In Nov. 2023, Emily Fisher took time off from teaching to go on an educational trip to Europe and learn about antisemitism.
On the trip, part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis’ Maurer Koach program, Fisher visited death camps like Auschwitz and met living Jewish communities in Poland and Hungary.
The experience led Fisher to, for the first time in her life, seriously reflect on her role in the Jewish community.
She considered “what I wanted a Jewish community that I was in to look like; where I would fit; and how I could serve whatever Jewish community I was in.”
Soon after, she saw the Mayerson Jewish Community Center was hiring a staffer to work on inclusion, and decided to apply. “It felt like stars aligning,” she said.
Now, Fisher is the JCC’s first ever inclusion coordinator, having officially started in early August. (Previous J. staff have worked on inclusion and accessibility in other roles.)
“The fact that this position exists really demonstrates that this is an organization that cares deeply about inclusivity and accessibility, which is one of the reasons I was excited to apply for the role,” Fisher said.
(Editor’s note: Fisher is the sister of Cincy Jewfolk’s editor, Sam Fisher.)
While the JCC has had inclusive programming for a long time, Fisher will serve as the organization’s subject matter expert, and help both the JCC, and the larger Jewish community, be more accessible to people with disabilities.
The role is a homecoming in more than one way: Not only is Fisher back in Cincinnati, where she was born and raised, but she also previously worked at the J in high school, babysitting children while parents worked out.
“My first day I got here at this role, I got an email that was like, ‘happy 12 year anniversary,’ because I am technically a rehire,” Fisher said.
Fisher’s journey to inclusion coordinator started when she was young, having wanted to be a teacher since first grade. Caring about equal opportunity for students turned into an interest in special education.
That, combined with feeling a need to make her own way outside of Cincinnati, led to college at Indiana University and, after graduation in 2014, working at schools in Washington, D.C., for the next six years.
What she saw at work made her very aware of inclusion issues.
“I was usually a special education resource room teacher, so I was pulling kids out of their regular class and helping them with things, and then sending them back,” Fisher said. “Some of those rooms were very well equipped to support [kids], and some of those rooms were not very well equipped.”
Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, feeling the pressure of D.C.’s expensive cost of living and wanting to be closer to family, Fisher decided it was time to move back to the Midwest
But instead of heading back to Cincinnati (like her parents wanted), Fisher moved to Indianapolis, just two hours away. At her elementary school, she started to do some professional development and inclusion policy work.
“I’ve had a lot of personal experience with disability within my family, and then, through my professional experiences, I somehow became the person that everyone would come to with questions about disability or accessibility,” Fisher said.
As a result, she learned the ins and outs of navigating a school system that often made accessibility a challenge. Even now she helps friends and acquaintances understand how to get support for their children.
“Unfortunately, large systems are going to do the thing that is easy – most often – and not always the thing that is correct,” Fisher said. “If you know how to be the squeaky wheel. If you know how to ask. If you know the keywords and phrases to use. Then they’ll do the thing that’s correct.”
While working in Indianapolis, she finished her master’s degree and did a disability justice fellowship through the National Endowment for the Humanities and Wayne University. Fisher credits the fellowship for making her even more passionate and educated about accessibility.
Then came the Europe trip to learn about antisemitism and Judaism. It left Fisher feeling like it was time to re-prioritize her Jewish identity and involvement.
“Jewish spaces have always been a little complicated for me,” she said, citing her more introverted personality. “I come from a big, loud Jewish family – it’s very easy to just sit and relax. Jewish spaces are big and loud, so it’s easy to be passive in those spaces.”
The trip had been Fisher’s first Jewish experience outside of something like high holiday services.
“I’m in a comfortable stage of my life, and I’m starting to think about community more,” she said. “It was just kind of a personal reflection, looking at my life, looking at my choices, and wondering about the future all at once.”
Now, as inclusion coordinator at the J, Fisher is bringing all parts of her personal and professional life together.
She hopes to make the J’s general programming more inclusive – like making sure there are ASL and deaf interpreters for those with hearing or vision impairment – and increase programming specifically for disabled people, while also serving as a resource to other Jewish institutions in Cincinnati.
Fisher has big ideas and plans (but can’t share anything yet), and for now is getting settled into the role.
“It’s a really, really wonderful and welcoming team here,” she said. “I was very nervous. I’ve worked in schools and education for my entire career, and I didn’t really know what to expect from an office job, but it’s been really great. Everybody’s very kind, everybody’s very patient, everybody’s very excited for me to be here.”
Fisher has already made a partner in Accessible Ohio, a state initiative that offers free support services for inclusion efforts.
“It’s pretty exciting that we are really aligning with the priorities of, not just our community, but the larger Ohio community as a whole,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fisher’s parents – after many long years of encouraging her to come back to Cincinnati – finally get to take a victory lap.
“I liked to joke, when people would ask if my parents were excited, I would say, ‘Yeah, did you miss the parade?’” Fisher said.
