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Debra and I meet up one sunny Autumn morning at Union Market’s Cafe Unido. Over iced chais, we chat about Debra’s new(ish) role at Abrahamic House, her travels abroad, her chihuahua Gordo, “turning on” extrovert behavior, and the implications of focusing on your own backyard.
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Debra: I’m originally from Connecticut, but I spent a lot of time bouncing around. I lived in South Africa for a while, then Miami for a couple of years, did Teach for America in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then spent a few years overseas. I completed fellowships in Israel, the West Bank, and India, and backpacked my way across East Africa, picking up consulting gigs along the way. By the time I was thinking about moving back to the States, I knew I wanted somewhere with an international vibe and the kind of energy that attracts globally-minded people. DC felt like the perfect intersection of nonprofit, government, and humanitarian work, so I figured I’d find my people here. I arrived in 2016 and have been here, mostly, ever since.
Samuel: What brought you abroad after Teach for America?
Debra: A combination of things. My first step abroad was through Schusterman Family Philanthropy’s REALITY program, a fellowship for Teach For America alumni focused on exploring the complexity and nuance of Israeli and Palestinian narratives through the lens of education. It asked big questions, like: How do you serve students of different backgrounds and religions in a public school system, especially one where Jewish and Arab students may hold very different interpretations of the same history?
That was my first real exposure to navigating tough topics through an interfaith lens. It snowballed from there. I spent the next decade working in interfaith, cross-cultural, and geopolitical spaces, trying to answer one big question: How do you bring people together across divides?
Samuel: And that seems like experience that would line up neatly with your current role with Abrahamic House.
Debra: In the two years I spent in North Carolina with Teach For America, I was the only Jewish person in my school and the community I was serving. That experience encouraged me to look at my own faith differently. Having to explain it to others pushed me to reflect on what Judaism means to me and how I seek it out when access isn’t easy.
Going to Israel after Teach For America set me on a new journey that made me realize I wanted my career to be guided by Jewish principles, like tikkun olam. I spent the next seven years leading the TALMA teaching fellowship, bringing educators into Israeli and Palestinian classrooms to co-teach English alongside local teachers. It was hands-on, people-to-people diplomacy, giving educators from all backgrounds and faiths the chance to learn and teach together. While the work wasn’t interfaith at its core, it exposed me to those conversations and shaped how I approach bridging divides.
Eventually, that work broadened beyond education when I returned to REALITY, this time in a leadership role as a Program Officer at Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where I curated experiences in Israel, the West Bank, and the Abraham Accord countries for diverse groups of changemakers across entertainment, tech, social impact, and more. After October 7th, it became clear that the conflict in Israel was having ripple effects here at home, heightening polarization across the U.S. That made me realize the urgent need to focus on our own backyard and create spaces here in the U.S. that bring people together across divides.
I had been hosting my own interfaith dinners independently, and when I learned about Abrahamic House – a home in DC where a Jew, Christian, Muslim, and Baha’i live together and host events for their communities to build friendships and foster understanding – I thought: Wow, this is amazing. I fell in love with the mission, and now, having had a chance to start getting to know the fellows and community, it feels so necessary in this moment to take all the experience I’ve gained in facilitating tough conversations and bridging divides to help Abrahamic House grow its impact here in the U.S. and, hopefully, eventually, beyond.
Samuel: I’m really struck by the phrase “focus on our own backyard.” We’ve had a ton of conversations recently with people who, maybe as a trauma response, are staying within folks they know they agree with…how are you encountering that response right now?
Debra: I mean, there’s so much polarization in our world. People really fall into the trap that it’s scary to enter conversations where you feel like your ideas are not going to be received well…I think really, we need the opposite. If everyone backs into their corners and talks against each other, not to each other, we’re not moving the needle. It’s a vicious cycle of further pushing each other apart, dividing, straining. I think we need to counter that with positivity and light. Abrahamic House is doing that in an interesting way.
It’s not saying: Let’s all come to a conference and debate a topic. We’re saying: Let’s get to know each other first, let’s come together and see what your life is about and what my life is about, and then hear each other out. If you take the time to listen and learn, you get the chance to find common ground.
One of the things I particularly love about Abrahamic House is that it’s not a space for battle, it’s a house. You can shed defensiveness and agendas at the door. It’s about stepping into the experience of listening, meeting, and getting to know each other as humans.
Samuel: You’ve been in DC off and on for nearly a decade. What does your personal Jewish community look like?
Debra: It’s eclectic! I have picked up some interesting Jewish characters throughout my life, and a lot of people have ended up here in DC. And I would add, too, that my Jewish community here is not only Jewish – I try to bring in friends who I consider “honorary tribe.”
Samuel: Like those interfaith dinners you mentioned.
Debra: I started doing those because my friend group was super diverse, and I wanted to share my practices with them. I love hosting Shabbat, and Passover Seders, and Rosh Hashanah, and they were always curious to learn. I also feel that when you invite friends from different backgrounds, or even strangers, it creates a kind of accountability for you to do things right – you really take the time to think through how you’ll share a practice, explain it, and pass it along. It makes me a “better Jew” to have my non-Jewish friends at the table. And, it often leads to invitations to some really interesting tables in return!
Samuel: How does your practice change when you’re not hosting?
Debra: I can be an extrovert, and I love to host. But I also really enjoy a solo Shabbat. I have a little 12-pound chihuahua named Gordo, and sometimes on Fridays we just take it slow: go for walks, explore the neighborhood, grab something at Union Market, and enjoy a quiet night to ourselves.
Samuel: A few quick ones to close. What are you bad at?
Debra: Dancing? I enjoy it, but I have two left feet.
Samuel: What are you feeling proud about?
Debra: I’m feeling really good about where I am in life right now. I managed to build an amazing community here – whether it’s my pickleball crew, neighbors, or my dinner group, Bite Club, it feels like I’m at a good, happy, self-fulfilled place in life.
Samuel: You can invite any three people to Shabbat dinner. Who are you bringing?
Debra: Mohammed Al Samawi, the founder of Abrahamic House. He always encourages people to open up and share, and he’s a fantastic conversation starter. His life story is incredible, and I love hearing him tell it. His memoir The Fox Hunt is a must-read.
Then, my future husband – who doesn’t know it yet – Trevor Noah. He’ll bring humor, wit, and great energy to the table. Born a Crime is another powerful read.
And, to add another storyteller, Rena Quint, a Holocaust survivor whose life story I’ve been fortunate to hear over the years. Her story is captured in her memoir A Daughter of Many Mothers. I think she’d get a kick out of the young men at the table – and they out of her. Between these three, there would be so many amazing stories and conversations to be had.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Debra: They should invite friends of all backgrounds to join them!
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