about
Chel

Chel Mandell (they/them) is a queer non-binary Jew from the San Francisco Bay Area. They are deeply committed to reimaging Jewish community landscapes through creative ritual and reimaging how Judaism fits into the next decade and for generations to come.

Chel is in in their 5th and final year of rabbinical school at the Academy for Jewish Religion CA: a non-denominational accredited rabbinical school. They are a dedicated and soulful Jewish educator/director with 10 years of experience teaching in the Bay Area. Chel received a B.A. from the University of San Francisco in Environmental Studies with a minor in Jewish Studies and Social Justice. Chelsea attended Sierra Nevada University where they received their MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration on the intersection of art practice, activism, and community engagement. Chel also just completed a year-long rabbinic internship with The Kitchen SF, learning new ways to “do Jewish” and is thrilled to integrate this knowledge into their expanding communities.

Chel is an avid surfer/ocean lover, ceramicist/sculptor, outdoor enthusiast and social justice activist- with visions of bringing all of these interests and intersections to enrich their rabbinate. They dream of a radical new Jewish world with open ended creativity and inclusivity.

Chel is the founder and spiritual leader of the Tzimtzim Collective, a queer/ trans Jewish community in Santa Cruz. They also work as the program manager of the JEDI + JSSJ program at the University of San Francisco.

Sunshine Brooks Theatre, Digital Gym, Philosophical Research Society LA, The Roxie SF, Shredding, A New Lens in Surf Filmmaking: “On the Water I Disappear” 2025

Academy for Jewish Studies (AJS): “Jews, Surfing, and the Phenomenological Experience of God,” December 2024

Academy for Jewish Religion: “Surfing A Palace in Time: The Phenomenological Experience of God,” May 2024