Guidelines

In response to the many requests that the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) receives for qualified speakers, we present the COEJL Guide to Speakers on Judaism and Ecology. This guide contains a listing of over 70 rabbis, scientists, educators, authors, professors, researchers, and environmental organizers who are knowledgeable in their respective fields. We hope you find this a useful resource for planning a Jewish environmental program.

Planning a Jewish environmental program or event:

When planning an event for your organization or community, you might consider the following:

• Relate your program to a Jewish holiday, such as Sukkot, Tu B’Shvat, or Hanukkah. These are times when there are organic connections between Jewish life and the earth and when people are seeking to connect with the Jewish community.
• Create a Jewish way to observe Earth Day (April 22nd).
• Include not only a Jewish perspective but also involve local scientists and/or leaders of local environmental organizations in your program.
• Organize a program that is co-sponsored by a variety of different Jewish and/or environmental organizations.
• Host an interfaith environmental event (particularly good for Earth Day).
• If there is a COEJL regional affiliate in your area, contact them for assistance in developing a program.
• If appropriate, include an opportunity for action in your program—such as letter-writing, cleaning up a sensitive habitat, or planting trees.

Finally, as Mitch Thomashow teaches, environmental educators are both “conveyors of wonder and harbingers of doom.” With some creativity, it is possible to design an event that includes both joyous celebration of the wonder of creation as well a strong message about the urgency to take action to address the environmental crisis.

Identifying potential speakers for your event:

Speakers have identified the topics on which they feel qualified to speak and the venues in which they feel comfortable speaking. Use our database to locate speakers by name or location. Topic and venue information is included in each listing at the bottom.

After determining the kind of event you would like to organize, i.e. a synagogue scholar-in-residence program or an outdoor education program for youth, use the listings to find out who can speak on which kinds of topics for the type of program you are organizing.

Making arrangements with a speaker:

All arrangements for speaking engagements need to be made directly with prospective speakers. Please use the contact information provided. COEJL cannot make arrangements for you. We recommend that you send a letter or email indicating what you would like the prospective speaker to do—as specifically as possible. Briefly interview a few prospective speakers to find the right presenter for your event. And feel free to ask speakers for references from previous engagements. COEJL does not guarantee the quality of the speakers in this list, but it has been compiled based on recommendations from the Jewish environmental community.

We wish you much success in your efforts to organize creative and effective Jewish environmental programs!

[All listed speakers act independently of COEJL. COEJL assumes no responsibility for the quality or content of the speaker.]