Welcoming Leo to Kesher!

After many years as an educator in independent schools, Leo Linder (they/them) is excited to be joining the TBE and CBE communities as the director of the Kesher program.  Leo’s passion for learning and all things Jewish – especially music – was ignited by their own time in Hebrew school, and grew over the years as they sang in High Holiday choir, performed with the Hazamir teen ensemble, and began to lead services.

In college, they served as Koach chair of Hillel, organizing all of the weekly services and teaching peers everything from chanting Torah to kashering a kitchen.  They hold a BA in Latin, Ancient Greek, and English from Tufts University and an MA in Latin from University of Georgia. After taking courses in Talmud at SVARA and Hebrew at Middlebury, they will soon be embarking on the path towards ordination.

Most recently, Leo spent 13 years at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, where they taught classical languages in grades 5 through 12, spearheaded equity & inclusion projects, and led the middle school theater program, directing 36 shows in their tenure there.  Their TBE family knows Leo best from the bimah, leading services on shabbat and the High Holidays, or Zooming into daily minyan.  When they’re not at shul, you’ll probably find Leo at home in Norwalk with their spouse Ari and their three very old cats.  They enjoy reading, crocheting, playing tabletop RPGs, and kvelling about their baby nephews.

Leo is looking forward to getting to know the Kesher families, and they hope you’ll reach out to chat during the summer — you can reach them at kesher@tbe.org.