If you’ve been to IKAR, you’ve been touched by Dev Brous’s grace and love. She’s essentially our in-house ritualist, healer, and volunteer extraordinaire, bringing her soulful, joyful spirit to her rooftop morning meditation and our davening team each Shabbat, sharing her homegrown artisanal herbal tea, opening our hearts with her Yom Kippur (and year round) sound baths, her newMOON and FULLmoon rituals, and her twice weekly Grief Garden. She believes strongly in the transformative nature of deep listening, and is a facilitator for IKAR’s Dinner & Dialogue series. In many ways, Dev was born for this moment—a former frontline justice organizer who has become an urban homesteader and regenerative healing practitioner—and our community is deeply blessed to be nurtured by her tender heart. The whole Brous-Weber family is deeply loved at IKAR—Dev, Larry, Sela and Zeke all bring their unique brand of sweetness to our community.

For over 15 years, Hannah Roth and Kathleen Early have been a steady presence of kindness, warmth, and generosity in our community. They have helped countless people find their way into IKAR, serving as part of the welcoming team on Shabbat and seeking out new members over lunch. They understand that at the very core of community is tending to people in their pain: showing up for shivah, standing alongside mourners, and delivering hesed whenever it’s needed. And over the last few years, Hannah has become a beloved member of our Board of Directors, offering her wisdom and unique perspective on our leadership team. Their wonderful children, Noah and Enzo, are both ECC alumni, and we loved celebrating Noah’s bar mitzvah last year.