Rachael earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Psychology from Boston College, with a double minor in Jewish Studies and Studio Art. She earned a master’s degree in Human Development from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, then continued on to Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) to work towards smicha, or ordination. She spent an extra year studying Talmud and Mishna at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, a liberal Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem Israel. 

Along the way, Rabbi Bregman hiked the Appalachian Trail, served as the student rabbi at the Manhattan Hebrew Association for the Deaf and Brooklyn Heights Synagogue; worked as a chaplain for both Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Mount Sinai Hospital; became a student chaplain in the U.S. Navy and a pastry chef at Mara’s Homemade Restaurant. 

Rachael is deeply committed to social justice and equity especially issues of racism, human trafficking, hunger and homelessness. 

 She has served on the boards of Truah (formerly Rabbis for Human Rights), The Jewish Community Relations Council, FaithWorks, The Meeting House and is a founding member of Tzedek Georgia, Georgia’s Reform Movement political action committee. She was accepted into the first cohort of CLAL’s Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), is a proud alumna of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program (CLP) and The Mitsui Collective. Rachael has participated in many trainings around anti-racism and counter-oppression.  She also teaches regularly on these topics.  She is currently completing her training to become a Spiritual Director. 

Rachael has been a leader in the Brunswick community throughout her tenure. She has served as the Vice-President of the Brunswick Ministerial Association, taken a leadership role in Glynn County’s Women in Ministry and is a co-founder of Glynn Clergy for Equity.  

Rachael is also a proud solo-parent to an almost ten-year-old and to two small rescue dogs.