Jo is an LGBTQ speak­er and advo­cate with degrees from MIT and Stan­ford. She serves on the boards of Equal­i­ty Texas, the ADL, and GLSEN. Her first book, The Out­skirts of Hope (JBC tour 2015 – 2016) describes her child­hood liv­ing in an all-black town where hers was the only Jew­ish fam­i­ly. Her new book is about her trans­gen­der son.