Beth Hamon wants all Jews to feel valued

By Deborah Moon Seldner

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Portland Jewish Leadership Institute participant Beth Hamon wants Jews who feel like outsiders, especially from an economic sense, to know that Portland's Jewish community has room for them and welcomes their participation.
Convened and funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, the PJLI is designed to strengthen the Jewish community's leadership base for all of the community's agencies, congregations and organizations by teaching participants the personal, leadership and analytic skills they will need in the 21st century. Over the next few months, the Jewish Review will profile several of the 30 participants.
Hamon is one of 12 co-owners at Citybikes Workers' Cooperative, a collectively run bicycle business. Hamon, who lives with her partner Liz Schwartz in Northeast Portland, has eschewed automobile ownership since 1990, relying on bicycle and public transportation.
"I want to help other Jews who may
feel 'outside,' especially from an economic sense, to know that it's OK to come in, that there is a place for you here and there are ways to be involved, to grow your Jewish connection without totally losing who you are individually in the process," said Hamon.

"I especially want to reach out to others who, like me, identify themselves as 'working class' ? and whom may have felt confused or put off by outdated notions of wealth and class in the Jewish community."
"In Portland's Jewish community, there is a place for us, too," continued Hamon. "We have energy and talent to give to our Jewish community and I want to help facilitate that somehow. I want everyone to feel welcomed and valued. We need everyone in our Jewish community to be as involved as they can be, for the community as a whole to grow and thrive."
Hamon is also a musician. She helped found the Reconstructionist Music Network, also known as Harmoniyah, at the 2004 Jewish Reconsturctionist Federation convention. As part of the first steering committee, she helped define the role and tasks of Aregional Music Liaisons. Now she is busy planning for the 2006 JRF convention and developing an electronic music-sharing and filing system for eventual use by musicians in the Reconstrucitonist movement.
She is one of a group of musicians who rotate leadership of Friday night services at Havurah Shalom. She also has taught Hebrew, Jewish ethics and Torah at Beth Israel Religious School.
Hamon said that PJLI is helping her understand the breadth of organizations in the local Jewish community. She said through her participation in PJLI, she hopes "to learn what the rules of engagement are in the world of Jewish board-of-directors."
She said that since more Jewish leaders come from a traditional or corporate work environment rather than the egalitarian, collectively structured environment she is used to, she believes she needs to learn the corporate language to be an effective leader in the community.