Yolanda Savage-Narva

Yolanda Savage-Narva (she/her) is the vice president of Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) for the Union for Reform Judaism. For more than 20 years, Yolanda collaborated with Tribal governments to strengthen public health systems, promoted pedestrian safety and advocacy and coining the phrase, “Walking is a civil right,” and advancing health equity in states and territories. Most recently, Yolanda was the executive director with Operation Understanding DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting understanding, cooperation, and respect while fighting to eradicate racism, antisemitism, and all forms of discrimination. Yolanda is an alumna of the Union for Reform Judaism's JewV'Nation Fellowship and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., as well as an immediate past member of the Religious Action Center’s Commission on Social Action.

The 2024-2025 Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Fellowship Focuses on Racial Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Yolanda Savage-Narva
Jacob Greenblatt
Participants in the Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Fellowship are key to the work we do to educate, inspire and mobilize the Reform Jewish Movement to advocate for social justice. But for many years, the fellowship has not fully reflected the diversity of the Reform Movement and wider Jewish community. Amid today's divided climate, our commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion is more important than ever.

The 2023-2024 Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Fellowship Focuses on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Yolanda Savage-Narva
Jacob Greenblatt
For more than six decades, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has worked to educate, inspire, and mobilize the Reform Jewish Movement to advocate for social justice both within our Jewish community and outside of it. Key to that work are the emerging leaders of the Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Fellowship.

Favorite Jewish Teachings from Leaders of Color

Yolanda Savage-Narva
In honor of Shavuot and the Giving of the Torah, I have been spending some time reflecting on some of my favorite teachings from Jewish sacred literature, both those that resonate with me, and those that feel most important or most timely.

We Are Witnessing History

Yolanda Savage-Narva
As a Black woman, a Jew, an American, and a human being, April 7, 2022, is a day that I will always remember. I will remember it for the historic event that it was: the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

Two Out of Two

Yolanda Savage-Narva
As a graduate of both Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, the bomb threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are personal to me. Since January 2022, over a dozen HBCUs have received bomb threats; several of those threats were received on the first day of Black history month. The continuous attacks on institutions of higher learning; places of worship and individual attacks are a direct threat to our everyday existence.