Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Lisa Fishbayn Joffe is the Shulamit Reinharz Director of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and directs the HBI Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and Law. She teaches in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department. Her research and teaching focus on gender issues at the intersection of  secular and religious law, the rights of parents and children in family law disputes, and Jewish perspectives on reproductive rights. Her publications include the books Women’s Rights And Religious Law: Domestic and International Perspectives, The Polygamy Question, and Gender, Religion And Family Law: Theorizing Conflicts Between Women’s Rights And Cultural Traditions. She is on the editorial team at Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's and Gender Studies  and is editor of both the HBI Series on Jewish Women and the Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law for Brandeis University Press. Dr. Joffe is a co-founder of the Boston Agunah Taskforce, devoted to research, education and advocacy on behalf of women seeking divorce under Jewish family law and a member of the steering committee of Cheirut, an international coalition of agunah advocates. Trained as a lawyer, she holds law degrees from Osgoode Hall, York University, and Harvard Law School.  

Sylvia Markowicz Neil is lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School where she previously served as associate dean, and is appointed to the university councils for the Humanities, the Stevanovich Institute for the Creation of Knowledge and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. She is the founder and chair of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute’s Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law and is co-editor of its book series. She began her career as a poverty law litigator, served as Midwest regional executive director and legal counsel of the American Jewish Congress and consulted with government and not-for-profits, establishing the Jewish Women’s Foundation for the Chicago Jewish Federation. She was appointed to both the Illinois and Cook County Commissions for Human Rights. Sylvia received the Rabbi Robert J. Marx Social Justice Award from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

Sylvia is widely involved in the civic, cultural and philanthropic community. She currently is chair of the board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, vice chair of the Art Institute of Chicago and on the board of Brandeis University where she is chair of the Board of Fellows. She also serves on the boards of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Public Radio, and the Chicago High School for the Arts. She is life trustee (former chair) of the Grand Teton Music Festival and trustee emeritus of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art.

Sylvia received her AB with high distinction (history) from the University of Michigan, AM (Jewish studies) from the University of Chicago and JD cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law. She is married to Daniel R. Fischel and together they collect art, enjoy music and are proud of their wonderful growing family of children and grandchildren.