CJJ Board President Meredith Cohen (she/her) made the following announcement on January 12. 2022.

On behalf of Carolina Jews for Justice, I’m writing to let you know that Executive Director Rabbi Salem Pearce will be leaving next month – and that because of her work we’re in a strong position to transition CJJ into its next phase.

Rabbi Salem came to CJJ under the most difficult of circumstances in our world, moving to a new place to start a new position during a global pandemic. She accepted the position in March of 2020, when none of us could have foreseen the challenges that lay ahead. Under her leadership, we have launched our Antisemitism Listening Project; spoken out against antisemitism in our state; addressed anti-immigrant sentiment and racism in NC and the greater South; begun a new chapter in the Triad; gathered and trained Southern Jewish leaders inside and beyond NC; and hired two fantastic new staff organizers.

Rabbi Salem said to the board, “I believe in the tremendous power and promise of CJJ – especially the staff, board, and members. Being part of the CJJ community has been an honor and a privilege, and I look forward to witnessing the holy work that y’all continue to do in the effort to build a more just, fair, and compassionate North Carolina.”

I’m also excited to announce that Durham resident and CJJ super-volunteer Abby Lublin has been chosen by the board to succeed Rabbi Salem in an interim capacity. Abby helped to incubate and launch the Antisemitism Listening Project and now serves as the project’s main volunteer coordinator. She has co-facilitated a retreat for the CJJ-West steering committee, written and presented fundraising pitches, participated in CJJ’s Leadership School, and served as a Crew Co-Lead for Fed Up. She was also a part of the recent hiring committee for our third organizer position. In short, Abby is extraordinarily well-positioned to step into this role, and we are lucky to have her as our Interim Executive Director.

Rabbi Salem and Abby will overlap for a few weeks until Rabbi Salem’s last official day at the end of the month, and Rabbi Salem will continue to be available in a consulting capacity to Abby and to the board through the end of May.

In the meantime the board will create a search committee to find CJJ’s next executive director. Look for updates from us as we move forward.

We wish Rabbi Salem the best in her next endeavors and remain appreciative of all she did during her time in North Carolina.