jhjacobs

Justin Jacobs

Justin joined AJWS as the Senior Marketing and Storytelling Officer in September 2018. He spent much of his career as a journalist, chronicling arts, culture and news for a variety of magazines and newspapers in the U.S., Middle East and Asia. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 with a degree in English Writing and Religious Studies, and in 2011 moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, where he worked in writing and marketing for both non-profit organizations and high tech startups.

Munmun’s Story: Putting ‘design thinking’ into action

In a tiny, bright blue room tucked away from a chaotic market street in Kolkata, India, 24-year-old Munmun Das has created the neighborhood’s only safe space for girls to express themselves freely. Munmun is one of nearly 150 youth mentors trained by Thoughtshop Foundation to lead a Youth Resource Cell and guide conversations about taboo …

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Ruksana’s Story: Realizing an impossible dream

“As a child, I was awestruck by what nurses could do. And yet I knew that was an impossible dream for me,” says Ruksana Khatun. Ruksana saw her life spread out before her: She’d be forced to drop out of school to work in the fields and support her family, as her father had a …

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Learning through playing: Thoughtshop Foundation is sparking life-changing conversations in India

Thoughtshop Foundation — a longtime AJWS grantee based in Kolkata — uses a unique approach to expand what’s possible for girls and women within India’s deeply patriarchal, restrictive society. They call it “design thinking,” and for a growing collective of young people across the state of West Bengal, it has proven life-changing. Thoughtshop developed beautifully …

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