America’s Largest Jewish Environmental Organization, Hazon, Takes Root in San Diego
Encinitas, CA / June 26, 2014
Hazon, the world’s largest Jewish environmental organization, joins the North County Jewish Hub, a Leichtag Foundation Initiative based at the Ranch in Encinitas. Hazon, Hebrew for vision, was founded in 2000 in New York, and adds North County San Diego to its regions alongside Philadelphia, Boulder/Denver, and San Francisco, as well as the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in the Connecticut Berkshires.
Gabi Scher has been appointed Associate Director of Hazon San Diego. Over the next few months, Gabi will conduct Needs Assessments around the community, speaking with synagogues, schools, organizations, and institutions in an effort to determine the programming from which the San Diego Jewish community would most benefit. Gabi will also work to develop North County San Diego as a platform and thought center for Jewish outdoor, food and environmental education (JOFEE) programs and initiatives.
Gabi Scher, originally from San Diego, attended Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration. An avid foodie, she worked for Urban Kitchen Group and then started Gabi’s Table, her own catering business. For Gabi, Hazon is the place where her love of food and connection with Judaism merge.
“I feel honored to bring Hazon to San Diego and to be a part of a unique organization that merges Jewish values, food justice, and the environment,” said Gabi.
Hazon hopes to bring its full range of materials and expertise revolving around JOFEE and sustainability to support creating a healthier and more sustainable North County and San Diego.
“We are so pleased to welcome Hazon to the North County Jewish Hub and deepen programming in our community that help align and integrate interests around the food system, the environment, farming and sustainability with Jewish traditions and teachings,” said Charlene Seidle, Executive Vice President of the Leichtag Foundation.
Hazon seeks to effect change in three ways:
- Transformative Experiences: Immersive multi-day programs that directly touch people’s lives in powerful ways
- Thought Leadership: Changing the world through the power of new ideas and fresh thinking, including writing, teaching, curriculum-development and advocacy
- Capacity-Building: Not just working with people as individuals, but explicitly supporting and networking great projects and partners in North America and Israel
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Hazon strives to create healthier and more sustainable Jewish communities and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. Learn more at hazon.org
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