Rabbi Elizabeth Zeller is originally from West Lafayette, Indiana and is a graduate of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati where she was ordained in 2009. She also holds a Masters in Hebrew Letters from HUC. She holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies and Political Science from Indiana University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Her prior congregational experience includes Temple Beth El (Tacoma, WA) and as the Associate Rabbi Educator at The Reform Temple of Forest Hills (Queens, NY) where she developed and expanded youth programs, young family engagement, and outreach. Most recently, Rabbi Zeller has been the Director of Learning and Innovation for NFTY, the Reform Youth Movement, where she has worked with teens and staff from across the country to develop and implement programmatic vision and engagement for Reform Jewish teens.
Rabbi Zeller is a product of the Reform youth movement, having spent over a decade at URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI), as a camper and then as a staff and senior staff member. For four summers, Rabbi Zeller served on faculty at URJ Eisner and Crane Lake Camps. She is a past-president of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, serving female Reform Rabbis worldwide. She also is the past-president of FAITH IN NEW YORK, an interfaith community organizing affiliate of PICO, serving the needs of the greater New York area through grassroots faith-based community organizing. She is currently in the inaugural cohort of the GenerationNow Fellowship, through the Jewish Education Project, which trains high-level teen leaders on how to successfully work to change the landscape of teen engagement.
