Rabbi Isabel de Koninck

Rabbi Isabel de Koninck has served as executive director and campus rabbi for Hillel at Drexel University since 2010. Complimenting her role as Drexel, she regularly serves as an adjunct university instructor, teaching courses such as Civic Engagement 101, the Contemporary Queer Jewish Experience and Great Works: Harry Potter as a Sacred Text. A native of Montclair, N.J., Rabbi de Koninck is a graduate of Brandeis University and received rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she also completed a graduate certificate in Jewish Gender and Women’s Studies in a joint program with Temple University. She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and a member of the Mandel Foundation’s Executive Leadership Cohort IV. Beyond her work at Hillel, Rabbi de Koninck currently serves on the boards of Reconstructing Judaism and Tribe12. Rabbi de Koninck’s passion for Jewish life starts with the belief that Judaism is a relevant and inspiring framework for engaging the daily opportunities and challenges of today’s world. While her personal roots are in progressive Jewish community, her experiences with Jewish pluralism affirm for her that there is a mode of Jewish practice and identity for each person who seeks one, and that the diversity of Jewish expression is an asset to Jewish community and the Jewish future. At Drexel, she is most excited by the start-up energy embodied by the university’s commitment to entrepreneurship and by Drexel’s passion for using the talents and skills of all of its community members to solve today’s biggest civic challenges. She is eager to meet each Jewish student and stakeholder, learn their story and help them to discover their own pathway into Jewish living, learning and leadership.

Essays

Neon sign in cursive script that reads You belong here glowing brightly against a dark background.

Belonging Is Fundamental: Revolutionary Leadership on Campus

February 27, 2024

I hold the space between “you shall not change” and “you must change” for every community and individual I am blessed to work with.

Rabbi Isabel de Koninck

Essays

Belonging Is Fundamental: Revolutionary Leadership on Campus

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