About Us

P2310761TP-rawdenoise-remove

Members of SOJOURN's Board, Staff, and Advisory Council

SOJOURN was founded in 2001 as The Rainbow Center. Supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, it was a central point to promote change and inclusion for LGBTQ+ Jews and people of all faiths throughout metro Atlanta. As the country’s social and political attitudes evolved, The Rainbow Center experienced enormous growth.

In 2013, the Rainbow Center was renamed SOJOURN: the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity. We think of our work as a "sojourn," a temporary stay, and we are home on the journey to full inclusion.

In 2015, SOJOURN was honored as the Grand Marshal at the Atlanta Pride Parade, and was a recipient of the Philip Rush Community Builder Award from Georgia Equality.

SOJOURN remains committed to growing and expanding educational programming, outreach, and advocacy through the South, both in the Jewish and general communities. Our website and social media continue to be a destination for support and resources for LGBTQ people and their families. We have reached over 20,000 people since our inception and have organized the Jewish community at Pride to increase solidarity, partnerships, and inclusion.

Rebecca Stapel-Wax (she/her) has worked with non-profits throughout her career.  In 2004 Rebecca became the director of The Rainbow Center, now the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity (SOJOURN).

Rebecca, along with many volunteers, has trained thousands of youth, educators, parents, clergy, and advocates to build inclusive communities. She has built curricula for rural southern communities to address the increased rates risks of suicide that gender and sexually diverse people experience.

Rebecca has a Masters Degree in Counseling. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is a Nationally Certified Counselor. She has had an interest in suicide prevention. She specializes in working with LGBTQ people, people who have HIV, and those who have substance use/abuse issues.

Rebecca lives with her wife of 31 years and their two teens. They have four pets, all named after Greek myths. She enjoys hiking, is fastidious about arranging dishwashers, and can drive practically any automobile. 

Rebecca can be reached at [email protected]. 

Rebecca Stapel-Wax,
Executive Director

Rabbi Josh (he/him) is a committed leader for justice and mutual understanding. He recently transitioned from Congregation Bet Haverim’s Senior Rabbi to Rabbi Emeritus after 22 years of service. As a catalyst, he supported the creativity, ingenuity, and enterprising spirit of members in their engagement in synagogue life. He was the editor of the groundbreaking LGBTQ Torah commentary, Torah Queeries, and was recognized as one of The 36 Most Inspiring Rabbis by the Forward and one of The 100 Most Influential LGBTQ Clergy by the Huffington Post.

He founded the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity, cofounded the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, serving as its first Jewish president, and chaired the City of Atlanta’s Human Relations Commission. He sat for six years on the Mayor of Atlanta’s Task Force for LGBT Concerns and was recently awarded the Phoenix Award, Atlanta’s top honor given to its citizens.

A trained spiritual director, Josh currently works with The OnBeing Project and their Social Justice Fellowship as the Spiritual Director for the fellows. Josh’s work continues to elevate timely conversations that help communities engage in healing and justice.

To respond to the challenges that faith and spiritual leaders have encountered during the pandemic and political disruption, he created two international online forums for clergy to brainstorm, share resources, and offer mutual support. In addition, he is working for Hebrew Union College and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College to offer spiritual direction to rabbinical students and rabbis to support their spiritual journeys.

With this depth of experience, he also works at The Berman Center, an outpatient mental health facility for teens and young adults. He supports the clinicians and therapists in offering spiritual resources, pastoral care to their client. He also teaches spiritual practices for an integrated sense of mental wellness.

Josh’s leadership experience and focus on social healing help his clients and communities advance their purpose, cultivate connection and deepen communal and personal joy.

Rabbi Joshua Lesser,
Founder

SOJOURN'S Board of Directors

For over 20 years, Rebecca Leary Safon (she/her) has created sacred space to explore mind, body & breath in community, with nurturing and support. As a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), Rebecca offers Therapeutic Yoga+Meditation, specializing in yoga for anyone touched by cancer, and yoga/meditation through a Jewish lens. Her classes are available virtually and in studios, schools and centers around the Atlanta metro area. In private practice, Rebecca works with individuals seeking balance in mind, body & breath, through yoga, yoga therapy, meditation, and bodywork.

Rebecca is a member of the Society for Integrative Oncology, serving on the Yoga Special Interest Group, and the Health, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging committee.

Rebecca Leary Safon, Board Chair

Harrison Bleiberg (he/הוא) is a lifelong educator who is passionate about Jewish Education and Inclusion. He is a graduate of Emory University’s Jewish Studies program and has a Masters in Jewish Education through Yeshiva University. While at Emory, he led award-winning education programs and fundraisers for Emory’s LGBTQ+ community and Lost-n-Found Youth. Outside of campus, he student taught at Atlanta Jewish Academy, completed a fellowship with MEOR, and worked as a marketing intern for JScreen.

Following his graduation from Emory, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi and served as a Program Associate with the Institute of Southern Jewish life where he created, led, and supervised educational programming across several southern Jewish communities. During his tenure, he also served as a project leader in the development of an Adult Education curriculum, now used in over 60 communities across the South.

After two long years of missing Atlanta, he moved back to Smyrna where he served as an Assistant Director of a Day Care, a teacher at Congregation Bet Haverim’s religious school, and is now a full-time Hebrew and Judaics teacher at the Alfred and Adele Davis Academy in Sandy Springs.

Harrison has led educational programs in seventeen different synagogues across the country, been published on MyJewishLearning.com, and has partnered with Moishe House and the Union for Reform Judaism on educational projects serving hundreds of learners.

When he’s not teaching, he enjoys playing guitar, road-tripping across the country, and finding new ways to use his air-fryer.

Harrison Bleiberg, Vice Chair

Jamie Fergerson, Treasurer

Janet Ziffer (she/her) has a long history of volunteering in the Atlanta community and beyond. Her volunteer work includes Project Open Hand, AIDS educator at AID Atlanta’s AIDS 101 program, serving on Weinstein Hospice’s board of advisors, and volunteering with Temple Emanu-el regularly to serve clients at the Community Assistance Center. Additionally, along with her husband and several other families, Janet served as a founding member and Secretary for the PHACE Syndrome community, a non-profit organization that supports families impacted by PHACE Syndrome, a rare condition that her son was born with.

A career market researcher, Janet loves learning about what makes humans tick and why they do what they do. Janet has worked on both the agency side as well as corporations including Kimberly-Clark and Focus Brands, helping guide brand strategy and bringing new products to market.

Janet became aware of SOJOURN when her son was honored as a 2021 Michael Jay Kinsler Rainmaker Award recipient. He was at the beginning of a transformational journey that led to him coming out as a trans male later that year. SOJOURN has played a valuable role in supporting the Ziffer family and Janet is thrilled to be able to give back to the organization and help raise awareness and support for the Jewish LGBTQIA+ community.

Janet Ziffer, Secretary

Julia Kunis (she/her) completed her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology at Hunter College, focusing her studies on Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology. Interning with the New York Academy of Sciences: Anthropology Section, she worked with leading anthropologists in the nation to deliver a speaker series for the 2018-2019 academic year. Upon completion of her thesis in Linguistic Anthropology, she was awarded the Excellence in Anthropology award and received departmental honors for her dedicated work to the field. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in May of 2019, Julia took a leap of faith and moved to Jackson, Mississippi to begin her career in the nonprofit sector.

She currently serves as the Project Associate for Springboard To Opportunities, a nonprofit organization that works with residents of affordable housing to help them reach their goals in school, work, and life. Previously, she served as the Constituent Services and Support Coordinator for the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits & Philanthropy. There she worked with nonprofits across Mississippi to grow their organizational capacity and gained a deep understanding of the Mississippi nonprofit sector. In her first two years in Mississippi, she worked with the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, where she served Jewish communities across a 13-state region. She created, led, and implemented programming, a K-12 and adult curriculum, and led religious services in each of her 14 communities as a Program Associate.

Julia is driven by her sense of community. She believes that if we act together locally, we can achieve a strong global impact. She is now an active citizen in the Jackson community. She became Chair of Beth Israel Congregation’s Tikkun Olam Committee, currently serves as a Board Member at the Southern Jewish Resource Network (SOJOURN), and actively seeks ways in which she can get more involved with the communities of Mississippi, and the South at large. Her goal is to be a change-agent in the state of Mississippi, working alongside organizations that are yearning to see a brighter tomorrow.

Julia Kunis, Community Investment

Members At Large

Simone Bonnejonne (she/her) is a nonprofit and philanthropy professional with over a decade of experience in donor stewardship, mission-driven giving, and member engagement. She began her career in the Atlanta Jewish community and is happiest when she is partnering with funders and donors to help them connect to social justice work led by under-resourced communities.

Simone developed a passion for activism as a preteen when she learned to lobby and advocate for LGBTQ+ families in her home state of Florida. As a student at Florida State University, Simone remained connected to LGBTQ+ advocacy as a member of Pride Student Union and was overjoyed to find a home and community in SOJOURN upon moving to Atlanta.

Simone is dedicated to pursuing equity and justice for all in her community. She holds leadership positions on the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition’s steering committee and the Junior League of Atlanta’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is a graduate of the AJC’s Project Understanding program, ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute, SuperMajority’s Majority Leaders cohort, and JFGA’s Jacobson Leadership Institute. In 2021, Simone was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Young Nonprofit Professional Network’s 30 Under 30. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Kris, and enjoys reading, baking, collecting vintage Pyrex, and exploring Atlanta’s foodie scene with her friends and family.

Simone Bonnejonne, Past Chair

Vivienne Diaz (She/Her/Ella) who is originally from rural northern New Jersey, is a class of 2024 graduate of Tougaloo College with a B.A. in Political Science and is currently a 2024 cohort member of Mississippi Teacher Corps through the University of Mississippi. She has done peer-to-peer work in reproductive justice and voting rights. As a transplant to Mississippi, she is passionate about her Jewish community in Jackson and is a religious school teacher and a member of her synagogue's Tikkun Olam committee.

Vivienne Diaz

Molly Edlein

Jen Slipakoff (she/her) is a member of the Human Rights Campaign National Board of Governors, recently served as co-chair for HRC's Atlanta Steering committee and currently leads HRC’s volunteers in political action work in Georgia. She also serves on HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council. In addition to her involvement with HRC, she served as the co-president for the PFLAG metro Atlanta chapter and has been recognized by several advocacy organizations for her work creating positive change in Georgia. Jen was recently named one of the Grand Marshals for Atlanta Pride 2023.

When not volunteering or working as a political consultant, Jen spends her time speaking both locally and around the country about the importance and value of the LGBTQ community. She and her husband are proudly raising their two children, two dogs and a cat.

Jen Slipakoff

Zen Neer (she/they) is an accomplished children's book author. Zen is fervently committed to advancing education and advocating for gender diversity and the rights of LGBTQ+ youth.

Zen Neer

Jenni Person (she/her) has worked as an arts professional and writer for over 30 years, producing projects and fostering the work of emerging, culturally-rooted, and community-engaged artists.  Selected organizations include the Loft Theatre; South Florida ArtCenter (now Oolite Arts), where she created Here & Now, Miami’s first commissioning program for locally-based creators; nationally reaching, regionally-rooted artists’ organization committed to social change, Alternate ROOTS; the Workers’ Circle/Arbeter Ring, presenting Yiddish cultural programs; the Guava Rugelach Festival, a music festival she founded celebrating tropical Jewish sound which grew into Next@19th, committed to new Jewish culture; and Live Arts Miami. Currently, she serves as Director of Community Engagement for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. She holds a BA in Drama from Bennington College and MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. Jenni is the President of NCJW Miami and serves on the board of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board; and lives in Miami with her partner and together they have a teen, a college student, and two cats.

Jenni Person

Gary Alembik

Jessica Handler(she/her) is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. Her written work and teaching centers resilience, social justice, and identity. Jessica earned her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte and her B.S. from Emerson College. In a former career universe, she worked behind the scenes on television shows that you probably watched in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Honors and awards for her writing include multiple “Best American Essays” shortlists, the Southern Book Prize, the “Indie Next” list, “Books All Georgians Should Read” the Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Nonfiction Fellowship, and writing residencies at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia, and elsewhere. As a teacher, she has served as the Ferrol Sams, Jr. Distinguished Writer in Residence at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and is currently a visiting faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA, a member of the faculty at the Etowah Valley MFA at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia, and an in-demand workshop leader at writers’ conferences worldwide.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, novelist Mickey Dubrow, sometimes multiple cats, and a drum kit and guitar that she should play more often.

Jessica Handler

Staff

McKenzie Wren (she/her) is a skilled facilitator who believes that conversations about things that matter can heal our divided world by building bridges across differences. As Special Projects Manager for SOJOURN, she helps synagogues, institutions and communities be more welcoming to all people - especially members of the LGBTQ+ communities. She is also an independent diversity, equity and inclusion consultant specializing in culture.  She helps businesses, schools and non-profits create culture on purpose: intentional culture that supports collaboration, authentic inclusion and belonging, and furthers equity.
 
McKenzie is past president of Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta where she serves as a spiritual lay leader and is proud to sing in its amazing chorus. She is also part of the Kohenet movement.
 

McKenzie Wren
Special Projects Manager

Rose Kantorczyk (they/them) is SOJOURN's Communications and Legislative Affairs Coordinator. In this role, they spread the word about SOJOURN's programs, partnerships, and resources, mobilize Southern Jewish communities to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and write often about queer Judaism. Rose cut their teeth in Jewish advocacy and storytelling as a fellow at Rice University's Religion and Public Life Program, and landed at SOJOURN following a stint in digital fundraising for politics. They hold a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Policy Studies from Rice University, and completed the 2023-2024 HUC-JIR Jewish Ideas Fellowship.

Rose lives in Houston with their roommate and two cats. In their free time, they enjoy reading queer sci-fi/fantasy novels, playing trumpet with the Houston Pride Band, and taking road trips across Texas.

Rose Kantorczyk
Communications and Legislative Affairs Coordinator

Shannon Lubell (she/her) serves as the Program Administrator at SOJOURN, where she plays a key role in advancing the organization's mission to promote and celebrate gender and sexual diversity across the South. With a strong background in leadership, coaching, and community engagement, she helps implement and manage impactful programs that educate, empower, and support individuals and organizations in fostering inclusive environments.

With years of experience in nonprofit leadership and program management, Shannon is committed to ensuring SOJOURN's initiatives run smoothly and effectively. She collaborates closely with staff, volunteers, and community partners to coordinate events and expand the reach of SOJOURN’s educational resources.
Shannon holds an MBA and is a certified coach through the International Coaching Federation (ICF), equipping her with the skills to build meaningful connections and drive positive change. Her passion for advocacy, education, and community-building makes her an invaluable part of the SOJOURN team.

Shannon lives in Decatur, GA, with her partner of over twenty years, David, a social entrepreneur, their two teenage sons, and their lively feline littermates, Louis and Lucca. A family that prioritizes experiences over possessions, they spent five years living in Berlin, Germany, including during the global pandemic. You can often find Shannon walking the Atlanta Beltline with her camera, finding joy in life’s small details.

Shannon Lubell
Program Administrator