As a Latina Jew, Audrey Weiss was always encouraged by her parents to embrace both of her cultures.
After growing up in Denver, Weiss majored in journalism at Colorado State University. Now 26, Weiss works as the director of marketing and communications for CHAI: Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc.
Weiss currently lives in Baltimore City with her partner Cameron Regal.
What does your job entail?
I spend a lot of time working on different [things] for the Edward A. Myerberg Center. Right now, we have the Pam Jenoff event coming up. It’s a conversation with New York Times best-selling author Pam Jenoff. So it’s a lot of putting together ads for that event, designing flyers and posters. It’s updating our website and making sure the information is available all over online and getting in touch with the press.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is working with a community that is so passionate about what they do. With everyone that I meet from The Associated: [Jewish Federation of Baltimore], we’re all just so dedicated to our communities. The Myerberg team is just unbelievably passionate. They’re a great team to work with, and it says so much about the service that we produce.
As a Latina Jew, how do your two identities coexist for you?
My mom, I think, is unique in that she really embraced my Jewish culture. She was the one who was actually urging my brother and I to learn about our heritage, our history and the different holidays. She made it a priority that we were connected to both aspects of our heritage. I actually spoke with a woman [recently] from The Associated system and we were talking about [how] it’s rare that we talk about Jews who are biracial. They’re so prevalent in our community. As an adult, I make tamales for Christmas, and I light my menorah. It’s a nice mix. I feel like I’m able to live in both of my cultures at the same time.
What do you like about working in the Jewish community?
I like that our core values are based upon values from the Torah. Working with CHAI, we’re so dedicated to diversity. We work really closely with different communities. One of our core values is that we invest in all individuals in our community, so I really appreciate that aspect of working with CHAI.
Outside of work, what’s something that you do for fun?
This is actually something that’s come up a lot at the office. I am a forager, so I have learned a lot about mushrooms and wild plants over the years. I’ve gotten a couple of my coworkers to buy mushroom growing kits. So we have some blue oyster mushrooms in the office. We have some brown oysters now, and I have my pink oysters at home. It’s really fun getting to learn about that.
Right now, I’m reading a book called “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake, and it’s all about mycology and how we are an active part in the environment around us. I think it’s a good way to look at the world. It’s helped me to zoom out from individuality and be a better part of a system.
How did you get involved with foraging?
I graduated during the pandemic. During that time, it was this really crazy world, and grocery shopping became more difficult. Everything became more difficult and more frightening. I spent a lot of time in the woods in Colorado and Fort Collins looking for different things that I could incorporate into my cooking to make things easier for me. I think growing up in Colorado and having gone to Colorado State University, these are environments where we’re talking about plants and nature and ecosystems constantly. I kind of fell into it, and I fell totally in love with it. I recommend it.
