Sarah Cort

she/her

Senior Director of Community Impact

Sarah joined Repair in 2022 and co-leads the Communities department, supporting city teams across the country. A common thread in her career has been working at values-based organizations that really live out what they believe. She spent seven years as Summer Camps Director at McGaw YMCA Camp Echo, where she helped launch the camp’s first all-gender cabins. Before that, she was Director of Education at KAM Isaiah Israel in Hyde Park, where she created a Shabbat-based religious school program. Sarah has always grown by learning in community, as an OTZMA Fellow in Israel, through the iCenter’s Goodman Camping Initiative, as an iFellow, and as part of the first cohort of Birthright Fellows. Along the way, she has led eight Birthright trips. Originally from St. Louis, Sarah has called Chicago home since 2012 and lives here with her husband and son. She remains a proud Cardinals fan.

Lauren Halperin

she/her

Senior City Director, Bay Area

Lauren has a strong background in community organizing through her time with the Sunrise Movement, Urban Adamah, Moishe House, and Repair the World. She’s passionate about creating programs that help people connect deeply with their neighbors, their spirituality, and themselves. Her experience with Jewish education, urban farming, and mutual aid has shaped her commitment to making a real impact through collaborative service opportunities.

Maya Katz-Ali

she/her

Interim Program Manager, Bay Area

Maya was born and raised in a multicultural home in Oakland, California where she learned about building community across global contexts and bringing people together from a young age. She holds a B.A in International Development and Social Change and an M.A in Community Development and Planning. At the core of Maya’s work she sees sharing stories, traditions, and values across the table as central to our growth as a global community.

Maya has worked as an educator for 15+ years as a teacher, tutor, classroom support and developing curriculum. In her recent role as the Senior Community and Partnerships Manager at OneTable, Maya built the infrastructure for belonging through cultivating partnerships and empowering young adults to build community around Shabbat dinners. At OneTable she pioneered a Jews of Color (JOC) Shabbat series, inviting participants to weave together traditions and stories. Most recently she has returned from Madrid, Spain where she worked as an English Teacher and Cultural Ambassador with the Ministry of Education. She is overjoyed to bring her experience in community building and love of volunteering to her Program Manager in the Bay Area role at Repair the World.