Sandra Lawson

Sandra Lawson (born 1970)[1] is a rabbi and the first Director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism.[2] She previously served as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. Lawson became one of the first openly gay, female, and black rabbis in the world in 2018.[3][4] She is a veteran, vegan, sociologist, personal trainer, food activist, weightlifter, author and musician.[5]

Rabb Sandra Lawson

Lawson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in a military, non-practicing Christian family.[3][6] Lawson graduated magna cum laude from Saint Leo University in Florida with a degree in sociology. She also holds a master's degree in sociology from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.[3]

As a college student, Lawson came out as a lesbian and enlisted in the U.S. Army. In the army she served in military law enforcement working on child abuse and domestic violence cases.[6]

After graduating from college and leaving the military, she opened a personal training business. Through her client Rabbi Joshua Lesser, she came to discover Judaism and fell in love with Lesser's synagogue. She ultimately converted to Judaism in 2004.[6][7]

Lawson went on to serve as an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League and later began rabbinical school at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.[8] She chose this path after attending an LGBT memorial for Coretta Scott King where she represented the Jewish community.[7] She was the first African-American, and the first openly gay African-American accepted into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, which occurred in 2011.[6] She was ordained as a rabbi in 2018 and was hired by Elon University that year.[3] She served as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon until she began a new position as the first Director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism in 2021.[9]

Lawson has been noted for her efforts to teach Judaism in unique locations. As a rabbinical student, Lawson ran a Friday night service at Arnold’s Way, a vegan cafe and health store near Philadelphia.[8][10][11] She also has been noted for her efforts to teach by using social media and live video feeds.[9][10] Lawson has been described as "Snapchat’s Top Rabbi"[12] and Best TikTok Rabbi[13]

In 2019 the JTA was named Lawson The 50 Jews everyone should follow on Twitter[14] and in 2020 Lawson was named one of The Forward 50 in 2020: The people we (mostly) needed in the year we (definitely) didn’t.[15]