Joey Fink feels introspective during this holiday season. After grappling with his Jewish identity for many years, Fink, 31, feels happy with the place he is in and the Baltimore Jewish community that surrounds him.
After growing up in Baltimore and graduating from The Park School of Baltimore, Fink furthered his education at Goucher College to receive a bachelor of arts degree in economics. Now, Fink works as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley and lives in Pikesville.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
My favorite thing is I get to work with my mother. I’m third generation in the financial service industry, and I work every day with my mother who has been a financial advisor for over 40 years.
In college, I always had an interest in economics and finance. Right out of college, I knew I did not want to immediately go work with my mom. I wanted to explore a different part of the world, a different part of the country. So, I started my job with Lincoln Financial, first in Philadelphia and then Minneapolis. Two years ago, I moved back to Baltimore and decided to join my mother’s team.
How would you describe your relationship with Judaism?
A complex one. It wasn’t until I left Baltimore that I had an appreciation for my Jewish identity and the Jewish community of Baltimore. As we’re thinking through the High Holidays right now, I remember it wasn’t until my first job in Philadelphia where I learned that I had to take my own PTO for [High Holidays]. I wasn’t automatically given that day off like any other holiday. I was one of the very few Jewish people in my division that I work with.
I initially had intended to step back from the Jewish community and primarily focus my non-working hours with other members of the LGBTQ community at the time. I didn’t see an opportunity for me to really be my full, authentic, honest, true self while trying to be able to participate in Judaism. In 2017, I started reengaging more consciously with my Jewish identity. First, simply by wearing a very large, prominent Magen David necklace. I was living in Philadelphia at the time, and I noticed with a name like Joey, everyone assumed I was an Italian Catholic. I joke that I had to come out as being Jewish to a lot of my friends. I was [also] seeing that a lot of the Jewish community that was being targeted was often more visibly prominent members of the community, often the Orthodox community. I realized living in Philadelphia, I was pretty much unconsciously staying in the closet about my Jewish identity. As I started to think about the other identities I historically kept in the closet for so long, it didn’t feel right to me. So, that [necklace] was the first step in embracing my Jewish identity. Then I moved to Minneapolis, where I would meet people [and] they would tell me I was the first Jewish person they’d ever met, or at least that they knew on a personal level.
It really got to a point during the 2021 Gaza war when I started to see the flood on social media of a lot of anti-Israel rhetoric, a lot of antisemitic rhetoric, a lot of information that I can’t believe I was reading. I felt very isolated, not feeling like I had a connection to a very large Jewish community at the time. A woman had asked me, “Hey, Joey, you’re Jewish. What is your thought on the war in Israel?” I remember stumbling upon my words. I didn’t know how to answer that question. The importance of better understanding Israel was my reentrance, my refocus into my Jewish identity. Once I moved back to Baltimore in 2022, [I was] welcomed and included and embraced.
Do you feel like your LGBTQ+ identity and Jewish identity can coexist?
Prior to Oct. 7 last year, I [would’ve] said absolutely. That is no question. It’s been interesting in the last year, how the identity that has caused me most concern and fear has actually been my Jewish identity. While I feel fairly accepted and welcomed in the Jewish community, I started to experience places where I don’t necessarily feel that I can be my full Jewish self, specifically in more progressive LGBTQ spaces. For the first time in my life, I do feel like I am able to bring both my LGBTQ and my Jewish identities together and embody both of those identities at the same time.
Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
I’m a big musical theater fan. I’ve grown up in a family of appreciators of musical theater. I am most likely seen at a Broadway show or a show at an underground theater or a local theater, either in Baltimore or outside of that. In Baltimore, I’m a part of YLC, Youth Leadership Council. I’m a board observer with the Baltimore Jewish Council. When I find time, I try to ride horses. I grew up riding horses; I don’t ride as much as I used to. I am a big bow tie connoisseur. I love wearing bow ties. I collect bow ties; I have over 130 bow ties.
