About Jay

Jay Sand is a freelance journalist, historian and activist. He has written for Philadelphia City Paper, Wired and Z Magazine and is currently a managing editor of the Direct Action Media Network, an international news service that covers progressive political movements. Jay graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with Honors in History from the University of Pennsylvania. While at the University of Pennsylvania, Jay won the Donald Ober Prize for the best undergraduate Folklore paper and earned the Thomas Cochran Honorable Mention prize for best American History senior honors thesis for work he did about radical community radio in the 1960s. 

Jay grew up in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Jewish community, where he attended religious school and participated extensively in Jewish community organizations. While in Harrisburg, Jay planned numerous regional and international conventions, events and exhibits for the B’nai Brith Youth Organization and attended Jewish leadership camps. He also traveled around the United States teaching Jewish songs at B’nai Brith Youth Organization conventions. At the University of Pennsylvania he studied Hebrew, participated in Hillel events, and planned musical and cultural events for a city-wide audience. Since he graduated he has toured the United States as a singer/songrwriter. In addition to his journeys to Africa, Jay has traveled extensively in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, planning his own budget tours for several months on end. 

Jay will bring a lot of personality to "The Jews of Africa" presentation. He will teach songs, tell stories, lead children in African games, and make "The Jews of Africa" presentation one that all of your organization’s members will recall with a big grin.