Hi, I’m Elaina. As Ritual and Community Director, I am thrilled to work towards fulfilling the spiritual, educational, and communal aspirations of the growing Urban Adamah community. Let’s grab coffee, tell me about your dreams, questions, and visions for nurturing Jewish communal life on the farm!

I was born, raised, schooled, and remain rooted in the Bay Area. I have degrees in forestry, probability and a masters in engineering from UC Berkeley, and have found them all to be grounding and expansive languages for connecting to the Divine. An earlier chapter of my work was in hospital hallways – as Director of Strategy for UCSF Health, I helped shepherd the organization through pandemic response and hospital recovery. Most recently, I was Director of Programs and Talmud Teacher at SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva that brings the spiritual study of Talmud to the masses as a tool for radical changemaking.

When I’m not on the farm, I’m Senior Educator at Base Bay Area, where together with my partner, R’ Frankie Sandmel and our beloved cotton-ball-passing-as-a-dog Yosi, we are building vibrant, rooted, and resonant Jewish community for young adults out of our home in Oakland.