Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism. A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a dynamic, visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York.
Prior to his tenure at WRT, Rabbi Jacobs served the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where he founded and co-directed the first synagogue-based homeless shelter in New York City. Rabbi Jacobs has studied for two decades at Jerusalem’s Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is now a senior rabbinic fellow. Rabbi Jacobs has held numerous leadership posts within the URJ, the CCAR, ARZA, and WUPJ. He also has served on the boards of American Jewish World Service, UJA-Federation of New York; Synagogue 2000, and its successor Synagogue 3000.