Meet an innoFaither: Scott Rechler and Sarah Beller
Meet Scott Rechler and Sarah Beller, partners in life and, as enshrined in their Jewish marriage contract, in cultivating a more just world. Bringing about social change is never a solo endeavor, so we are thrilled to introduce Scott and Sarah in our first joint feature. Scott and Sarah live out their Jewish values with deep passion and commitment in both their personal and professional lives. Scott serves as Executive Director of LearnServe International where he supports young people to create change in their communities, and Sarah is Founder and Coach at Realize Change, where she supports women and non-binary individuals to pursue their call to changemaking. They live together with their children in Washington, DC, at the edge of Rock Creek Park, on Piscataway and Anacostan land, in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? How does your tradition and/or spiritual practice inspire or influence you as an innovator?
A while back, at a friend's wedding in India, an 11-year-old asked us, "What is Judaism?" We both paused for a moment. It wasn't the first time we'd been asked that question. Having spent most of our time in the United States and Latin America, we'd almost always answered that question by leaning on the similarities to, and differences from Christianity. But this 11-year-old, having grown up in India as part of the Jain religious tradition, was also not particularly familiar with Christianity. Without missing another beat, Sarah explained that Judaism is grounded in "one god and a commitment to social justice."
Not everyone who practices Judaism would agree with that definition, though that sort of philosophical discussion and disagreement itself is very Jewish. And over the centuries that commitment to social justice has at times shown up more as an aspiration than in action. But for both of us, we have found Judaism to be a source of inspiration for our social change work.
I (Scott) have found particular meaning in my family's Passover seder, the annual meal where we retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The seders of my childhood were guided by my great grandfather Isador Samet who, at age 17, immigrated to the United States from Poland, and then by his son, Seymour Samet, who dedicated his career to civil rights and inter-group relations in the U.S. The seder rituals invite participants to imagine themselves as a stranger in a strange land, and to experience the journey from slavery to freedom. I grew up with family members speaking from both deep personal experience and deep empathy about the importance of standing up for others, especially those with little voice. These conversations, grounded in Jewish teaching, continue to inform and inspire my work as a changemkaer.
I (Sarah) find meaning in the Jewish teachings that humans were created in the divine image, and that each life is an entire world. Recognizing the dignity in each and every human being has fueled my pursuit of social justice, from coordinating literacy tutoring programs to advocating for Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution to organizing Jewish communities in support of refugees and immigrants. My chosen methods of changemaking lean heavily towards human connection, presence, song, spirit, and community building – further reinforcing these core beliefs in ways I find nourishing.
What are you currently working on?
"We will bring together our experiences, energy, and creativity to enrich and nourish our communities, striving to realize the potential for a just, respectful, and peaceful world," reads the culminating line of the commitments we outlined in our ketubah (Jewish marriage contract), now hanging in our living room. This shared vision for the future of the world, and our roles in shaping that future, that we spelled out 15 years ago continues to center our approach as parents, friends and neighbors, educators, and advocates for social change.
Scott serves as Director of LearnServe International, a non-profit committed to helping high school students discover their power to create social change. Over the past nearly 20 years he has asked hundreds of students “what pisses you off?” and then has guided them through the process of researching, designing, and launching community action projects to address the injustices closest to their hearts.
Scott believes that the most powerful learning comes through doing: through dialogue, discussion, and then diving in. He enjoys those “aha moments” when the light bulb goes off and the dots connect – when his students discover something new about themselves, and when that something transforms the way they show up in the world. He considers this the "long game" approach to social change. It may not help us solve the acute social and environmental challenges we are facing today, but the more that young people can lead with empathy, creativity, and curiosity–today and into adulthood–the better off we will all be.
Six years ago, Sarah launched her coaching and community building practice Realize Change to empower women and non-binary folks to create the change they want to see in the world. In this work, she provides individual and group coaching for clients pursuing career transitions, growing in their leadership, and developing social ventures. She received her coach training through Presence-Based Coaching, and has worked with over 250 clients on six continents (all except Antarctica!).
For a decade before that, Sarah devoted her career to building movements that take bold, strategic, and passionate action in the face of some of the most pressing issues of our time – including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the global refugee crisis. Sarah is also co-founder of SongRise, an acclaimed women’s social justice a capella group, and in 2022 she released Pilot Light, her first solo album as a singer-songwriter.
What can we find you doing when you’re not working?
When we're not working, you can usually find us parenting our two children, now 5 and 10 years old. We try our best to hold space with thoughtfulness and intentionality for our own kids the way we do for our students and clients. Some days we feel more successful with that than others (check out Sarah's song "It's Not On You (Lo Alecha Song)" for more on that). We hope that they experience both the joy and the call to action that we have found in Judaism, as well as the humility, curiosity, and excitement of getting to know people whose religious and cultural traditions are different from our own.
In the few moments these days not devoted to work or to parenting, you can usually find Scott outdoors – running, biking, hiking, or planting seeds. He has become a fan of experimental and guerilla gardening, an attempt to bring beauty to unassuming spaces, and to simply see and appreciate what grows (more of Scott’s reflections on planting seeds).
When Sarah isn’t coaching, singing, strategizing, or parenting, she adores resting and taking leisurely walks in nature. On occasion, she can really dance up a storm or get engrossed in an art project.
What is piquing your curiosity these days?
These days we've been spending a lot of time wondering how as a country, and as the world, we can go back to appreciating the humanity in each other. Even (and especially) those who are different from us. Judaism teaches that "Whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved the whole world" (from the Talmud, the rabbinic text that informs much of Jewish law), because each human being is made in G-d's image. But that way of seeing the world seems so far from the rhetoric and actions of many elected leaders, and the discourse on social media. How can we replace this growing fear for each other with a healthy appreciation for each other?
What is something you’d like help on?
As DC residents, we don’t have full representation in Congress. For folks who do have representatives and senators, please take a moment to call their offices every day and let them know what’s important to you. This feels like an incredibly crucial time to speak up, and not to sit on the sidelines. As we learn in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Ancestors), “It’s not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
What is something you can offer others in the innoFaith network?
We both love speaking with others about their new ideas for social change – how to shape the idea, and where to start. Scott is especially excited to speak with young people with big ideas, as well as educators interested in bringing social entrepreneurship or changemaking into the classroom. Sarah can offer workshops for adults on cultivating resilience, somatics for social change, navigating career transitions, cultivating ventures, and mindful leadership. Her a cappella group SongRise could infuse upcoming events with a dose of musical inspiration.
You can find Scott at LearnServe (website or email), and on LinkedIn.
You can find Sarah at Realize Change and on LinkedIn. Sarah’s creative work lives at www.sarahdbeller.com, and you can learn more about SongRise and request a performance at https://songrisedc.org/.