Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn

From 2014 to 2022, Rabbanit Alissa served as a spiritual leader at B'nai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles and is a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat and Brandeis University, with a degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Classical Studies Archaeology and Ancient History, Magna Cum Laude.

Rabbanit Alissa is a Board Certified Chaplain and full-time staff chaplain at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she specializes in end of life care, palliative care, and psychiatric care. She is the current president-elect of NAJC (Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains).

Rabbanit Alissa has worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Bellevue Hospital, Grateful Palliative Care and Hospice, The Center for Jewish End of Life Care at Metropolitan Jewish Health System, and My Jewish Learning, and is a prolific writer and speaker. In 2017, she was chosen as one of the Forward50, the Forward's annual list of the 50 most influential, accomplished, and interesting American Jews. Rabbanit Alissa is married to Akiva Newborn, and they live in Teaneck with their awesome toddler, Ella, and their poodle bichon, Judy.