Janet R. Kirchheimer is the LEAP Program Manager. A poet, essayist, creative writing teacher, and filmmaker, she is the author of How to Spot One of Us (2007, Clal). Her second poetry book, Seduction: Out of Eden, co-authored with Jaclyn Piudik, was published by Kelsay Books in 2022. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in numerous journals, anthologies, and online publications. Janet has taught and given talks and readings at a wide variety of organizations. Most recently, she was part of a “Six-Word Memoir” storytelling event held at the Tenement Museum in New York City, and her chapter “At the Water’s Edge: Poetry and the Holocaust” appears in “The Psychoanalytic Textbook of Holocaust Studies.” Janet produced “After,” a film that explores poetry written about the Holocaust, featuring renowned contemporary poets. She is also a gold-star-licensed New York City Sightseeing Guide, conducting tours about the first Jewish community in North America, founded in 1654. When she’s not giving tours, Janet is busy being a hyphenated American – the daughter of Holocaust survivors, an avid reader, singer, knitter, and opera lover, and that’s just the beginning. Janet brings her passion and curiosity about life and Judaism to everything she does at Clal.
