Rabbi Elan Babchuck is committed to leaving behind a world that is more compassionate and connected than the one he found. In pursuit of that commitment he serves as the Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Founding Executive Director of Glean Network, an incubator and network for entrepreneurs who are building new models of faith in action, which partners with Columbia Business School. He was ordained in 2012, and earned his MBA that year, as well.

Over the years, he has incubated over 150 successful startups and built several of his own. A sought-after thought leader, he has delivered keynotes at stages ranging from TEDx to the US Army’s General Officer Training, published in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Washington Post, and Religion News Service, has a column for The Wisdom Daily, contributed to Meaning Making – 8 Values That Drive America’s Newest Generations (2020, St. Mary’s Press) and is the co-author of Picking Up the Pieces: Leadership After Empire (2023, Fortress Press).
 

He also serves as:

• Founding Partner of Starts With Us - a movement to counteract polarization in America,

• Research Advisory Board Member of Springtide Research Institute – which focuses on spirituality, mental health, and Gen Z,

• Founding board member of the Beloved Network – a network of startup, home-based Jewish communities,

• Member of the Board of Advisors of the Changemaker Initiative, and

• Leadership Team member of RiseUp - a grantmaking initiative supporting innovative models of social justice in the Jewish community and beyond.
   

He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Lizzie Pollock, and their three children: Micah, Nessa, and Ayla. In his spare time, he finds sanctuary while climbing rock walls around New England and tending to his backyard garden.