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Tobin Belzer, Ph.D. is an applied sociologist whose research and program evaluations have focused on Jewish identity, organizational culture, Jewish education, congregational studies, and other topics. Belzer is a Contributing Fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) at the University of Southern California, and a Research Affiliate at Stanford SPARQ. Belzer previously served as the Senior Project Director at Rosov Consulting, LLC to help foundations, philanthropists and Jewish communal organizations meet their goals, assess progress, and enhance impact. She earned her doctorate in Sociology and a joint master’s degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Brandeis University.

Dalya Perez, Ph.D. is a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist, educator, and qualitative researcher with expertise in critical race theory. Dalya is currently a Program Manager for Diversity and Inclusion in Microsoft’s Mixed Reality organization. She has worked on equity issues ranging from health disparities in Latinx communities, LGBTQ youth empowerment, and closing the graduation gap for men of color. She has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington. Her dissertation focused on critical historical consciousness for Filipinx Americans. She hails from Seattle, Washington and is the daughter of an Egyptian-Sephardic refugee mother and a Filipino immigrant father, and brings an intersectional lens to her work.

Ari Kelman, Ph.D. is the inaugural Jim Joseph Professor of Education and Jewish Studies in the Stanford University School of Education, where he also serves as an affiliate of the Jewish Studies Program, the Center for Comparative Race and Ethnicity, the American Studies Program, and as a professor of Religious Studies. Ari has co-authored a number of studies of contemporary American Jewish culture, including a few influential studies of young adult culture and life. His own research has focused on young adult Jewish leaders’ use of the internet and on learning outside of school, focusing on the ways in which people develop commitments to religious communities, ideas, and practices. Ari served as the lead researcher for the Jews of Color Initiative’s demographic study, Counting Inconsistencies.

Tory Brundage is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education Leadership at the University of Washington. His research focuses on identity development, transformative learning, and study abroad. He is passionate about experiential learning and engaging in civic dialogue around issues of multiculturalism in America. His dissertation examines identity development and intersectionality in international education. Tory’s professional experience includes college admissions, academic advising, public health education, study abroad, and diversity programming. His work and scholarship are informed by his positionality as a mixed-race individual raised in a White family across California, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Idaho before coming to Washington. 

Gabriella Silva Gorsky, Ph.D. is a research consultant who uses mixed methodologies to explore intersections of identity and social categorization, with a focus on marginal experiences. They received their degree in Educational Measurement and Statistics from the University of Washington, where their dissertation examined gender stereotypes embedded into middle school math word problems. Their recent projects have covered Mormon migration to California during the mid-19th century, healthcare utilization among transgender adults in the United States, and disability justice-focused survey research on workplace inclusion practices within a mixed-ability workforce. Gabriella, a.k.a. “Gage,” is uniquely positioned within their work as a non-binary queer Mexican Jew, born and raised in Chicago. They currently live in Seattle with their loving spouse and adorable pets.

Vincent Calvetti is a Ph.D student in the Interdisciplinary Near and Middle Eastern Studies Program at the University of Washington. His research explores the complex dynamics of conflict, compromise, and collaboration in the development, maintenance, and transformation of group identities. He obtained a Master of Arts in International Studies with a major in Comparative Religion from the University of Washington in 2017. Vincent lives in Seattle where he drinks coffee, collects Judaica, and goes for walks with his mixed-breed dachshund, Lilith Latke.

Jews of Color Initiative Aims to Have 1,000 Jews of Color Complete Survey for Unprecedented Research — eJewishPhilanthropy

Who Are America’s Jews of Color? New Study Aims to Find Out — Forward

Jews of Color looks to conduct first-ever study of Jewish experience–Jerusalem Post

Jews of Color Initiative aims to have 1,000 Jews of Color complete research survey–Arizona Jewish Post