PhD Student Laura Stein (’27) featured in The Brink for Study of Clergy Burnout
The following is an excerpt from The Brink’s article “Finding her Voice, in Song and Healing Research at Boston University” by Rich Barlow, featuring current PhD student Laura Stein (’27), originally published on April 7, 2026.
“Voice is so precious to me,” says Laura Stein, who teaches and sings God’s praise on weekends as an ordained cantor at synagogues in New York. But “voice” means more than hitting the right notes.
A few years back, while studying simultaneously to be a cantor and a social worker, Stein learned of pay inequities between male and female Jewish clerics. Of course, she knew of broader inequities outside of Jewish life too.
“I wanted to shift the ‘using of my voice’ from singing and leading prayer to advocating for change,” she says. “My cantorial education taught me how to understand justice; my social work practice taught me how to live it.”
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