{{Short description|American Jewish activist}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Stosh Cotler | honorific_suffix = | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pronunciation = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1968}} | birth_place = | baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered --> | disappeared_date = <!-- {{Disappeared date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (disappeared date then birth date) --> | disappeared_place = | disappeared_status = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (enter DEATH date then BIRTH date (e.g., ...|1908|31|8|1967|28|2}} use both this parameter and |birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | burial_place = <!-- may be used instead of resting_place and resting_place_coordinates (displays "Burial place" as label) --> | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = | era = | employer = Bend the Arc | organization = | agent = <!-- Discouraged in most cases, specifically when promotional, and requiring a reliable source --> | known_for = Jewish activism | notable_works = <!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works"; or by |label_name=, which produces label "Label(s)" --> | style = | height = <!-- "X cm", "X m" or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) --> | television = | title = <!-- Formal/awarded/job title. The parameter |office=may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) --> | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | criminal_charge = <!-- Criminality parameters should be supported with citations from reliable sources --> | criminal_penalty = | criminal_status = | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | partner = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) --> | children = | parents = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters --> | mother = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | father = <!-- may be used (optionally with mother parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | relatives = | family = | callsign = | awards = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | module = | module2 = | module3 = | module4 = | module5 = | module6 = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }}
'''Staci "Stosh" Cotler''' (born 1968) is an American activist. She served as Chief Executive Officer of Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish political organization that blends advocacy, community organizing, and leadership training.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaqFCwAAQBAJ|title=American Jewish Year Book 2015: The Annual Record of the North American Jewish Communities|last1=Dashefsky|first1=Arnold|last2=Sheskin|first2=Ira M.|date=2016-02-03|publisher=Springer|isbn=9783319245058|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/people/cotler-stosh|title=Stosh Cotler {{!}} Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>
==Biography== Born in Olympia, Washington, Cotler became involved with advocacy work while living in Portland, Oregon. In Portland, she founded an organization which offered self defense, violence prevention and empowerment training for girls and women. She was also involved with advocating for Palestinian rights<ref name=":1" /> and protested Israel's treatment of Palestinians during the Second Intifada.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/news/190706/bend-the-arc-leader-stosh-cotler-has-radical-strea/|title=Bend the Arc Leader Stosh Cotler Has Radical Streak — and Black Belt|last=Wiener|first=Julie|date=January 10, 2014|website=The Forward|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>
In 2005 she began working for Jewish Funds for Justice in New York, which merged with the Progressive Jewish Alliance in 2011.<ref name=":1" />
Cotler became Bend the Arc's Executive vice president in 2011 and CEO in 2014.<ref name=":1" /> When Cotler became CEO, The Forward noted that she was "one of the few women leading a national Jewish group of its size."<ref name=":3" />
In 2014, ''The Forward'' named her one of its 14 Jewish Women To Watch. In 2015, she was named one of the “15 progressive faith leaders to watch” by the Center for American Progress.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://auburnseminary.org/team/stosh-cotler/|title=Stosh Cotler|website=Auburn Seminary|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>
In 2017 she became a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary.<ref name=":2" />
In 2022, Cotler transitioned out of the CEO role at Bend the Arc and became Senior Advisor to the organization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stosh Cotler - The Unicorn at the Table |url=https://rebooting.com/article/stosh-cotler-the-unicorn-at-the-table/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=Reboot |language=en-US}}</ref>
Cotler has often been quoted by the media regarding immigration,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/japanese-americans-among-hundreds-protesting-plan-detain-migrant-children-fort-n1032001|title=Hundreds protest plan to detain migrant children in what used to be an internment camp|website=NBC News|date=20 July 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/426981/jewish-activists-border-immigration-detention-boston/|title=Shouting 'Never Again,' 1,000 Jewish Activists Shut Down Central Boston To Protest Immigration Detention|last=Feldman|first=Ari|website=The Forward|date=3 July 2019 |access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2019/06/18/united-states/the-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camp-debate-explained|title=The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez concentration camp debate, explained|date=2019-06-18|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref> in response to violent attacks on Jews<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wjla.com/news/local/graduate-student-helps-raise-money-for-synagogue-victims|title=D.C. man helps raise more than $600,000 and counting for Pittsburgh synagogue victims|last=Sanchez/ABC7|first=Victoria|date=2018-10-28|website=WJLA|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishaz.com/breaking_news/one-killed-three-injured-in-shooting-at-chabad-of-poway/article_11deed20-69bc-11e9-825d-e72b5b5ed387.html|title=One killed, three injured in shooting at Chabad of Poway, Calif.; suspect apprehended|last=JNS.org|first=Jackson Richman {{!}}|website=www.jewishaz.com|date=28 April 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref> and regarding issues of racial justice.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2015-12-30/ty-article/.premium/black-jewish-lives-matter-too/0000017f-f62b-d5bd-a17f-f63bbf6e0000|title=Black Lives in the Jewish Community: We Matter, Too|date=2015-12-30|work=Haaretz|access-date=2019-08-15|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/21/black-lives-matter-protesters-die-in-capitol-hill-longworth-office-building|title=Black Lives Matter protesters interrupt lunch with 'die-in' on Capitol Hill|last=Laughland|first=Oliver|date=2015-01-21|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-08-15|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Geoffrey Claussen describes Cotler as contributing to musar literature, citing her writing about courage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Claussen |first=Geoffrey D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4H5dEAAAQBAJ |title=Modern Musar: Contested Virtues in Jewish Thought |date=2022 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8276-1888-6 |language=en}}</ref>
Cotler is queer.<ref name=":0" /> She has a black belt in kung fu.<ref name=":3" />
== References == <references />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotler, Stosh}} Category:Jewish American community activists Category:American community activists Category:Jewish women activists Category:Queer feminists Category:American queer women Category:LGBTQ people from Washington (state) Category:LGBTQ Jews Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Jewish American feminists Category:American feminists Category:Jewish American anti-racism activists Category:American anti-racism activists Category:American women activists Category:American wushu practitioners Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Jewish LGBTQ women Category:Activists from Olympia, Washington