Shalom, y’all! My name is Rabbi Matt Dreffin, and I was raised in Sarasota, Florida, intimately involved in synagogue life as the child of a board member and a Jewish educator. I established Southern roots at Camp Coleman in North Georgia, where I spent 13 years as a camper, counselor, and senior staff member. At Tulane University, I captained the Ultimate Disc team while earning a Bachelors in Fine Art in Studio Art with a concentration in Hot Glass Sculpture. After a couple of years managing a New Orleans glass studio, I pursued my spiritual passions at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. While working towards Masters Degrees in Education and Hebrew Letters, I served as the Religious School Associate Director for Temple Judea in Tarzana, as well as a summer chaplain at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Ordained in 2013, I was a key contributor to the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Education department—running exciting programs and worship sessions, creating thousands of pages of curriculum, and supervising new Jewish professionals. In 2022, I started a new role as the Manager of Rabbinic Education at T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, where I try to galvanize rabbis into grabbing ahold of their moral authority. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring the culinary delights of Birmingham, attempting to play golf, and creating various art projects with my spouse and two children.