After Roe: A Jewish Response

CCAR Chief Executive Rabbi Hara Person defends abortion rights, in the wake of Dobbs.

Rabbi Hara Person is the Chief Executive of Central Conference of American Rabbis. She is the first woman Chief Executive in the history of the CCAR. As Chief Executive, Rabbi Person oversees lifelong rabbinic learning, professional development and career services, CCAR Press — liturgy, sacred texts, educational materials, apps, and other content for Reform clergy, congregations and Jewish organizations — and critical resources and thought leadership for the 2,200 rabbis who serve more than 2 million Reform Jews throughout North America, Israel, and the world.

She was ordained in 1998 from HUC-JIR, after graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College (1986) and receiving an MA in Fine Arts from New York University/International Center of Photography (1992).

Rabbi Person served as Educator at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue from 1990-1996, and was the Adjunct Rabbi there from 1998-2019. She also serves as the High Holy Day Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Olam, Fire Island Pines, NY.

Previously, she was the CCAR’s Chief Strategy Officer. In that capacity, she oversaw communications, served as Publisher of CCAR Press, and worked on overall organizational strategy. Prior to joining the CCAR, she worked at the URJ, where she was Managing Editor of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, named the National Jewish Book Award Book of the Year in 2008.