Miriam Jerris was the president of the , and is the rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. She has been a member of the Society since 1970. In 2001, she was ordained as a rabbi by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. She also has a PhD in Jewish studies with a specialization in pastoral counseling from the . In 2006, she received the Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award.