Hannah Ellenson is currently a fifth year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she is an Atara Merit Scholar and a Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Fellow. Hannah was the recipient of the Stephen S. Wise Prize in Homiletics. Her thesis, under the direction of Rabbi Larry Hoffman, is about contemporary views on liturgy and prayer.

After graduating from Wellesley College in 2008 with a B.A. in History and Jewish Studies with honors, she earned her M.P.P. from Tel Aviv University with a focus on conflict resolution and mediation. When Hannah returned to the US, she worked as the Youth Director at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City and then for almost a decade at the New Israel Fund, the leading organization committed to equality and democracy for all people who live in Israel.

During Rabbinical School, Hannah has worked as the Social Justice Intern at Women of Reform Judaism; was the Rabbinic Intern at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ for two years; spent a summer shadowing the rabbi at Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, NJ; and served as a Chaplain Intern at Morristown Medical Center. She is currently on the Board of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

Hannah enjoys spending time with her spouse and two children, reading when she has time, and hosting family and friends.