Rabbi Anna Calamaro is a mother, educator, and spiritual leader serving Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe, Illinois. In 2014, she received her BA from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in Jewish Studies. After working for Metro Chicago Hillel as an Ezra Fellow, she was inspired to earn her MA from Hebrew College in Jewish Experiential Education (2018). As a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, Anna served as a T’ruah Fellow, Bend The Arc Jeremiah Fellow, JDC-Weitzman Fellow, and as a chaplain intern at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Her rabbinate is rooted in an unwavering commitment to tikkun olam, community building, pastoral presence, dialogue, and innovation.

Merging her passions for Judaism and birth advocacy, Anna also works as a doula, infusing ancient Jewish spirituality and ritual into modern pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care through her entrepreneurial venture, TzimTzum Doula (www.TzimTzumDoula.com). As an Atra fellow, Anna is working to launch a Chicago Jewish Birth Network that will educate, empower, and connect birthers (and birth workers) to their bodies, babies, and Jewish communities.

After five years away, Anna and her husband, Yaakov, have finally returned home to the northern suburbs of Chicago with their precious, Bamba-obsessed toddler, Solomon.

City: Chicago, IL
Pronouns: she/her