Rabbi Susan Talve to speak at Brown School Recognition Ceremony

Rabbi Susan Talve, founding Rabbi of Central Reform Congregation, has been selected to speak at the Brown School’s 2016 Recognition Ceremony​, Thursday, May 19. The ceremony will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Field House in the Athletics Complex.

As a community organizer, Rabbi Talve has combatted the issues of poverty, racism and health. She engaged with African-American and Muslim congregations and the LGBTQ community with the goal of promoting inclusivity.

Following the shooting of Michael Brown, Rabbi Talve was a prominent advocate for community change. She is also a founding member and president of the advocacy organization, Missouri Health Care for All, which works to make health care accessible to the entire state.

“Rabbi Talve is committed to the growth, development, and empowerment of people,” said Edward F. Lawlor, dean and William E. Gordon Professor at the Brown School. “She is a passionate advocate, inspiring leader, and voice for the role of education, health, and social services in processes of community change. Her interests and leadership map perfectly to the breadth and values of our School. I am excited to hear her remarks at our ceremony.”

Rabbi Talve was ordained by Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1981, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Hebrew Letters and a Doctor of Divinity.  She was honored with the college’s Stephen Levinson Award for Community Service after founding the Jewish Early Learning Cooperative, Ohio’s first licensed infant childcare program in the workplace.

She was the first non-Christian to receive an honorary Doctorate from Eden Theological Seminary in 2011 for a career of visionary and bold leadership and supporting interfaith relations in the St. Louis community. She also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Washington University in 2015, and this year was invited by President Obama to speak at the White House.