Passionate about women’s issues, violence prevention, making change and Judaism, Anna Gerstein combines her many interests as program manager at Jewish Women International. She started two months ago after graduating from the University of Maryland, where she studied public policy and public leadership.
In college, Gerstein was involved in the Title IX advisory board and the sexual assault prevention committee. She now lives with three roommates in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I was raised Reform Jewish. I’m from New Jersey originally. I went to Hebrew school and was bat mitzvahed. The community I was raised in wasn’t super Jewish, and so I didn’t have much exposure to Judaism when I was younger. One of my family friends growing up … was Jewish, so we did a lot of celebrating [together] and that got me exposed to Judaism.
What brought you to JWI?
I went to the University of Maryland and I studied public policy there. I was always very passionate about any type of women-based issue, specifically violence prevention work, and I wanted to be part of something where I felt like I was making a difference, so I felt like JWI was a perfect match for me just because of my experience in the work. I wanted to also combine my religion and being part of an organization with many like-minded women who are passionate about women’s issues.
What are your responsibilities as program manager of JWI?
JWI has various programs for our organization where we work with different communities, and I’m basically in charge of some of those. The National Alliance is basically a very large network of individuals and organizations around the country, and each month we release a National Alliance webinar where we choose a different individual each month to talk about a subject. It’s really amazing being able to talk to different people and educate them on different issues. I’m in charge of figuring out the professionals we invite to speak to our National Alliance.
Additionally, I work with some of our community programs as well. We did a needs assessment in 2021 and found that a lot of people don’t feel supported by the Jewish community or their synagogue when it comes to domestic violence prevention and DV, so we created the Here for You community [program] that we have nationally. We work with JCCs; we also work with general communities [and] different synagogues and put them in touch with their local domestic violence support provider and create that connection between the two of them, so they’re able to refer people there and have that initial contact, which we think is really important.
We also have programs called ReStart and Life$avings because part of domestic violence abuse is that financial aspect, financial abuse, so it’s teaching people who work as support systems for people who’ve experienced DV, teaching how to reconnect and revisit that relationship with finances. So we have various programs, those are just a few programs that we have at JWI where we are working with survivors and people who work with survivors every day, which is really great.
Why are women’s issues important to you?
Women’s issues are important to me specifically because as a woman myself, being exposed to so many issues and realizing how much is going on in the world currently, it’s important to address issues like that. A lot of these issues, especially prevention work, is something that is preventable, something that we can change and make a difference on. I think that’s something that really resonated with me.
Also, being a woman myself and experiencing issues, and surrounding myself with women who’ve also experienced issues like that, making a difference and helping women who have experienced similar things to me is something that’s really, really rewarding and means a lot to me. [I love] having a career where I feel like I’m taking that next step every day and working with others who want to make a difference, and working with communities where I can help support them.
What do you like about D.C.’s Jewish community?
I like how there are a lot of individuals who come from different experiences, and I think that’s so enriching and incredible, that people come from different places and experience different things, and that we’re all able to practice Judaism and be able to experience that all together.
Outside of work, how do you spend your free time?
I go to the gym – it’s a great stress reliever for me. I love hanging out with my friends; I make jewelry all the time. I explore the city and find new places and ways I can get more involved. It’s really nice; the city is huge with a lot of opportunities as a young professional.
