Yasminah Respes​ is a native of Southern New Jersey. She has been involved in Jewish education since she helped her mother teaching kindergarten when she was 13 years old. Today she is a mom and a kindergarten teacher. She come from a line of educators; Her dad also taught in a Hebrew school for many years and her grandfather was a Rabbi who purposely reached out to Jews of color. Her family was featured in Laurence Salzmann’s book “Face to Face: Encounters between Jews & Blacks.” She lived in Israel for a few years before moving back to North America in order for her husband to attend a program of study.