Trauma therapist Miri Bar-Halpern — who with Jaclyn Wolfman coauthored the paper Traumatic invalidation in the Jewish community after Oct. 7 in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment in May — will keynote the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton and its agencies’ annual meeting brunch, 11:30 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 17 at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education.

Bar-Halpern is a clinical psychologist, advocate, and speaker who specializes in helping individuals, families, and communities navigate trauma and recovery.

The topic of her keynote is Wounds That Echo: The Psychological Impact of Antisemitism and Paths to Healing.

A lecturer at Harvard Medical School, she is also director of trauma training and services at Parents for Peace, a national helpline and intervention network to prevent and counter extremism as a public health issue.

The annual meeting kosher brunch program is free and open to the public. As part of the program, the Jewish Federation will install new board members, thank members retiring from the board, and will honor community members for their contributions. Registration is required by Aug. 15 at jewishdayton.org/events.

The Boonshoft CJCE is located at 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. For more information, contact Alisa Thomas at athomas@jfgd.net.

Related: Interview with trauma therapists Miri Bar-Halpern and Jaclyn Wolfman about traumatic invalidation in the Jewish community.

To read the complete August 2025 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.