Jake Chernoff

Jake Chernoff is a Jewish organizational professional passionate about deconstructing hate and bigotry against marginalized communities, including antisemitism towards the Jewish people. Jake’s role as Program Coordinator gives him the opportunity to utilize his project management skillset and offer additional support and logistics to Project Shema’s educational cohorts and workshops.

With roots in the western suburbs of Chicago, Jake grew up in an interfaith household that celebrated both Jewish and Catholic holidays. With Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrating from Poland & Lithuania and Catholic ancestors emigrating from Poland & Ireland, Jake was instilled at a young age with the need for ethnic and religious tolerance. This was especially vital with his lived experiences as an ethnic Jewish person in an overwhelmingly Christian area with a very small Jewish community. From his time at Ohio Wesleyan University, Jake furthered his understanding of Jewish identity and the importance of Israel to the Jewish people. By learning more about the peace process and imperative need for a mutually negotiated two-state solution, Jake quickly became a powerful advocate for both Jewish and Palestinian self-determination in coexisting homelands.

Previously, Jake served as Director of Domestic Affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Chicago, specializing in intercommunal programming, climate advocacy, and voter engagement. Jake is also active as a Steering Committee member of Israel Policy Forum’s Atid chapter in Chicago. Jake currently lives in Chicago, where he enjoys taking advantage of the plethora of world cuisines available, furthering his mixology skills, and watching movies of all eras and genres.