Rena Crawford

Rena Crawford is the Social Justice Manager at WRJ. Rena is responsible for expanding WRJ’s commitment to improving and repairing our world. She holds relationships with coalitions, stakeholders, and WRJ members involved on the local and state level; helps advance WRJ’s high priority issues through a variety of actions; and represents WRJ in the larger field of social justice. Rena holds a Masters of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management from HUC’s Zelikow School. She and her husband live in Vermont, where she loves frequenting farmers markets, eating local delicacies like cheese and maple syrup, reading new fiction releases, doing yoga, and trying new recipes.

A figure-shaped bookend pushing a stack of book adjacent to a laptop with Program on its screen.

Social Justice

Continuing to Educate and Empower People Together

Rena Crawford

December 1, 2023

As we head toward the end of the calendar year, there are many programs to attend, lots of holidays to prepare for, and plenty of important work to contribute to.

Four women standing together against a wooden wall

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Connections and Creations: Finding Meaning in the Berkshires

Rena Crawford

August 4, 2023

I thought that attending Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in the Berkshires would be an incredibly inspirational, gratifying, and uniquely Jewish few days of learning — don’t get me wrong, it was!

Sh'mot

Parashat Sh’mot

Rena Crawford

January 13, 2023

While we may not be able to get verbal reassurance from God like Moses did, we carry with us an inspiring and reassuring history of strong, capable Jewish women—of which we are also a part. Success may not come easily or be guaranteed, but by taking on more responsibility, accepting positions of leadership, and carrying on despite the challenges ahead, we will grow into ourselves, expand the knowledge and skills we already have, and learn from any potential failure. This year, let’s remember that we are up to the task; and not only are we up to it, but we are also incredibly capable of tackling the unknown.