ABOUT US
The Jewish Social Work Consortium is a small interdisciplinary think tank and resource network founded by Jewish social workers in the United States and Canada. We are clinicians, academics, educators, writers, and advocates committed to restoring the foundational values of social work. While we are not a formal membership organization, we serve as a hub for connection, collaboration, resources, consultation, and professional support. We also help connect individuals and organizations with relevant educational materials, clinicians, initiatives, and community resources.
At the heart of our mission is a commitment to cultural competence, cultural humility, ethical care, psychological safety, and human dignity for all people, including Jews and Israelis. We believe:
- Cultural humility must include Jewish and Israeli identities.
- Ethical care cannot be conditional or selectively applied.
- Jewish exclusion, scapegoating, and identity-based harm must be recognized with the same seriousness as all other forms of discrimination.
- Mental health and social work spaces should foster empathy, nuance, dignity, psychological safety, and open inquiry.
- Professional ethics require complexity, humanity, and care for all people.
- Cultural humility must not stop at the Jewish door.
In recent years, many Jewish professionals, students, and community members have experienced increasing exclusion, silencing, ideological pressure, and moral double standards within clinical, academic, nonprofit, and professional spaces. The Consortium exists to create space for thoughtful dialogue, ethical reflection, professional integrity, and clinically grounded support in response to these challenges.
Our work includes writing, consultation, advocacy, professional dialogue, resource connection, educational initiatives, and collaboration across disciplines and communities.
Jewish Social work Consortium Members
Dana Cohen, LCSW
Dana is a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, and speaker based in the Chicago suburbs. She specializes in trauma, eating disorders, and supporting older teens, young adults, and mothers navigating identity-based stress and life transitions. Dana’s work integrates clinical expertise with Jewish identity, community resilience, and nervous system informed care. She is the founder of Cohen Counseling LLC and has created a growing network for Jewish eating disorder providers, while also co-creating Chicagoland Jewish Therapist connections. Through therapy, consultation, and speaking, Dana is committed to helping individuals and communities feel grounded, seen, and supported in times of stress and uncertainty.
Carole B. Cox, MSW, PhD
Carole is a Professor at the Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University, where she teaches in the Policy sequence. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a Fulbright scholar, and a representative of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) to the United Nations. In 2023 she was appointed to the Advisory Council on Family Caregiving of the Administration on Community Living, focusing on Kinship Families and Grandfamilies. Dr. Cox is the author of 10 books and more than 75 journal articles dealing with aging, human rights, caregiving, human trafficking, and social policy. In 2022 she received the CURA Award for Kincare Champion from the NY State Kincare Coalition. Since 2020, she has focused on antisemitism and social work education and practice and has done research, presentations, and articles on the subject. Her 2021 article on antisemitism and social work led to the development of the NASW/NYS Jewish Social Workers Interest Group which she continues to co-chair.
Susie Hess, MSW, LCSW-IL
Susie is an Associate Professor of Practicum Education at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and a transnational speaker in trauma-informed education. Her work focuses on resilience and healing in communities impacted by violence, incarceration, and conflict.
She is the co-founder of the Trauma Informed Learning Alliance, host of the Our Stories Matter podcast, and Director of the Kalaniyot Chapter at USC, leading international academic partnerships. Her leadership has been recognized with the Dr. Marjorie Braude Award, and she serves on the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Interfaith Advisory Board.
Jennifer Kogan, LICSW
Jen is a licensed independent clinical social worker, writer, and advocate with over thirty years of experience in mental health. She is co-founder of the Jewish Social Work Consortium and founder of DCTherapistConnect, a professional network serving mental health clinicians in the Washington, DC area.
Her work centers on professional ethics and the protection of dignity for all across clinical, institutional, and community spaces. She advocates against antizionism within the field of mental health, where it distorts clinical frameworks and compromises ethical care. Jen is committed to advancing justice and well-being, while upholding fairness, respect, and equal belonging for Jewish clinicians and clients.
Dana B. Marlowe, PhD, LCSW
Dana is a Clinical Professor and the Director of Academic Excellence and Teaching Innovation at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. Dr. Marlowe teaches across the curriculum, teaching classes in clinical social work and social policy. She specializes in innovative pedagogy and works with faculty and adjunct instructors to enhance their teaching skills. She has published several book chapters on active learning strategies and articles on teaching evidence-based practice. She also specializes in trauma treatment, with a focus on EMDR. In 2021, she became involved in researching antisemitism and social work, resulting in presentations at national conferences, workshops, and publications. She also co-chairs the NASW/NYS Jewish Social Workers Interest Group.
Annette Poizner, RSW, EdD
Annette is a registered social worker, therapist, and author whose career bridges clinical practice, academic scholarship, social action and the exploration of ancient wisdom traditions. Trained at Columbia University and the University of Toronto, she has cultivated a private psychotherapy practice while contributing articles, books, and public lectures that integrate psychology with Jewish, Chinese, and other classical frameworks. Her innovative approach draws on models such as the Five Elements, the Enneagram, and Kabbalistic psychology, combining them with contemporary therapeutic methods like EMDR, NLP, and IFS.
Jodi Taub, LCSW, PLLC
Jodi is a New York–based psychotherapist with over 27 years of experience providing individual, couples, family, and group therapy. She specializes in chronic illness and rare diseases, supporting patients and caregivers in navigating health anxiety, medical trauma, and the psychological impact of managing complex medical health care conditions. In addition to her clinical expertise, Jodi is a published writer, lecturer, and facilitator of support groups for the Immune Deficiency Foundation. Jodi is also dedicated to advancing Jewish mental health. She collaborates with the NASW Jewish Special Interest Group, the Jewish Therapist Collective, the Association of Jewish Psychologists, and the Jewish Social Work Consortium. Through her practice, she helps Jewish students, families, therapists, and communities navigate grief, identity, trauma to promote Jewish mental health with resilience and healing.
Leslie Yaffa, MSW, RSW, EdD
Andrea Yudell, LICSW, LCSW-C
Andrea is a psychotherapist in the DC Metro area with 25 years of experience supporting individuals facing anxiety, chronic medical conditions, parenting challenges, and the deeper struggles that can leave life and relationships feeling unfulfilling. She uses an integrative approach that draws on psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and somatic therapies, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Imagery. Andrea works with clients in a variety of ways, offering deep exploration and the development of practical strategies. In addition to her clinical career, Andrea is co-founder of the Jewish Social Work Consortium. She is committed to advocacy and to challenging harmful narratives within the field, with the aim of fostering more nuanced and compassionate perspectives.