Rabbi Annalisa Grimes Stryer received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and semikhah (rabbinic ordination) from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her rabbinic thesis, “‘In a Pocket Over the Heart’: A Liturgical Examination of Prayer Books for Jews Serving in the United States Armed Forces,” explores the century of challenge, compromise, and pluralistic cooperation behind the Jewish Welfare Board’s efforts to meet the diverse religious needs of American Jewish service members from World War I through the Global War on Terror.

Rabbi Stryer is also an alumna of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she was active in Hillel and the Jewish Student Association while completing her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Religion.

She and her husband, Mike, share their home with a cat and an impressive collection of science fiction and fantasy novels.