Alumni Spotlight Profile

Josh Block '97

The idea of becoming a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was always one Joshua Block '97 could see as part of his journey. As Co-Editor of The Lion's Tale in tenth grade, Josh wrote an op-ed piece about the separation of church and state and used it as a writing sample to get an ACLU internship in college. 
 
Today, Josh is a senior staff attorney with the National ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Projects. Since 2010, Josh has worked on the teams that litigated U.S. v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges before the Supreme Court, among other marriage equality cases. He has represented students whose public schools prevented them from accessing websites or reading library books about LGBT people. Josh represented groups challenging Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the policy banning transgender people from serving in the military. Some of these cases, as well as Josh, were featured in the award-winning documentary The Fight. Josh also represented Gavin Grimm and transgender students who have been discriminated against by their schools. 
 
Attending JDS from first through twelfth grades, Josh looks back at his time at JDS with much appreciation for his teachers and the education he received. "JDS gave me the tools to figure out for myself what my own connections to Judaism would be. It taught me that part of Judaism is questioning authority, but it also made sure that I had the deep knowledge of Judaism to know what types of questions I should be asking." Josh is grateful for having Dr. Cook for English in both grades 10 and 12, when he learned to be passionate about being a critical reader and elegant writer. Josh credits Mrs. Powers, who taught him history all four years of high school, with giving him the best training in civic education an ACLU lawyer could ask for. As a member of The Lion's Tale, Josh praises Mrs. Zuckerman for teaching him how rewarding it can be to work as part of a team for a common purpose. "She also taught me to take myself less seriously, although it took a couple of years for the lesson to sink in."
 
With all of the positive memories of JDS, Josh also recalls being conflicted during his high school years. He never felt that JDS was a hostile or unaccepting place for students who were gay during his time as a student, but also did not feel that it was an affirmatively inclusive place either. "I really wish that I had gone to school at a time when I could have had LGBTQ+ teachers who were out and I could have seen LGBTQ-headed families when learning about Jewish life-cycle events. I would have been a lot happier if I had been out when I was at JDS, both to other people and to myself."
 
Josh is pleased to learn that today JDS is a school that has conversations and curriculum in regard to LGBTQ+ issues and initiatives. The Lower School guidance team leads lessons about gender identity and inclusion. There are Gay Straight Alliance clubs in both our Middle School and High School and we strive to create community where every student is included and valued.
 
In 2012, Josh was named one of the "Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40″ by the LGBT Bar Association. He has served as a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School. Josh is a graduate of Amherst College and of Yale Law School. He clerked for Judge Robert D. Sack on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Second Circuit. Today, Josh lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their two children, ages 7 and 2.

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