Since 2019, Yaakov has guided RUACH Community Health’s growth from a breath-focused project proposal into one of the most exciting Jewish startups in the nation.Applying his education in American Studes (BA Yale '15, magna cum laude, concentration in Cultural Theory), his experience with social movement organizing (former IfNotNow member), and his belief in the healing nexus of science and spirituality, Yaakov began RUACH as a rabbinical student project at Hebrew College's vibrant cross-denominational program in Newton, MA. From 2020-2022, he worked with Hebrew College's senior leadership to design Beit Neshama ("House of Breath"), the first Jewish movement and meditation studio in the country, on the school's collaborative campus. In 2023, after four transformative years of learning, RUACH incorporated as its own nonprofit, and Yaakov left the rabbinical program to move into full-time organizational leadership, serving as RUACH's Managing Director before being appointed Executive Director by RUACH's board in 2024.Based in Boston, he is grateful to be part of RUACH's passionate team building an interconnected community of wide-reaching, deeply rooted Jewish movement and meditation studios.