Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann catalyzed the founding of Mishkan Chicago in September of 2011. Since her adolescence she has been interested in how to create religious and spiritual experiences that integrate intellect with heart, personal spiritual quest with social responsibility, and help individuals find their own unique path in the context of building a community.
She graduated with Honors from Stanford University, and was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in 2010. Lizzi was a 2016-2017 Schusterman Fellow and a 2018 winner of the Lippman Kanfer Fellowship in Applied Jewish Wisdom. Rabbi Lizzi has facilitated trips for Encounter and Honeymoon Israel, and currently teaches for the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish learning. She is currently a mentor for the 92nd Street Y’s Jewish Innovation Fellowship, sits on the board of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, as well as the rabbinic cabinet of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corp. She is an alumnus of Rabbis Without Borders Fellowship and the Clergy Leadership Incubator.
Rabbi Lizzi lives in Chicago with her husband Henry, and their two adorable children, Judah Lev and Adira.