansky is a senior at Washington DC’s Edmund Burke School who is passionate about using the written word to create social change. She is thrilled to be a part of the JWA community and help write “the first draft of history.” On the rare occasion that she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her journal, Caroline loves being outside, editing her school newspaper, and discussing books with her friends and teachers. She will be a first-year at the University of Chicago in the fall.

Hani Fish-Bieler is a junior at SAR High School in Riverdale, New York. She loves studying History and Hebrew, and is an active participant in her school’s Drama Society. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and commuting. Hani is incredibly excited to be a part of the Rising Voices Fellowship in the coming year.

Rachel King is JWA’s Director of Marketing and Communications. She has been a communications and fundraising professional in Greater Boston for many years, working for a wide range of cultural and educational institutions. She is honored to apply her interest in history, women’s studies, and Judaism to promoting JWA’s innovative work on- and offline.

Sarah Barasch-Hagans comes from a long line of Alabama Jews, but was raised in St. Louis and is proud to call it home. Before moving to Philadelphia to begin her studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Sarah lived in New Orleans, where she was a founding member of Jews Pursuing Justice. Sarah is an intern at Ritualwell and the rabbinic intern for T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call to Human Rights on their campaign to end mass incarceration. She also works as an adult educator and Bat Mitzvah tutor at Kol Tzedek Synagogue in West Philadelphia. Sarah is married to Graie Barasch-Hagans, an education justice activist.

Leiah Moser found her way to Judaism after a year spent reading Jewish books in her off-hours whilst teaching English in Japan. The years since then have been an ongoing process of immersing herself ever more deeply in the texts and traditions of her adopted people, a process which ultimately led to her becoming a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. When she’s not busy doing rabbi stuff, she is generally writing or painting. Her work can be found on her blog, Dag Gadol, as well as in the upcoming anthology Faithfully Feminist.