Elissa is the Founding Director of Core Connects RI, a non-profit organization that aims to deepen women’s connections to one another, to Jewish wisdom and Jewish values, to empower each other to find greater meaning, purpose and possibility in life and to cultivate unity without uniformity. As director she is passionate about providing others with opportunities to grow and become. She runs programming online and most recently has started Core’s Community of Practice for women who work in the Chevra Kadisha.
Elissa grew up in London England. In 1985 she married her American husband and they started their married life in Washington, DC. After the death of her first child, Elissa started to explore Judaism in much greater depth. In her quest to understand the loss of her baby she explored Jewish sources in general and more specifically regarding death and the afterlife. She is very active on the local chevra kadisha and she speaks widely on this topic.
In 2014, Elissa started chaperoning Jewish mothers on inspiring and often life transforming trips with Momentum the Women’s Reconnection Trip. Elissa takes pride in maintaining and nurturing the relationships after the trips and continues to encourage growth and connection.
Elissa teaches a weekly Parsha class which is broadcast live on Facebook and uploaded to YouTube. In addition, she hopes to one day (post Covid-19) return to hosting large Shabbat and holiday meals for a wide swath of the RI Jewish community.
She is passionate about bringing Jews together and celebrating the commonalities rather than the differences. Through all of these experiences Elissa mentors and encourages others on their journeys.
