As a creator of sacred spaces grounded in the values of radical compassion, listening, and hospitality, I aim to serve as a conduit for healing presence at the crossroads of life.

As wisewoman and ritualist, I facilitate and co-create rituals and ceremonies including Jewish and Interfaith marriage and separation rituals, mikveh rituals for life transitions, Blessing Circles for parents-to-be, Shalom Brit (a ceremony in which parents commit to raise their children Jewish, but do not wish a ceremony that includes circumcision), Interfaith Baby Namings, many other rites of passage, and mourning rites including Memorial services, coinciding with Shloshim (30 days after funeral) or with the end of the year of Mourning, possibly coinciding with Unveiling (placing a grave marker).  By commission, I craft Wheel of the Year rituals and celebration.
I also provide education, mentoring, and support to those on a spiritual journey, including education in preparation for conversion to Judaism.

In deep awareness of the interconnectedness of all, I seek to connect, bridge, and weave together folks from all wisdom traditions. I am deeply committed to interfaith work.

I offer three levels of individual spiritual counselling as well as pastoral care to support you with discernment and deepening awareness on your life’s journey. All services are available on a sliding scale. I believe that everyone who wants support should be able to access it at a price point that doesn’t result in hardship. Please consider reading this page for more information about The Sliding Scale: A Tool of Economic Justice

Short Biography

Kohenet/Hebrew Priestess. Rabbi. Pastoral Counsellor. Spiritual Healer and Mentor. Social Justice Advocate. Independent Scholar. Mother. Feminist. Lesbian. Cherished Friend.

I am a lover of natural beauty, reading, and quiet contemplation. I can frequently be found sipping organic fair-trade coffee on a warm sunlit patio with at least one book and a journal at hand. I love late summer evenings, wild blueberries, 72% dark chocolate, and brightly coloured Post-It Notes.

I am currently based in Ottawa, Canada on unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin Territory. I’ve lived in many areas of Ontario; British Columbia; and worked in El Paso, TX; Nunavik; Quebec; and Afghanistan.

I am a woman of mixed ethnic heritage. My mother’s mothers’ line is from the Alsace-Lorraine region of Central Europe. They migrated to Waterloo County through New York City in the early 19th century.  My mother’s fathers’ line came from West Prussia to Ontario a few decades later.  My father immigrated from Southern Italy in 1952.  His lineage reaches back to Iberia via Tunisia and Sicily.  

My education has not been linear and is an ongoing process of growth.  My interest in health and healing is rooted in my childhood, when I rose up to care for myself and my younger brother when my parents were unable to do so. I worked in maternal health care for 25 years including activism and advocacy around women’s health and human rights, primary care, and policy development, and was trained in abortion care and support, self-insemination, labour support, and especially midwifery. In addition to reproductive and emergency health care, I have studied aromatherapy, herbology, and psychology. 

My rabbinical studies began at Pardes Institute, Jerusalem (2007-08).  I then studied in the ALEPH Rabbinical Ordination Program between 2006 and 2014 and have received smicha/ordination (2010) from a community rabbi/rebbe who derives his lineage from Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Jewish Renewal). Our intensive studies included a focus on Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Care.  I have certificates in Prison Chaplaincy, Pastoral Care, and Jewish Pastoral Care. 

 I received smicha (ordination/transmission) as a Kohenet Hebrew Priestess in 2017 and am currently offering pastoral counselling and spiritual direction to students and alum.   As part of my Kohenet Studies, I focused on the path/netivah of “mourning woman,” including end of life and radical death studies. I continue to focus on care of the dying and mourning rituals.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (UWestern - 1984), a Bachelor of Independent Studies in the Art, Science, and History of Midwifery (UWaterloo - 1991). My thesis paper, “A History of Midwifery in Ontario, 1795 - Present, is available on request. In the late 90s I completed an all-but-thesis Masters of Women’s Studies and History where I focused on the professionalisation of women’s professions, especially medicine, midwifery, and nursing in Canada (UOttawa).  

every action is an act of love or a call for it.