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Ellen and I meet outside Tatte on Connecticut Avenue one late October afternoon. Mercifully ignored by the usual flock of sparrows and crows that haunt the outdoor patio, we chat about Ellen’s residency at Abrahamic House, loving the cultural resonance of politics in DC, teaching tap dancing at an Adams Morgan arts center, religious music, and Stevie Nicks!
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Ellen: I moved from North Carolina to DC about a year ago to work at the Religious Action Center, which is the policy office of the Reform movement. I participated in their legislative assistant fellowship and was interested in the political scene, so I thought DC was where I would end up and then that job worked out!
Samuel: What has kept you here?
Ellen: I love DC. I love living in a city and not needing a car. I’m someone who likes having all my time filled, and that’s really easy to do in a city where there’s so many things going on.
I had a baseline of people I knew who were also moving here, so I was able to make a lot of friends and really quickly build a community here, which has really kept me. All my friends are still here and exploring the city – I’m in that sweet spot before people stay four years and then move.
I also really like the fact that the city runs around politics, which I know is something some people hate. But I find it interesting to see the way politics ingrains itself in everyday life. You can go watch a presidential debate and walk home and see everyone else walking home from doing the same thing. It’s cool and unique to DC.
Samuel: What does your Jewish community look like after a year?
Ellen: I met quite a few Jewish people here through Gather happy hours and random Shabbat dinners, which is nice. I grew up in North Carolina and didn’t have a lot of Jewish friends, so this is the first time in my life where I have a solid Jewish community that is social. Like I said earlier, I like to be busy all the time, so I will hang out. You have a friend of a friend? Connect them to me. I’ll come hang out. I’ve been able to build a network of people from UNC, those random friends-of-friends, and the DC Jewish community. It’s quite a mix.
Samuel: What are the pros and cons for you of that busy-all-the-time outlook?
Ellen: I consider myself an extreme extrovert, so I recharge by being around other people. I just love to be around people. If I’m sitting at home watching TV, I’m thinking: Okay, what if I was watching TV with someone, you know? I’ve always been someone who likes to bounce around.
Samuel: You’re one of the new residents at Abrahamic House. What brought you there?
Ellen: Abrahamic House is an interfaith, collaborative house. Having strong relationships and friendships can help surpass and overcome the political or religious divides that you see in other areas of life, so – starting on just the human connection level – the house is built around that model. We have four people living together. I’m the Jewish fellow, and then there are two Muslim fellows and a Christian fellow. Each month, we host three community events, and have a lot of flexibility and creativity in what those can look like.
I found the house through an old coworker who had attended events and met some friends there when they first moved to DC, and they knew I was looking for new housing and to diversify my circles. This space seemed like such a cool and natural way to find that. This is a space where religion intersects with friendships and politics and everything else, and I like that. I’ve always loved hosting people. It’s cool to live in a house with people who are also so committed to the mission, forward-thinking, and creative. We’re all hosts and planners and I’m meeting people I would have never met without this space.
Samuel: Do you have a dream event you’d like to put together in the future?
Ellen: I have so many answers to this. More generically, I would love if every single friend that I brought to an event left the year with a new friend who is not from our shared circle. I want to have my friends connect with other people’s friends and community – I want to be a connector.
Event-wise, my roommate and I are both really into coffee, music, and performing. We’ve been scheming up a cafe open mic. Or, since I’m very into religious music and the music of Judaism, which is just so beautiful and interesting, it would be cool to do an interfaith show, and invite local people from the religious music scene to come perform. On the more specifically Jewish front, I want to have a huge Passover Seder that’s mostly for people who have never done a Seder before. I have all these ideas, which is great, because the space really allows you to do what you want.
Samuel: What else is resonating for you Jewishly?
Ellen: As I said, I love hosting. Throughout my life, growing up in the South, not around a lot of Jewish people, there’s been a theme of bringing people who have not had Jewish experiences or proximity to Jewishness together, and having those people experience those things for the first time. I love doing that.
Samuel: You mentioned off-mic that you’re volunteering at the Sitar Arts Center in Adams Morgan. What’s that been like?
Ellen: My whole life, I’ve been into the arts. Growing up, I did musical theater, orchestra, choir. I learned to tap dance over one summer in high school with some friends because we knew it would up our chances of getting a role in Newsies. So, I got started at Sitar helping to teach a tap class, and now I’m back this semester co-teaching a class on musical theater.
Samuel: Okay, a few quick ones to close. What’s something you’re bad at?
Ellen: Sports. I don’t have an athletic bone in my body. Volo is against my morals…playfully.
Samuel: What are you feeling proud about right now?
Ellen: I have been through a lot of change in the past month; I started a new job, I moved into a new house, I went on a big trip and came back. I’ve jumped in head-first with meeting new people and doing events and keeping a packed schedule – in the best way – and it’s been going really well. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to adjust to this new period with ease. It’s all working out and the puzzle pieces are coming together.
Samuel: What’s something you’ve learned about the DMV that you think doesn’t get enough love?
Ellen: DC gets a lot of hate because people can seem so on-the-hustle or work-oriented. I think that is true, but what comes with that is that people are also very passionate and committed, not only to work but to their hobbies.
Samuel: You can invite any three people to Shabbat dinner. Who are you bringing?
Ellen: The other day, I was walking through the Portrait Gallery with a friend, so I’ll say Eleanor Roosevelt. It would also be so cool to meet Stevie Nicks. I think she has such a cool story with being in a band with her ex…very cool. For the third person, I’d bring someone from my family who I never got to meet, my great-grandmother. She was very political and ran for public office, and my grandma always says that we would have gotten along.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Ellen: They gather at Abrahamic House!
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