Sallie E. Gratch is the founder of Project Kesher and served as its first board chair. It was her trips to Russia and Ukraine to promote peace that led to her decision to create Project Kesher and support the rebirth of Jewish life through the active engagement of women. Sallie also founded Women Founders Collective. She received her undergraduate degree at Bard College and her master’s degree in social work at Simmons University. In 2023, she was honored by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College with the Keter Shem Tov (Crown of the Good Name) award, its highest non-academic honor.