maxine epstein will remain with us. please join us in a moment when we consider this conversation here on mosaic. >>> welcome back to mosaic. i am honored to be your host. we are in the middle of a wonderful conversation within the context of june as lgbtq pride month and lgbtq life in the jewish community. welcome back maxine. we would like to introduce you to gene plecer, community manager in the bay area. welcome. >> thank you so much. it's a pleasure to be there. kesha is an organization based in boston that does national work around the country. we were founded 20 years ago in a different environment and at the time it was very hard for people who were lgbtq to feel like they could live fully integrated jewish lives. when they entered jewish spaces they had to leave their queer, lgbtq identity at the door. we were founded with the mission of trying to change that and create a world where people could be queer and jewish at the same time. we have spent the last 20 years working across the country helping make jewish