Gratz College Welcomes Second Walder Cohort 
of Executive Ph.D. Students in Jewish Studies

Walder Foundation is pleased to announce the nine students selected for the second cohort of the Walder Fellowship in the Executive Ph.D. in Jewish Studies program at Gratz College, continuing a landmark initiative designed to expand advanced academic opportunities for accomplished Orthodox women engaged in Jewish leadership, education, and communal life.

Learn more about the new Walder Fellows:

• Hannah Abrams, London, U.K.
• Chana Ben-Abraham, Dallas, Texas
• Miriam Krupka Berger, Teaneck, New Jersey
• Rivi Frankel, Jerusalem, Israel
• Joanne Greenaway, London, U.K.
• Faye Kohn, Teaneck, New Jersey
• Rivky Schramm Krestt, Efrat, Israel
• Abigail H. Meyer, Brooklyn, New York
• Yaffa Setton, Oakhurst, New Jersey

The Walder Fellowship was launched in 2025 to support Orthodox women pursuing doctoral study while remaining embedded in professional and communal roles. Members of the current Walder cohort have already begun engaging deeply with their doctoral study, with most students having identified preliminary dissertation topics.

“The launch of this second Walder cohort confirms what we believed from the outset: when Orthodox women are given access to rigorous doctoral study, their scholarship deepens Jewish thought and strengthens Jewish life," shares Elizabeth Walder, President & CEO of Walder Foundation. "These fellows are not stepping away from their communities to pursue academic work — they are bringing new insight and intellectual leadership directly back into them. That integration of learning and lived responsibility is exactly what this fellowship was designed to advance.”

Read the Full Announcement