May is Jewish American Heritage Month, or JAHM, a reminder to honor the contributions of Jewish communities across the country.
And in Los Angeles, a city known for its diversity and creative spirit, some of the most inspiring changemakers are queer Jewish leaders who are weaving their identities into powerful activism.
In celebration and recognition, we’re spotlighting four leaders and friends who are shaping a more inclusive Jewish future and building a better world for everyone. Through community work, storytelling, social justice, and radical care, they’re showing what it means to live with courage, connection, and purpose.
Arya Marvazy
As Senior Director of Programs at the Jews of Color Initiative, Arya Marvazy (he/him) brings nearly two decades of Jewish communal leadership to his mission of creating an inclusive, empowered, and joyful future.
A proud queer Iranian-American Jew, Arya works at the intersection of identity and belonging, championing the voices of those too often pushed to the margins: queer Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, and beyond.
For Arya, advocacy is deeply personal. After coming out to his conservative Iranian-Jewish family, he made a promise: once he found his own freedom, he’d be loud, both for himself and for others still searching for theirs.
This commitment has led him to serve through organizations like JQ International, JDC Entwine, and Keshet, and to speak out across the country. Inspired by Abraham Joshua Heschel’s call to live in “radical amazement,” Arya sees each moment as sacred and uses every moment he can to make Jewish life more inclusive, expansive, and vibrant.
Anna Goodman
Anna Goodman (she/her) is all about creating the spaces she never had growing up. As the Digital Marketing Coordinator at JQ International and the founder of Damn Good Dyke Nights, an events platform for lesbians and queer folks in LA, Anna is making room for queer femmes to gather, celebrate, and connect.
Raised in the Midwest without queer or Jewish community, Anna came out as a teen and later moved to LA in search of both. What she found inspired a mission: to make sure no one else feels as alone as she once did.
From packed dance floors to intimate social gatherings, her events are a lifeline for queer people, many of them Jewish, who are hungry for belonging.
Anna’s work is about radical respect and visibility. Whether she’s wearing her Star of David necklace or building a better queer social scene, she shows up as her full self, and makes space for others to do the same.
Rabbi Jillian Cameron
Rabbi Jillian Cameron (she/her) is the spiritual leader of Beth Chayim Chadashim, the world’s first LGBTQ+ synagogue, now celebrating its 53rd year. In this historic LA community, Rabbi Jillian continues a powerful legacy: creating a Jewish space where everyone belongs, feels like family, and can show up as their authentic selves.
Born into an interfaith family and familiar with what it means to navigate the margins of Jewish life, Rabbi Jillian has made it her goal to open doors wide for queer Jews, interfaith families, and anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.
Before moving to LA, she spent years working with interfaith couples, helping institutions embrace the full diversity of today’s Jewish community. For her, advocacy is deeply rooted in the Jewish teaching of b’tzelem Elohim, that we are all created in the image of G-d.
This Jewish American Heritage Month, Rabbi Jillian is honoring her heritage by doing what she does best: living her truth out loud and guiding others to do the same.
Robert Oliver
Robert Oliver (he/him) has spent his life at the intersection of queer identity, Jewish heritage, and progressive political advocacy. A lifelong Angeleno raised in a Reform Jewish family shaped by the survival stories of ancestors fleeing pogroms, the Holocaust, and the Inquisition, Robert’s commitment to justice is personal and generational.
He first stepped into advocacy as a teenager, organizing for marriage equality and against war policies, and later threw himself into the fight against Prop 8 and for LGBTQ+ rights through Santa Barbara’s Pacific Pride Foundation.
Now, as District Director for California Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, Robert helps lead efforts to combat antisemitism in schools, one of many ways he continues to serve his communities with passion and integrity.
A proud gay, secular Jew, Robert believes deeply in the power of authenticity and unapologetic advocacy. He’s been a longtime member of JQ International and serves on West Hollywood’s Public Safety Commission, where he champions inclusive public safety and equity.
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