Deborah Waxman

Deborah Waxman
Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities; she was inaugurated as president of both on October 26, 2014
Born	West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Education	Ph.D. in American Jewish History M.A. in Hebrew Letters A.B. in Religion
Alma mater	Temple University Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Columbia College, Columbia University
Occupation	President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Years active	2014–present

Ph.D. in American Jewish History
M.A. in Hebrew Letters

Temple University
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D. is the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities. Waxman was inaugurated as the president of both on October 26, 2014. The ceremony took place at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Waxman is believed to be the first woman rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is both a congregational union and a seminary. She previously served as the vice-president for governance for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. In 2015 she was named as one of The Forward 50.

Waxman has focused her scholarly work on American Jewish history. She is a member of the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society. Her topics of research include American Jewish history, Jewish identity and peoplehood, women in American Judaism, and Mordecai Kaplan. She has published articles in academic and Jewish journals and presented at conferences.

As an undergraduate religion major at Columbia College, Waxman began her religious scholarship. She earned a Master of Hebrew Letters from and was ordained as a rabbi by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1999. She completed a Ph.D. in American Jewish History at Temple University. She also earned a certificate in Jewish Women's Studies from RRC in conjunction with Temple University.