Rabbi Andy Shapiro Katz was raised in the suburban Jewish ghetto of Beachwood, Ohio, continuing Jewish education a startling 5 years past becoming a bar mitzvah. He then headed west to the suburban multicultural ghetto of Stanford University, getting a BA in American Studies and an MA in Education Policy. He left his happy universalitstic do-gooder life behind to immerse himself in Jewish community and learning, as a Project Otzma volunteer, student at the Conservative Yeshiva, and educator-in-training at the Pardes Institute - eventually getting smicha from his teachers there. Jobs along the way included Rabbinic Intern at Fairmount Temple (Reform) in Beachwood, OH, waiter at Norman's Grill and Bar (Fleischig) in Jerusalem, and Assistant Director of Young Leadership (not really so young) at United Jewish Communities in New York. Since 2003, Andy has taught at the Weber Jewish Community High School in Atlanta, GA and the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, where he now serves as the Assistant Head of School for Student Life and Jewish Learning. He lives in the Mission District of San Francisco with his wife Emily, also a Jewish educator, and his loud but cute daughters, Maya (4) and Avital (1.5). Andy is an active member of the Mission Minyan, where he periodically leads davening, duchens, and tends the grill.
