Education / Advocacy
Emma’s pre-witching hour session of ShavuotLIVE 2025 focused on the features and functions of the label "Jewish American Princess" (J.A.P), using queer theory as a lens to explore the paths through Judaism, gender performance, and consumption the “Princess” has both invited and obscured over time.
Over three weeks together, Lex Rofeberg and Emma Newbery will guide interactive conversations that acknowledged and processed past harms done by religious institutions toward interfaith partnerships and families. From there, the class shared visions for a better future, exploring the roles that each one of us can play in crafting that future, together. Sliding scale pricing. Financial aid request form available here.
2025 Legislative Session
- April 2025: Advised community relations committee in support of:
- House Bill 5928/Senate Bill 0811, the Body Camera & Oversight Act (The Willie Washington, Jr. Act)
- House Bill 5927/Senate Bill 0533, the Reform Solitary Confinement Act from the Stop Torture Coalition RI
A live talk with author and trauma therapist Dr. Sara Glass about her new memoir, Kissing Girls on Shabbat, which details her escape from strict Hasidism and into expansive notions of queerness and community.
A live talk with author and science writer Jessica Nordell about her book The End of Bias: A Beginning
A lecture for ShavuotLIVE 2023 addressing the importance of harm acknowledgement in moving towards an interfaith approach to community and religion (click to read more).
Held on May 16th, 2023 at Rhode Island College, bringing together diverse voices and leadership from across Rhode Island dedicated to addressing rising hate in the state and beyond (click to read more).
2024 Legislative Session
- May 23rd, 2024: written testimony in support of Senate Bill 2929, which would create the Rhode Island baby bond trust to provide investment funds to children born to families with public health insurance or no insurance living in Rhode Island.
- May 8th, 2024: written testimony in support of House Bill 7686, which amends the Rhode Island
Works program to provide eligibility for benefits to pregnant persons from onset of pregnancy including
lawful permanent residents, increases monthly cash benefits, disallows termination of benefits for failure
to work, limits monetary sanctions. (in collaboration with Raising RI)
- March 12th, 2024: written testimony in support of House Bill 7217/Senate Bill 2653, which bans the possession, sale, and transfer of assault weapons. Possession of assault weapons owned on the effective date of this act to be "grandfathered". Violations are punishable by a fine or imprisonment.
- March 12th, 2024: Written testimony in support of House Bill 7373/Senate Bill 2202, which requires safe storage of firearms/provides civil and criminal penalties for violations/adds rifles and shotguns to the types of firearms requiring a trigger lock to be included with purchase/requires firearms dealers post signs regarding safe storage.
- February 1st, 2024: Drafted House Bill 7417, a House Resolution Condemning Antisemitism In The State Of Rhode Island And Beyond, which was adopted by the RI State House.
2023 Legislative Session
- April 18th, 2023: Written testimony in support of House Bill 6110, which would include in the annual state budget specific language outlining how the budget aligns with the governor's efforts to achieve equity in the state, ensuring that both past and ongoing patterns of discrimination, inequality and disparities in outcome, whether intentional or not, are neither reinforced nor perpetuated.
- April 13th, 2023: Written testimony in support of House Bill 7760, which would establish conditions, policies, and procedures for inmates' restrictive housing, including guidelines and restrictions for disciplinary/transitional disciplinary/step-down housing and an annual report on the DOC website; organized with local groups (Stop Torture RI, OpenDoors RI) to attend the committee hearings.