Rachel Leiken is excited to begin working at Slifka as the Associate Jewish Chaplain. She comes to Slifka from Harvard University, where she has served for the past year as the Multifaith Engagement Fellow at Harvard’s Memorial Church. There, she worked to build connections between Harvard’s numerous faith communities and campus centers and support students while they were away from campus. Prior to that role, Rachel received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. At HDS, she focused on the intersections of religion and justice work; embodied theology; and college and university chaplaincy.

Rachel holds a BA from Brown University in Religion and Ethnic Studies, and has also worked in Brown’s Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life as the Multifaith Coordinator and Chaplain Intern. She is trained as a community organizer through JOIN for Justice and has facilitated JOIN’s online course in community organizing through a Jewish lens. Prior to pursuing her call to college/university chaplaincy, Rachel organized with members of Boston area labor unions to build worker power. She has also worked for a number of Jewish organizations including OneTable and the Inside Out Wisdom and Action Project.

Rachel is originally from Southern California. She loves coffee and word games and lives with her partner, Ana, and their puppy Addie.