Originally from Tulsa, OK, Rabbi Dr. Sandra Katz has experience as a healthcare chaplain and as an Executive Director of a non-profit. She directed the Chaplaincy departments at two Jewish different elder care communities (Philadelphia and
Rochester, at the Jewish Home) and has supervised other chaplains. A past President of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains, she enjoyed a 21-year history of service to the profession on the board of directors. She completed undergraduate degrees in computer science (Information Systems) and music, Master’s degrees in Human Relations and Hebrew Literature, ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s New York campus, and a Doctor of Ministry, also from HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Katz returns to the pulpit after a career in spiritual care, bringing the sensibilities of chaplaincy to her endeavors. She values deep listening for what is spoken and unspoken, nonjudgmental presence, our work together as an opportunity to seek answers, leadership as service, compassion, integrity, accountability, self-awareness, powerful questions, and her role as a cultural broker.

She says, “when I am with one patient or a whole community, I endeavor to build trust to foster deep, sometimes difficult conversations. I like to create a sacred container so that people can process issues together in a respectful way. Rather than coercing everyone to agree, we can speak of our own experience. In that way, we build understanding and
put all the cards on the table. I believe that ways forward emerge when we create such authentic conversations, often better than the ways any one person would ‘command- and-control’ the situation. Plus, such paths feel organic. People seem more likely to take responsibility when they have crafted the plan. Does it always work? Well, wouldn’t that be boring?!”