Alysa Stanton

Alysa Stanton (born August 2, 1963) is an American Reform rabbi, and the first African American female rabbi. Ordained on June 6, 2009, Stanton converted to Judaism at age 24 and first studied and worked as a psychotherapist.

Early life and education Stanton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Denver, Colorado, with her family at the age of 11. Although raised in the Church of God in Christ, when she was 24 Stanton converted to Judaism after considering several Eastern religions. She has said she was "born Jewish—just not to a Jewish womb". She earned her BA in psychology in 1988, an MA in education in 1992, from Colorado State University.

Career In her first career, Stanton was a psychotherapist. Before preparing for the rabbinate, she sought to become a cantor, but heard that Jewish leadership positions were not available to women. When she finally saw a female cantor, she decided to pursue the studies necessary to become a rabbi. "If I were the 50,000th, I'd still be doing what I do.... Me being first was just the luck of the draw."

In August 2009, Stanton became the rabbi of Congregation Bayt Shalom, a small majority-white synagogue in Greenville, North Carolina, In 2011, the congregation decided not to renew her contract, which expired July 31, 2011.