Protecting People’s Rights and Supporting Freedoms

Deena Fox is a proud alumna of the JTS/Barnard Dual Degree Program. Growing up in Chicago, Deena has experienced many different Jewish environments. She was part of an egalitarian minyan growing up, and then went to Schecther and Ida Crown for lower and high school. When it came time for college, Deena knew she wanted to continue her Jewish learning but also experience a broader secular context, so the Double Degree program was perfect for her. Once in school, she majored in Bible at JTS and Urban Studies at Barnard. Both of these majors allowed Deena to pursue an interdisciplinary way of learning. With her Bible major specifically, she valued thinking about the Tanach in a different way, specifically in terms of biblical criticism and the lens it allows one to look at the text.

After graduating, Deena took a one-year fellowship with the Reform movement at the Religious Action Center doing advocacy and work related to it. Following her time at the Center, she continued on to do a second fellowship with the Urban Fellows program in New York City, working closely with and learning about various government agencies within New York. Deena stayed in New York throughout her time at the NYU Law School, before relocating to Washington, D.C. where she currently resides. While in law school, she was particularly focused on public interest law. This passion carried over into the Department of Justice, where she currently works today.

Deena is the Deputy Chief in the Special Litigation section of the Civil Rights Division. Alongside her colleagues, this section enforces the rights of people with disabilities in the most integrated settings under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additionally, her section works to ensure children’s constitutional rights in the juvenile justice system. The Special Litigation Section is also tasked with maintaining the religious rights of prisoners, specifically through enforcing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

When I asked Deena why this particular type of work was meaningful to her, she answered with no hesitation. She knew she wanted to pursue a field that used the structure of the country to protect peoples’ rights and support their freedoms. It was important for her to use her law degree to help and improve the lives of others, so that is what she is doing. Her dedication to improving the lives of others did not start at the DOJ. After obtaining her law degree, Deena worked at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law for a two-year fellowship. Her time there introduced her to advocating for people with disabilities so that they could live in the most integrated settings appropriate for them.

Deena’s time outside of work is filled with learning and different ways of giving back to the DC community, both of which were instilled in her as a Double Degree Student. At List College, Deena was exposed to the most rigorous type of Jewish learning she had ever seen. The unique lenses and experiences professors and students bring to List College enriched her learning inside of the classroom. Today, Deena has been working her way through the Daf Yomi cycle, so she can connect to her love of Jewish learning, a love she credits to JTS. She has both been a part of and started learning initiatives because List College supported using tools like Sefaria to build source sheets and have the confidence to teach herself and others.

In her professional life, Deena looks back to being a Double Degree student and appreciates how it forced her to sharpen the ability to balance multiple responsibilities at any given time. Her position as Chief Deputy is constantly presenting her with different tasks, so her time at both Barnard and List College allowed her to practice time management that she uses in her work life today.

One of the most important lessons Deena took away from List College was learning how to be comfortable with a range of Jewish practices. Being around students and professors of different upbringings, supplemented by the different religious communities she grew up around, Deena solidified her comfort and ability to work and excel in different Jewish spaces. When looking back on her time in college, the advice Deena would give to current List College students is to try and get exposure to as many professional experiences as possible. Students don’t need to come into college knowing what they are going to do for the rest of their life. They should start with something that interests them, and see where it goes.