Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Brandeis University, Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education from Claremont Graduate University, Rabbinic Ordination from ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction from the Vancouver School of Theology.

She is Rabbi Emerita of Or Shalom Synagogue in Vancouver and Professor Emerita of Philosophy at UNC Charlotte.

Rabbi Laura received many teaching awards, including the American Academy of Religion’s Katie Geneva Cannon Award for Excellence in Teaching, American Association of Philosophy Teachers Award, Carnegie Foundation’s U.S. Professor of the Year, UNC Board of Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence.

Rabbi Laura is author or editor of 10 books. Recently, she authored Mouth of the Donkey: Re-imagining Biblical Animals (Cascade, 2021) and The Infinity Inside: Jewish Spiritual Practice Through a Multi-Faith Lens (Albion-Andalus, 2019). Recent co-edited projects include Encountering the Other: Christian and Multi-faith Perspectives (Wipf & Stock, 2020) with Dr. Harry Maier and Spirit of Reconciliation: A Multi-faith Resource (Canadian Race Relations Foundation, 2020) with Dr. Ray Aldred.

Locally, Rabbi Laura is a popular lecturer, retreat leader, and synagogue prayer leader. She loves to bring people together for dialogue and discussion. Each year at VST, she hosts an Inter-Religious conference on a theme of public concern. Recently, she was honoured with a Visioneers Lifetime Achievement Award for Peace and Community Well-Being.

Rabbi Laura, a dual Canadian-American citizen, grew up in New York City. She is married to psychologist Charles Kaplan. Together they are musical partners in the band Sulam, parents of two young adults, and caretakers of a changing array of companion animals.