Marra B. Gad is a highly sought after speaker who offers powerful insights about belonging, overcoming bias, and finding unity in keynotes and conversations that are tailored to each audience. Marra is deeply committed to expanding and exploring the notion of belonging across multiple spectrums. A gifted storyteller who shares her experiences being a Black and Ashkenazi Jewish child adopted by a White and Jewish family in 1970, Marra speaks passionately about diversity and inclusion, mental health awareness, and the power of embracing one’s personal history to find belonging.

For information about inviting Marra B. Gad for speaking engagements please reach out via the form here.

 

Shaare Emeth - MLK Jr. Weekend D'Var Torah 

 Shaare Emeth - The Culture of Sameness 

 

FCB Chicago - One Example of My Everyday Life

 

FCB Chicago - Finding The Grace In My Identity

Oakwood School - The Power of Truly Unconditional Love

Oakwood School - The Joy of Being Me

Oakwood School - I Cannot Treat Hate With Hate

Oakwood School - I Simply Say No 

 

Testimonials

On behalf of FCB, I wanted to let you know how delighted we were with Marra Gad. Her presentation was powerful, meaningful and actionable. Her incredibly personal anecdotes had a large audience riveted from her opening reading through her last moment in the building. In 20+ years in the business, I have never seen a more attentive audience – or more appreciative. There were tears in the audience as advertising professionals engaged with her content. Then, in the 1:1s at the reception following, the personal interactions were deeply meaningful as well, with employees reacting to Marra as a mentor, leader and friend. We had the most participation of any event this year, and I have heard nothing but wonderful feedback. I would highly recommend Marra for any corporate event. Her preparation was evident, her message is powerful and needed, and her performance skills make for a one of a kind presentation.

DAVID BROT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, FCB CHICAGO

Marra Gad was an invaluable resource and asset to my Panhellenic Association Recruitment training at the University of Maryland. Although Marra is not the typical speaker that is brought to Greek Life across the country, she perfectly delivered a perspective that inspired my community to want to be better in our efforts of combating racism and other forms of exclusion that have existed in Greek Life for over a century. Marra engaged beautifully on what it means to belong and how to accept the honest truth when sometimes that is hard, especially for young adults. Through sharing personal experiences, truly being an open book, and answering any questions that came her way, Marra instilled confidence in me as a leader and in my community as we are about to expand through our recruitment process in a couple months. Just as Marra was not the typical speaker for us, we were not the typical audience for her. However, that did not stop her, and she was ready to take on a new challenge and delivered it beautifully.

JULIE HIRSCH, VICE PRESIDENT OF RECRUITMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION

Our congregation was transformed by Marra Gad’s honesty and bravery as our featured speaker at this year’s Wolff-Toomim Distinguished Lecture Series. We learned from her experience how we can ensure that everyone feels welcomed and a sense of belonging in our community. Members felt 'seen' by Marra for the first time in a Jewish space, and as one person noted, she 'changed the thinking of everyone who heard her.' We are grateful to have had the experience of learning from Marra Gad.

DAVID M. SCOTT, RJE, DIRECTOR OF LIFELONG LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT, CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL, HOUSTON TEXAS 

Every day, members of our community are confronted with the reality of racism and hatred not only in the world at large but in our Jewish community. As clergy, it is the obligation of our members to do the work and to teach their congregations to do the work to make our world a more welcoming place. We can no longer take the stand of “it doesn’t happen here!” when there are so many times where we can say, “but yes, it did…and it does.” When you sit down to read Marra Gad’s memoire, “The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl” you see that there is still much work to be done for the next generation. Members of the American Conference of Cantors and our affiliate, the Guild of Temple Musicians, touch the lives of their congregations in so many ways—through teaching, music, pastoral care, and prayer—that it was a natural fit to have Marra talk about her life, her book and her experiences growing up in the Reform Movement. Throw in a pandemic to create one big complication in how we would bring Marra and “The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl” to our members during our annual convention. This is a conversation that needs to happen face-to-face, but that was suddenly an impossibility. By pre-recording the discussion between Marra and Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro, we were able to overcome our technical difficulties and bring the entire conversation to our membership in a virtual world. Following the conversation, Marra joined us live to answer questions and expanded on stories which helped bring the conversation full circle. This session was a necessary first step which we were grateful to bring to our professional community. There is much work to be done. This is only a start…but what a great start it is! Reading the book and having an open and honest conversation in our communities is how we move in the right direction and bring the vision of welcoming and love into reality.

RACHEL ROTH, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF CANTORS