Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Cohen Kraus He/They

Chicago,IL

Summary

Self-motivated Jewish spiritual facilitator and mental health professional who brings proven leadership, organizational and customer relations skills. Independently solves problems and keeps teams on task to handle diverse business requirements. History of retaining clients, community members and talented staff.

Overview

10
10
years of professional experience

Work History

Restorative Justice Coordinator

Repair The World, Raise Your Hand
07.2024 - Current
  • Renewed for three internship cycle contracts
  • Editor of the Whole School Safety tool kit helping to sustain security officers out of Chicago Public Schools
  • Attending restorative justice listening sessions helping to combat violence and discipline in Chicago Public Schools
  • Collaborated with stakeholders like parents, teachers, school councilors, and team members to gain perspective on new ways to create Whole School Safety
  • Met and collaborated with the weekly cohort to connect abolition work to a Jewish lens

Registered Behavior Technician

The Place for Children with Autism
07.2024 - Current
  • Implemented individualized behavior intervention plans (BIPs) for clients based on their specific needs and goals
  • Utilized applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques to teach and reinforce adaptive skills, such as communication, social interaction, and daily living activities
  • Passed Registered Behavior Technician Certification Test
  • Collected data on client progress during therapy sessions to track skill acquisition and behavioral changes over time
  • Collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of professionals, including speech therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists, to develop comprehensive treatment plans
  • Provided one-on-one therapy sessions in the clinic
  • Implemented behavior management strategies to address problem behaviors effectively while promoting positive alternatives
  • Demonstrated patience and empathy when working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disabilities
  • Fostered a supportive environment that encouraged clients' independence and self-advocacy skills development
  • Incorporated visual supports, structured schedules, and task analyses into therapy sessions to enhance learning opportunities for clients with ASD or related disorders
  • Maintained accurate documentation of session notes, progress reports, incident reports, and other required paperwork in compliance with organizational standards
  • Attended regular supervision meetings with Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to review client progress and receive guidance on treatment strategies
  • Cultivated strong relationships with parents/caregivers by providing ongoing support education about ABA principles/methods/techniques used during therapy sessions

Teacher and Mentor

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
09.2021 - Current
  • Work in a project-based learning format
  • Build an original curriculum on race, gender, choice-making, sexuality, and orientation
  • Script and plan lessons alone
  • Teach and lead class weekly on Saturdays
  • Adapt lessons and space to learners' needs and abilities
  • Help students create original identity murals based on personal stories about their relationships with themselves and Judisiam
  • Collect supplies and plan youth group events both in and out of the house
  • Provide and create a safe space for learners to thrive and explore their interests

Training Supervisor

Keshet | Virtual
08.2021 - Current
  • Represented Keshet at Pride 2022 and marched in Chicago
  • Spoke virtually for Boston synagogue for Trans Day of remembrance
  • Facilitate Keshet's comprehensive sex and gender education training nationally on a gig-to-gig basis
  • Participate in monthly staff training on gender and sexuality education

Peer Support Specialist

The Josselyn Center
11.2023 - 06.2024
  • Building and locating resources for guests based on guest-led interactions
  • We are supporting Adults Ages 18+ in recovery and with mental illness with health and wellness goals
  • Making meals for guests as they come in and talking about what has been challenging through guest lead interactions
  • Creating appropriate boundaries of disclosure of sharing and applying personal experience of mental health challenges

7th-grade Religious School Supervisor

Beth Emet
08.2021 - 06.2024
  • Spending two years building an original curriculum on race, gender, choice-making, sexuality, and orientation
  • Script and plan lessons with a co-facilitator and alone
  • Teach and lead class weekly on Thursdays and Sundays
  • Adapt lessons and space to learners' needs and abilities
  • Help students create original identity murals based on their personal stories about their relationships with themselves and Judisiam
  • Collect supplies and plan youth group events both in and out of the house
  • Provide and create a safe space for learners to thrive and explore their interests

Substitute teacher

Kokua Education
09.2023 - 11.2023
  • Worked with all ages in charter schools on the west and south sides of Chicago, such as Aspira, ACRO
  • Assisting with planned lessons, working with students of a variety of backgrounds, including primarily Hispanic and black populations, and people of all abilities
  • Assignments are handed to me the day of when I am prepared and motivated to jump right in wherever help is needed

Tzelem Trans and Nonbinary Supervisor

Moving Traditions
08.2022 - 05.2023
  • Facilitated and planned sessions around gender identity, healthy relationships, and sexuality issues for Jewish Trans and Nonbinary teens
  • Communicated with parents and teens to schedule events
  • Scout locations to hold events and build partnerships with venue hosts

4th and 5th grade Mensch Academy Supervisor

Mishkan Chicago
08.2022 - 05.2023
  • Participate in weekly professional development sessions Monday-Wednesday on behavior management and pedagogy
  • Script and plan lessons with co-facilitator
  • Teach and lead class weekly, Monday-Wednesday
  • Adapt lessons and space to learners' needs and abilities
  • Lead religious services for the whole school
  • Helped learners develop their original game boards and other projects through learning through play
  • Infused theater into the curriculum by teaching improv games, storytelling through text and song

6th and 7th Grade Jewish Religious School Educator

KAM Israel
09.2020 - 09.2022
  • Built original Jewish curriculum for the upcoming 6th and 7th grade year to be taught by all 6th and 7th teachers
  • Works with supervisor Rabbi Lauren Reves to meet the needs of 10 students, nurturing their Jewish identity development through weekly 30-minute sessions
  • Creates lesson plans that mix a given curriculum and original content born out of the student's interests
  • Created an interactive resource guide with students about Black Lives Matter that allows readers to make a change by signing petitions that the students researched and presented to the KAM community with an active discussion about racism

Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Director of Engagement

Jewish Federation of North America
02.2021 - 06.2022
  • Devised strategies to increase engagement with JEDI programming
  • Helped build an LGBTQ Task Force in the Federation system by working with LGBTQ Federation members and partner organizations
  • Created Pronoun Training as a part of an initiative called Identity Forum and facilitated original content with a virtual inclusive dialogue
  • Meeting with federations to hear their concerns about how to create diversity, inclusion, and empowerment
  • Completed research projects to recruit speakers with fast turnarounds
  • Collected and presented data for how many people attended JEDI training
  • Currently working on LGBTQ curriculum for JEDI

Trans and GLB Inclusion and Literary Apprentice

Women's Theater Festival
09.2020 - 11.2021
  • Worked as a casting assistant on the November 2020 Occupy the Stage Festival
  • Marketing through trans-affirming Facebook groups and personal one-on-one outreach through email and direct messages increased the representation of non-binary and trans artists from 2 to 25 artists
  • Read and help choose 50 scripts for Occupy 2020 by providing feedback for the team about accurate trans and queer representation on each script read
  • Worked as a gender consultant on a script that included defining boundary questions between the actors and the director and providing research for the actors to engage with trans material
  • I devised and implemented Game Day for fundraising on Giving Tuesday, which helped raise $1,000 for the company
  • Participated in 2 Facebook live interview sessions as a face of the Women's Theater Festival, talking about the future of inclusion and representation for trans and nonbinary artists in theater
  • Will be mentoring and teaching a workshop with an original curriculum on writing the story from self for Trans and Nonbinary artists in a six-part series in March 2021

6th and 7th Grade Jewish Religious School Educator

Shir Hadash
09.2020 - 05.2021
  • Develop and teach a year-long curriculum surrounding the intersection of Judaism and other identities through an eye on institutional change, social justice, and inclusive leadership weekly for 1 hour and a half sessions
  • Responsible for helping the students to implement a social justice project about identity to present to the Shir Hadash community

Changemaker Engagement Team

Jewish Federation of North America
09.2020 - 01.2021
  • Gathered data from Changemaker calls and built a document of conclusions, trends, and suggestions for implementing the next steps for alums of the Changemaker program
  • Called 115 individual Changemakers to gather data about their experience in the Changemaker program and hear about what they would like to see next for further alumni engagement
  • Maintained a relationship with 49 contacts from Jewish federations nationwide through email and individual Zoom meetings
  • Meetings and emails were about the progress of the people who graduated from the Changemaker Young Leadership Program and what each Changemaker was doing to contribute to their federation
  • Connected Changemakers aged 20-25 to fellow Changemakers in similar career paths using Facebook, Email, and calling and texting
  • These calls also had difficult conversations regarding feedback inclusion and advocacy regarding identity-related topics
  • Helped plan the General Assembly Afterparty and Changemaker Shabbat by working with partner agencies to create engaging content that embodied Changemaker's inclusive leadership model

Leadership Director, Founders Fellowship

Hebrew Union College
11.2019 - 04.2020
  • Attended leadership training and learned about program implementation for social action on the college campus
  • Used a budget of 500 dollars to implement a program on Wright State College Campus to increase awareness around personal and religious identity
  • Created resources for students, such as identity writing prompts and links to research on specific identity topics
  • Made monthly reports of the status and success of the program for the supervisor to review
  • Created a performance with students as a culmination of their work in research on identity and religion

Kindergarten Teacher

Temple Shalom
08.2018 - 05.2019
  • Responsible for the care and well-being of children ages 5 and 6
  • Created structured programming such as crafts and musical lesson plans
  • Facilitated learning of Jewish values and practices by providing virtual and tangible resources
  • Developed effective relationships with parents through clear communication, checking in before and after school
  • Communicated with the supervisor on my progress

Leadership Director

Sexuality and Disability Conference
08.2017 - 10.2017
  • Promoted a show on Facebook with a campaign about self-confidence, featuring a new cast member on each post
  • Packed a full house of a theater of 150 seats
  • Collaborated with a choreographer and students to tell a story using the music of LGBTQ artist Perfume Genius
  • Worked with the director of Disability Services at Wright State to make the performance more accessible by bringing the actors closer to the audience and providing close captioning for projection as well as working with an ASL interpreter
  • Led group-based discussions on the correlation between orientation, gender identity, disease, the body, and queerness that resulted in the show

LGBTQ Social Media Intern

Lama Theater
03.2017 - 05.2017
  • Responsible for promoting LGBTQ-based production Charlie's Waiting
  • Connected virtually to local LGBTQ groups in the New York City area to come to the show and promote it on their organization's social media platforms
  • Created weakly newsletters leading up to the show by formatting the content and pictures sent
  • Communicated with supervisor digitally to promote the vision of the project on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, company website, and email
  • Made Spotify playlists as promotional material for Charlie's Waiting, researching queer artists to make an individual playlist for each character
  • Posted the playlists on all social media platforms
  • Located a queer graphic designer for the logo and programs that were used for the promotion of the show

Councilor

Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI)
05.2015 - 08.2015
  • Responsible for the care and well-being of teens ages 10-13
  • Developed unit programs based on the ideas of the teens to have mock bat mitzvah parties, spa nights, and Torah studies
  • Developed skill-building learning of the foundations to come up with a piece of theater that was presented at the talent show using each camper's skills
  • Helped out with planning the teens' Shabbat service and providing coaching on their writing for the service

Education

Rabbinical Grad student -

Hebrew Seminary for the Deaf and Disabled
12.2029

Bachelor of Fine Arts - Acting, Sexuality Studies Minor

Wright State University
Fairborn, Ohio
12.2019

High School Diploma - undefined

School of Creative and Performing Arts
Cincinnati, Ohio
12.2015

undefined

NFTY in Israel
12.2013

Skills

  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Google products
  • Salesforce
  • Creative
  • Customer service
  • Cold calling
  • Writing

Timeline

Restorative Justice Coordinator

Repair The World, Raise Your Hand
07.2024 - Current

Registered Behavior Technician

The Place for Children with Autism
07.2024 - Current

Peer Support Specialist

The Josselyn Center
11.2023 - 06.2024

Substitute teacher

Kokua Education
09.2023 - 11.2023

Tzelem Trans and Nonbinary Supervisor

Moving Traditions
08.2022 - 05.2023

4th and 5th grade Mensch Academy Supervisor

Mishkan Chicago
08.2022 - 05.2023

Teacher and Mentor

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
09.2021 - Current

Training Supervisor

Keshet | Virtual
08.2021 - Current

7th-grade Religious School Supervisor

Beth Emet
08.2021 - 06.2024

Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Director of Engagement

Jewish Federation of North America
02.2021 - 06.2022

6th and 7th Grade Jewish Religious School Educator

KAM Israel
09.2020 - 09.2022

Trans and GLB Inclusion and Literary Apprentice

Women's Theater Festival
09.2020 - 11.2021

6th and 7th Grade Jewish Religious School Educator

Shir Hadash
09.2020 - 05.2021

Changemaker Engagement Team

Jewish Federation of North America
09.2020 - 01.2021

Leadership Director, Founders Fellowship

Hebrew Union College
11.2019 - 04.2020

Kindergarten Teacher

Temple Shalom
08.2018 - 05.2019

Leadership Director

Sexuality and Disability Conference
08.2017 - 10.2017

LGBTQ Social Media Intern

Lama Theater
03.2017 - 05.2017

Councilor

Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI)
05.2015 - 08.2015

Bachelor of Fine Arts - Acting, Sexuality Studies Minor

Wright State University

High School Diploma - undefined

School of Creative and Performing Arts

undefined

NFTY in Israel

Rabbinical Grad student -

Hebrew Seminary for the Deaf and Disabled

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