Kate Bornstein & Phillip Picardi Host Shabbat Dinner At 92Y, Today

Community. It's important now, more than ever. Stand up, be visible, be present as 92Y's Fierce Fridays celebrates a queer-inclusive Shabbat dinner on Friday, November 30 with special guest Kate Bornstein - actress, writer, activist, and trailblazer. Kate whose Gender Outlaw is one of the most iconic books on gender identity, shares ideas, conversation, and fun while keeping the essence of Shabbat alive. Kate is joined by Phillip Picardi, editor-in-chief of OUT Magazine. Activist and Jewish educator Abby Stein helps lead and welcome in Shabbat. Break bread (or challah), celebrate self-love, welcome Shabbat, expand your community, and join us for a night to remember. This dinner - with kosher-style menu exclusively curated by The Eddy - is open to all. Beer and wine included.

"At 92Y we're transforming how we celebrate identity by bringing speakers from the LGBTQ community into ours," comments Jason Rosenberg, Program Coordinator at 92Y Bronfman Center for Jewish Life. "We're so excited to create this space and this event with Kate Bornstein, following our first Fierce Fridays Pride Shabbat with Alexis Michelle."

Kate Bornstein is an author, actor, and public speaker who has written multiple award-winning books, including Gender Outlaw, and My Gender Workbook. Her 2006 book, Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws, propelled Kate into an international position of advocacy for marginalized youth. She has earned two citations of honor from the New York City Council and garnered praise from civil rights groups around the globe.

Kate most recently co-starred on Broadway in Second Stage Theater's production of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men and also co-starred on E! TV's reality series, I Am Cait,

Affectionately known to thousands around the world as Auntie Kate, Kate lives in New York City with her life partner of 21 years, author and sex educator, Barbara Carrellas.

Phillip Picardi is the newly-appointed editor-in-chief of OUT Magazine, the youngest person to hold the title in the magazine's history. Prior to joining OUT, Picardi was a Chief Content Officer at Condé Nast, where he led editorial for Teen Vogue and founded the publisher's first-ever dedicated LGBTQ+ platform, them. Picardi helped transition Teen Vogue from a fashion publication for teens into an identity-focused publication that grew from 2 million to 12 million monthly unique visitors, thanks in large part to the introduction of progressive political and sexual health coverage - something that had never been done before in the brand's 13-year history. Along with robust traffic growth, Teen Vogue's new content ended up winning multiple Webby Awards, a GLAAD Award, an AdWeek Award, and its first-ever nomination from the American Society of Magazine Editors. In under one year, them earned a Webby Award nomination and was crowned the Hottest Website Launch of the Year in 2018 by AdWeek. Picardi himself has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 List, Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People, and The Advocate's 50 Most Influential LGBTQ+ People in the Media. He is next focused on the redesign and relaunch of OUT, with his debut issue hitting newsstands in late January.

Abby Stein is a Jewish educator, writer, speaker, and activist. She was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent; she is the 10th generation of the Baal Shem Tov - founder of Hasidic Judaism. In that world Abby attended Yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011. In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore different world views. In 2015 Abby came out as a woman of trans experience. Since coming out, she has been working to raise support and awareness for trans rights and those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy. Her story has been covered in the New York Times, New York Post, WSJ, New York Magazine, Jewish Daily Forward, Daily Mail, NBC, Vogue, InStyle, and more, as well as live appearances on CNN, Fox News, HuffPost Live, ShowTime, NowThis, PopSugar, as well as internationally. In 2016 Abby was named by The Jewish Week as one of the "36 Under 36" young Jews who are affecting change in the world. She is currently studying gender studies and political science at Columbia University.

About 92Y
92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people throughout their lives, offering: wide-ranging conversations with the world's best minds; an outstanding range of programming in the performing, visual and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for children and families. 92Y is reimagining what it means to be a community center in the digital age with initiatives like the award-winning #GivingTuesday, launched by 92Y in 2012 and now recognized across the US and in a growing number of regions worldwide as a day to celebrate and promote giving. These kinds of initiatives are transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action both locally and around the world. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y annually; millions more participate in 92Y's digital and online initiatives. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.