Rabbi Ilana G. Baden
Rabbi Ilana Greenfield Baden was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1999, following her graduation from the University of Michigan with degrees in History and Near Eastern Studies-Modern Hebrew Language. Rabbi Baden started her official rabbinic career at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation. Following her tenure there, she joined the historic Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served as a rabbi for 11 years. While there, Rabbi Baden was honored to be elected President of the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis. After her time in Ohio, Rabbi Baden returned to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her family and became the Director of Community Engagement for the Jewish Federation. She also served a congregation in Battle Creek, Michigan, and was a faculty member for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's Adult Education program. Rabbi Baden and her husband and two children returned to her Illinois roots in 2015 to serve Temple Chai, where she was named Senior Rabbi and also served as President of the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis. In addition, Rabbi Baden has spent many summers as a URJ faculty member and is honored to be a rabbinic fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Rabbinic Leadership Initiative.
