As the community organizer for Detroit Jews for Justice, Eleanor Gamalski, 24, works to build a progressive voice in the Metro Detroit Jewish community and a Jewish voice in the progressive community. Through her work with DJJ, she has organized an active base of more than 100 people to make significant contributions to campaigns for worker rights, education justice and regional transit. Of all the issues facing our region, Eleanor is most passionate about the need for clean and affordable water. She is an active leader in the People’s Water Board Coalition, which works to educate on water justice and mobilize for policy solutions.
Eleanor is a proud alum of the Roeper School, where she feels she gained a firm foundation in social justice values. Eleanor graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan in 2014, where she majored in international studies and minored in urban studies. She participated in and later joined the staff of U-M’s Semester in Detroit, an immersive urban studies program grounded in the history of Detroit activism and grassroots struggles today. She received a master of public affairs from Brown University in 2016 with a focus on urban policy. Her particular area of interest was community benefits agreements, inspired by movements for equitable development in Detroit. Born in Bloomfield Hills, Eleanor is now a resident of Hamtramck. She is a member of Congregation T’chiyah in Oak Park.