2023 Participant Biographies

Rabbi Dr. Levi Ethan Alter is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. He is the spiritual leader of his congregation of Holocaust survivors and the CEO of a healthcare corporation. His previous professional experiences include being on the clinical faculty of UCLA Medical Center and a university department chairman. The Alexander hasidic (pietist) movement was founded in Poland in 1880 in Aleksandrow, it was the second largest hasidic group in Poland after Ger. The shtiebl (hasidic synagogue) of the Alexander hasidim in Ostrolenka was the house of Lewtan the baker. Every member of our family but seven, along with the rest of the six thousand Jews of Ostroleka, were lost in the Holocaust.

Levi is married to Rebbetzin Dr. Yona Ruth Alter, a physician, Rabbi Alter is the fourth generation of intersex individuals in his family. An internationally sought-after expert on intersex concerns, he has been called upon on a regular basis to advise physicians concerning the treatment of intersex newborns and is involved with policy making at the international level. His current work for trans inclusion in religion, health care and other fields includes being a keynote speaker and organizer for major conferences and events, interviews on LOGO, MTV, MSNBC, Newsweek, BBC Radio and many other documentaries and media appearances. He is the President of FTM International, spanning more than twenty countries and over thirty years building FTM lives, families and communities (www.FTMI.org). He was honored with the Icon Award from Trans Unity Pride for lifetime service to the transgender community.