The Associated Announces First of Its Kind Jews of Color Engagement Fellowship


The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore is pleased to announce the hiring of Kohenet Dr. Harriette Wimms as its inaugural Jews of Color Engagement Fellow. This new fellowship is a pilot program funded through the Jews of Color Initiative in San Francisco, CA and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore, MD.

In her new role, Dr. Wimms will work closely with The Associated and its network of agencies to build a welcoming environment for all Jews, while simultaneously working with Jews of Color in creating space and programming tailored to their needs and interests.

The Fellowship was created in response to conversations with Jews of Color throughout the Baltimore Jewish community, as well as The Associated’s 2020 Greater Baltimore Jewish Community Study. The study found that the demographics of the Jewish community are changing with 6% of the community identifying as Jews of Color. This Fellowship will help create a more welcoming Jewish community by building relationships with Jews of Color in Baltimore in order to understand their lived experiences and identify opportunities for involvement, including creation of dedicated programs for Jews of Color to build community.

Trained as a developmental, clinical, community, and social psychologist, Dr. Wimms has utilized her expertise in these areas to build many programs and initiatives in Jewish education, spiritual and communal Jewish living sectors. She is the founder and executive director of The Jews of Color Mishpacha Project (JOCMP) and the driving force behind Hinenu JOC, the Baltimore JOC Community Havurah, and the JOCMP’s Jews of Color National Shabbaton programs. Dr. Wimms is an adjunct faculty member at the Academy of Jewish Religion and serves on boards of directors for numerous local and national Jewish organizations. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she brings her training and expertise in child, adolescent, young adult, and family clinical psychology, human diversity and cultural competence, LGBTQ+ clinical care and pediatric/health psychology to this new position.

“Dr. Wimms’ experience and dedication to the nourishment of Jews of Color, locally and nationally, made her the ideal candidate for this position. She is uniquely qualified to work with The Associated network in our endeavor to create safe and welcoming opportunities for all Jewish people,” said Marc B. Terrill, President of The Associated. “We are deeply grateful for the Jews of Color Initiative and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation for sharing our vision and funding this pilot program.”

Ilana Kaufman, CEO of Jews of Color Initiative said, “Launching this JOC Engagement Fellowship with The Associated is our first time working with the Federation network. Learning about the Baltimore community, its diverse Jewish community and spirit of innovation, we are excited to see what is possible. Hiring Dr. Wimms, whose passion and dedication has already brought Jews of Color around the country together, is key to making this work successful on a communal level.” 

In addition to JOCI and The Weinberg Foundation, programming funding for this initiative is provided by The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Fund of The Associated.


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