Melton
American Sign Language - Melton Learning in ASL - Jewish Deaf Resource Center
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PO Box 318 Hartsdale, NY 10530
www.www.jdrc.org
@Jewish Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Resource Center
Melton in ASL is partially funded by the Jewish Deaf Resource Center's operating grant from UJA Federation of New York.
Director of Melton in ASL Pilot
Susan Cohen is the Jewish Deaf Resource Center's third president. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Ms. Cohen was born Deaf to hearing parents and raised in a Conservative Jewish household. Her siblings had the bar and bat mitzvahs that she did not have because such opportunities were not available to her as a Deaf person. Inequities such as these inspired her passion to increase communication access in the wider Jewish community. Ms. Cohen was elected president of JDRC in February 2021. She believes that the JDRC has given her a platform to forge partnerships with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and the wider Jewish community to increase communication access through education and advocacy. Ms. Cohen has been integral in the collaborative initiative of a national ASL Shabbat Coalition which was founded in April 2020 shortly after the onset of the pandemic, when four Jewish Deaf organizations created an online ASL spiritual community.
JDRC Melton Assistant Director
Amanda Richter grew up in a Reform Jewish home on Long Island, NY. Temple Judeah and Youth Group were an important aspect of her upbringing. She has fond memories of Hebrew School, making her Bat Mitzvah, and continuing her Jewish education into her teen years. After graduating Northeastern University in Boston, MA, Amanda began her career in American Sign Language Interpreting in Massachusetts. Her experience spans a variety of settings, including medical, mental health, educational, and social services. She also served on several professional boards and committees focused on providing continuing education to interpreters, enhancing interpreter education, and improving accessibility for Deaf Communities. She holds a National Interpreter Certification (NIC) and an Educational Interpreter certification (Ed: K-12), and gives back to the community by mentoring interpreting students and recent graduates. She also brings non-profit work experience to her role at JDRC. In her most recent role, Amanda works with organizations serving Deaf survivors of crime to improve accessibility in their services, identify local interpreting resources, and develop language access plans tailored to Deaf survivors of crime. Amanda is passionate about interpreting, allyship with the Deaf community, and giving back to the communities she’s lucky to be a part of. She currently resides in Florida with her husband, their three children, and their dog Milo.
Faculty of Melton in ASL Pilot
A native of Los Angeles, California, Rabbi Rebecca L. Dubowe was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and has served several synagogues in different cities, including Thousand Oaks, CA, Hollywood, CA, and New Brunswick, NJ. Currently, she is the rabbi for Moses Montefiore Congregation in Bloomington, IL. Since her arrival during the summer of 2015, Rabbi Dubowe has played an active role as the spokesperson on behalf of the small but vibrant Jewish community in Bloomington. She serves as the co-chair of the Faith and Outreach committee associated with the Not In Our Town organization, a grassroots movement focused on stopping hate, addressing bullying, and building safe, inclusive communities for all. In addition, Rabbi Dubowe co-founded the McLean County Interfaith Alliance, which promotes interfaith dialogue and fellowship within the greater Bloomington Normal faith communities. In 2016, Rabbi Dubowe was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Delaware Valley University, PA, and in 2018, she received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. An avid learner of theology, Rabbi Dubowe’s most recent essay was included in Because My Soul Longs for You: Integrating Theology into our Lives, a book recently published by CCAR Press (Central Conference of American Rabbis). Besides serving the rabbinate full-time, Rabbi Dubowe also offers her time to the greater Jewish Deaf Community, including teaching the first-ever Introduction to Judaism in ASL in partnership with the Union of Reform Judaism, which she is currently teaching. This community has a special place in Rabbi Dubowe’s life as she is the first female Deaf rabbi ordained in the world. Rabbi Dubowe has spoken at numerous synagogues throughout the country, written various articles, and led webinars on the importance of inclusion within the Jewish community.Contact Details