Mark X. Jacobs joined the Urban Adamah staff as Associate Director in 2015. Mark has been providing leadership to efforts to integrate Jewish life and environmental stewardship for more than 25 years. As the Founding Executive Director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) from 1994 to 2003, Mark played a pivotal role in engaging the American Jewish community in environmental education, action, and advocacy. He has served on the advisory boards of many Jewish and multi-faith environmental initiatives, and is the author of many articles, chapters, and educational materials on Judaism and the environment.

Prior to joining the staff, Mark served as Urban Adamah’s Board President from its inception in 2011 until April 2015. Between 2008 and 2015, he worked as a Senior Mediator and Program Manager at the Meridian Institute designing and facilitating collaborative processes that help diverse parties identify critical issues, build relationships and trust, construct innovative solutions, and implement durable decisions. Mark has an MA in International Relations and a Graduate Certificate in Development Studies from Yale University, as well as a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He lives in Berkeley with his husband, Daniel Barash, and their two young children, Aviva and Lev.