Valerie Cohen

Cohen was born in Cleveland, and raised in Florida, where she earned a B.A. in public relations at University of Florida, graduating in 1993.[1] She then studied at Hebrew Union College's Israel, Cincinnati and New York City campuses,[2] where she graduated in 1999[3] and was ordained at Manhattan's Temple Emanuel.[2] That year she joined Temple Israel in Memphis, Tennessee, as assistant rabbi.[2] In 2003, Beth Israel Congregation of Jackson, Mississippi, hired Cohen as sole rabbi,[1][2] the "only pulpit rabbi in Jackson".[4] She simultaneously served as the rabbi of Lexington, Mississippi's Temple Beth El.[5] In 2013, The Forward named Cohen one of its 36 inspiring rabbis.[4][6] Cohen became rabbi of Temple Emanuel Sinai in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2014.[1][7]