SUMMIT CATALOGUE
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Carbon Offset Certificate
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About ROI Gatherings and Events
International Representation Index Welcome Letters
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About ROI Community About ROI Grants
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MIND MAP OF CONTENTS
ROI Cloud
ROI Making Headlines
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Thank You 19-310
Summit Participants
Current ROI Members
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ROI Staff Members
This Page
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SHALOM AND WELCOME TO ISRAEL! It is wonderful to be with you in Jerusalem for the 2011 ROI Summit. This year marks the sixth annual gathering of the ROI Community, and we are thrilled to have you join this vibrant, growing hub of inspirational activity and service. Over the coming days, you will meet other Jewish leaders and innovators from around the world. To date, more than 600 young adults, from almost 40 different countries, are members of ROI. We are a proudly diverse community, bound by our love for the Jewish people and for Israel. Each member is uniquely talented, with limitless potential to transform communities and inspire the Jewish world. You are here because we believe in what you have to contribute. Fittingly, the Summit is convening in the heart of Israel during the Jerusalem Season of Culture, when this ancient city will give rise to a sophisticated expression of culture, entertainment and artistry that will color and uplift inhabitants and visitors alike. I know your networking, connecting and brainstorming will be enhanced by this creative setting.
Over the coming days, you will meet other Jewish leaders and innovators from around the world. To date, more than 600 young adults, from almost 40 different countries, are members of ROI. We are a proudly diverse community, bound by our love for the Jewish people and for Israel.
Together, over the next four days, let us use the richness and complexity of our surroundings to work hard, take risks and form deep connections that will strengthen our respective and collective ability to be agents of substantive change and lasting impact. With a special focus on peer-led sessions, we hope to foster optimism for the bright Jewish future that is in your generation’s very capable hands. I like to believe that Rabbi Tarfon, the great Jewish sage, had people like you in mind when he issued his call to all of humanity and declared that, “While no one person is obligated to complete the task, neither is anyone free to desist from it.” Thank you for taking the time to journey here from near and far. Your commitment to your local communities and to the world at large is remarkable, and I for one cannot wait to see what emerges for the Jewish people from the seeds planted here this week. With good thoughts for our time together.
B’Shalom,
Lynn Schusterman Chair, The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
BRUCHIM HABA’IM, Welcome to the sixth annual ROI Summit, the world’s leading gathering of Jewish innovators. Thank you for joining us here today and for being part of this global network that we call the ROI Community. Six years ago, ROI began as an annual conference aimed at gathering young Jewish trailblazers who were creating new and innovative ways for their peers to connect to Jewish life. Since then, two dominant factors have contributed to ROI’s transformation and evolution: Lynn Schusterman’s bold leadership and passion for supporting young leaders who are poised to impact the Jewish world; and the outstanding members of this 600 person community who are committed to supporting one another in their pursuit of ways to expand the horizons of our community so that more and more individuals experience Jewish life in infinite ways. Today, ROI Community has become a network of young Jewish innovators who collaborate and offer each other strategic support and advice throughout the year.
Last year, we celebrated ROI’s fifth anniversary and we marked this milestone by asking ourselves the tough questions that every growing start-up must ask. What long-term impact do we want to have on the world? Or in other words, what’s the return on investment that we are seeking?
Last year, we celebrated ROI’s fifth anniversary and we marked this milestone by asking ourselves the tough questions that every growing start-up must ask. What long-term impact do we want to have on the world? Or in other words, what’s the return on investment that we are seeking? Our ultimate goal is to connect dynamic, creative young Jews with one another in a way that enables them to translate their ideas into innovative work that will transform the future of Jewish life around the world. It is in this context that the annual ROI Summit serves as an opportunity for us all to model the kinds of collaboration, sharing and reciprocity that we hope to experience year-round as members of this community. This Summit has been designed with several goals in mind: We hope you will connect with one another. We hope you will help each other. We hope you create together. And we hope you become more effective by learning new skills and by being inspired. At the end of the day, however, we are all here because of a common bond and commitment to a vibrant Jewish future. This common quest goes deeper than organizational culture. It is rooted in thousands of years of history and it is ingrained in who we are and what we hope for the world. Back in the shtetl, in pre-war Poland, there was once a rabbinical sage who proclaimed that “the greatest thing in the world is to do somebody else a favor.” This friendly statement, that is at once simple and profound, is the essence of what fuels the ROI Community. Over these next few days with your fellow ROI Summit participants, and in the future with the members of the ROI Community at large, let’s seize those opportunities to help each other out so that our individual achievements become our community’s successes.
With deep respect and gratitude,
Justin Korda Executive Director, ROI Community 5
Brimming with a magnificent history, colorful and diverse culture and a distinctive spirit, Jerusalem is an ideal location for budding Jewish leaders and innovators to meet and set the wheels of change for a positive Jewish future in motion.
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International Representation HELLO
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OLA ПРИВЕТ
BONJOUR
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Israel
Mexico
Netherlands
Panama
Paraguay
Poland
Russia
Slovak Republic
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela 9
ABOUT ROI COMMUNITY ROI Community is a global community of Jewish innovators created by Lynn Schusterman. Our ultimate goal is to connect dynamic, creative young Jews with each other, enabling them to translate their ideas into innovative work that will transform the future of Jewish life around the world. ROI Community nurtures this work by creating a space where connection and innovation can happen. Our members shape the Jewish future as they move forward on their journey to become leaders, activists and change agents. We give Jewish innovators the opportunity to connect with each other so that together they can create innovative Jewish work.
Connect
Create
Across the globe, amazing young Jews are connecting through the ROI Community. Through intensive gatherings such as the annual ROI Summit, as well as regional and local events, ROI makes these connections possible. Between gatherings, our network supports interactions and relationships among our members.
ROI Community members impact the Jewish world by turning their passion into action from education to Israel, from technology and social justice to the environment and beyond. ROI Community members’ work offers new and innovative ways to connect Jewish audiences around the world to Jewish life.
Our community is one of sharing and reciprocity, where members learn from and nurture each other. Such connections spark ideas, which are ultimately turned into action plans that will impact and change the Jewish world and beyond.
Our belief is that the creative potential of innovative young Jews can strengthen not only the Jewish community, but improve the world as well. ROI Community now includes more than 600 Jewish innovators from nearly 40 countries and has sparked hundreds of member-initiated projects and events. In addition to ongoing support and professional development, ROI Community nurtures innovative initiatives through ROI Seed Grants and Micro Grants.
THE POWER OF CONNECTION: How to Make the Most of Your ROI Experience
Our History ROI Community began in 2005 as a partnership between Taglit-Birthright Israel and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. ROI Community is solely supported by Lynn Schusterman and operates independently as an organization within the Schusterman philanthropic network. What began as an annual summit meeting has now become an active year-round community where Jewish innovators collaborate with one another and offer each other strategic support and advice.
Our Future Our future is the future not just of our members, but of the Jewish community at large. By supporting and nurturing the young creative people in our community – our future leaders – we are ultimately shaping the Jewish world for years to come.
ROI Community is a select group of highly innovative and creative Jews from all over the world. You are attending the 2011 ROI Summit because of your outstanding talent, vision and capabilities. Your ability to contribute to the ROI Community – as well as to benefit from it – comes down to two things: Connect & Create. The success of our community depends on people like you assisting others and receiving help and advice in return.
CONNECT WITH OTHER MEMBERS! While you are here at the ROI Summit (and after you return home), focus as much as possible on connecting with other members and getting to know them. You will see that other ROIers can serve as some of the best strategic advisors out there and that you can be a valuable advisor to others, as well. Each time you connect with another ROIer, you will both understand better how you can help each other. There is power in connection!
CREATE INNOVATIVE JEWISH WORK! The strategic advice and help you receive from other members of the ROI Community can be the spark you need to turn your ideas into action. Connecting with people from around the world can be great inspiration for you. Conversations lead to ideas, and ideas become the fuel for your work. Let your connections with other ROIers ignite your creative powers…and the creative powers of other members! Whether you offer advice or directly collaborate on projects with your fellow members, you have the ability to contribute to making the work of other ROIers that much more impactful. You have been invited into the ROI Community because we believe that you have the potential to make a powerful and positive impact on the Jewish world and beyond. We hope you enjoy the journey and look forward to seeing your vision realized.
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ROI GATHERINGS AND EVENTS Members of the ROI Community find great value in the relationships and connections they establish with their fellow members. Technology gives members the opportunity to take active roles and make significant contributions to each others’ projects regardless of geographical distance. Nevertheless, there are benefits to face-toface encounters that even the most advanced technologies cannot replicate. ROI Community gatherings give inspired Jewish leaders and innovators the chance to interact in person. These gatherings solidify friendships, open the doors to mutual exchange and spark incredible collaboration.
Past gatherings have included local events in Israel and the first Spanish-language ROI Ibero-American gathering in Mexico as well as the first European gathering, hosted in Vilnius, Lithuania. Local and ROI-sponsored events have also been held in North America.
In pas t years ROI Communit y has supplemented its annual summit in Israel with regional gatherings designed to bring together current and prospective community members. Each gathering offers professional skill sessions and opportunities for networking and project development. In addition, regional gatherings offer an opportunity to discuss and deal with region-specific, real-time and relevant common issues and challenges. These gatherings reflect the realities of the regions in which they are held, offering participants a chance to hone-in on topics that are most relevant to them and their communities.
These gatherings provide a fresh avenue for brainstorming and lay vital foundations for continuity, revival and new expressions of Jewish life.
Regional gatherings are taking place this year in Europe (Uppsala, Sweden) and IberoAmerica (Buenos Aires, Argentina). The European gathering is scheduled for August and the latter, in Argentina, will be held in November! Applications for the upcoming Ibero-America ROI Gathering will be launched during the Summit.
ROI IS GOING MOBILE! To access the Community wherever you are, make sure to download the new ROI iPhone application.
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ROI GRANTS ROI Grants are given to support ROI members in realizing their novel visions. Every day, ROIers are transforming their creative ideas into innovative projects that bring the joy of Jewish life to people throughout the world.
ROI Micro Grants Available to all ROI Members Want to get more out of ROI? Now ROI has designed a revolutionary Micro Grants program to offer monetary assistance to more of its members than ever before. Because at ROI, the more we work with innovators, the more we implement innovative measures into our own work. All members of the ROI Community can benefit from ROI Micro Grants. The ROI Micro Grants program gives ROIers access to small amounts of funding, facilitating more innovative accomplishments. Micro Grants can be used to travel and speak at a conference, to fund necessary skill training and professional development, to sponsor events and even to gain access to corporate services.
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CHOOSE FROM ANY OF THE 4 TYPES OF ROI MICRO GRANTS BELOW. APPLY NOW ON THE ROI WEBSITE! □ SPEAKERS’ BUREAU The ROI Speakers’ Bureau is helping members spread the word about their expertise, inspire further activism, promote productivity and jump-start creative communitybuilding projects around the world. Speakers’ Bureau Micro Grants can be used to subsidize the cost of travel to, or participation in, an event where members have been invited to share ideas, projects and/or experiences.
□ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Members of the ROI Community are the future leaders of Jewish organizations and communities worldwide. Micro Grants allow members to seek out and receive training and skill-building opportunities appropriate for their particular needs. Professional Development Micro Grants can be used to subsidize participation in a professional development course or seminar, to offset the cost of engaging the services of an executive coach, or to receive partial sponsorship for training or development sessions in a particular field.
□ EVENT SPONSORSHIP ROI Community recognizes the intrinsic value in networking and face-to-face exchange. Events initiated by ROI members can be partially sponsored though an ROI Micro Grant. Event Sponsorship Micro Grants can be used to subsidize an event that includes Jewish/ Israeli content and/or a networking component.
□ CORPORATE SUPPORT Many of the ROI members are at the beginning of their careers, or are in the start-up phase of their project and many are operating on tightly-strapped budgets. To help out, ROI Community offers tangible and practical corporate support. Corporate Support Micro Grants can be used to engage any of the following support: PR & Media Training, Legal and/or Graphic Design.
Seed Grants
In 2008, Lynn Schusterman announced the first ROI Seed & Innovation Grant Funds. Since then, over $500,000 has been awarded to 35 projects led by ROIers. To strengthen and mobilize the ROI network, projects that demonstrate collaboration among Community members are favored in the grant making process. Some examples of the projects funded by ROI grants include: Jewcology: A team of 19 ROI members collaborated to create Jewcology.com, a web portal where Jewish-environmentalists network and share program resources. The site is enriched with content from Jewishenvironmental organizations across the world and ROI members frequently blog. The team also organizes Jewish Environmental Leadership Summits and Retreats. This project aims to build resources to take the Jewish environmental community to the next level of effectiveness and interconnection. G-dcast: This media production company has an educational mission: to raise basic Jewish literacy, demystify difficult texts and spark great conversations with entertaining short films delivered for free online. Members of the ROI network have pitched-in and collaborated with the G-dcast team in creating short animations on the weekly Torah portions and on the Jewish festivals, now accessible in several languages. Challah for Hunger (CfH) bakes and sells challah to raise money and awareness for social justice causes. In the process, CfH builds community, inspires, trains leaders and teaches critical philanthropy. CfH started in 2004 and now has over forty chapters, mostly on college campuses in the USA. Each chapter donates half of its profits to a national cause and chooses which causes/organizations to support with the other half of its profits. 15
ROI Making
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SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS ARE EXCITED TO BE JEWS ST IN THE 21 CENTURY BECAUSE…
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Source: Participants’ Summit Application Forms 19
Adam Finkel Project Manager, MachineTools.com Fundraiser, Moishe House Motor City
Here I am in front of Moishe House in the city of Detroit, which I helped raise the resources to launch.
“Moishe House Detroit” (Detroit: Michigan. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
The Hillel Business and Technology Mission to Israel was an eye-opener for Adam Finkel who returned home to the USA inspired to help create innovative ways to advance Jewish life for his generation. Adam launched an e-newsletter for Jewish college students and wrote a grant for a Jewish venture philanthropy project. He also drafted plans to enable young Jews around the globe to connect to one another through emerging and innovative technologies, such as video chat.
Over the past few months, Adam has raised $70,000 for Moishe House in Detroit, Michigan, to enable it to become financially secure for the next two years. As part of his “obsession with finding a better way” to transform Detroit’s status quo into a hotbed of innovation, Adam pins his hopes on Moishe House to serve as a resource for recruiting and harnessing desperately needed talent in Detroit. Adam hopes to one day look back on this idea turned into a reality that enabled hundreds of young Jews to feel more at home in their community and encouraged them to reach their potential as professional and communal leaders.
Adam helped organize the inaugural Jewish Community Heroes campaign, an online competition sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America that recognizes leaders across North America who are making positive contributions to their communities. The winner, who received 300,000 online votes, took home $25,000.
Adam also spearheaded research on a book that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Together with researchers from around the world, Adam worked tirelessly, analyzing the history of America’s use of foreign oil. He scoured newspapers dating back 150 years, dug up archival material at prestigious university libraries and analyzed litigation from major court cases in American business history. Through this project, Adam honed key analytical and critical thinking skills.
Currently lives in: Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA Website: www.communitynxt.com 21
When I am at the kotel surrounded by other Jews, I feel all four thousand years of history, tradition and community surrounding me. Being able to experience wrapping tefillin with peers who wrapped for the first time was moving and I felt as if the words of the shema were alive.
Adam Teitelbaum International Director of Jewish Programming, Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, International
“Setting the Example.” Photo taken on a Taglit Birthright trip (December 2006)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Adam Teitelbaum is the Lorber Director of Jewish Programming and Philanthropy for the International Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. Adam has the privilege of traveling around North America and Israel working with Jewish college students. He oversees educational programming, Jewish identity and Israel advocacy for over 8,000 undergraduate Brothers of his fraternity. His office works with the 150 AEPi chapter presidents and Jewish life and philanthropy chairs. Together they are creating grassroots and student driven philanthropy events to raise $700,000 for various Jewish and Israel-related charities over the next seven years.
Through his work at the AEPi fraternity, Adam connects Jews across a spectrum of denominations, backgrounds and opinions. By combining a Greek leadership system with Jewish ideals, values and ethics, AEPi brings Judaism to an entire campus population. In North America, AEPi offers Jewish men a “home away from home,” and at IDC in Israel, it brings a novel campus community to a conventional commuter campus.
Judaism and Jewish community work have always been a priority for Adam. He was a pioneering graduate of the New Community Jewish High School in California where he was a graduation speaker. He was also a United Synagogue Youth advisor, a Hebrew school teacher and a Camp Ramah counselor. In 2010, Adam graduated from the University of California with a degree in international studies with a focus on political science and history.
As the Lorber Director of Jewish Programming and Philanthropy, Adam’s goal is to empower Brothers to embrace yidishkeit and tikkun olam. With help and collaboration from his undergraduate Jewish Identity Task Force and partner organizations, Adam reaches over 8,000 AEPi undergraduates and 17,000 alumni between the ages of 22 and 45. Adam is currently creating a “one-stop” learning laboratory to give all Brothers access to AEPi’s vast resources via an “AEPi app.” This application encourages Brothers to embrace and espouse AEPi’s Judaic and philanthropic endeavors. Brothers will be able to download calendars for Jewish community events, view updates on philanthropic donations and access links to partner organizations. The application will also include Jewish learning resources and practical guides, such as how to identify and respond to civil rights abuses and anti-Semitism on campus.
Currently lives in: Indianapolis, IN, USA Website: www.aepi.org 23
Alberto Tawachi General Management
A look at the buildings in Panama.
“Punta Paiitlla by the sea” Photo by Alberto Tawachi (May 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Alberto Tawachi is an entrepreneur from Panama City, Panama. Primarily working in real estate, he is also involved in retail and advertising. Alberto has been active in Jewish causes since his youth. He was Treasurer of the Maccabi youth movement in Panama. He has also participated in the Jewish Young Diplomatic Leadership Seminars organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. He is currently the President of the Harvard Alumni Club of Panama.
In addition to advising and rallying policymakers and politicians about various initiatives, Alberto has always been involved in Jewish organizations and community initiatives. Today, he formally ser ves his community as the President of the Harvard Alumni Club of Panama, which he founded following his graduation in 2005. The club offers a unique combination of education, community work and networking opportunities. Specifically, it enables Harvard alumni from Panama to connect with alumni of other Ivy League Schools. The club also links Harvard students, alumni and professors with NGOs and promotes educational initiatives in the community through panel discussions and events with community leaders.
Alber to has a strong background in international relations and public policy and he regularly advises policymakers and politicians. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Florida State University with high honors and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University with a focus on business and government.
Currently lives in: Panama City, Panama 25
Andre Oboler Director, Community Internet Engagement Project Director of Online Engagement, Zionist Federation of Australia
“ROI has provided an amazing network of partners from within the community, as well as access to some of the leading experts in the nonprofit field globally. The ROI Summits provide practical professional development and all the benefits of the community itself.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Andre Oboler is the Director of the Community Internet Engagement Project at the Zionist Federation of Australia. He is a social media expert who works in online public diplomacy and online strategic communications. He also strives to combat online anti-Semitism.
Andre’s research leads in the field of combating online hate in social media. Andre is behind key online public diplomacy efforts on the Flotilla, Gilad Shalit and offering university students in North America guidance for responding to the anti-Israel Boycot ts, Divestments and Sanctions campaigns. Andre also had a technologyrelated blog on the Jerusalem Post’s website and he regularly publishes academic and media-based ar ticles. Operating from Australia, Andre is a global player who works with leading Jewish and Israel advocacy organizations around the world.
Andre holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Lancaster University in the UK. He was a post-doctoral fellow in political science at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and he is currently working towards a J.D. at Monash University in Australia.
Andre has been a member of ROI since 2008.
“Untitled”
This image shows the homepage of the CIE project and captures the vast diversity of challenges I deal with in the online space, from public diplomacy and antiSemitism to community engagement.
Andre is Co-Chair of the working group on Online anti-Semitism for the Global Forum to Combat anti-Semitism and an expert on the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating anti-Semitism. He is also Chair of the IEEE Victorian Section’s Computer Society and an advisor to a number of Israel advocacy organizations and companies in Australia, Israel and the USA.
Currently lives in: Melbourne, Australia Website: www.oboler.com 27
Anja Waleson Curator & Educator
Recipe for a Life-of-Anja cocktail: a splash of her signature saying: too blessed to be stressed mixed with a dash of groundhog day syndrome, add some daydreamy picture taking train rides. Shake well and enjoy it all with a big smile.
“Being a proud member of the ROI network has enabled me to exchange inspiration on Jewish innovation with Jewish movers and shakers from around the world. This exciting experience has deepened my connection and commitment to contribute to an inspiring future on local, regional and global levels.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Anja Waleson currently breathes and bikes in Amsterdam where she studied media and culture with a specialization in Israeli cinema at the University of Amsterdam. She teaches a variety of cultural educational programs on national and international levels. As part of her ongoing “Wandering Jew” shtick, Anja has lived in Southeast Asia where she taught art and English and worked as a photographer. Anja has served as a volunteer both within and outside the Jewish community in the Netherlands.
Anja is the Co-Founder of Film IsReal, the first annual Israeli film festival in the Netherlands, which showcases the quality and diversity of recent Israeli cinema. She is also the CoFounder of Jewish Salon Amsterdam, which aims to create an alternative, non-institutional, innovative and interactive venue for young people (both Jewish and non-Jewish, affiliated and unaffiliated) to experience and express their connection to Jewish culture in dynamic and meaningful ways.
Untitled
Anja has been a member of ROI since 2009.
Currently lives in: Amsterdam, Netherlands Website: www.anjashowandtell.wordpress.com 29
This picture was taken during the Open Jewish Community festival in Warsaw, which my organization co-organized.
Anna Bakula President, Polish Jewish Youth Organization
Untitled (Warsaw: Poland. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Anna Bakula lives Warsaw, Poland, where she was born and raised. Currently, she is studying clinical psychology and writing her thesis on post-traumatic stress disorder and third generation Holocaust survivors. She also works for the Jewish community of Warsaw where she was integral in launching a Moishe House. In December 2010, Anna was elected for the third time as President of the Polish Jewish Youth Organization. A great deal of her time is spent heading one of the only Jewish Youth NGOs in Poland.
As the President of the Polish Jewish Youth Organization, Anna works hard to fight antiSemitism and discrimination. As the only Jewish organization for Poland’s youth, it trains youth for future leadership in the Jewish community. The organization also contributes to Poland’s cultural life. They have produced a movie and have organized various exhibitions and concerts. All of this is a remarkable feat considering the organization was created from nothing only five years ago. Anna is also responsible for Moishe House Warsaw where her main goals are to unite young Polish Jews and to strengthen Jewish life in a more informal way. Part of her duties include organizing communal celebrations of Jewish holidays and Poland’s Jewish summer and winter camps. Over the past four years, Anna has participated in more than 20 Jewish seminars worldwide, including EUJS and WUJS events. She also sits on the steering committee of a Reform synagogue in Warsaw and in 2010 she was elected as an arbitrator for the Union of Polish Jewish Communities.
Currently lives in: Warsaw, Poland Website: www.zoom.edu.pl 31
This picture was taken from my balcony at my house in Bhagsu, Dharamsala, where I spent a month of peace gratitude last Spring.
Anneli Radestad Project Developer, Paideia Producer & Reporter, Swedish Public Radio
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Anneli Radestad splits her time in Stockholm between two very different ventures. As a Project Developer for Paideia, the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, she works to strengthen Jewish culture in Europe. The other half of her time finds Anneli working as a producer and reporter for two of the main news shows on Swedish Public Radio. She hopes to soon begin splitting her time between Jerusalem and Stockholm.
Paideia gives Anneli an outlet for community involvement as it serves as a key connector between the Stockholm Jewish Community and the vibrant rebirth of Jewish life that is taking place across Europe. Anneli films and posts online Paideia’s bimonthly video-project – community lectures given by top leaders and thinkers who are visiting Paideia.
Untitled (Bhagsu, Dharamsala: India)
Anneli also leads seminars to Israel and to parts of the West Bank for journalists who are interested in improving the quality of their reporting from the Middle East.
Currently lives in: Stockholm, Sweden Website: www.paideia-eu.org 33
Becca Youngerman
Associate Director, Alumni Relations, Kogod School of Business, American University
“Being part of the ROI community has created opportunities for partnerships, dreaming and creating. The ROI community has helped me develop and enhance my skills, open new doors and collaborate with other international young Jewish leaders.”
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Becca Youngerman is the Associate Director of Alumni Relations at the American University (AU) Kogod School of Business. Becca joined the Kogod staff in January 2011 and is developing and implementing a strategic plan to develop business partnerships and leadership and educational opportunities for Washington D.C. based alumni and other stakeholders. Previously, Becca spent several years in BBYO’s International Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and at the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington, D.C., where she focused on leadership development, strategic planning, intergroup and interreligious relations. Becca completed her undergraduate degree at AU’s School of Public Affairs, where she is currently pursuing her M.P.A. and a certificate in Leadership for Organizational Change. Becca is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
In her role as Associate Director of Alumni Relations, Becca is working to build and strengthen the network of Kogod School of Business alumni based on their desire to connect with each other, the University and Washington, D.C. Through new and existing programs and initiatives, she is engaging segmented pockets of alumni, organizing and empowering them to create a community that reflects the values and aspirations of their alma mater, such as innovation, leadership, corporate social responsibility, skill building and giving back.
Becca has been a member of ROI since 2008.
“Going Places”
With my running shoes, I am on the go. Moving. Active. Free. Letting go. Challenged. Going Places...
BIOGRAPHY:
Becca is also an active volunteer and leader with ADL’s Young Professional Division board, the AJC ACCESS board and the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue Not Your Bubbie’s Sisterhood advisory group. In each of these volunteer capacities, Becca is helping to shape and implement organizational infrastructure, programing and other opportunities for young professionals to connect with other young Jews and learn about issues and topics that are relevant and interesting to this demographic. Both professionally and personally, Becca is trying to make an impact through helping build and shape connections and communities based on values, skills and passions.
Currently lives in: Washington, D.C., USA Website: www.american.edu/kogod/ 35
If you’re going to make it in Israel, you’d better have a sense of humor. That is all.
Benji Lovitt Stand-Up Comedian & Writer Social Media Manager, Young Judaea Year Course
“Anybody thirsty?” (Jerusalem: Israel. 2009)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
For Benji Lovitt Jewish summer camp led to his first trip to Israel at the age of 15 and then to a life-changing year in Israel on the Young Judaea Year Course program. His fate was sealed. Benji was destined to live the rest of his life as a committed Zionist and Jew. After earning a degree in psychology from the University of Texas, he worked at several dotcom jobs before realizing that something was missing. He found his calling in the Jewish communal world. Benji has been a “professional Jew” for nine years and is committed to Israel advocacy and youth education. He made aliyah almost five years ago. After living in Tel Aviv he eventually settled in Jerusalem. He has worked with several Jewish organizations and as a standup comedian.
In New York, Benji headed the operations for Young Judaea’s Israel summer program. During the Second Lebanon War, he worked around the clock to console worried parents that their children would gain by staying in Israel. A week after the program successfully ended, he made aliyah. In response to the “oh my G-d, Israel is so dangerous!” attitude expressed by many American Jews, Benji called his aliyah blog, WhatWarZone? By depicting the funny sides of daily life in Israel, he has effectively run a “mini-hasbara (Israel advocacy) office out of his laptop.” His blog elicits hundreds of emails from Jews and non-Jews across the world with questions about aliyah and words of thanks. His take on life in Israel reminds people why they should not wince when they think of Israel, but smile. His irreverent, humorous writing and videos have been highlighted by major newspapers in Israel and numerous Jewish websites and have earned him a large following around the world. Benji also conveys his messages in person through stand-up comedy. Working closely with Masa Israel, he has performed for all kinds of audiences in Israel and in North America, including Hillel, Birthright NEXT, JFNA’s General Assembly and Jewish Agency emissaries. Benji continues to inspire Jews to support Israel and he hopes to motivate those who have not yet visited to come and see for themselves that Israel isn’t such a scary place, after all.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.benjilovitt.com, www.yearcourse.org 37
Brachie Sprung Director, PresenTense
My oldest son Nadav (almost 3) who made me into a mother and taught me the meaning of unconditional love, patience and compassion... and who continues to teach me everyday.
“JOY” Pesach at the pool (Herziliyah: Israel. 2011)
“ROI’s dedication and passion to empower and educate Jewish leaders from around the world has affected my work at PresenTense and has given me the opportunity to meet, learn from and work with some of the most interesting and innovative people in the Jewish world.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
As Director of Israel Fellowships for the PresenTense Group, Brachie Sprung has been running the Israel-based fellowship for over two years where she has overseen the training of more than 60 entrepreneurs throughout Jerusalem and the world. Brachie is involved in developing and implementing the PresenTense curriculum in Israel. She previously worked at Ruder Finn, where she served as an account executive working with hi-tech startups and nonprofit organizations in Israel and abroad. Brachie’s academic background is in political science and communications and she worked with Knesset Members and spent time on the American West Coast as a shlichah. Her passion? Changing the world, of course. Brachie is Israeli-born, but completely bilingual. Brachie lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Ari, and is the proud mother of Nadav and Gilad.
Brachie works as the Director of Israel Fellowship for The PresenTense Group, which engages and inspires the most creative minds of our generation, investing in their ideas and energy to revitalize the Jewish community. Brachie works on developing and implementing the PresenTense Fellowships in Israel in order to provide social entrepreneurs in Israel with the tools and community they need to launch socially minded ventures.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.presentense.org 39
I made this mosaic and attached it to a dead tree outside my apartment. The next day, there was a golden plastic necklace tied around the tree. The day after that, the necklace and the sign were gone.
Brett Lockspeiser
Product Manager, ArtNow International
“Dead Tree Decoration Invitation ” (California. 2009)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Brett Lockspeiser studied symbolic systems at Stanford University and started his career at Google where, as a Product Manager, he developed data driven consumer web applications. He also led the development of the Google News Archive Search, a feature of Google News that allows time-based searches from a repository of hundreds of millions of news and magazine articles spanning 200 years. Since leaving Google, Brett has worked with various startups. He manages product development and interfaces for companies seeking crowd-sourcing, question and answers and social games.
Brett is interested in making information more accessible through digital distribution, search and intuitive interfaces. He hopes to foster new forms of collaboration that were previously considered beyond reach. These goals are at the heart of the Sefaria Project. Core traditional texts will become publicly available in an intuitive and interactive interface. Just as the design of the printed Talmud was a response to printing technology, this project responds to the possibilities of interactive media by making it possible to navigate the web of interconnections in Jewish texts.
Recently, Brett has entered the “nonprofit startup” arena, working with ArtNow International, an art foundation in San Francisco, to build a platform for collaborative curating. Brett is also applying Silicon Valley techniques and technologies to the world of Jewish texts. Together with Joshua Foer, whom he met on the Bronfman Youth Fellowship in Israel, Brett founded the Sefaria Project to create a free repository of Jewish texts and a new interactive interface for easy navigation.
While gathering and annotating all these texts may seem impossible - although from the perspective of an ex-Googler, the total amount of data involved is relatively small - the strategy is not to attempt this work alone but to build the platform upon which a growing community can contribute. Every day rabbis and Jewish educators around the world create source sheets of texts for individual classes. What if their individual work could live in a shared public space, creating a growing resource for Torah scholars and students of all levels? This project is building a foundational infrastructure for the future of Jewish texts, on top of which others will be able to freely build.
Currently lives in: San Francisco, CA, USA 41
I was lucky to survive this telecom cable snapping and striking me on the head. This picture constantly reminds me to live each day to the fullest and to live with no regrets.
Brian Elliot Founder & CEO, Friendfactor
“Reminder to Live with Extreme Purpose” (Boston: Massachusetts. 2009)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Brian Elliot founded Friendfactor in 2009, a web-savvy LGBT rights organization. Friendfactor works to accelerate change for LGBT rights by engaging straight supporters. Prior to starting Friendfactor, Brian directed Entrepreneur Services at Endeavor Global, an international development nonprofit, where he helped emerging market tech entrepreneurs around the globe. Brian left Endeavor to become a social entrepreneur.
Many straight people are not aware that their gay friends in the USA can be lawfully discriminated against. On the basis of their sexual orientation, gay people can be fired in 29 states, evicted from their home in over 30 states and denied over 1,100 rights and privileges that marriage confers on straight couples. Like millions of LGBT Americans, Brian finds the lack of these rights terrifying. It could be 10 to 20 years before he becomes privy to the benefits non-gay citizens enjoy. This realization prompted Brian to leave his job in international development and to focus efforts on bringing about reform. LGBT people are unfairly persecuted all over the world and until the USA treats its gay citizens fairly, it cannot lead the world as a just society.
Brian has a B.A. from Stanford University in public policy, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School. As Co-President of the Harvard LGBT Student Association, his article on an LGBTrelated issue was the first of its kind published by the Harvard Business Review in 15 years. Brian has worked at Bain & Company, at Bain’s nonprofit spinoff, The Bridgespan Group and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also served on the board of Hillel International and other nonprofit organizations.
Friendfactor dramatically accelerates the current pace of change for LGBT rights by using technology to make it easier for straight people to support gay rights and for gay people to ask for help. Brian is developing web tools that are changing the paradigm of gay rights to be about peoples’ gay friends, rather than an abstract political concept. Friendfactor aims to influence hearts, minds and laws faster than ever before. Friends will always help friends when asked. Accordingly, Friendfactor utilizes the power of friendship to accelerate LGBT rights.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.friendfactor.org, www.marylandpop.org 43
Carla Habif
Jewish History Teacher, Jewish Brazilian School Eliezer Steinbarg-Max Nordau Coordinator of Project “Israelidades,” Hillel Rio
At a place where I believe there’s only positive energy, since people are praying and prayers should be for good things. That’s me: happy, smiling, casual and, as usual, with a camera in my hand.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Carla Habif is a 25-year-old historian whose research focuses on Middle East politics and Israel. Her parents immigrated from Egypt to Brazil in the 1950s, a critical period for Israel and the Jewish communities in neighboring countries. Carla’s final paper at the Federal Fluminense University was about the 1967 War and its ramifications for Israel’s international relations, primarily with Egypt.
Carla feels honored to teach Jewish history to teenagers at one of the best schools in Rio de Janeiro, the Jewish Brazilian School Eliezer Steinbarg-Max Nordau. She hopes to help her students understand the history and the development of the Jewish people using the Tanach (five books of the Bible) and other historical sources, including archeological findings. Carla encourages her students to question and consider what it means to be a Jew and what roles or responsibilities they want to assume as Jews.
“Just me” Western Wall (Jerusalem: Israel. 2010)
Carla teaches Jewish history to students between the ages of 12 and 14. She aims to increase her students’ interest in their history and to encourage them to take active roles in the Jewish community, both locally and globally. In addition, Carla is a coordinator for a Hillel Rio project called Israelidades. Through a variety of mediums, including lectures, debates, movies and presentations, this project informs and clarifies Israel’s current issues. It also allows participants to formulate opinions and express feelings and thoughts on Israel.
Proudly involved in Hillel Rio, Carla is a coordinator for the Israelidades project. Given that Brazil’s media is often biased against Israel, this project is particularly critical in attempting to balance media coverage and information that students are exposed to about Israel. The project also facilitates open learning, questioning and debate among young Jews as a way of fostering greater interest and understanding about Israel. Through the Israelidades project, participants also gain insight into Israel’s history and about Jewish life around the world.
Currently lives in: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 45
Lately, I have truly begun to associate myself with the notion of a ‘citizen of the world,’ or perhaps more accurately, a modern-day version of the ‘wandering Jew.’
Caylee Talpert Recruitment, Ayalim Masa International Representative, Tevel B’Tzedek
“I have made amazing connections through ROI, which truly bring together some of the most dynamic, innovative and passionate young people from all over the world.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Caylee Talpert grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She obtained her first degree in economics and finance from the University of Witwatersrand while simultaneously holding the position of National Chairperson of the South African Union of Jewish Students. Caylee made aliyah to Jerusalem in 2008 where she obtained a master’s in Israeli politics and sociology from Hebrew University.
This past year, Caylee has been involved in two dynamic and innovative organizations that are making a significant impact on young Jews, Israelis and the world in general. The first organization, Tevel B’Tzedek, sends Jewish volunteers from diverse backgrounds to work in local communities in the developing world. In the process, volunteers learn about issues such as poverty, the environment and social justice and their relationship to Judaism. While in Nepal, Caylee conducted women’s empowerment groups, lead youth leadership activities and tutored math. She also conducted research on the socio-economic status of a group of landless laborers living along a riverbank where they worked in a stone quarry. Caylee remains actively involved in Tevel B’Tzedek’s international activities.
“Today’s ‘Wandering Jew’”
Caylee recently returned from Nepal, where she spent four months volunteering with Tevel B’Tzedek in a rural village outside Kathmandu. Caylee is currently living in a student village in the Negev Desert where she is working for the Ayalim Association, an organization that seeks to develop the peripheral areas of Israel. Caylee has been involved in and worked for a number of Jewish organizations and remains actively involved in the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS program and writes regularly for ACCESS’s Global Voices blog. Caylee is enrolled to begin an M.A. program in international development at the London School of Economics in September. Caylee has been a member of ROI since 2007.
Ayalim, where Caylee currently works, focuses on the development of the peripheral areas of Israel. The organization has established 11 new student villages in the Negev and Galilee since 2002, which has brought hundreds of students to live in these areas and volunteer in the local communities. Ayalim has recently initiated a new Masa program that focuses on entrepreneurship, social involvement and the pioneering spirit that is at the heart of the organization.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.ayalim.org.il/masa/ 47
Chaim Motzen Management Consultant, Start-ups
“Through ROI, I met amazing and inspiring people and made some life-long friends. That’s pretty good!”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Chaim Motzen is a management consultant raised in Montreal and currently living in New York City. Before returning to New York, he was managing the commercial operations for a financial infrastructure start-up company in Uganda where he helped implement comprehensive branchless banking services. Chaim is a former consultant at McKinsey & Company’s New York office and a former JDC Ralph Goldman Fellow. He is a graduate of Harvard’s Business School and Kennedy School.
Chaim is a member of the Board of Trustees of Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, one of the nation’s public bone marrow, blood stem cell and umbilical cord blood registries. With bone marrow matches, an unrelated person may be uniquely able to save another person’s life. Through Gift of Life, over 2,000 transplants have been facilitated for children and adults suffering from life-threatening diseases. Chaim is also passionate about and has contributed materials/footage from Jewish sites in Haiti, Congo, Tanzania, Sudan and Indonesia to the Diarna project, an organization that uses photographs, videos, digital mapping and database technologies to virtually preserve access to endangered Jewish historic sites, especially Mizrahi sites across the Middle East and Africa.
“NYC”
Chaim has been a member of ROI since 2006.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA 49
Charlene Seidle Vice President, Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
When I was little, some chalk, sun and a game of hopscotch filled me with a sense of possibility.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
As Vice President of Philanthropy for the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, Charlene Seidle works with families to match their charitable interests with community needs. She also helps build strong partnerships with organizations in the community, across the USA and in Israel to further their charitable programs. Charlene oversees the Foundation’s grant-making programs and directs the Jewish Women’s Foundation and Philanthropy Connections. She plays a key role in community planning through her positions on various committees.
Beyond just grant making, as the lead philanthropy advisor to the Leichtag Family Foundation, Charlene works with the board to look broadly at advancing the Foundation’s strategic goals. For Charlene, this translates into strengthening the infrastructure of grantee organizations, convening seemingly disparate groups to work toward similar goals, engaging in advocacy, encouraging unrestricted funding, providing resources for strategic planning, cutting-edge technology and social media and offering executive coaching and other innovative ways to provide non-monetary support.
Charlene also manages the Foundation’s relationship with the Leichtag Family Foundation, a private foundation staffed by the Jewish Community Foundation.
“Hopping with Hope”
Charlene has worked at the Foundation since beginning as an intern in 1997. Over the years, she has held positions with increasing responsibility, including serving as Director of Donor Services and Associate Director. She earned her bachelor’s in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Currently lives in: San Diego, CA, USA Website: www.jcfsandiego.org, www.leichtag.org 51
Social Media Consultant, The three Jewish Day Schools of the Partnership for Jewish Learning & Life of MetroWest NJ Blogger & Social Media Personality
Chaviva Galatz
I chose this image because it is from my first trip to Israel, and in this chair - I am positive - sits my heart and/or soul. Israel is home, for half of me.
“Empty Chair, Forlorn Soul” Western Wall Tunnels (Jerusalem: Israel. 2008)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Social media maven Chaviva Galatz was born in Missouri, bred in Nebraska, and currently hails from Teaneck, NJ, by way of Washington, D.C., Chicago and Connecticut. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chaviva worked as a copy editor for The Washington Post. She then moved to Chicago to work for a Nobelprize winning economist at the University of Chicago where she honed her social media skills through her blog, Twitter, Facebook and other web platforms.
Chaviva has worked for The Jewish Education Project where she was responsible for developing a social media strategy and training employees on Facebook, Blogger and Twitter. Given that most Jewish organizations are new to social media and many have not even considered a strategy, she focused on tactics.
Chaviva holds a master’s degree in Judaic Studies from the University of Connecticut and is currently a Jim Joseph Fellow in New York University’s dual M.A. program for Education/Jewish Studies and Hebrew/Judaic Studies. When she is not busy consulting on social media and operating blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts for The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life for three Jewish day schools, Chaviva is collaborating with other Jewish educators and social media evangelists.
Now, as Social Media Consultant for The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of MetroWest New Jersey, Chaviva has been given the power to create, implement and maintain social media for three Jewish day schools. These schools are diverse in their personalities, demographics, and goals; from modern Orthodox to Conservative to nondenominational. She develops each school’s brand into a personality for social media. She creates and maintains blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook Pages for each of the schools. Chaviva’s work is innovative. She is paving the way for Jewish day schools to embrace and benefit from social media.
Currently lives in: Teaneck, NJ, USA Website: www.kushneracademy.blogspot.com, www.hamcnj.blogspot.com, www.goblog.goldaochacademy.org, www.kvetchingeditor.com, wwww.kosher-critic.com 53
Dafna Cohen
Vice Spokesperson, Histadrut- General Federation of Labour in Israel
This picture was taken at the Student Struggle when I was the Spokesperson of the Student Union of Tel Aviv University. That was the day we started the struggle. The picture is important for me as it was my first national ideological struggle that I led.
“ROI has made me proud to be Zionist. At ROI I had the opportunity to meet an amazing group of people who became friends and even colleagues. I gained leadership tools, knowledge and experience about the Jewish world.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Dafna Cohen is 28 years old and lives in Tel Aviv. She received a B.A. in political science and communications, with honors, and an M.A. in diplomacy, with a concentration on Arabic, both from Tel Aviv University.
For over three years, Dafna has worked as the Vice Spokesperson of the Histadrut - General Federation of Labor in Israel, which represents the largest workers organization in Israel. In this role, Dafna has successfully landed Israeli media coverage for the Histadrut’s many causes, such as the struggle to raise the minimum wage, the state budget and nearly all of the workers’ struggles and strikes.
“My First National Ideological Struggle ” (2007)
Dafna is the Vice Spokesperson of the Histadrut, which represents the largest workers organization in Israel. Dafna has been working in public relations and communications for over 10 years. She served as Spokesperson for the Tel Aviv University student union, for the Student Struggle against Shochat (corruption), for the Ashdod Movement, for Brit Hevratit and for the student union at Ashkelon College. Dafna represented the State of Israel many times at international conferences, events and committees. She was interviewed numerous times by the international media. Dafna is also socially active in the community and volunteers at many charities and organizations.
In her free time, Dafna volunteers and is an activist in the community. She volunteered as the Spokesperson of the Young World Labor Zionist Movement and helped organize a mass demonstration against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in front of the United Nations. As the representative of the movement, Dafna was interviewed by media from across the world.
Dafna has been a member of ROI since 2008.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel 55
Dan Hadad Aviad
Manager, Marketing & Communication, Canadian Council for Israel & Jewish Advocacy
“Untitled”
Neeko and me in Toronto in 2010. Nothing represents me better than my dog, Neeko. (Sad, but true). We are both serious (when necessary,) fun (always), laid back and playful and we are both ADD (not officially... yet).
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Dan Hadad-Aviad was born in Tel Aviv. At the age of 8, he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he lived until two years ago when he moved to Toronto to join the CIJA team. Dan has an undergraduate degree in marketing and a graduate degree in journalism from Concordia University. During his time at Concordia, Dan was the President of Concordia Hillel and then was on staff at Centre Hillel (Francophone Hillel). Following his two years at Centre Hillel, Dan become the Director of Advocacy at Hillel Montreal (Quebec Region). Dan now lives in Toronto.
Dan is a creative and communications professional engaged in the design and production of multimedia print, interactive and video campaigns. He leads a small inhouse team and employs outside agencies and freelance resources as needed. He also coordinates a group of media, advertising and communications professionals who share trends and evaluate content and creative direction. The “Size Doesn’t Matter” campaign Dan created is an edgy, innovative, fun medium through which individuals can advocate on behalf of Israel. The campaign is not political and focuses on Israelis, not Israel – or rather, on the people living in Israel and not its government. The campaign’s target audience is not interested in political debate and instead just wants to learn about the country. The idea of the campaign is to relate to individuals on a personal level, through shared experiences. The campaign is currently being run on 26 campuses across the country and has sparked international attention. It will soon be launched in Australia.
Currently lives in: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Website: www.sizedoesntmatter.com 57
Dana Sender Youth Leadership Program Director, One Voice Founder & Head of the Board, Tzemach
This is a photo of most of the staff of Tzemach, all motivated, passionate, young volunteers who run the programs nationwide. These young people are a symbol of values and hope to Israeli society and are a great source of pride to me personally.
“Untitled” (February 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Dana Sender is the Youth Leadership Program Director for OneVoice Israel. She received her M.A. in public and political leadership and her B.A. in Far Eastern studies with a minor in psychology from Tel Aviv University. Before joining OneVoice in 2010, Dana worked for Ma’ase, an Israeli social organization that empowers youth from the Israeli periphery, both Jewish and Arab, through volunteerism. In 2006, Dana founded an Israeli NGO called Tzemach. Tzemach puts high school and university students together to engage in dialogue around a range of issues, such as social justice, tolerance, Zionism, citizenship and various challenges in Israeli society. These sessions also encourage the development of both an individual and a communal identity. The organization runs activities in ten cities across Israel and touches the lives of over 300 university students and 3,000 high school students every year. In 2008, Dana received an internship in the House of Lords with the CoExistence Trust of Lord Greville Janner.
Dana has always felt a strong commitment to community development while at the same time maintaining an ardent patriotism and love for her country and her people. She founded Tzemach (Zionism, Leadership, Education) in 2006 to create dialogue between trained university students and high school students around the country. While Dana remains the Chair of the Board, she is proud that the staff of 22, formerly all volunteers, now runs the daily operations. Dana is also the Youth Leadership Program Director at OneVoice Israel, a regional branch of the international grassroots movement that works to amplify the voice of the moderate majority in Israel and Palestine who want to end the conflict by way of a two-state solution. In her eyes, this solution is the best way for maintaining a Jewish democratic state. As Director, Dana spends her days dealing with issues relating to leadership and conflict resolution. As a major part of OneVoice’s infrastructure, 50 young leaders are empowered under her wing to take initiative and positive action towards molding their own future that will hopefully be in two states, for two people, living separately, side by side.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.onevoice.org.il, www.tzemach.co.il 59
David Brown Coordinator, Jewish Social Action Forum
This image combines 4 pieces of graffiti that were part of a tour I led during a training week for student sabbatical leadership from the UK. They speak to the parts of Judaism I find most inspiring and challenging, as well as capturing attitudes and actions within Israeli society that engage me.
“Tel Aviv Graffiti 09” (Tel Aviv: Israel. 2009)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
David Brown is Coordinator for the Jewish Social Action Forum (JSAF). JSAF seeks to engage the UK Jewish community in national and international campaigns that are of universal concern. JSAF’s current campaigns focus on climate change and fair trade.
The Big Green Jewish Website (BGJW) is the home of the climate change campaign of the UK Jewish community. By bringing the community together and building relationships with NGOs, the government and other faith communities to tackle climate change in fun and effective ways, BGJW empowers people to make changes in their lives that will make a difference in the world. The campaign, coined “Bagel, Bicycle, Brick and Bin,” addresses the environmental impact of food, transport and buildings. Currently, there are 600 people engaged through BGJW’s newsletter, Twitter and Facebook. A recent success is the switch by UJS-Hillel and four major communal organizations to Vegware, a completely compostable form of disposable tableware.
David is a qualified youth worker. He graduated with a degree in youth studies from the Machon L’Madrichei Chutz L’Aretz (Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad), a young leadership program in Israel for high school graduates. In the past, David was responsible for scaling-up myfund, a teen philanthropy project. He also developed and edited A Land of Milk & Honey: Tales of Goats & Apples, a collection of six Israeli stories with accompanying discussion questions and educational activities to mark Israel’s 60th birthday. David also co-conceived and initiated UJIA Lead Now, a leadership development program offering training and internships to communal professionals. David is on the UJIA allocations committee. He oversees core funding to youth movements in the UK and to the Jewish Youth Fund, which awards grants to youth organizations and projects in the UK.
Another campaign, Fairtrade kippot, affirms Jewish social justice values through religious practice and celebration. To date, £5,000 worth of Fairtrade and ethically sourced cotton kippot have been sold. David has been involved in the production of the Jewish Guide to Fairtrade, used in formal and informal Jewish education. B’Ma’aglei Tzedek has created a Hebrew version of the guide. David’s role in both campaigns is to harness collective power and to foster collaboration. He also monitors the effectiveness of these innovative campaigns. Fusing education and activism with enjoyable and positive expressions of Jewish identity, these campaigns mobilize the Jewish community to help combat some major global challenges.
Currently lives in: London, United Kingdom Website: www.biggreenjewish.org, www.fairtradekippot.org, siachconversation.org 61
David Cygielman
Founder and CEO, Moishe House
This picture was taken at Zaca Lake, a retreat center a group of friends and I have enjoyed for years. Known for its natural beauty and rustic living, we try to get there for at least one weekend a year. This past year, I walked down this road to the lake where I proposed to my then girlfriend, Myka... who said yes.
“Being a part of the ROI Community has built the framework for Moishe House. Not only do we consider ourselves programmatic partners with ROI, but many of the houses throughout the world have been started by young adults who are in the ROI network.”
“The Road Less Traveled” Zaca Lake (2009)
BIOGRAPHY: David Cygielman is the Founder and CEO of Moishe House. Since creating Moishe House in 2006, David has pioneered the growth from one Moishe House to more than 35 Moishe Houses in 14 countries, serving more than 5,000 participants a month. In 1997, while still in high school, David created and ran, Feed the Need, a community based homeless feeding organization that was recognized by newspapers, radio programs as well as the nationally syndicated Roseanne talk show on CBS. For his work with Feed the Need, David received the Giant in the Community Award from the San Francisco Giants and Fox TV and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Black Women’s League of Oakland in 1999. While in college, David served as the President of Hillel and member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity where he was honored with the Richard Levy Distinguished Student Award in Southern California and the Gittelson Medallion, the highest award for community excellence on the international level. During college, David also taught at Congregation Bnai Brith where he was nationally recognized by NATE as one of the top 13 teachers in the USA.
Following his graduation in 2003 from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he graduated with honors in business/ economics, David continued his community involvement by sitting on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Nonprofit Support Center, Hillel, Jewish Film World, Congregation Bnai Brith, the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara and the Professional Leaders Project. David is in the second year of his Avi Chai Fellowship and recently received the JCSA Young Leadership Award. David has been a member of ROI since 2007.
INNOVATIVE WORK: After graduating from college, David saw a giant void in Jewish life for young adults. Too old for life on campus but not yet thinking about settling down and getting involved in more institutional Jewish life, David approached four friends about turning their rented home into a hub for Jewish life. Since then, the idea of Moishe House has spread through the world to five continents and is now the largest organization in the world serving this post-collegiate Jewish community.
Currently lives in: Oakland, CA, USA Website: www.moishehouse.org 63
David (Kramer) Kramer CEO & Founder, NU Campaign
Hanging out with my fellow Birthright brothers after another NU presentation. I do this quite a lot and I guess it has to do with my passion for my people!
BIOGRAPHY: David Kramer is extremely passionate about the Jewish people and the State of Israel and credits both with guiding most of his major life decisions. Before founding the NU Campaign in 2009, David worked in informal Jewish education, Israel advocacy and student leadership for over 15 years. David made aliyah in 2001, served in the IDF and has worked for a number of Jewish organizations in Israel and abroad, including the Jewish Agency, World Union of Jewish Students, South African Jewish Board of Education and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. David is married to Tova and they live in Jerusalem with their three children.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
“Untitled”
NU Campaign is an Israeli social t-shirt brand that connects and inspires people worldwide to take action for important Israeli and global charitable causes. On the inside of every NU shirt – opposite the heart - the story behind each cause is printed. In this way, wearers internalize the message and carry it with them wherever they go.
Far more than just cotton merchandise, NU creates a global community of passionate young people who bring these shirts and stories to their campuses and communities around the world. Through NU, David is heavily involved in spreading a positive narrative of Israel. The NU team has presented its causes to over 70 Taglit-Birthright groups during the winter and aims to double that by the summer. NU has launched a number of successful video and t-shirt campaigns, teaming up with famous musicians such as Matisyahu and Idan Raichel to raise awareness and funding for its featured charities. NU shirts have been sold in over 25 countries and have been the center of a number of student led campaigns on college campuses in the USA. The organization is in contact with many Jewish organizations across the spectrum of Jewish life and has been invited to address and present at a number of leadership and Israel engagement events in Israel and abroad. David has found that through NU’s non-political and positive position, they are able to bring many different people and organizations together under one roof.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.nucampaign.org 65
This is an image of me as Lenny Bruce, illustrated by a good friend and comic artist named Rusty Shackles. While it was made as a fun gift, it does represent my converging interests in Jewish culture, comics and comedy. Not fried chicken.
David Wolkin Executive Director, Limmud NY
“Untitled”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
David Wolkin is the Executive Director of Limmud NY, having stepped into the position after years as a committed volunteer. Prior to Limmud, he spent three years as the Coordinator of Elementary and Family Learning at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York. He has taught in many different Jewish learning environments in the New York area since moving there in 2002 and received an M.A. in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2007. David is also a company member of Storahtelling, a NY-based Jewish ritual theater company, developing and starring in original performances for them in addition to creating educational material. He has also spent many summers as a staff member and educator at both Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and the Brandeis Collegiate Institute. Outside of his Jewish work, he writes about comic books on his personal and other websites and occasionally performs comedic monologues at various New York City venues.
David played a key role in revitalizing congregational education at Congregation Emanu-El in New York City. His primary responsibility focused on launching a culture of family learning. Working closely with a team of educators and lay leaders, he designed and implemented a series of informal educational programs. He also collaborated with faculty to create a new system for parent-teacher communication to foster increased engagement among families. His tenure at Emanu-El marked a significant change in the way that parents relate to both their children’s and their own learning. Looking back, David feels he helped create an educational infrastructure that will continue to grow and succeed. In June, David assumed the role of Executive Director of Limmud NY, an organization that seeks to promote pluralistic Jewish learning through ongoing volunteer-based learning opportunities, the highlight of which is a four-day conference attended by over 700 people. Limmud NY is under 10 years old and David’s intention is to build the organization through an expanded social media presence, online learning opportunities and a revitalized network of volunteers. As Limmud NY enters the next stage of its life as an organization, he hopes to create strong linkages throughout the New York community in order to establish the Limmud brand as a central hub for diverse Jewish learning experiences.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.limmudny.org, www.wolkin.com 67
Didi Silberman Project Manager, Machshava Tova
I was born and raised in Jerusalem. Never an easy city to live in, I’ve always loved its little quirks. This picture was taken in Nachla’ot - one of the first neighborhoods built outside the Old City walls.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
From a young age, Didi Silberman was involved in social, environmental and political movements. At the age of 15, Didi joined Peace Now and became a youth counselor. She was a Youth for Peace ambassador at a seminar held in Jordan. At 17, Didi joined Magen David Adom as a volunteer and became a shift manager. After serving as an officer in the IDF for two and a half years, Didi traveled abroad to the Far East and spent two years in New York.
Technology is the pathway to social, economic, educational and professional advancement. But those without access to technology are at a disadvantage and their ability to progress within society is curbed. Since Israel is a world leader in the hi-tech industry, its companies continuously buy new computers to stay current. As a result, each year tens of thousands of computers are discarded, harming not only the environment but wasting valuable resources. With 27 percent of Israelis (two million people) without access to computers or the Internet, the donation of these discarded computers to families from poor neighborhoods can empower them.
“Untitled” (Jerusalem: Israel. 2010)
Upon returning to Israel, Didi studied political science and sociology at Ben Gurion University. She was involved in social-oriented organizations, including Green Course – Students for the Environment, where she became a spokesperson for a high profile campaign aimed at clearing the Negev of dangerous industrial pollution. In 2008, Didi returned to her hometown of Jerusalem to manage a successful campaign for an independent group running for city council. The group won two seats. Since 2009, she has worked as Project Manager of Machshava Tova, a nonprofit organization dedicated to narrowing societal gaps in Israel through technology.
Machshava Tova collects computers from hi-tech companies and keeps them out of the landfills. They also help society by giving thousands of Israel’s youth-at-risk, who do not have the skills or the guidance to land gainful employment, courses that enable them to become qualified PC technicians. These former youth-at-risk then work in Machshava Tova’s computer lab where they acquire technical and work-related experience to allow them to succeed in life. The refurbished computers are donated to underprivileged families, bringing them into the digital age and also helping to bridge the digital divide.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.mtova.org.il 69
Dima Moverguz
Executive Director, DAVAI Association Software Engineer
Be the change you want to see... Gandhi
“DAVAI!” (Philadelphia, PA)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
At the age of 12, Dima Moverguz immigrated with his family to the USA from St. Petersburg, Russia. They settled in Buffalo, NY. After a difficult beginning, they eventually acclimated and started to thrive in America. At Drexel University in Philadelphia, Dima became a part of a large Russian-speaking community. On a Birthright-Israel trip in 2002, he began to explore his Jewish heritage and fell in love with Israel. He returned to Israel on a leadership seminar with JAFI in 2004 and soon after, started attending Shabbat dinners, services and began learning more about Jewish history, culture and religion. After graduating, Dima worked as a software engineer. Although he had a great, well-paying job, something was missing. After noticing that there was a high level of assimilation and loss of Jewish identity among Russian speakers in the USA, in 2008 Dima launched an organization for Russianspeaking Jewish young professionals. Over the past two and a half years, Dima has built up the organization and turned it into a nonprofit called Davai! Association. At first a part-time venture, it has now become a full-time job.
Dima’s passion is helping Russian-speaking Jews in America connect to their Jewish heritage, which is what compelled him to build Davai! Association, an outreach organization for Russian-speaking young professionals in the Greater Philadelphia area. In only two years, the organization has grown to over 800 members, established itself as a tax exempt nonprofit and developed major programming. Davai! Association envisions strengthened Jewish identity and values, lower levels of assimilation and stronger affiliation in an overall effort to actively engage in tikkun olam (healing of the world). Davai! Association offers social events, Shabbat dinners, tours and trips, sporting events, educational and volunteer opportunities and more. They also partner with existing Jewish American organizations.
Currently lives in: Philadelphia, PA, USA Website: www.davaiusa.org 71
Dina Buchbinder Auron Director, Deport-es para Compartir (Sports to Share) Director, United Nations Youth Association of Mexico
Happy children learning about local contributions they can do for global issues in a fun but deep way. Becoming changemakers...
“Awake Children” Indigenous school shelter for children (Nayarit: Mexico)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Dina Buchbinder Auron is proud to be a Mexican Jew. Growing up, she was involved in a youth movement (Dor Hadash) and Israeli danced at the AVIV festival every year at the Jewish Community Center. She volunteered at a center for young, disabled Jews and also spent four months on Israeli kibbutzim. Dina participated in the Marva army course. As a university student, Dina organized “Jewish Week” to share her religion and culture with her fellow students.
Deport-es para Compartir (Sports to Share) is a civic and educational program for elementary school children. It raises awareness of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through games and sporting activities.
In 2007, Dina founded Deport-es para Compartir, which teaches children about important global issues through games and sports. Dina is a 2009 YouthActionNet Fellow. In 2010, as part of the Iniciativa Mexico contest, Dina’s initiative was selected by an Ashoka Council as one of the top 25 social development projects chosen out of 47,000 entries. Today, Dina is an Ashoka Fellow.
Since 2007, DpC has reached more than 28,500 children, mainly from indigenous communities. The aim is to convey to participants that physical activity and sport should be universal and inclusive. Key elements in all games include fair play, teamwork, respect, tolerance, equality, participation and relationship-building. During and after each game, discussions are held about how participants felt, how they relate to issues like disease prevention, helping others, the environment and gender equality. DpC promotes exchanges between urban and rural communities across Mexico. Young participants are challenged through this program to better understand how they understand and represent their culture, dreams and experiences. DpC offers a platform to discuss the social issues connected to health, disability and access to sport. As Ambassadors of DpC, all participants proudly represent the program to their families, neighbors and schools.
Currently lives in: Mexico City, Mexico Website: www.deportesparacompartir.org.mx 73
Doron Samish Co-Founder, Jewgether.org Intern, Budget Division, Ministry of Finance
This picture was taken in Boca, Buenos Aires, at the start of a long journey in South America. It represents for me the sadness that sometimes comes even during good times and it represents how something that looks so pure, like a clown, can return a second later to demand cash for the fact I took his picture.
“The Clown” La Boca (Buenos Aires: Argentina)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Doron Samish is a Co-Founder of the Jewgether.org project. He is finishing his B.A. in PEP (philosophy, economics and political sciences) this year. While pursuing his degree, he participated in a groundbreaking project in Israel called Atidim that enables young people from under-privileged communities to acquire higher education. As part of this program, Doron interned last year in the Ministry of Interior. Currently, he is interning in the budget division of the Ministry of Finance. Doron plans on working for the Government of Israel in the future.
Jewgether.org is a young and promising new project in the Jewish world. It is an online hospitality network that connects Jewish people from around the world and helps Jewish travelers find Jewish homes where they can stay while traveling. Jewgether. org strives to strengthen the relationships between Jewish communities around the world, to connect Jews in the Diaspora with Jews in Israel and to strengthen the Jewish identity of Jews all over the world. Its mission is to encourage Jews around the world to open their homes, hearts and minds to each other. Jewgether.org was created from the notion that there is no better way to experience the world than by meeting locals with a shared background. As the Babylonian Talmud says, “Receiving guests is greater than greeting the Divine Presence.” Jewgether.org has been online since June 2009. It has already attracted users from Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Central Asia. Users hail from over 35 countries including Egypt, Madagascar, and China. At Jewgether.org, all the founders share the work . Doron’s work focuses on building international relationships, English translations and computer consulting. However, as the team is small and young, everyone helps in all capacities.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.jewgether.org 75
Edoe Cohen
Founder & CEO, Omanoot - Israel through Art
A lot is happening - inside and out. Continually discovering new depth to the rabbit hole.
“ROI has been an amazing support network for me on a personal and professional level. The ROI Summits provide me with great tools and workshops to develop as an innovator and the network has been amazing in promoting and celebrating my work. I look forward to the new connections and friendships that will come from this ROI Summit and I’m also eager to help others develop their ideas and initiatives.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Edoe Cohen is an entrepreneur. Edoe is the creator of Omanoot – Israel Through Art, a multi-media website that enables users around the world to explore Israeli art and culture online. Edoe served in the IDF’s infantry for six years as a company commander. A graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, he is currently pursuing his M.B.A. from the Kellogg-Recanati International EMBA program.
Omanoot makes Israeli art – film, music, visual art and literature – accessible for entertainment, cultural and educational purposes. By creating a one-stop online cultural center where all media can be experienced for free and bought with ease, Internet users around the world are able to enjoy Israeli art at the click of a button. Omanoot will host an unprecedented range of quality, diverse art content, which will all be available online. Edoe developed the idea for the website in 2008 and has been working since then to bring it to life.
“The Matrix”
Edoe has been a member of ROI since 2009.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.omanoot.com 77
This puppet does to Carnivale what I wish we could do more with Judaism: be fun and contemporary while having our history and mythology centrally present.
Eli KaplanWildmann Theater Designer, Director & Educator Programming Director, Havruta - Gay Datiim
“He Who Laughs Laughs” (Trinidad. 1987)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Eli Kaplan-Wildmann is an educator and theater director/designer who lives in Jerusalem. He has worked in New York for the past few years, running family education classes where parents are invited to learn Jewish subjects with their children in order to incorporate more Jewish values into their homes. He has also presented at various Jewish learning conferences, including Limmud NY and the Hadar Shavuot retreat where he has led Biblical improv workshops. On the faculty of the Nehirim LGBT Jewish Spirituality retreats, Eli has run programs that shed new light on the Torah, prayer and Israeli culture. At New York University, he taught a graphic design course in addition to serving as a Peer Educator and a Residential Assistant.
Eli plans and runs the programming for Havruta-Gay Datiim, which aims to create community for religious gay people. In his eyes, it is crucial that religious Jews who are coming out have the option to both remain religious and be gay, as both identities are equally important in his own life. Havruta’s email list has 400 subscribers and their monthly social events in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem draw 40 to 60 people. Eli also works in education and the arts in Jerusalem where he promotes adhering to Jewish law and tradition while still engaging within society and its ideas.
Eli is the Programming Director and on the board of the gay religious organization Havruta, which works to promote the option for gay Jews to remain in the religious community. Eli also works in theater in Jerusalem and aims to keep this holy city a wellspring of new ideas and culture.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.havruta.org.il, www.kaplanwildmann.com 79
Elyssa Moss Rabinowitz
Co-Founder, Kol HaOt ď ł Founder, A Day Away Productions & Zer Mitzvot
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Elyssa Moss Rabinowitz creates worlds of Jewish meaning and beauty by using all forms of media to create interactive, participatory events and programs of Jewish content. Born in California, Elyssa moved to Jerusalem with her family. After serving in the IDF, Elyssa graduated from Bar Ilan University where she majored in psychology and Jewish history. She attended the Metivta Institute for Higher Torah Studies and was selected as a scholar in the Advanced Talmud Program at Matan.
In 20 09, Elyssa joined three other creative individuals in an innovative and groundbreaking project: Kol HaOt – Illuminating Jewish Life through Art.
Through her Day Away productions, Elyssa imagines, scripts and produces major events for institutions and families. She magically weaves Jewish texts, music, food, art and drama together to create experiences that are authentic, educational, inspirational and fun. Elyssa created and runs the Zer Mitzvot experience for Bat Mitzvah girls and their parents. She has worked on creative content for television at Techelet Jewish Television and has acted in and produced live theater.
“Life Map” (2000)
This ‘life map’ created by my father, David Moss, for my 25th birthday, represents significant people, places, interests and qualities in my life. When the image is flipped, it shows my face from four points in time.
BIOGRAPHY:
Elyssa was a PresenTense global fellow. Together with her father, David Moss, Rabbi Matt Berkowitz and Yair Medina, she launched Kol HaOt, a venture dedicated to conveying Jewish ideas, texts and values through the arts. Elyssa lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Dovi, and her four children, Hallel, Yair, Yedidya and Shir.
Soon after, Elyssa and co-creater Matt were fellows at PresenTense. This enabled them to better refine their goals and mission and to translate their ideas into actionable and defined phases. The first phase was to create illuminating experiences for North American tourists traveling in Israel. Over the past year and a half, Kol HaOt has been successfully creating and running programs for groups. In these programs, participants learn a Jewish text or idea through the arts and then continue with a hands-on project. The next phase is to create a home in Jerusalem for Kol HaOt. From this space, they will open a Visual Beit midrash allowing people to study and learn, not only from text, but through art. The Visual Beit midrash will also host a Jewish cabaret, featuring highquality performances of Jewish content. This is envisioned to become a magnet for tourists and Israelis alike.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.kolhaot.com, www.zermitzvot.com 81
Erica Lyons Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Asian Jewish Life Freelance Writer & Editor
Having lived in Hong Kong for nine years, I’ve learned that ‘home’ is not limited to the place where I live. Wherever I travel, I have my family and Judaism to keep me grounded.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Combining her passions for literature, poetry and history with her love for Judaism and Israel and her skills as a writer, Erica Lyons is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Asian Jewish Life.
Erica published the first issue of Asian Jewish Life (AJL) in January 2010. Through celebrating the diversity of the Jewish experience in Asia and of Asian Jewry, her magazine has the power to reach Jews across the globe. The magazine was inspired by what Erica witnessed in the aftermath of the terror in Mumbai, when the Hong Kong Jewish community united and demonstrated solidarity. Erica was eager to unite existing pockets of Jewish life in celebration based on common Jewish values and a mutual love for Israel.
When she is not working on the magazine, Erica is active in her Jewish community. She is on the boards of Hong Kong’s Jewish Historical Society and of ZAKA Hong Kong, China and Macau. As the Carmel School PTA Communication Chair, she is coordinating a history project for the Hong Kong Jewish Women’s Association. She is also on the Rabbi’s committee at the Ohel Leah Synagogue.
“Have Passport, Will Travel”
Erica is confident her three children will grow up understanding the importance of giving back and that they will take pride in their Jewish heritage and follow their own passions.
Currently lives in: Hong Kong Website: www.asianjewishlife.org
AJL seeks to support Jewish charities, particularly those committed to the region, by giving them a voice and allowing them to grow. In its first five issues, the magazine gave a regional voice to organizations including: Lev Olam, Tevel B’Tzedek, Save a Child’s Heart, the JDC, ZAKA and Taglit-Birthright. The project aims to help preserve some of the incredible Jewish history in the region and to give locals a broader understanding of what it means to be a Jew. The project has led to invitations from local universities to talk about the history and contributions of Jews to Asia, as well as interviews from the local press. AJL has received endless emails from Jews worldwide: a Jewish-Korean teen excited that there are others like her; an intermarried Jewish/Chinese couple raising their children in a Jewish home and Jewish travelers holidaying in Asia.
83
This was the Sabbath, our free day at a seminar of informal Jewish education. All that day, I walked around Kiev and enjoyed the spring sunshine and the beauty of the city.
Eva (Chava) Egorova Supervisor of Project “VKONNEKTE”
“Spring Shabbat in Kiev” (Kiev: Ukraine. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Eva Egorova was born in 1987. “One day I’ll write a book about my life,” she said. “Just as soon as I gain enough experience for future chapters.” In 24 years, Eva has lived enough to write many chapters. She has worked at McDonald’s, assisted a cardiac surgeon, started her own confectionery business, won prizes in literary competitions and has acted in movies and television shows. Fond of painting, playing drums, studying languages and psychology, she studied at the Faculty of Economics and in 2009 began studying at Russian Medical University, where she continues to study today. Eva now works for Hillel in Moscow. She has a son who starts school next year. Often asked how she manages to do so many different things, Eva responds, “Who if not me? And when, if not now?”
Eva works for Hillel in Moscow, supervising the project, VKONNEKTE. This innovative project’s goal is to create Jewish youth minicommunities at universities in Moscow. The project provides a unique opportunity for Jewish students to become acquainted with contemporary Jewish life, develop leadership skills and gain personal Jewish experience.
Currently lives in: Moscow, Russia Website: www.russia.hillel.org 85
Evan Kleinman Television & Film Producer, Punk Jews Documentary Series
Punk Jews: Unconventional and Awesome Expressions of Judaism
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Evan Kleinman is a two-time Emmy nominated producer. He has produced for the NBC lifestyle series, LXTV 1st Look and the real estate series, Open House.
Evan believes media is the most powerful and effective way to communicate. As a television/ film producer, he uses it to share compelling stories to engage people and spark dialogue that can positively impact society.
After receiving a B.A. in television production at Ithaca College in 2004, Evan worked for Race to Execution, a PBS documentary about the death penalty in America. This year, Evan will be releasing two documentaries. Punk Jews follows a community of artists, activists and musicians expressing Judaism in unconventional ways. We Are Still Here is a documentary about Evan traveling with his family to Poland to place a headstone on the grave dug by Evan’s grandfather for his brother who was killed in the Holocaust.
“Untitled”
Evan also produces commercial work, music videos and online media for New York Magazine, various fashion brands, advertising companies and musical acts.
Currently lives in: Astoria, NY, USA Website: www.punkjews.com
He is passionate about Jewish identity and determined to make it relevant and fulfilling. Evan often hears his peers say, “I’m a bad Jew” because they are not observant or knowledgeable about Judaism. As a result, they become alienated and relinquish their right to a meaningful Jewish identity. Evan has also met people from religious communities who feel limited by the resources available to them, sometimes leading them to abandon their Judaism. This inspired Evan to produce Punk Jews, showcasing individuals who are exploring and creating innovative and unconventional ways of expressing their identity. The people featured in Evan’s film honor their heritage on their own terms. Evan believes that making the endeavors of these people known is a powerful way to inspire others to create meaningful Jewish identities for themselves. In addition, Punk Jews has built a community through its interactive website and live events. As a PresenTense Fellow, Evan is always exploring ways to expand his project. The goal is to provide a multi-media experience that brings all types of people who share a common heritage together. Each person offers his or her own answer to the questions, “What does Judaism look like for me and how can I bring it into the world I’m in today?” 87
Ezequiel Sporn Regional Operations Manager, ACE Latin America
This picture was taken a week before our wedding. We were about to start flying together in order to conquer our dreams and plans. One of the happiest moments of my life.
“Enjoying the life together” (Buenos Aires: Argentina. 2009)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Ezequiel Sporn is an Argentinian business administrator with business and consulting experience. He works as a Regional Operations Manager for an insurance company where he develops and implements new projects that positively impact people’s lives. He is always setting new goals for himself and thinking of new ideas and ways to make things better, easier and more efficient.
Ezequiel’s mission is to connect Jewish people within Argentina and beyond through lending with the intention of making their dreams, ideas, businesses or projects come true. The project will combine microcredit with internet power to provide an online platform to connect lenders to entrepreneurs. A loan is not made in the form of a single, direct loan, but as the aggregation of a number of smaller loans.
Regarding his Jewish experience, for 12 years in his youth, Ezequiel was involved in the Maccabi youth group and was on the tabletennis competitive team. Later, he was a counselor for 8 and 14-year-olds. Currently, Ezequiel is active in the Latin American Jewish Commit tee - New Generations program for young people in their 20s and 30s. He also assists other national offices in new media projects to support the Jewish community and Israel. He lives in Buenos Aires with his wife, Barbara.
The project will benefit those who have a business plan that allows them to generate an income and begin to build wealth and in some cases exit poverty, particularly those who cannot meet the minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Target candidates include youth in their early 20s, unemployed people in their 40s and 50s and single mothers. This is an innovative project for Argentina because it turns the current paradigm on its head. Instead of simply “giving someone a fish,” this project will begin to teach people “how to use a fishing rod.”
Currently lives in: Buenos Aires, Argentina 89
Franklin (Smiles) Drob Chief Smiles, International Yoga & Meditation Instructor, InsideSmiles Health & Wellness Consultant
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Franklin Drob learned to speak Russian fluently from his grandmother. At the age of 16, he began to take his academic pursuits and self-study seriously. By the age of 18, Franklin received seven scholarly first class awards and scholarships to DePaul University, where he became a National Honor Roll student.
Franklin has become a key member of the Russian-speaking Jewish immigrant community through his ongoing commitment as a Moishe House resident. Being part of the Moishe House program has required discipline and lightheartedness. Each week his roommate administrative responsibilities include: Jewish content, project marketing, set-up, hosting, clean-up and reflection.
Being Creative to me is the expression of who I am. This image sums up thousands of words and emotions about the journey within my life.
“Always Be Creating”
While in college, Franklin met his first mentor, a retired hedge fund manager with more than 40 years of meditation and yoga experience. Franklin is now an international yoga teacher. Together with his mentor, Franklin created a program called Calm Classroom, an effort that now helps over 10,000 children each year. Franklin has also started his own company, InsideSmiles. With the support and guidance of his local rabbi, Franklin became involved in the Russianspeaking Jewish community. As a result, he was selected as part of a pilot program to be one of the first residents of the Chicago Russian-Speaking Moishe House. He has hosted more than 100 programs, including Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, social soirees, Hebrew lessons, collaboration with synagogues, Russian guitar sing-along events and “good karma” cafés.
Franklin also volunteers as an international yoga and meditation teacher for the global nonprofit, Hostelling International Chicago. He teaches a weekly chair yoga class for both the Russian and American speaking elderly at the Council for Jewish Elderly. Some senior students have reported that the results are life-changing and bring healing. InsideSmiles is an HR Benefits Corporate Wellness Company. InsideSmiles provides sustainable solutions to reduce rising annual healthcare costs. The company provides programs such as company wellness vacations and niche retreats to energize, revitalize and improve the long-term physical health of participants.
Currently lives in: Chicago, IL, USA Website: www.insidesmiles.com 91
Gadi Rouache Executive Producer, Gadi Productions Creative Director, Splashlife
Let’s create something together.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Constantly learning, exploring and creating, Gadi Rouache is best described as an “experience collector.” Inspired by his travels in over 20 countries and six continents, Gadi’s creative drive and energy are heavily influenced by the opportunity to improve the world.
Gadi’s passions manifest in his lyrics and films. As a designer, he has the ability to translate his passions into logos, images and websites. His creations are made with the intention of sharing them with the world. In his endeavors, what Gadi cherishes most are the opportunities for collaboration with other creative and entrepreneurial individuals.
Professionally, Gadi has established himself as an accomplished filmmaker, creative director, nonprofit founder and prolific artist and activist. Whether producing music videos or commercials, interviewing the likes of Whoopi Goldberg or Jon Bon Jovi, consulting on graphic design for the United Nations in Thailand or directing documentary-like vignettes on pro-social ventures, Gadi’s collaborative spirit materializes and takes shape through his vibrant work.
“Being Creative”
As a citizen of both the United States and Israel, Gadi’s work often communicates the shared values and the creative energy that is found in the USA-Israel relationship. Gadi has worked with Kinetis and the Israeli Foreign Ministry on the Brand Israel project, giving him unique insight into how to best articulate Israel to the Jewish community and the world. A graduate of Washington University, Gadi continues his involvement as a mentor to seniors and as a board member of The Greater University Service Foundation.
In developing the website for the Israeli social startup, Kinetis, and creating its “What is real creative energy” video and by working with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Gadi has developed and forged new and effective ways of describing Israel. In fact, President Shimon Peres asked Gadi to include the next cut of the video on Peres’ English website. Gadi has also worked and designed logos and material for BINA|LA, which is akin to a Jewish TED community. BINA|LA hosts intellectual salons for Jewish professionals once a month. The event consists of four or five presentations that are each under seven minutes, bookended by social hours to discuss the ideas presented. Finally, Gadi is currently involved in developing an hour-long format television series about two venture capitalists who leave New York City to open an office in Tel Aviv.
Currently lives in: Los Angeles, CA, USA Website: www.gadiproductions.com, www.kinetis.org.il, www.splashlife.com 93
I made an image of all the things I love. Israel, Judaism, Music and Mac.
Gerardo (Gerald) Tjor Student Organizer
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Gerardo Tjor is studying law and foreign trade. He is also responsible for import and export at a large company, has created an informatics system for sales and is responsible for social media for his company. He is a Conservative Jew, member of the executive committee of the Community Sephardic Temple and an organizer of youth activities. He attended a Jewish school and has always been an active member of the Jewish community. When he was 17 years old, he began working as a counselor for the local youth movement and he organized Yom HaShoah activities for the city.
Gerardo works with groups of young people between the ages of 18 to 35. He helps them connect to the Jewish community and creates a social framework with which they can identify. Along with ROIer Gabriel Weitz, Gerardo created the magazine STAM! which was well received in several cities in Argentina. It brought a new vision of Judaism to the youth. Gerardo wrote and designed for the magazine.
For many years, Gerardo was a member of the group MEMORIA ACTIVA (active memory), an organization that lobbied for, and demanded, an investigation into the bombing of the AMIA and Israeli Embassy in Argentina. The group also teaches young people about Israeli history and politics.
“All in mac”
Gerardo loves playing the guitar and he is a long-time heavy metal fan.
He has also translated many G-dcast films for ROIer Sarah Lefton into Spanish. Had the films not been translated, many of the young people who have viewed them would not have been able to enjoy and learn from those educational animations. Currently, Gerardo is working with ROIer Uriel Aiskovich to adapt the Shagriria program for his hometown. This program gives young people Israel advocacy knowledge and skills via UN simulations. The program also empowers participants, giving them the tools to constructively discuss Israel’s current political situation. It also strengthens the community’s affinity towards Israel. Finally, to increase young people’s exposure to and knowledge of Hebrew, Gerardo is also forming a band that will perform famous Argentinean songs that have been translated into Hebrew.
Currently lives in: Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina Website: www.shagriria.com.ar 95
Guila Kessous Ph.D., Professor, Director, Producer, Artist
“Untitled” Yom Hashoah (2011)
Here is the poster of my last performance at Harvard University.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Recipient of the State Diploma of Performing Arts award, Guila Kessous has acted, directed and produced in major theaters in the USA and Europe. She feels that drama is a socially conscious reflection of many aspects of society and culture. Her approach to theater as a cultural marker is multifaceted. She received a Ph.D. in ethics and aesthetics under the mentorship of Elie Wiesel, an M.B.A. in cultural business and a cross-disciplinary M.A. in comparative dramaturgy, cinema and pedagogy. She has taught at Harvard, Boston University, the Sorbonne and the Wiesel Institute. Her sponsors include UNESCO (Director, “Hilda”), the UN (Director, “Tribute to Human Rights”) and the CNRS. She has collaborated with artists including John Malkovich, James Taylor, Marissa Berenson, Daniel Mesguich and Theodore Bikel.
Guila has produced and directed over 20 performances in the USA and Europe. She is an accomplished Gold Medal winner actress for Dramatic Arts, a professor with a degree from the French government and a researcher with a doctorate in ethics and aesthetics. In her work as an author and translator, Guila has collaborated with numerous artists and authors on theatrical works that primarily deal with humanitarian issues. During the 2006 UNESCO sponsored program, La Route de l’Esclave (The Slave Route), Guila received the Prix Dikalo de Nord-Sud Développement (the Dikalo Prize of North-South Development) for her interpretation of Madame Lemarchand in Marie NDiaye’s Hilda. Guila produced and directed the world premiere (English translation) of Elie Wiesel’s work, Il était une fois (Once Upon A Time) in both Boston and at the acclaimed Avignon Theater Festival with actors from the Comédie Française. In 2009, Guila was invited by the International Francophone Organization to the UN headquarters in New York to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Currently lives in: Metz, France Website: www.budzyntheplay.com
Guila holds a diploma of excellence for teaching from the Derek Bok Center at Harvard University. She has taught in both the USA and in Europe. She is also a member of the ARIAS laboratory and is currently pursuing a postdoctorate at the Center of European Studies at Harvard University. 97
Guy Lieberman Green & Social, New Business Development, Draftfcb South Africa Founding Director, Second Nature Sustainable Solutions
“The Difference between One and Zero” 2:31 p.m. (Johannesburg: South Africa. May 7, 2011)
The very recent birth, in water, of our daughter as captured on film by an assisting midwife. In this moment lies all the change from the period I had just stepped beyond, into parenthood. The difference between one and zero.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Guy Lieberman has traveled in 39 countries and has lived in India and Israel. He spent six years as an activist for Tibetan freedom and was liaison for the Dalai Lama’s visits to South Africa. He helped establish the meeting between then-President Nelson Mandela and the Tibetan leader. As Director of the PeaceJam Foundation South Africa, he connected high school children from communities torn by violence with Nobel Peace Laureates in an apprenticeship in peacemaking.
Guy is the Director of Cents for Change (C4C), a round-up mechanism of cents to the nearest Rand (South African currency) for any purchase. The collected funds will go into a trust overseen by an advisory council made up of local moral authorities. C4C will strategically distribute the funds into six strands of focus: energy, health, poverty alleviation, green, bridging the digital divide and education.
Guy has produced festivals and conferences, including the World Festival of Sacred Music – Africa (millennium initiative of the Dalai Lama). He has directed documentaries and films on culture, sacred music and biomimicry (innovation inspired by nature). His film, Universal Face, produced in Israel with musicians and luminaries from different cultures within the Jewish world, was screened globally. He consults on green and social innovation at Draftfcb, one of South Africa’s largest ad agencies and has a green innovation consultancy called Second Nature Sustainable Solutions. Guy was invited to Sweden as a YES Summit 2010 Changemaker and is co-convener of TEDxJo’burgNorth. He and his Israeli wife, Naami, recently had their first child.
During the World Cup, Draftfcb created an inspiring campaign entitled, Keep Flying. Guy was asked to generate a large-scale legacy project. He suggested and is directing the creation of a long-term installation: a 60-hectare flag of planted desert succulents in the Karoo region. This flag will be seen from the sky between Johannesburg and Cape Town. This mix of creativity, environmentalism, national pride, social enterprise and tourism will have a direct economic impact on the community. Individuals within the region will plant and maintain the 2.5 million plants and be ambassadors of the giant flag. Guy is currently raising funds for the giant flag.
Currently lives in: Johannesburg, South Africa Website: www.secondnature.co.za, www.universalface.org 99
Harry Rubenstein CEO, Action Packed Media Director of Digital Media, ISRAEL21c
My daughter hugging a llama for the first time. Everyone should hug a llama. You don’t have to be sad to hug a llama, you just have to want to hug a llama. Llamas are awesome. Hugging a llama is even more awesome.
“Hug a Llama” (2009)
“ROI has been instrumental in enriching my life on a professional and personal level. I have made several close friends and appreciate that I now have a knowledgeable and creative network that is always available for professional advice.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Much like Israeli Nobel Prize winner S.Y. Agnon, Harry Rubenstein regards himself as one who was born in Jerusalem, even though he was born in the Exile and made aliyah in 1997. Harry serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of Action Packed Media, a creative workshop specializing in content development, design, social media, search engine optimization and other Internet initiatives.
Through his company, Action Packed Media, Harry has been able to take on a range of projects that appeal to his tech/geek and Zionist selves simultaneously: Take, for example, his role as Director of Digital Media of ISRAEL21c, a groundbreaking hasbara (Israel advocacy) organization that highlights Israel’s contribution to the world in the areas of technology, health, culture, social action and the environment. Harry has been instrumental in substantially increasing traffic to ISRAEl21c and formulating a digital marketing strategy that has resulted in over 2 million views of ISRAEL21c videos on YouTube and broadly widening the dissemination of ISRAEL21c’s content.
In his low-tech moments, Harry enjoys being the only male in his family: educating his two daughters about Star Wars, superheroes, Neil Gaiman and the greatest band of all time, The Replacements; and sharing sci-fi, fantasy and reality television shows with his brilliant and beautiful wife, Ziva (an ROI summit participant in ‘09). Recently, Harry has demonstrated a keen ability, almost sixth sense, to communicate with highly intelligent dogs and train them for musical excellence. He is currently forming a super-group with the talented Noonie (drums), Buzz (keytar) and Mr. Pickle (bass) and welcomes dog applicants, with powerpop/ rock/alternative country sensibilities, to apply. Harry has been a member of ROI since 2006.
Or, as Director of Content for GoJerusalem. com, the premier destination for Jerusalem on the web, where Harry not only helped establish GoJerusalem as the number one destination on the Internet for Jerusalem tourist information, but also redirected its content strategies to highlight unique cultural aspects of Jerusalem that are often ignored. Harry also works with leading high-tech Israeli startups in Israel, helping their innovation and smarts reach an expanded, international online community.
Currently lives in: Modiin, Israel Website: www.harryrubenstein.me, www.israel21c.org, www.gojerusalem.com 101
Heather Wilk
Co-founder, Cause Creative Marketing Co-founder, Straight But Not Narrow
BIOGRAPHY: Heather Wilk, a resident of Los Angeles, California, was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After earning her associate’s degree in live audio engineering and failing her career as a “roadie,” Heather hopped on the business school bandwagon. Upon completing her graduate program, she started her own cause-related marketing company that has raised money for everything from music education to children’s hospitals. Heather has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and increased awareness for some great causes and has had one heck of a good time doing it.
I believe life gives you incredible choices. I have chosen my goals, both big and small. Some may seem ‘miles’ away, but if I just start heading in that direction, I know I’ll reach it eventually.
“A Little Direction”
INNOVATIVE WORK: Heather’s innovative work can be summed up in her company’s motto: “Supporting a good cause with creative ideas.” Her approach is changing the view that “giving back” has to be defined by a dollar sign. She believes that supporting a good cause goes much deeper and giving back means building a personal connection at a young age, thus ensuring that charity’s longevity. With this method, giving becomes not just something expected but something a person wants to do. Her target audience is young adults who, she feels, should be a part of charity just as much as older generations – despite their
often smaller bank accounts. Since starting Cause Creative Marketing, Heather has reached hundreds of thousands of young adults. Her largest charity campaign is in over 6,000 high schools and will raise over $500,000 for children’s hospitals across the USA. Heather makes sure that clients leverage social media tools to raise awareness. And she always leads by example. She is currently developing a 501(c)(3) called, “Straight But Not Narrow.” It’s a way for teenagers to stand up and support gay friends and family. Within four days of launching, they had thousands of followers on Twitter and Facebook. It is a testament to the power of this often forgotten demographic of young adults. Every charity should be making the effort to gain interest from these young adults if they want to maintain success in the future. Times are changing at a rapid rate. Heather is devoted to leading her charity clients away from traditional fundraising and marketing techniques to exciting innovative marketing campaigns that will launch them into the minds (and hearts) of the younger generations.
Currently lives in: Encino, CA, USA Website: www.causecreativemarketing.com 103
A self-portrait based on Marianne, a fictional woman first painted by Gustave Moreau, who later became the figurative personification of the new French Republic. Ms. Israel is an allegorical representation of the State of Israel.
Ian Sternthal New Media & Book Publisher, Sternthal Books Photography Agent, Randy Cole Represents
BIOGRAPHY: Ian Sternthal lives in New York City, where he earned an M.A. in liberal studies from the New School for Social Research. He also spends time in Israel and Montreal, places he also calls “home.” He recently launched a boutique art book publishing company called Sternthal Books that places a strong emphasis on video and new media. The company just published its first book, The Sota Project, with Ofri Cnaani. Ian has worked in journalism, politics and film and is currently at work on a book about art and cultural memory in Israel, which he also hopes to turn into an art exhibition within the next year. His goal is to encourage people of all backgrounds to engage in contemporary and antique aspects of Jewish culture - whether through books, art, film or other forms of academic and cultural expression.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
“Ms. Israel Photo”
Ian is developing several projects under the umbrella of Sternthal Books, including short documentaries, exhibits and books. These projects will impact both the artists that he showcases, as well as the audiences that will be exposed to them.
Sternthal Books is an independent media company devoted to making political picture books and documentaries. It uses images and aesthetics to examine current global and political issues from an artistic perspective. The goal of the press is to give frequency to individual voices, to fight for people’s right to self-determination and to broadcast innovative examples of visual culture. Ian’s most recent collaboration is with Ofri Cnaani, an Israeli contemporary artist. He designed, conceived, published and oversaw all aspects of an art book that accompanies Ofri’s recent video installation, The Sota Project, which is a feminist re-interpretation of an ancient Talmudic tale. The book expands upon her film through comments by Talmudic and feminist scholars that are laid out like the Talmud; they are wrapped around an empty square of white space to emphasize the artist’s visual interpretation of the Talmudic tale as the “central text.” Other projects include re-publishing an old Yiddish best seller, complete with beautiful illustrations done by Ephraim Moses Lilien, a book about the Zalmania Pri-Or photography studio in Tel-Aviv and Ian’s own book about the Hulah draining project.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.sternthalbooks.com, www.iansternthal.com, www.randycolerepresents.com 105
This photograph was taken as part of a project I initiated by the name ‘Urban Edges.’ To me, the picture symbolizes the combination between creation, space and the people living in it. The street route as a platform to creation, art and life.
Ido Levit
Special Project Coordinator, “The Open House” & “Hakatze Production” Project Manager, “Urban Edges” Art Project
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INNOVATIVE WORK:
Ido Levit, born and raised in downtown Jerusalem, was educated at the Experimental School. From a very young age, Ido engaged in mind-body leisure activities. He is now a qualified yoga teacher and a black belt in ninjutsu.
Ido is involved in many projects but the one dearest to him is Urban Edges. This project uses plastic art to cultivate public spaces. Artists create plastic art in the streets of the City Center – on doors, drain pipes, walls, tin huts and more. The artists feel they are forging strong ties with the city through this project. Urban Edges aims to acquaint Jerusalem residents with urban and innovative art, reinforcing the status of art in the city. The artists produce an annual catalogue of plastic art in three languages, showcasing some of Jerusalem’s best urban art to the world.
Ido is the owner of Hakatze nightclub, which hosts music events, drag shows, poetry nights and various exhibitions. Ido’s production company, Hakatze Cultural Productions, produces content for cultural events in Jerusalem.
“Untitled”
Since 2009, Ido has been the Coordinator of Special Projects at the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, an association that promotes the rights of the gay community. The organization is responsible for the Jerusalem Gay Pride parade and the leadership seminar that is run for leaders of Israel’s gay community. Ido is active in Awakening (Hitorerut), the young people’s movement in Jerusalem that promotes ways to retain Jerusalem’s young residents. Ido is also the Coordinator of the Forum of Art and Culture Entrepreneurs in Jerusalem on behalf of the Department of Culture, Society and Leisure.
Ido initiated this project three years ago with the support of the Youth Directorate in a jointly produced street happening. The project gathered momentum and was given a budget from the Jerusalem Municipality’s Department of Plastic Art. Ido is involved in producing this project, fundraising and managing the timetable. Ido sees this project as contributing greatly to artists living in the city and to the general image of Jerusalem.
Currently lives in: Jeruslem, Israel Website: www.hakatze.com, www.joh.org.il 107
I chose this image because it shows how far a grassroots organization can go in just one year by working with determination.
Ilja Sichrovsky Founder & General Secretary, Muslim Jewish Conference
“Beyond Borders” Muslim Jewish Conference at the gathering of Muslim and Jewish leaders. (Brussels: Belgium. 2010)
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INNOVATIVE WORK:
Ilja Sichrovsky is the Founder and Secretary General of the Muslim Jewish Conference (MJC). He is completing his master’s in international development from the University of Vienna.
For almost 20 years, international simulations and conferences between young individuals have generated ideas that formed the basis for successful cooperation throughout the world. In 2010, the first annual Muslim Jewish Conference (MJC) brought 65 individuals from 25 countries to Vienna. It proved that there is collective faith that peaceful coexistence is possible. The forum led to sustainable conclusions and recommendations published and promoted through a final paper. The second annual MJC, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, is about establishing and institutionalizing student-driven dialogue that will bring people together and break down stereotypes and prejudices.
Born in Berlin, he is the son of a German mother and an Austrian father. His father’s family has Jewish roots in Vienna dating back centuries; in fact, one of his Jewish ancestors was knighted by Franz Josef. Ilja was a counselor in Vienna’s Hashomer Hatzair youth movement and was a founding member of Gesher, the youth party within the Austrian Jewish Community. Ilja represented the University of Vienna three times at international Harvard student conferences. On each occasion, he won the Harvard Award for Exemplifying the True Spirit of Diplomacy. Later, he acted as faculty adviser and coach for the Viennese delegation at several conferences and he chaired the peace-building commission at EURASIAMUN. Ilja wrote a scientific article about being a Jewish student studying at an Austrian University six decades after the Holocaust. It was published by the University of Vienna and integrated into curriculum.
The MJC aims to initiate and maintain a platform for discussion and networking. The MJC is a dialogue and leadership project that targets future leaders from all sectors in the beginning of their careers. The 2011 conference is expected to replicate and exceed the success of the MJC 2010, strengthening and improving dialogue and cooperation between Muslims and Jews. Additionally, the upcoming MJC focuses on a concrete call to action, establishing tangible plans for projects that can be realized by the MJC network, making a real difference on the ground.
Currently lives in: Vienna, Austria Website: www.mjconference.org 109
Inbal Baum
Business Development Consultant, Foundation for Documentary Projects Legal Consultant
This image was taken on one of my favorite trips - to Panama - and combines the best of all worlds: relaxing beach, hammock, perfect sunset and serenity.
BIOGRAPHY: Inbal Baum is a trained attorney and entrepreneurial/marketing consultant for the private and public sectors. She has lent her expertise to projects that span across high-tech, clean-tech, defense/security and fine art. As an advocate, she fought for the return of Nazi-stolen art, lobbied with AIPAC and assisted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “Brand Israel” project. Inbal graduated from the University of California with a B.A. in social justice and holds a doctorate of law from the Cardozo School of Law. She is a certified yoga instructor and can often be spotted striking the tree pose in Gan Ha’Atzmaut.
“Absolute Serenity” (Isla Bastimentos: Panama)
INNOVATIVE WORK: Inbal defines her role as community builder in Tel Aviv. A few months after arriving in Israel, she found herself asking, “Now what?” After following her heart and what she had been “fighting” towards for many years, Inbal made aliyah. Working in a job with an Israeli entrepreneur she asked herself, “Is this why I came here?” The answer could have been yes – Israeli entrepreneurs are a special and rare breed – but Inbal wanted to do more. She now understands that simply being in Israel does not mean her job is done.
Realizing this, Inbal dove straight into community building organizations. She become an organizer of the Tel Aviv International Salon, joined the steering committee of PresenTense, assisted the Israel chapter of AlmaLinks and got involved in a spiritual community. In each organization she finds her natural role is to help the organization (and its members) make meaningful connections. From this vantage point, Inbal created the People’s Council PopUp Cafes as a connector and organizer for community activity. Inbal understands innovation is not only about new ideas, rather, it can mean making something fresh and usable from what already exists. Tel Aviv is strong in many ways but as a big city, it loses a sense of community. Inbal intends to “upgrade” Tel Aviv by helping people connect in an offline, social community. Right now, the Pop-Up Cafes are an outlet where she can do this professionally and she hopes to continue this work to help strengthen communities beyond Tel Aviv.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.peoplescouncilcafe.com 111
This is the most powerful image from our first comic together, which tells the amazing story of Ariella, a brave woman who had to fight for her freedom and redeem herself from her recalcitrant husband.
Inbal Freund-Novick Hebrew Spokeswoman, The Jewish Agency for Israel Co-founder & Director, Unmasked Comics
“ROI has enabled Unmasked Comics to be what it is today, particularly because of the two grants we received. We were also very honored to work with ROI on a large scale project ‘ROI Unmasked’ for its 5th Annual Conference.”
BIOGRAPHY:
“Unmasked Comics - The Ariella Dadon Story” 2009
Inbal Freund-Novick is Spokesperson for the Israeli media at the Jewish Agency and CoFounder of The Unmasked Comics Project, a social change comics venture created with comics-artist Chari Pere. Inbal served as Director of Mavoi Satum, a Jerusalem-based organization dedicated to addressing the social injustice faced by mesoravot get (women denied religious divorces) and helping those in need until Israeli and halachic (Jewish legal) solutions are determined. As a 2006-07 Legacy Heritage (Wexner) Fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute, Inbal studied young Jewish leadership, focusing on the generational gap between the institutional Jewish world and the younger generation. Previously, Inbal founded and directed Chaverim, a Jewish Studies learning community for new immigrants and Israelis on campuses across Israel. She worked as an organizational consultant for Shatil, the New Israel Fund’s empowerment and training center for social change organizations in Israel. A founding steering committee member of the PresenTense Institute, Inbal was also a Kol Dor conference Co-Chair in 2007 and is currently the head of the interfaith dialogue task force of the World Jewish Diplomatic Corps. Inbal also taught Hebrew and Jewish Studies in Manchester, England.
Inbal holds a B.A. in psychology from Hebrew University and took courses towards an M.A. in social psychology. During her university years, Inbal continued her Jewish education in the Chavruta program at Hebrew University and at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She represented Hebrew University at conferences around the world, including Limmud (England), BCI (USA) and CEULAJ (Spain). In her free time, Inbal is a published poet with the Mashiv Haruach Jewish poets company and a member of the Yakar Beit midrash and choir. Since joining ROI in 2007, Inbal married Yoel and gave birth to Yair, the youngest ROI 2010 conference participant.
INNOVATIVE WORK: With her partner, Chari Pere, Inbal is CoFounder and Director of The Unmasked Comics Project – an innovative platform for social change. Together they depict extraordinary stories of social change through the fun, engaging comics medium. Their comics inspire people to get involved in social action and social change organizations to strengthen their altruistic efforts. In a world filled with much negativity, they feature positive, captivating stories that carry the message of hope and inspiration.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.unmaskedcomics.com, www.jafi.org.il 113
Tel Aviv, near my house. Just back from art gallery openings. In the background, there’s an Indian woman waiting for a taxi to take her home. The sublimation of my life, here and now.
Ira Merzlykh
Strategy & Resource Development Consultant, Foundation for Documentary Projects Volunteer Coordinator, Activism Festival
“Intersection/Crossroads” Photo by Rei Dishon at Magen David Square (Tel Aviv: Israel. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Ira Merzlykh grew up in Moscow in a typical Russian family, only to discover at the age of 15 that she is Jewish. It was a shock but after spending a month at a JDC summer camp, she began understanding what it means to be Jewish. It was a life-changing experience. After attending a Hillel Shabbat, Ira began coordinating projects for Hillel students.
Recently, Ira returned from her dream journey to Nepal and India. She practiced yoga and meditation, volunteered with Tibetan refugees, trekked in the Himalayas and fell in love with the locals and their culture. The idea of the /clean.in/ project was inspired by her experiences. Children in India burn plastic to keep warm in winter and to scare away mosquitoes. They are not aware that this is a health and environmental hazard. Ira met hundreds of Israelis in India and she realized that they may be willing or encouraged to spend a day or two of their trip ecovolunteering!
Ira graduated with honors from Moscow University, with an M.A. in linguistics and education. She was accepted to the Paideia Institute where she was exposed to Jewish experiences similar to those enjoyed by young Jews in America. Ira then decided it was time to give back. She came to Israel on a 10-month MASA program to do tikkun olam. She worked with youth-at-risk in Tel Aviv. This was a turning point that led to Ira’s decision to move to Israel. She has worked in resource development for JAFI in Moscow and Jerusalem. After her aliyah in 2007, she began her second M.A. in community leadership and philanthropy at Hebrew University.
Ira plans to market, fundraise and create a website and educational content in Israel for /clean.in/. This will be followed by six months in India, inviting Israeli travelers to join as volunteer eco-educators for local communities. Ira also plans to offer an option to join an offthe-beaten-track day-trip with a local guide to tour and clean up along the way. Ira intends to grow /clean.in/ to different parts of India and Nepal and to promote co m m u n i c at i o n w i t h l o c a l J e w ish communities, organize eco-treks with guides, distribute educational posters and recycling bins, collect and recycle innumerous plastic bottles and educate local kids and parents.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel 115
Jacob Fine Rabbi & Director of Programs, Jewish Farm School
“Meira Playing with Abba in the Snow” Our front yard (Amherst: MA. 2011)
I recently moved back to Amherst, MA - the town where I grew up. We arrived just in time for a few months of steady snowfall. Meira Sarah didn’t know what to make of all the white stuff at first, but grew to love it.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jacob Fine serves as Rabbi and Director of Programs for the Jewish Farm School (JFS). As an environmental education organization, JFS’ mission is to practice and promote sustainable agriculture and to support food systems rooted in justice and Jewish traditions. A graduate of Vassar College, he was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Prior to joining JFS, Jacob served as Rabbi and Assistant Director at the University of Washington Hillel, as well as the Director of Jconnect, Seattle’s largest Jewish community for young adults. Under Jacob’s leadership, Jconnect built a national reputation as a leader and innovator in the field of serving Jewish young adults. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Jacob has served as a rabbi and educator for a number of leading Jewish environmental organizations including Teva, Adamah and Hazon, where he co-led a beit midrash on the topics of food and Judaism. In addition to growing vegetables and learning Torah, Jacob’s greatest passions include basketball, making sour-dough bread and his family, his wife, Julie, and their daughter, Meira.
JFS educates over 1,500 participants each year through farm-based service learning experiences, practical skills trainings, Jewish text study, outreach and consulting. These programs provide avenues of engagement for both highly involved and previously unaffiliated Jews of all ages. The programs are a catalyst for lifelong learning in Jewish, environmental and social justice related issues. JFS’ primary activities include alternative breaks for college students, internships for high school seniors, urban sustainability programs, a two-acre educational farm in the Hudson Valley, NY, an annual seminar for Jewish educators and various workshops for the public.
Currently lives in: Pelham, MA, USA Website: www.jewishfarmschool.org
JFS is the only organization of its kind that operates on a national scale. By teaching practical skills of sustainability in connection with the political and environmental implications of the global food system, JFS distinguishes itself by providing individuals with the necessary tools to think globally and act locally on these issues. In Jacob’s role as Rabbi and Director of Programs, he works closely with the Executive Director in shaping the vision and strategy for the organization. Among his responsibilities, Jacob is in charge of providing rabbinic counseling to staff, students and board members and managing the alternative break and service learning department and overall operations. 117
As an avid traveler, I am very proud to say that I’ve been to several countries and hope the new friendships I make at ROI will give me reason to further explore the globe.
Jacob Shwirtz Social Media Strategy, MTV Networks
“Jacob in Paris” (Paris: France. 2010)
“Many of my closest friendships were started at ROI summits and I’ve done several business deals and volunteering gigs with fellow alumni.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
After spending seven years in Israel, Jacob Shwirtz returned to New York in 2010 and serves as MTV Networks expert on digital strategy, social media and social TV. In this role, he stewards ‘future of television’ initiatives across all broadcast and digital properties of the company. Jacob previously founded Definitely Something, a new media agency, bringing over $2 million into the Israeli economy from American companies such as Zagat Survey, MTV and Dow Jones. Jacob also launched TweetBookz, allowing Twitter users to order books of tweets, which attracted mainstream attention from the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, NBC’s Today Show and others. While in Israel, he earned an International M.B.A. degree, served in the army and started the local chapter of the Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni association, helping hundreds of people make aliyah and integrate into Israeli society. Jacob participated in every single ROI summit, something he is very proud of!
In his role at MTV Networks, Jacob explores the evolution of social media and its growing impact on the entertainment industry. This includes changing user behaviors and new trends in social viewing, multi-screen experiences and co-viewing applications across the web, mobile and tablet devices. Jacob acts as an internal consultant to executives across all brands of the company, providing strategy, management and business partnership development.
Jacob has been a member of ROI since 2006.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.jacobshwirtz.com 119
Jason Hutt Documentary Filmmaker, Oxbow Lake Films Editor
A picture is worth a 1000 words... and this is one of my favorites.
BIOGRAPHY: Jason Hutt is a Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker whose films examine unique individuals and cultures within the contemporar y Jewish experience. He studied economics and film at Harvard. After graduating with honors and participating in the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium, Jason worked in Hollywood on films such as Summer Catch and Black Knight. Jason’s most recent film, Orthodox Stance, is a portrait of Dmitriy Salita, a Russian immigrant, professional boxer and religious Jew. The film was awarded finishing funds from the Foundation for Jewish Culture and was broadcast by the BBC in the UK, YES in Israel and MSG Network in New York. It was screened in over 40 Jewish film festivals throughout the world, played theatrically in New York and Los Angeles, where it was a “Critic’s Pick” of the New York Times and New York Magazine and won 2008 Best Documentary honors from the London Jewish Cultural Awards.
“Untitled” (Guatemala)
INNOVATIVE WORK: Jason’s documentary film work impacts audiences, Jewish and non -Jewish, Orthodox and secular, young and old, by challenging Jewish stereotypes and creating a conversation about the complexities of Jewish life and identity in the 21st century.
His most recent film, Orthodox Stance, highlighted the seemingly incompatible cultures and characters – boxing trainers, promoters and Orthodox rabbis – working together to support Dmitriy Salita’s devotion to both Orthodox Judaism and the pursuit of a professional boxing title. The film depicts a young man’s search for meaning in life. In 2009, Jason produced a Jewish sports film festival and in 2010 he participated in Germany Close Up, a program that introduces young American Jews to modern Germany. The trip inspired Jason to develop his latest film about how the legacy of the Holocaust continues to affect German society and its relationship with its Jewish community. Jason is also busy finishing his film, Sukkah City, which provides a behind-the-scenes look at project founder Joshua Foer and the visionary architects who were involved in the design/build competition staged in the heart of New York City in 2010. The competition re-imagined the ancient sukkah and created a temporary village of 12 radically designed sukkahs. Jason produces and directs short videos, including an ongoing series for My Jewish Learning. He is also an active member of Park Slope Jewish Center where he curates an art gallery.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.oxbowlakefilms.com, www.orthodoxstance.com 121
This sandwich represents my connection to the Jewish deli, my father’s secular synagogue and, in some ways, the last vestiges of old school American Jewish culture. I relish in Jewish deli, an aberrant addition to my otherwise more verdant, organic and sustainable diet.
Jeffrey Yoskowitz
Director of Operations & Marketing, Negev Nectars Freelance Writer
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jeffrey Yoskowitz is Director of Operations and Marketing for Negev Nectars where he coordinates the importation of organic foods from small-scale Israeli producers and the distribution of the foods to consumers throughout the USA. In 2010, Jeffrey represented Israeli agriculture at the World Bank on behalf of the Israeli embassy. The Israeli Embassy now sends Negev Nectars gift packages for the holidays. Jeffrey’s work with Negev Nectars has been featured in major Jewish publications.
The goals of the Negev Nectars business are to: import sustainably produced foods from Israel, celebrate innovation in agriculture, provide new markets for farmers and develop a community of conscientious consumers in America while promoting agri-tourism in Israel.
“Untitled”
Jeffrey is also a writer whose work on Jewish food, culture and the environment has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic and beyond. He has been featured in the book, Kosher Nation, The Wall Street Journal, the LA Times and the Washington Post. Jeffrey served on the 2009 Hazon Food Conference’s executive committee and on the Adamah farm fellowship advisory board for the past three years. As a Brown University Arnold Fellow, Jeffrey researched the Israeli pork industry. Jeffrey received his B.A. in American history from Brown University. He maintains a deep love for urban farming and fermentation.
Because working with small growers precludes high margins, in addition to selling the products individually, Negev Nectars draws on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives in which customers buy a share of the business, thereby making an investment. Shareholders receive gourmet packages for major Jewish holidays. Jeffrey wrote and implemented Negev Nectars’ initial business plan and is now Director of Operations and Marketing. Negev Nectars has impacted producers by opening up an American market for gourmet Israeli foods and planting the seed for collaboration among Bedouin communities, kibbutzim and entrepreneurial Israelis. Customers are encouraged to visit the farms on their Israel trips – promoting agri-tourism, a potential steady source of revenue for these farmers.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.negevnectars.com, www.jeffyosko.blogspot.com 123
This photo was taken on the Jordan Vineyard and Winery estate, one of the most beautiful properties I’ve visited - and makers of one of the best chardonnays I’ve ever enjoyed! Being born and raised in Sonoma County, wine tasting is an activity that I regularly enjoy with those I love. My family even forgoes a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for a day of wine tasting and picnicking in the Sonoma Valley.
Jeremy Moskowitz Eastern Regional Director, Moishe House
“Visit to Jordan Vineyard and Winery” (June 2006)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jeremy Moskowitz is Moishe House’s Eastern Regional Director. Jeremy has a B.A. in political science with a minor in sports management from the University of California-Santa Barbara. While at UCSB, Jeremy was a member of the Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi and he sat on the Executive Board in 2006 as New Member Educator.
Jeremy serves as the Eastern Regional Director for Moishe House, whose mission is to provide meaningful Jewish experiences for young adults around the world by supporting leaders in their 20s as they create vibrant home-based Jewish communities.
Jeremy has five years of experience in nonprofit management. He began his career as a Program Director for the Forest Foundation in 2006. In 2007, he was hired by Santa Barbara City College as a Development Specialist for the athletic department. After visiting Israel, Jeremy left SBCC in 2008 to work for Moishe House. In addition to his work with Moishe House, Jeremy serves as a MemberAt-Large on the San Francisco Metropolitan Jewish Community Relations Council and on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Baracus Rugby Football Club.
It is not a simple task but Jeremy successfully manages a network of 11 Moishe Houses in the eastern half of the USA. Programs are carefully designed to create the ideal Jewish community for young Jewish leaders and their peers. His responsibilities are to provide programmatic and administrative support to residents and to ensure sustainability through outreach to local funders. He also empowers the residents to feel a part of a network larger than their individual Moishe House by organizing regional and national conferences for Moishe House residents. Jeremy oversees the development of the online system, the Mintranet, which enables the national staff to manage 33 Moishe Houses in 13 countries from its international headquarters in Oakland, CA.
Currently lives in: Oakland, CA, USA Website: www.moishehouse.org 125
Tambourines symbolize celebration, courage and kinship. In times of great joy, sorrow or challenge, the tambourine lifts me to greater heights to see more clearly the beauty in life.
Jessica Marker Managing Program Director, Teach For America Adjunt Professor, George Mason University
“Tambourines of the Heart� (USA. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jessica Marker works as a Managing Director of Program for Teach for America. She sets the vision and direction and manages the programmatic structures, support and development for the 190 corps members teaching in early childhood, elementary and English language-arts classrooms in the region. Her journey to the district originally started in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was born and raised. Jessica grew-up in a family that was greatly involved in Jewish life, education and the broader community. At Boston University, Jessica formally deepened her commitment to social justice, service and communities.
Jessica feels fortunate that in her current role as Managing Director of Program for Teach for America she is able to work in her community and alongside community leaders and residents every single day. In this role, Jessica trains, develops, supports and empowers teachers to become transformational leaders and to ensure that the students in their classrooms find themselves on a trajectory filled with opportunities for success in college and life.
In 2006, Jessica moved to Washington, D.C. with a commitment to work relentlessly to close the achievement gap. She earned her master’s in curriculum and instruction in early childhood and joined the faculty at George Mason University as an adjunct professor in this field. Jessica is passionate about helping students of the Washington D.C. region receive an excellent education.
Jessica supports 190 classrooms in the lowest performing schools in the Washington D.C. region, impacting over 6,000 students and their families. She has the privilege of influencing teachers, students, families, principals and administrators. Her work requires teachers to develop visions for their classrooms that are rooted in the highest expectations for their students. This ensures that their instruction and assessments are at the highest levels of rigor and that their students develop the traits, habits and mindsets that will allow them to become advocates for their education. To better understand what methods can be employed to increase student outputs and more effectively create transformational classrooms, Jessica has taken the initiative to examine the most transformational schools in the area and beyond.
Currently lives in: Washington, D.C., USA Website: www.36-5.blogspot.com 127
The idea that we are not alone in the universe fascinates me. Thinking of the universe and knowing that there might be thousands of terrestrial worlds like ours gives perspective to my day-to-day life.
Jimmy Salinas Executive Director, Education and Technology, ORT Mexico
“The ROI community has inspired me in ways I could never have imagined. Just seeing the amazing projects presented and executed by other ROIers leaves me feeling empowered and energized and allows me to believe that there are no limits to what I can do and achieve.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jimmy Salinas is currently the Executive Director of ORT Mexico in Mexico City. He is responsible for defining and implementing the strategy of the institution and oversees its day-to-day operations. ORT Mexico’s main project for 2011 is the creation of a new K-12 Jewish school in Mexico City that will educate more than 700 Jewish students. Jimmy also helps develop and execute educational and technological projects with governmental and non-governmental organizations in Mexico. For the past year, Jimmy has been leading negotiations with the Mexican Government in order to build a vocational school in port au prince, Haiti. Jimmy holds a Ph.D. in education and an M.A. in biomedical engineering from Tel Aviv University.
Jimmy is involved in the creation of a K-12 Jewish School in Mexico City, a significant project for the community in light of the recent crisis facing its Jewish schools. Fifteen years ago, Jewish schools were sought after and considered to be top level, producing students with highly recognized educational accomplishments. Unfortunately, that situation has changed and today the academic level of Jewish schools in Mexico is at a low point. The challenge is now to create a state-of-theart school that achieves student excellence while teaching Jewish values and traditions. Creating a school is not an easy task and it requires a lot of time and effort and, of course, a great team of educators, administrators and strategists. Jimmy’s job is to assemble and lead such a team.
“We are not alone”
Jimmy has been a member of ROI since 2008.
Currently lives in: Mexico City, Mexico Website: www.ort.org 129
Joel Waldman Musician, Joel Waldman’s Music (Luckier Productions) Emmat School of Music
“The Performer” May 2011, Israel’s 63rd independence party hosted by the Embassy in Bogota, Colombia
This is a snapshot of my last performance. It reflects years of hard work and perseverance. I want to inspire people through my music and share some of my beliefs: Passion, discipline and faith.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Music is not only Joel Waldman’s work, it is his passion. He taught himself to play the piano and guitar. As a child he sang jingles for both television and radio. At the age of 19 he was hired by the Jewish community in Colombia as the cantor for the High Holidays.
Even as a small child, Joel was deeply involved in Judaism. He went to a Hebrew school and was an active participant in the Jewish youth movement, Kineret Tnuat Noar. Since the age of 10, Joel has sung at the opening shows for the Maccabi National Games. This year, he is composing, arranging and producing the show.
In 2006, after receiving a scholarship, Joel enrolled at the Berklee College of Music, where he majored in contemporary writing and production. He composed the music for the play, The Trial of God, presented Off Broadway in New York City and Boston. In October 2009, he won the contest, Berklee Canta en Español, broadcast live from Mexico City through TELEVISA to more than 60 countries. Joel was chosen to write and coordinate the background vocals for a concert tribute to well-known musician, Juan Luis Guerra. He also conducted La Bilirrubina with Guerra on stage.
As there is no formal musical training in the Hebrew school or at any other organization in Joel’s community, he gives back to the community by encouraging young Jews to develop their musical education and to relate it to their Judaism. For example, some youth might choose to train as cantors or to perform in Jewish musical productions. Over the past few months, Joel has been involved in a theater group in the Jewish community where he will compose and produce the music for the group’s performance.
Among his writing gigs, Joel wrote the score and prepared the parts for Whitney Houston’s musicians on her 2010 world tour. He coarranged and co-produced his five-song EP, Nada Es Accidental, which is now available on iTunes and other e-stores.
Currently lives in: Bogotá, Colombia Website: www.joelwaldmanmusic.com, www.emmat.info 131
Joelle Fiss Senior Associate, Human Rights First
I chose the Brooklyn Bridge to express the love of the city that I have called home for the past two years. I have often felt sandwiched between several worlds at once where my identities collide and fuse.
“Building Those Many Bridges...”
“I have benefited greatly from the ROI network, from making new, inspiring friends to seeing all the new ideas that young, talented people are developing. Through the ROI network, I learned about and participated in a Jewish Writers Seminar and obtained a grant that will allow me to pursue a writing project.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Joelle Fiss is currently Senior Associate at Human Rights First, a USA-based organization. Prior to that, she was a policy advisor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament, where she advised members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee. Joelle worked on issues relating to human rights, EU immigration policies, organized crime and gender equality. From 2002 until 2005, she was also press officer for the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee where she informed the press on a daily basis on the European Parliament’s position on a range of foreign policy issues. Joelle was also elected Chairperson of the European Union of Jewish Students, an organization representing 200,000 students across 34 European countries. She studied international relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studied in Geneva, Switzerland, and is both Swiss and British.
Joelle has obtained a grant from ROI that provides her with a unique opportunity to write about relations between Israel and Diaspora communities across the world. In the era of cyber-activism and “Facebook revolutions,” can the Jewish people create new tools and new forms of international organization to improve a transnational dialogue? How can the Jewish people be brought together on issues of mutual interest, such as peace in the Middle East? Her experience working in the European Union has provided her with some creative ideas. She plans to collect the thoughts of famous intellectuals, artists and politicians in an attempt to best grapple with the contemporary questions Jewish people face. Joelle is also looking forward to input from the ROI Community’s innovative thinkers.
Joelle has been a member of ROI since 2009.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA 133
A pinwheel is free. Celebrating the moment. Full of energy.
Jon Marker
Manager of District & School Partnerships, Teach For America
“Defying Expectations” (Boston. 2004)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jon Marker had the privilege of being brought up in a community coined a “garden for growing people” by its founder, James Rouse. Through this experience, Jon grew to understand and appreciate the strengths of a community that dedicates itself to the success of its youth and to the pursuit of tzedek for all its residents. Jon has studied communities around the world, from the impoverished centers of Buenos Aires and Bangalore to the developing, high-technology sectors of Tel Aviv and Beijing. While living in these cities, Jon observed firsthand the unique and common challenges that each face.
Teach For America works in 39 communities across the USA. It strives to eliminate the educational inequity resulting from the achievement gap. This gap shows that there is a correlation between people’s race and economic backgrounds in America and their academic performance. Last year, 46,000 students applied from more than 650 colleges and universities hoping to be selected to Teach For America. Only 4,500 applicants made the cut to teach in America’s lowest performing schools.
Jon works in Washington D.C. as the Manager of District and School Partnerships with Teach For America. Through his work, Jon is able to collaborate with educators, principals, district leaders and elected officials to ensure that every child has the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
Jon’s specific work focuses on partnerships with schools, districts and communities in the Washington D.C. region. Over the last seven months, he has placed 208 new teachers, coordinated support for teachers with principals, led professional development and designed an innovation challenge to highlight the creative ideas of teachers. Jon has written a proposal and won a grant for $3.1 million to support Teach For America for the next five years and to provide incentive pay for teachers who excel at what they do. His participation and leadership in various projects has led to numerous opportunities. Jon has served as an educational advisor to the incoming County Executive and a City Councilman. Through his position as advisor, he has assisted the Executive and Councilman in passing legislation and in writing education policy.
Currently lives in: Washington, D.C., USA Website: www.teachforamerica.org, www.36-5.blogspot.com 135
Jonas (Ioni) Shalom Community Director Young Diplomat, Latin American Jewish Congress
“Playing” Toy store (NYC. Summer 2011)
We have a child inside of us, but we play at being adults. We can bring the child back through our dreams, ideals and imagination. And if we mix that with our courage and professionalism, we can really do something for this world.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jonas Shalom holds a B.A. in institutional management from the General San Martín National University and has a degree in analysis/programming from the ORT Institute of Technology. He has also been a rabbinical student for programs at the Latin-American Rabbinical Seminary “Marshall T. Meyer,” including the Heschel Institute program, Abarbanel Institute and Beth Ezra HaSofer.
Jonas has worked in many schools and other Jewish community-based institutions. At the same time, he has been preparing and studying rabbinical literature as well as the management of NGOs. He is currently finalizing his rabbinic studies. Through his work in the community and with children, Jonas has developed tangible ideas related to Jewish identity, including the need for a powerful online presence. In putting his ideas into effect, Jonas focuses on themes he believes are pivotal, such as tolerance, respect and acceptance. Jonas believes that ethical leadership is vital and that spirituality must guide and lead the practice of Judaism.
Over the last decade, Jonas has served as assistant rabbi and community director at Tefilat Shalom, Fundacion Judaica, NCI Emanu El and Sociedad Israelita del Oeste. In addition to his work as assistant rabbi, Jonas has worked as an informal educator in Wolfsohn, Arlene Fern and Ramat Shalom primary schools. A natural at diplomacy, Jonas is currently heavily involved in interreligious dialogue in the New Generations program of the Latin-American Jewish Congress.
Currently lives in: Buenos Aires, Argentina 137
Jonny Cline Director of Marketing & Resource Development Owner & Editor, Fundraiser.co.il
This is an original painting by Canadian Jewish artist Rhonda Spivak. As with any piece of art, it can mean different things to different viewers. To me this represents the mosaic of people claiming a stake in Israel and Judaism.
“Finding the Rhythm” A gift to mark the end of my shlichut (Winnipeg: Canada. 2005)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Jonny Cline has been in Israel since the tender age of 18, almost half of his life. Married to Shlomit, and father to Yishai (8), Adar (5) and Yarden (1), the Cline family lives in Modiin.
Jonny works as a resource development professional for a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of children removed from their homes by welfare services. His role includes bringing a 25-year-old organizational infrastructure up to date, including designing and implementing solutions for knowledge management, donor relations and cultivation, matrix-based project management, web presence and marketing. He is an active participant in many forums of fundraisers and nonprofit management professionals, both for enrichment purposes and as an activist for the professionalization of third sector organizational management.
Having left his earlier career in organizational development in hi-tech, Jonny spent the last decade in the Israeli Public Sector, on shlichut and for the past fives years he has been working in the Israeli third sector (philanthropy and nonprofit). As one of the founders of The Israeli Association of Professional Fundraisers, Jonny was responsible for compiling and translating the Code of Ethics. He is Director of Marketing and Resource Development for Yeladim – Fair Chance for Children. He also volunteers on the steering committee of the nonprofit and public sector division of Gvahim, an organization that works to facilitate the successful absorption of new immigrants in Israel. Jonny is determined to improve the level of professionalism in the Israeli nonprofit sector and to build the culture of philanthropy in Israel, bottom-up.
He is also an active volunteer and board member for nonprofits including Israel Connect, Gvahim, the Shimshoni Community in Modiin and Aviv Shoa. Recently, Jonny founded a nonprofit organization in the UK to serve both as a conduit for donations from the UK to Israeli nonprofits and as an engine for promoting a culture of philanthropy in England. He hopes to create a similar platform in Israel over the coming months. In light of the lack of a knowledge base and support forum for fundraising professionals in Israel, both in English and in Hebrew, Jonny has founded an online community that seeks to facilitate such a discussion.
Currently lives in: Modiin, Israel Website: www.fundraiser.co.il, www.blog.jonnycline.com, www.fundraiser.co.il, www.yeladim.org.il 139
I connect mostly deeply to my Jewish roots when I’m in nature… What better way to celebrate Tu B’Shvat than in community, truly connecting to the forest and the importance of trees in our lives?
Julie Wolk Founding Co-Director, Wilderness Torah
“Tu B’Shvat in the Redwoods” Redwood Regional Park (Oakland: CA. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Julie Wolk is a founding Co-Director of Wilderness Torah (WT). Julie has a talent for connecting people and helping them learn, grow and shine. A born organizer and event planner, she manages WT’s finances and operations and directs various WT festivals. Julie is dedicated to uncovering Judaism’s earth-based traditions and to creating opportunities that bring related teachings to a broad audience. Before embarking on her journey with WT, Julie worked in environmental and social justice advocacy as an organizer, campaign director, media specialist and lobbyist. She has a long history of outdoor Jewish experiences, from years of Jewish summer camps to working at a plant nursery on a kibbutz in northern Israel. Julie studied ecology and environmental policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. She has traveled and explored from Costa Rica to Vietnam. Her present adventure involves hiking around her California home and identifying plants in the San Francisco Bay Area hills. Julie teaches yoga and she will cycle her first 100-mile bike ride this year.
Wilderness Torah (WT) revitalizes Jewish life, facilitates individual spiritual growth and strengthens multi-generational community by introducing and connecting people to each other and to the relationship that exists between Judaism and nature’s cycles. WT organizes a range of programs, including: land-based festivals (Sukkot on the farm, Passover in the desert and Shavuot on the mountain); nature-based rites of passage (a nature-based B’nai Mitzvah mentorship program and wilderness immersion for adults); Gan Torah (children’s Jewish nature education); and Hebrew Homesteading sessions (organic gardening, healthy Jewish cooking and craft). WT festival programs have sold-out ever since the first Sukkot festival in 2007. A projected 800 people will have participated in these programs by the end of 2011. Aside from volunteer involvement, WT now employs three staff members, thanks to support from organizations including Joshua Venture Group, Upstart Bay Area, the Goldman Fund and the Covenant Foundation. Julie is involved in all phases of work, from strategic planning to hands-on implementation. No other organization currently offers experiential and educational programming of this kind. As an innovator in the field, WT will soon offer curriculum and training so that earth-based Jewish programs can be run in more communities.
Currently lives in: Oakland, CA, USA Website: www.wildernesstorah.org 141
This picture reflects my favorite moment of the week: serenity and gratitude blend with the delightful smell of fresh challah as we prepare to usher in the Shabbat Queen and thank HaShem for the day of rest that lies ahead.
Julie Wyler Director of Resource Development & International Relations, Tebeka Team Leader, Gvahim
“Untitled”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Julie Wyler grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where she attended an international school. She was fortunate to live in places like Beijing, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic and New York, which triggered her desire to learn many languages and helped her feel comfortable in a number of cultural settings. After completing her bachelor’s degree in special education at the University of Geneva, she went on to earn a master’s degree at New York University in international education and cross-cultural communication. That was where she discovered the compelling narrative of the Ethiopian Jews. Her interest in this community, its traditions and its dream of reaching Jerusalem, led her to focus her research on the integration of Ethiopian Jews in Israel and the identity changes they underwent. Out of a similar yearning for Zion, Julie made aliyah in 2009 and was overjoyed to join Tebeka’s team, helping serve the complex needs of the Ethiopian Israeli community.
For the past year, Julie has been working fulltime at Tebeka - Advocacy for Equality and Justice for Ethiopian Jews. Given her passion for Jewish communities from across the globe, social justice and Israel, she is inspired by Tebeka’s vision of a socially and economically empowered Ethiopian Israeli community that retains its rich cultural heritage and participates fully in Israeli society. Tebeka is the only Israeli organization to offer free legal aid to the community from the community. Its founder is the first Ethiopian Israeli to obtain a law degree and its staffers are mostly young Ethiopian Israeli lawyers. Julie’s role at Tebeka is to find innovative ways to raise awareness about the challenges still faced today by the Ethiopian community and to raise funds to support the organization’s important work. This includes organizing campaigns, events and fundraising, which presents the challenge of convincing others that they, too, should care about this community. Julie is also the nonprofit and public sector team leader at Gvahim, an organization that works to help qualified olim realize their professional aspirations in Israel. Additionally, Julie is a volunteer coach with PresenTense, a group that invests in ideas to revitalize the Jewish community. In her spare time, she organizes Shabbat meals, inviting Jews from across the religious spectrum.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.tebeka.org.il, www.gvahim.org.il 143
Karen Steiner Executive Director, CADENA
The world was perfect at creation. Abundance, cycles, intensity in all of its nature, colors and shapes. We were also created that way; we can achieve that by building the future with love, passion and values.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Karen Steiner studied at the Jewish School in Mexico and was a counselor and later the head of the Jewish Scouts. After high school, Karen spent a year in Israel, including six months on a kibbutz, two months in marva (army course) and four months volunteering with Magen David Adom. Through this experience, Karen realized she that wanted to spend her life helping people.
CADENA’s primary goal is to support and assist cities, villages and families who fall victim to natural disasters or who live in extreme poverty. CADENA was established in 2005 and represents Mexico’s Jewish community in the delivery of aid.
“Our World”
Karen studied nutrition and food science at the Universidad Iberoamericana. In 2006, she participated in a study abroad program in Australia. In 2007, she volunteered in an orphanage in Kenya and in 2008, Karen provided allied-health services to marginalized communities in Oaxaca by working as the nutritionist in a child development center. Karen is currently Executive Director at CADENA, an organization that delivers aid to people in dire need.
Aiming to encourage and increase the involvement of more young Mexican Jews in social-aid causes, CADENA is building strategic alliances with other organizations. In an effort to combat the growing concern that young people are losing interest in humanitarian values, CADENA inspires people to make a difference. Young Mexican Jews are becoming more exposed to a reality that makes them both appreciative of what they have and aware of their potential to assist others. CADENA connects young Jews to a world that extends beyond their family and community. CADENA has provided relief and rescue services in places such as Chiapas, Tabasco, Angangueo, Sierra Tarahumara, Veracruz and Haiti. CADENA has also assisted the construction of six homes throughout Mexico. Such missions reflect positively on the Mexican Jewish community as a whole.
Currently lives in: Mexico City, Mexico Website: www.cadena.org.mx 145
Karin DimantRogovsky President & Founder, Brandtality INC
‘It is necessary for every man or woman to know and understand that inside him/her burns the candle of happiness… [that] can brighten the world with happiness and solidarity.’ HaRav Kook
“Always Dare to do the Impossible” (Israel. 2011)
“I have been involved with ROI since 2007 and made aliyah after meeting my husband, Shaked Rogovsky, at the ROI Summit. We got married in Israel and together we received a grant in 2008 to do work in Sderot. I’ve also utilized my branding/marketing expertise to help ROI grantees strengthen their work.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Karin Dimant-Rogovsky lives in Israel with her husband, Shaked, and her son, Ivri Yair. Karin moved to Israel in 2007 after the ROI Summit. Professionally, she started Brantality INC in 2007 in New York City, with 12 years of branding and marketing experience. Prior to starting Brandtality INC, Karin served as Chief Marketing Officer at Heritage Affinity Services (HAS). There she led marketing, sales, public relations and overall corporate image efforts to create and market the HAS Advantage “Support Israel” Visa Credit Cards. Through her experiences at HAS, Karin discovered her passion for helping startups and nonprofits build strong brands, leading to the launch of Brandtality.
You are changing the world every day. You run an organization that is impacting the world around you. You are the CEO of a new startup and introducing a fascinating product or idea into the marketplace. However, you are the “world’s best-kept secret.” Brandtality first defines one’s brand to differentiate it from the competition then communicates the message in a compelling manner to ignite interest and action, thus drawing new customers, donors or volunteers. Using well-developed strategies, creative inspiration and passion-influenced brandmarketing, Brandtalit y helps build an organization’s perception or change the misperceptions to define its new reality… the reality they will proudly shout out over the roof-tops.
Currently lives in: Sharey Tikva, Israel 147
I celebrated an unseasonably warm second day of Rosh Hashanah with a bike ride. Wound up with a broken ankle and a totaled bike after being hit by an SUV. A few months later and I’m riding more than ever.
Leah Jones Account Director, Emerging Media, Dig/Olson Co-Founder, TBD Minyan
“How has ROI impacted my work? How hasn’t it?! I’ve made friends, business connections and found the strength to open and later close my own company.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Leah Jones is the Account Director of Emerging Media at Olson. She is working on accounts throughout the company including Miller Coors, Wrigley, Optima batteries and P.F. Chang’s. Leah previously owned Natiiv Arts & Media where she taught social media to rabbis and rock-stars before briefly joining a start-up.
Leah Jones is the Co-Founder of a progressive, independent minyan in Chicago called TBD Minyan. TBD Minyan is a lay-led group that operates on the far north side of the city and offers kabbalat Shabbat services, dinners, social events and educational opportunities. It was created based on models like Mission Minyan, but uses the URJ’s prayer book, Mishkan Tefila. Leah also organizes a monthly meet-up called Itza Mitza with Rabbi Michael Zedek.
In addition to her professional work, she is the Co-Founder of TBD Minyan and organizes Itza Mitzva on a monthly basis. She is committed to creating a community for liberal Jews in Chicago. Leah also participates in Shabbat She-bikes and Jews Who Like Bikes on rides and Shabbat dinners.
“Open Fork” (Chicago, Illinois, 2011)
Leah has been a member of ROI since 2007.
TBD Minyan and Itza Mitzva offer small group opportunities and are geared for Jews who grew up secular, Reform or not Jewish. It is a chance for deep learning and for community development and involvement. The groups try to lower the barrier to entry by offering classes for beginners and study sessions in non-traditional locations.
Currently lives in: Chicago, IL, USA Website: www.twitter.com/chicagoleah, www.tbdminyan.tumblr.com 149
Lean Galanternik M.A. Student, Hebrew University Executive Director, DIUN
This magic spot is in Sde Boker, next to the tomb of David and Paula Ben Gurion. This amazing landscape is still alive with David Ben Gurion’s humility and vision.
“Next to a Visionary Leader” (Sde Boker: Israel. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Lean Galanternik attended the ORT Jewish High School and finished his B.A. in administration at Universidad de Buenos Aires in 2008.
Lean’s simulation model, fittingly named Diun, which is the Hebrew word for “debate,” familiarizes Jewish students in the Diaspora with Israeli current affairs and politics as well as with concepts relating to government in general. To date, Diun runs in one school in Argentina and two schools in Brazil. A school in Chile has shown interest and Lean is trying to replicate the project globally.
In 2007, Lean created a project called Diun, a Knesset simulation run in Jewish high schools. Lean was also involved in the creation of MiNU and MAROM Argentina, a group of Jewish young adults that facilitates programs for their peers. In addition to setting-up Diun, Lean created MAROM Latin America in 2007, a network for young Jewish adults in four countries for groups involved in the Conservative movement. Lean was MAROM’s Chairman for its first three years and the Youth Representative on the Masorti Latin America Board. He maintains involvement as the Jewish Youth Representative for Interfaith Dialogue with Religions for Peace. In 2008, Lean was the Director of the Youth Department at Noam Sao Paulo, the Conservative community in Brazil. Currently in Israel, Lean is working on his master’s degree in the Community Leadership and Philanthropy program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Lean loves cooking, reading, traveling and watching movies with his fiancée.
This initiative is highly educational and it conveniently requires very little expenditure. Students learn from a variety of sources, including Israeli news and they are challenged on topics relating to Judaism and Zionism. The feedback from the students has been extremely positive. A vast majority reported that the experience has boosted their character and knowledge. Diun significantly reinforces the interaction between Jewish schools and local Jewish youth movements. In addition, students feel a stronger connection to Judaism, the State of Israel and the general concept of performing civic duties for the countries in which they reside.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.diunproject.org, www.maromamlat.org, www.jovenesporlapaz.org 151
Photo by Michelle Citrin on a Four Corners trip to Morocco. Taken by the tomb of Soulika, a young Jewish girl beheaded for refusing to renounce Judaism and marry the King of Fez in the early 1800s.
Lindsay Litowitz
Consultant, Jerusalem Venture Partners Founder, Four Corners Project
“ROI provides an invaluable network of contacts, professional development and a support system for young professionals in the Jewish world. The ROI community is the strongest and most reliable network that I call upon in my work.”
“A Moment for Soulika” Jewish cemetery (Fez: Morocco)me, so this is me)
BIOGRAPHY: A Miami native, Lindsay Litowitz is currently a consultant in New York City. Previously, she was Director of Birthright Israel NEXT South Florida, where she worked with young Jewish professionals to create authentic, sustainable micro-communities. Lindsay was a founding staff member at NEXT and helped craft the vision for Birthright Israel NEXT follow-up in North America. Her professional career in the Jewish world began after living in Israel in 2005. Her experience includes Tour Manager for the Israelity Tour, trip leader to Argentina and Ukraine to explore the local Jewish communities and organizer of “Shabbat Tents” with Matisyahu for music festivals in Miami, Memphis and Arkansas. Lindsay founded the Four Corners Project at the first ROI Summit in 2006. The FCP is a multimedia project and online portal showcasing the young Jewish experience around the world. The FCP aims to highlight global Jewish diversity, spark discussions on Jewish identity and community and inspire
others to “travel Jewish.” Through connections in the ROI community, Lindsay has filmed and explored Jewish communities in Argentina, Turkey, Morocco, Ukraine and Mexico. She loves Fela Kuti, working with Israelis and everything Mac. Lindsay has been part of ROI since 2006.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Lindsay is a consultant based in New York City. She works with a global client base to improve their operations by providing fundraising, social media and communications strategy. Her passion pursuit is the Four Corners Project. As Founder and Director for the past six years, she has been working to break the stereotype of a narrow, homogenous Jewish experience by highlighting Jewish life in the Diaspora through short films, interviews and user-submitted content. She is currently collaborating with fellow ROIer David Notik to build the next phase of the Four Corners Project online portal.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.fourcornersproject.org 153
A friend said of this photo of me and my dad: ‘You are hypnotized by a leaf. Thus begins a life in visual art.’ That pretty much sums it up.
Liz Nord Documentary Filmmaker and TV Producer
“A Creative Life Begins” My parents’ backyard. (Fayetteville: NY. 1979)
“I really can’t say enough about how much I have gained from being a part of the ROI Community. From developing important, meaningful, personal and professional relationships to gaining inspiration, contacts and the means to embark on a new featurelength documentary film, ROI has played a major role in my life since I first joined.”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
The influential culture blog Flavorpill called filmmaker and producer Liz Nord a “fierce, youthful visionary.” Her current film, Battle for Jerusalem, was inspired by her participation in the 2009 ROI Summit. Her first film, Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock In the Holy Land, a critically acclaimed documentary about young Israeli musicians, screened at over 100 festivals and venues worldwide and has been viewed by an estimated 100,000 people. In 2009, Liz shot a short documentary on-location in Haiti for musician Wyclef Jean’s charitable organization, Yele Haiti. In 2008, Liz ran MTV’s Street Team ’08 – an Emmy Award-winning project wherein 51 state-based citizen journalists covered the presidential elections from a youth perspective, across all media platforms, contributing to the most influential youth vote in U.S. history. Liz has produced and exhibited work in Europe, the Middle East and throughout North America, including videos for PBS Frontline/World, Current TV, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Tablet Magazine.
Throughout Liz’s professional life, she has pushed the boundaries of technology and media to tell the best stories, foster conversation and encourage action. An example is the election coverage campaign that she ran for MTV during the US Presidential elections in 2008, which IFCOS called, “a stunning collaboration that could help define newsgathering, distribution and a newsbusiness model into the future.” The project succeeded in increasing both voter turnout and political and civic engagement among American youth via local, peer-to-peer and new media reporting.
Liz has happily been a member of ROI since 2009.
Liz’s personal projects are also innovative. Her documentary, Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, attempted to combat negative images of Israel that were pervasive on American television at the height of the Second Intifada. Liz screened it in several countries and engaged in discussions with many people who saw Israel in a new light through the film. Liz continues to produce media that tells underrepresented stories in nontraditional ways.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.liznord.com, www.battleforjerusalem.com 155
Maicky Corcias Tameshtit Vice Manager of Youth Department, Hebraica Caracas
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Maicky Corcias Tameshtit lives in Caracas, Venezuela. He is a 24-year-old graduate of production engineering at the Universidad Metropolitana of Caracas. Since 2003, he has been a strong community activist involved in local youth movements. Michael was the volunteer Director of the Neurim youth movement and then the professional Coordinator for the youth department of Hebraica. Michael was a madrich on a 2010 March of the Living trip.
Maicky enjoys working with university students and post university students. He feels that keeping young people active at the community level is of the utmost importance because in recent years there has been a major problem of young people migrating to other countries. As a result, much motivation and innovation is required to convince these young people to get involved. The different programs available include social, cultural and sporting activities. After a lull in activity, Maicky took it upon himself to re-launch social activities, dealing in particular with tackling assimilation and creating Jewish dating opportunities.
This photo is my inspiration to achieve what the two of them, my mom and dad, achieved. Perseverance, understanding, respect, value, care, protection, listening, teamwork, love, success. Thirty years of marriage in a society where divorce dominates.
“Not Easy, It’s Simple� (Las Vegas: Nevada. 2008)
Currently, Maicky is the Assistant Manager of the youth department of Hebraica where he works with all areas of the department, supporting them in achieving the goals set out at the beginning of the year.
Another project that Maicky is currently involved with is Arachim, which he co-founded. This project teaches students in the later years of high school about Zionist topics and values. These tools enable students to become more active in their community and provide them with opportunities for personal enrichment.
Currently lives in: Caracas, Venezuela 157
Malki Rose Producer & Manager, MRP Management Sub-Editor & Writer, Galus Australis
The Merneptah Stele,1200 BCE, is the first known reference to ‘Israel’ and the only nation or people in hieroglyphics written without a ‘land’ determinative, casting a spotlight onto Jewish past, present and future ‘homelessness.’ In May 2010, I visited Cairo where the stele is kept, as part of my quest to reconcile Egyptology and Torah. My personal journey of homelessness binds me to this issue, as it does the Jewish people, born out of the process of wandering to and from Egypt… and ever since.
“From Homelessness Comes Strength” Cairo Museum. (2010)
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Malki Rose was born and bred in Melbourne, Australia, but, in true Jewish spirit, has spent considerable time living in different places. She loves the diversity in Melbourne and the fact that so many people influence one another in new and exciting ways. Malki embraces all lifestyles that preach unity, love and a search for truth.
On a recent trip to Israel, Malki connected with representatives from Bat Kol, an Orthodox lesbian organization. Through these conversations, she realized that living a Jewish life was entirely reconcilable with one’s sexuality. She returned to Australia with a plan, Chafetz, an organization that would create a Jewish space for gay and lesbian Jews. The Chafetz website will provide an online forum for lesbians in Australia who identify strongly with their Judaism, offering support, social gatherings and avenues to express and practice their Judaism. Additionally, Malki is collaborating with Talya Lev and Sarah Weil to set up the Australian arm of Bat Kol.
In 2006, Malki set-up a media and event management business, MRP Management, and in 2008, she created “Made with luv homemade fine foods,” a kosher gourmet food business, combining her passion for international flavors with familiar, homey tastes, attracting clientele from the Jewish community and beyond. Malki has studied historical, theological and Judaic text, as well as journalism, drama and languages, most recently Egyptian hieroglyphics and Sanskrit. She has lectured at Limmud conferences and she writes for the online Australian Jewish publication, Galus Australis. Malki also lends her voice and face to productions, from cartoon devils to G-dcast. Malki enjoys intertwining science, history and Torah in a wonderful tour de force of outrageousness in her plight for the ultimate truth.
Galus Australis – Jewish Life in the Antipodes is an online center and crossroad for relevant, stimulating and contentious discussion. It brings to the fore new ideas that are otherwise avoided in the Australian Jewish community. The site boasts a readership of more than 2,000 daily. It is run by volunteers and Malki hopes that through her involvement, she will gain insight into effective website management. Malki established Limmud Fest Victoria, a festival to be held in the Victorian countryside in December 2011.
Currently lives in: Melbourne, Australia Website: www.galusaustralis.com 159
Maxi Grosman General Manager, API Managing Director, Latin America, Paragon Conventions
Ready for ROI!! (2030)
“As a member of the ROI Community since its inception, ROI is part of my life. Through ROI, I made friends and initiated new endeavors. Involvement in it is one of the most rewarding things I do for my community.”
BIOGRAPHY:
“Untitled” (Buenos Aires: Argentina. 2011)
Maxi Grosman was born in Argentina and serves as the General Manager of API, a growing health company specializing in pediatrics, consulting and hospital management. He also serves as Managing Director in Latin America for Paragon Conventions, an official Professional Congress Organizer with over 22 years of experience and more than 50 international conferences per year organized worldwide. Prior to that, he worked at the prestigious Universidad Di Tella for five years as the Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Development. After receiving the Charlie Award in 2005, Maxi attended the 2006 ROI Summit as a participant and then returned as staff for the Summit in 2007, moderating the “Youth Programming” Track. In 2008, he helped arrange the first ROI Regional Gathering in Latin America, where he was also a staff member and a facilitator. He is now charged with organizing the upcoming ROI Regional Gathering, to be held in Buenos Aires in November this year. Maxi earned his B.A. in business economy in 1998 and he completed a master’s degree in health management in 2006.
He lives with his wife, Yael, whom he met on a Birthright trip in 2004 and their young, gorgeous son, Demian. Maxi has been a member of ROI since 2006.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Maxi has always found community service rewarding. He gives his time, knowledge and money as a way of “giving back” and planting seeds for long-term growth and for the benefit of future generations. Maxi believes this is the best form of showing gratitude. After many years of being actively involved in the ROI Community, he decided to take a lead role, together with fellow ROIers, in organizing the upcoming Regional Gathering in Argentina later this year. Maxi sees the Gathering as an amazing and vital opportunity to expand the network. While Maxi feels challenged by his responsibilities, he knows that the hard work is entirely worthwhile. Maxi is confident that the ROI Regional Gathering will give young Jews the necessary access to networking and tools in order to impact the future of their communities in Latin America.
Currently lives in: Buenos Aires, Argentina Website: www.paragon-conventions.com 161
Meira Weinstein Executive Director, Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Meira Weinstein was born in Jerusalem and raised in Israel and the United States. She returned to Israel permanently seven years ago, after finishing her undergraduate degree in philosophy. Upon her return, Meira began working in the public sector and with atrisk youth and immigrant groups. As a grant writer for the JDC, Meira gained invaluable experience in the nonprofit sector by seeing firsthand the challenges faced by new immigrants and other poorly integrated segments of Israeli society. Her exposure to new olim and socio-economically challenged sectors of Israeli society led her to begin volunteering at the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin.
The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin was founded in 2009 and supports thousands of lone soldiers, which includes immigrants with no family in the country, Israelis with no ties to their families and atrisk youth from ultra-orthodox backgrounds. It is the first and only organization dedicated to meeting all of the physical, emotional and social needs of lone soldiers.
Meira is currently the Executive Director of the Lone Soldier Center, focusing the majority of her time on projects and programs to engage local communities in areas where large numbers of lone soldiers live, recruiting and supervising new volunteers, as well as finding and pursuing financial support avenues for the needs of lone soldiers.
“The Soul Bird”
I have loved birds since I was a little girl. This bird, an image from Michal Snunit’s popular children’s book, The Soul Bird, represents my desire to connect with the Divine spirit and the ‘free bird’ inside us all.
BIOGRAPHY:
The Center, which has branches in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, provides guidance and support to lone soldiers in the time before, during and after their service in the IDF. Some of the activities include educational seminars, one-on-one counseling, Shabbat and holiday meals, furniture, “adoptive families,” social and recreational events, employment help and readjusting to life in Israel after the army. Meira began working for the Center as a volunteer since its inception. As the Executive Director, she is responsible for the creation and supervision of the Center’s support programs, raising and managing the Center’s budget and coordinating volunteer work and partnerships with other organizations. Meira takes great pride in the way the Center has been able to galvanize volunteers around the country, the majority of them former lone soldiers themselves.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.lonesoldiercenter.com 163
One of the most meaningful experiences in my life was working with a group of campers from Camp Ramah in California for three consecutive summers. They’re the ones who sent me on my journey into working within the Jewish world. This photo was taken in the last moments of their Poland Seminar, one of the most meaningful moments of my shaliach experience.
Michael Podberezin Russia Programs Coordinator, PresenTense
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Michael Podberezin was born in Moscow and grew up in Be’er Sheva, Israel. This year he will celebrate, along with his family, 19 years of living in Israel. Currently, he is the Russia Programs Coordinator at PresenTense where he is working on adapting the curriculum to the Russian community to spark innovation and forge a supportive community around Jewish entrepreneurs in Moscow. In the past, Michael worked as a visitor liaison in the Knesset and developed a website intended to connect the Israeli public with their legislators, later adopted by the Israeli government.
In developing PresenTense’s Moscow program, Michael feels he is making an important impact on the Jewish community in Moscow by helping to connect out-of-touch Jews with their cultural and religious identity.
“Untitled” (Warsaw: Poland. 2008)
Michael spent several summers as a shaliach at Camp Ramah in California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is fluent in Hebrew, Russian and English.
To fit the needs of the local community, Michael is helping translate the program and adapt it to Russian culture, while planting seeds for the growth of the almost nonexistent civil society in Russia. He believes that in helping develop this program, PresenTense will create a new field of involvement for local Russian Jews who currently have very few viable, locally funded and run NGOs. As such, the main focus is on creating sustainable, innovative and most importantly, locally run initiatives and projects to ensure the Russian Jewish community’s independence and the increasing development of its untapped potential. Michael’s role includes developing the local curriculum to adapt the tested PresenTense curriculum to the Russian culture, recruiting local volunteers, marketing and reaching out to potential participants and ensuring the smooth launch of the program.
Currently lives in: Be’er-Sheva, Israel Website: www.presentense.org 165
Michal Ansky Founder & Owner, Tel Aviv Indoor Market (Shuk Hanamal) Food Writer, Television Presenter
Sustainability Rules!
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Michal Ansky is a food journalist and television presenter. She worked as a writer for Ma’ariv, an Israeli newspaper, as well as Derech Haochel magazine. Michal holds a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Tel Aviv University, and a master’s in gastronomic sciences from the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, specializing in food products quality.
The Indoor Market, Shuk Hanamal, was established by Michal to create daily access to fresh, seasonal produce. The market offers a wide range of “good, clean and fair” fruits and vegetables that are grown by small to medium-sized farms. All produce is picked on the day it is sold, and offered to customers by the farmers themselves. The Market is also home to an organic store, a cooking store, a cookery school and tasting room, a culinary library, and offers fresh local fish and seafood.
“Untitled” (Ireland. 2009)
Michal is the founder of seven farmers’ markets across Israel, including a daily indoor market at the Tel Aviv port. She has a cooking and food culture show on Channel 1 and is a judge on the prime time television show, MasterChef Israel (seasons one and two), on Channel 2. Michal is currently in the process of writing her first cookbook on eco-gastronomy.
The main goal of the Market is to provide customers with access to knowledge and the option to make informed choices. Michal finds that, in general, Israeli customers are “spoonfed” when it comes to food consumption, as often retailers and conventional food markets don’t provide any information besides the price per kilogram so that there is no way of knowing where the food originated or how it was treated. At Shuk Hanamal, customers can see sustainability ratings so that they can decide whether to choose one apple over another and select meat and cheese based on how efficiently it was grown and shipped, and more. Michal wanted to create a space where asking farmers, cheese makers, fisherman or any food producer questions about water, fertilizer and chemical use would be an integral part of the shopping experience.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.farmersmarket.co.il, www.shukhanamal.co.il 167
The view from my house represents the beauty and the complexity of our lives.
Michal Ben-Dov Co-Director, Kesher-Cham/Camp USA
“Neighbors” (Maccabim: Israel. 2011)
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Michal Ben-Dov is the Founder and CoDirector of Kesher-Cham/Camp USA, a unique nonprofit organization that sends Israeli youth to experience meaningful encounters in Jewish camps across North America. In this position, Michal applies her unique knowledge gained from a lifetime of bilingual and bicultural experiences.
Michal is deeply engaged in bringing together the two largest Jewish communities in the world, in Israel and the USA. Camp USA, the nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2005, addresses this vital issue by creating significant encounters between Israeli and Jewish North American youth at Jewish North American summer camps, as well as through continued shared programming. These encounters foster friendships, dissolve stereotypes and create intense mutual “we are one” feelings, which ultimately plant the seeds for a lasting connection between Israeli and North American Jewish communities.
Born in the United States to Israeli parents, Michal has lived, studied and worked in both the United States and Israel, which has allowed her to feel at home in both countries and with both people. Michal graduated from the Reali High School in Haifa and then served as an educational and cultural sergeant in the IDF. She studied at Hebrew University and worked for the Israel Experience of the Jewish Agency guiding Americans on Israel programs. After working as a shlicha for the Jewish Agency at the JCC Association in New York, she worked for four years with the JCC Maccabi Games and other programs. Returning to Israel, she completed her master’s in Jewish studies at Tel Aviv University, while serving as the Director of the Junior Maccabiah for the 17th Maccabiah Games. She then founded the nonprofit she directs today.
As the director of the organization, Michal is responsible for a full spectrum of activities, including forging partnerships with North American Jewish camps, fundraising for scholarships for Israeli campers, programming and more. Although camping is a very successful educational, community-building tool for American Jewish families, Israeli society has hardly been exposed to it. Through Camp USA, Michal strives to change the culture and expose Jewish youth from Israel and America to one another in order to help build a stronger foundation for future relationships between these two communities.
Currently lives in: Maccabim, Israel Website: www.camp-usa.co.il 169
International Representative Africa Team, Tevel b’Tzedek M.A. International Development
ichalya M Schonwald Moss At 14,000 feet and with a bad case of altitude sickness, I pushed through ‘taking the leap’ and discovered that Shangri-La is that place waiting for me just beyond the seemingly unreachable.
“Taking the Leap” (Paro: Bhutan. 2009)
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Michalya Schonwald is currently serving as International Representative for Tevel b’Tzedek, an Israeli-based social and environmental justice organization. As part of Tevel b’Tzedek’s Africa Team, Michalya is responsible for setting the groundwork for a new project in South Africa. Michalya’s work with Tevel b’Tzedek began in 2007 when she participated in the pilot program in Kathmandu and upon her return to Israel became Deputy International Director for the organization.
Michalya is part of a team that is in the process of laying the foundation for a Tevel b’Tzedek project in South Africa. Tevel b’Tzedek is an Israeli based NGO founded in 2007 that brings Israeli experts and volunteers to the developing world, teaches them about poverty, human rights and the adverse effects of globalization and grounds this educational training through the Jewish lens of tikkun olam. Participants work in areas such as education, agriculture, health and empowerment of women and youth.
Michalya is trained as a leadership, communications and cross-cultural strategic consultant and coach and has worked extensively in the United States and Israel. Michalya also had the privilege of serving a double term on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Funders Network in New York City where she organized young Jewish philanthropists. Today, Michalya is living in Johannesburg where she is pursuing a graduate degree in international development at the University of the Witwatersrand, pursuing her passion for becoming a ‘global citizen’ and working to create change within and outside of the Jewish community. For her thesis, she is researching the trend of social entrepreneurship in South Africa.
What Michalya finds so incredible about this type of encounter is that it brings young Jews and Israelis face-to-face with the developing world. As a participant in the pilot program in Kathmandu, Michalya watched herself and her peers grow in indescribable ways, returning home permanently altered in both their inner beings and in their dedication to create change in the world. The hope for the Africa project is that by bringing Israelis into South African townships, teaching them about tikkun olam and supporting them in their work in the field, Tevel b’Tzedek hopes to act as a bridge between Israel, South Africa and the South African Jewish community and to bring healing to the world.
Currently lives in: Johannesburg, South Africa Website: www.tevelbtzedek.org, www.michalya.wordpress.com 171
Michelle Citrin Singer/Songwriter, Producer Consultant, Next Dor
Ah...the recording studio. It’s like being a kid in the playground. Surely one of my happiest places to be, because it’s where the magic happens! I love being surrounded by tons of musical instruments and the equipment that best captures their sound.
“Aside from an opportunity to collaborate on wonderful projects with incredibly talented individuals, ROI has helped strengthen my Jewish identity and introduced me to my best friends.”
BIOGRAPHY: Michelle Citrin is a Brooklyn based singer/ songwriter and producer best known for her and fellow ROIer William Levin’s co-produced YouTube hits, “20 Things to do with Matzah” and “Rosh Hashanah Girl.” From YouTube to Broadway, Michelle Citrin is committed to creating culture. Michelle has had an exciting year: preparing for her upcoming release of a new album, Left Brained, Right Hearted; composing the music and lyrics with ROIer Josh Nelson for the upcoming Broadway production of Sleepless in Seattle; and recording a new Eurodance track in the footsteps of her Top 20 European hit, “Turn it On.”
“Lil grrl, big sound.” (Brooklyn: NY)
Michelle has been a member of ROI since 2006.
INNOVATIVE WORK: We live in a time where a generation of young Jews who consider themselves to be “unaffiliated” wear shirts that say “Kosher,” go to Matisyahu concerts and read Heeb Magazine. It is clear this is a generation who choose to connect to their Judaism through the arts. Michelle feels she can best help make the world a better place by creating culture that seeks to bring about positive change in this world.
By creating YouTube videos that celebrate Jewish identity or videos that combat antiSemitism, as well as composing music that becomes a staple for choirs to sing at synagogues and Passover seders, Michelle is committed to inspiring Jews to celebrate their identity in joyful and meaningful ways. Her philosophy is that the more creative Jewish output available, the more opportunity for families and teachers to offer young Jews examples of positive public Jewish figures in which to identify. In turn, this strengthens the future of Jewish communities. Michelle’s mission is to continue providing the Jewish community with a positive female Jewish role model. Michelle frequently serves as a creative consultant. One of the organizations Michelle is currently working with as a consultant is Next Dor, an organization created specifically to focus on enhancing the synagogue experiences of Jews in their 20s and 30s.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.michellecitrin.com, www.nextdoronline.org 173
Mike Savatovsky Director, Young Adult Engagement, Federation CJA/Claudine & Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation President, The Flyt Foundation
“Inside the Walls” (Montreal: Quebec. 2006)
Until I had seen a home being built, I took for granted what could be found behind its walls. This image always reminds me that people are far more layered than what they appear to be.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Mike Savatovsky believes that he has one of the most amazing jobs on earth. Each and every day he is lucky enough to meet and work with dedicated, inspirational and fun people looking to improve their understanding of the world and strengthen their personal identity. In partnership with Montreal’s Federation CJA and the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation, nearly one year ago, Mike was hired to lead an effort to launch the Outreach and Engagement Initiative – a type of venture social capital initiative focused on incubating and accelerating ideas that engage Jewish young adults in Jewish life as they define it.
As Director of Montreal’s Outreach and Engagement Initiative, Mike spends much of his day involved in multiple projects, either consulting on program developments or birthing ideas. He has met hundreds of people in Montreal who do not consider themselves part of the mainstream and he maintains personalized relationships with them to help them develop their thinking about and experiences with being Jewish in today’s world. He also spends a lot of time promoting and assisting people with grant funding opportunities provided by the Initiative.
Having spent most of his life immersed in a variety of interests and having worked as an educator, a nonprofit director and founder, a fundraiser, a media producer and journalist, Mike brings his creativity and curiosity about life to the process of designing and supporting innovative young adult programming. A native Montrealer interested in building community and exploring issues of identity, Mike seeks out opportunities to engage in cultural, spiritual and historical activities that will help him and others create meaningful experiences in their lives.
Mike also builds programs with numerous community individuals looking to bring new Jewish content to the landscape. He supervises multiple staff and interns engaged in launching larger scale community projects like a social activism network and Le Mood Montreal (inspired by the international Limmud movement). Some of the projects supported by the Initiative include: “Snip! Why We Circumcise,” a panel discussion on circumcision, “Sukkah in the City,” and a “Writers Workshop.”
Currently lives in: Cote Saint Luc, Canada Website: www.abitoffthetop.com, www.federationcja.org, www.flytfoundation.org 175
Mira Marcus
Director of Public Affairs, Headline Media Traveling in China, you find out that the ‘Chinese food’ we know of is actually an Americanized version. After eating in touristy restaurants, I decided one night to join the locals for a hearty meal. It was there that I learned that going the local way - and eating things that you do not necessarily recognize - is the best way to experience any culture.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Mira Marcus was born in the United States and has lived in Israel since 1987. She served as Bureau Chief and Public Affairs Advisor for the Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter. She is an expert in public advocacy and political consulting. Mira was selected by the European Union Parliament and the Peres Center for Peace for their Young Political Leaders Forum for 2009 and 2010. Mira graduated cum laude from The Argov Fellowship for Leadership and Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and was awarded the Legacy Heritage Fellowship.
In Mira’s work at Headline Media, she serves as the Public Affairs Director. She works with clients from the public sector in Israel, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, young leadership groups, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the Jewish Agency and more. Mira works with each of them on how to get their message across to foreign audiences in a compelling and commanding way. She helps them touch the hearts and minds of audiences across the world, making sure their important message is understood.
“Discovering Local” (September 2010)
Today, Mira works at Headline Media as a communication consultant, advising public officials on messaging and appearances in the foreign media.
In addition, Mira has initiated a young professionals’ forum that meets every six weeks and brings together young professionals and professional leaders in Israel. The forum has hosted Member of Knesset Tzipi Livni, Ambassador Gabriella Shalev, former Chief of Staff Dov Weisglass and many others. Through this, young professionals, who will most certainly be tomorrow’s Israeli leaders, have the opportunity to be exposed to current leaders and gain inspiration while sharing their projects with their peers.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel Website: www.headline-media.com 177
Mois Gabay Professional Tourist Guide & Travel Agent
BIOGRAPHY: Mois Gabay has been an active member of the Turkish Jewish community for the past six years. He is a member of the Taglit commission in Turkey and participated in the program in 2008. Mois’ vision of life is to use his skills to help his community develop. He is currently a writer for the Jewish newspaper, Salom. For the past three years, Mois has also been a member of the community project development group. For the past two years, he has worked on a tourism project that focuses on reviving Turkish Jewish identity.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
“Untitled”
Mois’ community development work is structured around designing projects that meet the needs of the Turkish Jewish community. The group created a tourism project to Spain, aimed at enhancing Sephardic identity among its 150 participants. Another project focused on turning the Turkish community and its surroundings into a Jewish travel attraction for foreign Jewish travelers. Mois also participates in different young adult groups and served as the President of the Turkish Union of Jewish Students from 2009 to 2010.
Currently lives in: Istanbul, Turkey Website: www.musevicemaati.com, www.turkyahudileri.com 179
Mordechai Lightstone Director of Social Media & Staff Writer, Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters
Tefillin are the Biblical paradigm of the Internet. By binding words of the Torah on one’s arm, across from the heart, and on the mind, they represent the synthesis of divergent faculties...
BIOGRAPHY: Mordechai Lightstone is a rabbi by training, a journalist by profession and a blogger by choice. He has served as assistant rabbi in diverse communities including Poland, Lithuania, Italy and Peru. He is passionate about using new media to further Jewish identity and community building. He currently serves as Director of Social Media and Senior Staff writer for Lubavitch.com, the official website for Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters.
the terrorist attacks in Mumbai was covered in The New York Times. Since then, Mordechai has strived to be a digital voice for the Chabad movement. Within the Orthodox community, he also works to educate Chabad emissaries to better understand the tools of new media as a means for communication. In an effort to increase communication, he has used his position to bring together Jews from diverse political, social and philosophical backgrounds as part of an online community.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Mordechai has found that people from all walks of life and practice are more open to dialogue and honest exchange online. By removing predispositions, online platforms help build bridges across the Jewish community. As such, his work has focused on creating online dialogue and open discussions focused on Jewish identity and education. By engaging others on Twitter and other social media outlets, the free exchange of ideas is created, which leads to greater understanding and appreciation of diversity. Additionally, Mordechai works to bring the online conversation into the real world. Both last year and this year, he created special Jewish media events around the SXSW festival in Austin, TX.
“Tefillin”
In the summer of 2008, Mordechai became a Staff Writer for Lubavitch.com, the official news outlet for Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters. In November of that year, he launched their social media initiative on Facebook and Twitter to coincide with the annual conference of Chabad emissaries. Just a week later, the social media platform, still in its infancy, became a key player in the events and the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The chaos of those dark days created a need to get Chabad’s message out to people around the world. Some needed a place to grieve. Others wanted to volunteer or mobilize. Chabad’s reporting of
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.lubavitch.com, www.mordechai.org 181
The enchanting world that JRR Tolkien created touched a deep chord in my soul. This is a hobbit house, the coziest place I can imagine. It blurs the boundaries between human dwelling and animal den and is also very eco-friendly.
Naftali Ejdelman Co-Founder, Yiddish Farm Private Yiddish Teacher, Translator, Researcher
BIOGRAPHY: Naftali Ejdelman grew up in an unusual family. Growing up, he was required to speak Yiddish with everyone on his mother’s side: brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. To this day, his Yiddish speaking family actively promotes Yiddish culture through academic work, poetry, journalism, education and activism. His grandfather and great-grandfather dreamed of founding an agricultural Yiddish speaking settlement. While in college, Naftali developed an interest in environmentalism and sustainable agriculture and took this dream into his own hands. He and his friend Yisroel Bas founded Yiddish Farm in order to create a pluralistic Yiddish speaking agricultural community.
“Untitled”
INNOVATIVE WORK: The goal of Yiddish Farm is to lay the foundation for a Yiddish speaking, pluralistic community on a farm in upstate New York. The Farm intends to serve three populations: the committed Yiddishists who need a Yiddish speaking space to pass the Yiddish language on to the next generation, Yiddish students who need full immersion to become fluent and non-conformist Hasidim who want to maintain their Jewish identity while having the freedom to explore the parts of their heritage that have been demonized by their communities.
This year, the Farm is piloting the Yiddish Farm Summer Program, a Yiddish immersion sustainable farming fellowship. Ten Yiddish speakers in their 20s will be chosen to live together on a farm and spend part of the day working the land and part of the day participating in cultural programming. The entire program will be in Yiddish. The Farm will also pilot a four-day outdoor festival, a celebration of Diaspora Jewish culture with 200 people expected to attend. Starting in 2012, the Farm intends to run educational programs for schools and camps. Ultimately, the plan is to generate enough business from Yiddish Farm to be able to encourage a diverse group of Yiddish speakers to move to the neighborhood, which is conveniently located only one hour from New York City and only a 15-minute drive from large, Hasidic communities. Yiddish Farm will set up its own Yiddish-language agricultural school and run programs year-round so that those who want to ensure a future for the Yiddish language and culture have a place to go that is not strictly Hasidic.
Currently lives in: Yonkers, NY, USA Website: www.yiddishfarm.org 183
Naomi Efrat
Partnerships Manager & Jewish Renewal Programs Manager, Rikma
My connection to nature is a strong part of my identity. I believe in sustainable living, thinking about what we consume, where it came from, how it was made and did it treat people with respect on its way to becoming a product. I believe that one of the missions of the Jewish people is to prove that we can live sustainably and sensibly, and through consuming with thought and respect, promote weaker societies in Israel and around the world.
BIOGRAPHY: Naomi Efrat has been involved in social action for the past 13 years, serving as a program coordinator, educator and currently as the Partnership Director of the Rikma Network for Community Development. Naomi is responsible for developing the growing network of socially involved communities throughout Israel’s periphery and the cooperative ventures among them. Additionally, she directs a nationwide Jewish Renewal project, which has four community batei midrash (study houses) in Israel and runs social-action programs in the field of Jewish renewal. Naomi is part of the Kama Urban Kibbutz in Be’er Sheva and is a board member of the Tor HaMidbar organization, the platform for social involvement through which the community operates projects in the Negev region and the rest of Israel.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
“Nature”
In the Rikma Community Network, Naomi helps small social initiatives and social-business entrepreneurs from nonprofit organizations develop partnerships so that they can create stronger, more stable foundations. She encourages the sharing of marketing and fundraising efforts and best business practice models to create more sustainable social action and Jewish renewal projects.
Additional initiatives Naomi has been involved in developing include: an eco-tourism center managed by socially active communities in the Negev, a hub for social-business entrepreneurs in Be’er Sheva and a tour of the rehabilitation centers in Gvanim to share their knowledge and expertise with other communities in Israel’s periphery. Naomi’s work model often involves tapping advanced NGOs to share their knowledge with younger, less experienced organizations. Through this work method, she creates a system of mentoring and coaching and contributes to the growing professionalism of social action projects across Israel. Israel is witnessing an incredible growth of grassroots organizations. However, most are small, unstable and have a small chance of developing due to competition within the field and the influx of NGOs. Naomi feels her work is innovative because it focuses on sharing abilities and knowledge to create nationwide projects, rather than creating competition.
Currently lives in: Be’er-Sheva, Israel Website: www.kehilot.org.il, www.torahmidbar.org.il 185
Natalie Gourvitch Founder & Executive Director, TrailTalks
Many of my most formative experiences has been meeting diverse people and cultures while living and traveling abroad. They led me to form TrailTalks, whose mark signifies a world made of people from different places connecting with each other. This image reflects TrailTalk’s vision, as well as my personal values.
“The TrailTalks Mark Time” Topos Graphics (2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Natalie Gourvitch is an Israeli-American social entrepreneur who is dedicated to improving communication and building understanding within and between communities. Growing up in New York and spending summers in Israel made her keenly aware from an early age of the challenges involved in explaining the reality of one culture to another and how significant an obstacle cultural difference can be to mutual understanding. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics, Natalie lived and traveled in South America, where her experiences with Israelis and other international backpackers provided early inspirations for TrailTalks, an apolitical nonprofit she founded to foster understanding between Israelis and their international peers.
Over 30,000 young Israelis travel abroad every year after completing their mandatory military service. In hostels, buses and along the trails of their travels, they meet their international peers and have uniquely powerful opportunities to exchange their individual perspectives in informal conversations about the complex issues that face Israel and Jews around the world. However, these opportunities are most often missed, as Israelis tend to remain within insular enclaves, and cultural differences in communication styles and perspectives close the door to constructive dialogue with international peers and often exacerbate negative conceptions.
Before dedicating herself to TrailTalks, Natalie was the Social Marketing Manager at KIND, a start-up, healthy snacks brand. Among her various responsibilities, she created and built the company’s field marketing and developed and managed the brand’s social mission strategy and core social initiative. Natalie now serves as the Executive Director of TrailTalks where she leads overall strategy and vision.
Through programs and curriculum that engage Israelis before, during and after travel, TrailTalks equips Israeli travelers with the motivation, skills and awareness to communicate effectively and frequently with the international peers they will meet. TrailTalks is in its early days and is preparing to pilot its first program this summer. There is much momentum for the initiative, with the support of Israeli and American business people, policy makers, corporations (El Al and DavidShield are sponsors) and young idealists who are committed to transforming Israeli communication and relations with the international community.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.trailtalks.org 187
Our son Yehuda is pointing at something, completly absorbed by and commited to what he sees. He’s curious and intent on reaching his goal. He’s sensitive to his sorroundings, pure and thus pointing out the way.
Natan Rubin Manager, Youth Department, Netivot Founder & Chairman, Eitanim (Enlisting Together)
“Growing” Beit Zayit (2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Natan Rubin was born in Jerusalem in 1985 and shortly thereafter moved with his parents to Los Angeles. After living in LA for ten years they returned to Israel, hoping to contribute to the building of the Jewish state. Natan was accepted to the IAF’s Flight Course, but postponed his enrollment to study at the Ahavat Yisrael Hesder Yeshiva in Netivot. He then enlisted in the IDF and joined Givati’s infantry Commanders Program. During his army service, he married Danielle and has since lived in Netivot. While serving as a commander, Natan became acquainted with the challenges youth from the periphery face. He then founded Eitanim—Enlisting Together, dedicated to solving these difficulties. He currently serves as the Director of Youth Services and Education Department for the Municipality of Netivot, while completing academic studies in the field of public administration. He has two adorable children, Yehuda and Ayala.
Natan works to instill Jewish and Zionist values for the youth living in development towns. As a commander in the IDF, Natan dealt with many challenging recruits and he understood that many of their problems stem from a lack of preparation and misguided value systems before their army service. This led him to develop Eitanim – Enlisting Together, an intensive weekly program that uses military preparation skills and training as a method to convey a wider scope of educational agendas. The diverse activities include everything from physical training and wilderness survival to visiting historical sites. Eitanim’s staff members are all former and present officers and commanders in the IDF and residents of the development town of Netivot, which allows for the creation of sincere and long-lasting relationships with positive role models. Over the past four years, over 200 young male high school students from different ethnic backgrounds have participated, among them high risk populations. In 2009, Natan was chosen to participate in Israel Venture Network’s Social Entrepreneur’s Fellowship program. Since 2009, Natan has also managed Netivot’s youth department, overseeing all extracurricular programs. He works with over 1,000 young people on a weekly basis and many more in various annual municipal events.
Currently lives in: Netivot, Israel Website: www.eitanim.org.il, www.noar.ccn.org.il 189
My father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, performing sometime in the 60’s. Surrounding him are people of different faiths all singing together. I dream that our children grow up in a world where Absolute Unity is possible.
Neshama Carlebach Singer, Songwriter & Teacher
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Neshama Carlebach, a leading superstar in Jewish entertainment, is continuing the legacy established by her father Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. His deep spirituality and love of all humanity filled every song he wrote and touched every person he encountered as he changed the face of Jewish life.
Neshama travels to communities large and small, local and far-flung; fills the theaters of major American cities and the crumbling houses of worship of other continents; performs under the stars and inside living rooms. Neshama seeks to empower and uplift through the universal power of music, inspiring both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.
Like her father, Neshama’s talent and charisma captivate and endear her to people of all ages and backgrounds as she performs and teaches in cities worldwide. With her incredible band and in collaboration with The Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir, she continues to both deeply move and entertain as she sings her father’s incomparable melodies and inspiring original compositions.
Text.
“Absolute Unity”
Neshama’s seventh recording, Higher & Higher, was an official entrant in the 2011 Grammy Awards and showcases the rare intersection of faith and talent. Neshama’s new project, Soul Journey, aims to bring hope, healing, “Soul Raising” and fundraising to various communities and charities through music.
Currently lives in: Bronx, NY, USA Website: www.neshamacarlebach.com
The mission of her new project, Soul Journey, continues the mission of her beloved late father, whose music and teachings were built upon the simple, yet profound, belief that love can unite and heal the world. Soul Journey is a traveling program that will swoop into places in need to deliver powerhouse community-wide concerts and host holistic, educational workshops and master classes in music, Jewish learning and community relationships. Working together with community leaders and organizers, Soul Journey hopes to tailor each visit to individual communities’ needs, where each weekend experience will have an indigenous flavor. Funded through a donor base, Soul Journey will be able to travel to marginalized communities at a fraction of the cost. The hope is that each of these performances will generate funds for a local charity or organization, while at the same time, supporting a charity of Neshama’s choosing. Neshama aims to visit communities that are struggling financially, struggling to maintain Jewish identity or struggling to find peace within the larger world. 191
Netaly Ophir-Flint Vice President, The Reut Institute
My most favorite place in the world.
“ROI has provided me with an incubation space for creatively thinking about the work that I do and would like to do in the future. The initial ROI Summit I participated in shattered a number of working assumptions and stereotypes that I had about the Jewish world and ended up being a major influence on my current projects.”
BIOGRAPHY: Netaly Ophir-Flint is Vice President of the Reut Institute. Her position includes responsibility for the overall management of the organization, development of human resources and financial management support. She currently spearheads a taskforce on the changing relations between Israel and the Jewish world.
“Nachal Tzin”
Netaly holds a joint master’s degree in international relations and conflict management and resolution from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her thesis on the subject of “Public Opinion as a Factor in Ripeness Theory for Conflict Resolution” won the Yad Ora Research Award. She also holds a B.A. in international relations and history from the Hebrew University. During her studies, Netaly was a member of an Israeli delegation to the third annual Japan-Israel-Palestine conference to promote dialogue on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.
In the past, Netaly worked as a teacher’s assistant in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University and in a variety of positions at the Shalem Center. Netaly served as a tank instructor for Israeli and foreign officers in the IDF armored corps during the years 1997 to 1999. Netaly has been a member of ROI since 2008.
INNOVATIVE WORK: The Reut Institute is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to effect change on the most pressing issues facing Israel and the Jewish World, working towards their security and prosperity. At Reut, Netaly currently leads a taskforce on the issue of Jewish Peoplehood. In this context, she works with major organizations and decision makers in the Jewish world in order to help them adjust their vision, mission and strategy to the changing paradigm in the relations between Israel and the Jewish world.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel 193
Nili (Onili) Ohayon Artist, Onili
BIOGRAPHY:
In this image you see Barak, my music partner, with a brain reading headset that I just bought. I am right behind him with a remote. I chose this picture because I am amazed by technology and it is giving me wings.
Nili Ohayon (aka Onili) is an Israeli singer, songwriter, performer, video artist and the head of the label and brand, Onili. Born in Israel and raised in Paris, she grew up in a small Israeli community and enjoyed a rich Parisian life. She studied cinema at the Sorbonne and collaborated with local artists. One of the collaborations, which opened many doors for Onili, was the hit “Starlight,” by the Supermen Lovers, which topped music charts around the world.
“Read My Mind”
In 2004, she settled in Haifa, and has since been creating her solo project, Onili, in collaboration with Barak Kram, her drummer and business partner. Onili moved to Tel Aviv in 2008, where she studied video postproduction. Her videos and songs have been featured on television and radio and she and Barak tour the country with their electronic rock show. Onili has released five singles, two albums, five videos, and she has licensed songs to advertisements and NBC’s primetime television show, Life.
Recently, Onili developed an interest in computer technology for the purpose of developing an exciting project involving hitech and music. She has also been inspired to work towards a new dream, a network for worldwide peace and is currently collaborating with Raina Al Assad, the niece of the former Syrian president.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Onili’s work is a form of hasbara, as she has the privilege of showing a very positive side of Israel and feels it is her duty to open people’s eyes. With regard to her brand, Onili, her goal is within the first year to have a collection of sneakers and clothing that contain music devices featuring her art. She is working with the Earth Institute to ensure that similar products will be sent to developing countries. Onili also plans on creating a television entertainment channel to highlight the many artists and celebrities who are doing great things for the world.
In Europe, she collaborated with the French clothing brand, Cotelac, selling 20,000 copies of her “First Kiss” EP, and producing the first Onili fashion designs. Today she is working to penetrate the American market and release her first album with Cotelac. Her second album is in a pre-production and she is developing an upcoming tour.
Currently lives in: Haifa, Israel Website: www.onili.com 195
Noa Kolp Journalist
This photograph was taken in 2010 in Havana, Cuba. It shows simple and direct interactions between people: playing football with a friend and speaking with neighbors on the street. These are important ways to connect with others that should be preserved, even in this new ‘social media’ era.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Noa Kolp is an Israeli journalist living in New York and working as Israel’s Channel 10 and Globes business newspaper correspondent. She was recently the Head of the Economics and Business Desk for Channel 10 and regularly appeared as a host of the channel’s main business show. Noa uncovered many exclusive stories and interviewed leading business and economic figures, including the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Steve Forbes, Michael Dell, Warren Buffett and Abby Joseph Cohen.
Luna, a 36-year-old woman, called Noa at Channel 10 News. She was crying while describing how her husband remarried without divorcing her first. Luna wailed in desperation, “I have been enslaved for the last four years! I can’t remarry and have a family, yet he just made a new life for himself.” Her husband refused to grant her a divorce unless she agreed to give up her share of the marital assets. The husband’s father, a very powerful senior judge in the rabbinic high court in Jerusalem, obtained special permission for his son to remarry without getting divorced.
“Simplicity”
Noa began her career in journalism as a soldier at Galey Tzahal. She was the first modern Orthodox Jewish woman accepted in the station’s history. As the economics correspondent, she covered macroeconomic developments in the Ministry of Finance, Israel’s central bank and the Israeli Parliament, anchored the daily economics program and edited the station’s morning journal. She also served as a journalism and media teacher for Ziv and Marks High School in Jerusalem. Noa holds a B.A. in economics and art history from the Hebrew University and loves swimming, reading and playing piano.
Noa pursued this story as it represented the injustice faced by hundreds of women in Israel whose husbands refuse to grant them a divorce. After widespread media attention, senior rabbis stepped in to rescue Luna. A few months later, Luna invited Noa to her “freedom” party, where she thanked Noa for “freeing her from her marital prison.” That moment illustrates Noa’s belief that journalists have the ability and responsibility to help those in need. Noa’s work over the last 13 years has reinforced her belief that journalism is not only a means to share information but is also a very powerful vehicle through which to effect change.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA 197
Olesya Karpenko Teacher of English, Dnipropetrovsk National Mining University Volunteer, Limmud Ukraine
This artwork is accompanied by various sounds from the speakers that are united into one improvised melody. I think it symbolizes unity of individuals who contribute to one common thing in different ways.
“The United Voices” Saachi Gallery (London: England. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Olesya Karpenko lives in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. She graduated from Dnipropetrovsk National University with a diploma in English language and literature. Currently, Olesya works at Dnipropetrovsk National Mining University as an English teacher and has worked at the local Hillel, Jewish Community Center and Regional Institute for Social and Community Workers. Olesya is actively involved in Limmud Ukraine as a volunteer and is interested in cross-cultural relations and interaction, Jewish-Christian relations, art and literature.
Olesya is actively involved in Limmud Ukraine as a volunteer. As supervisor and recruiter of volunteer translators, Olesya helps spread and popularize the concept of volunteering and such core Jewish values as mutual help and responsibility among the members of the Jewish community.
Olesya enjoys reading, attending Jewish cultural events, traveling and sports. Her future goals include furthering her Jewish education, networking with her friends from the global Jewish community and working on her research on Christian-Jewish relations. She believes that a strong tradition of mutual support, rooted in Jewish values, is a prerequisite for creating an equal and inclusive society. She values the importance of young Jewish leaders from different countries meeting to discuss Jewish values and figuring out ways to put them into practice.
Currently lives in: Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine Website: www.limmudfsu.org
Limmud Ukraine’s mission is to both celebrate the richness and multi-dimensional nature of Judaism and to create community by bringing Russian-speaking Jews of all backgrounds and ages to create a multi-day festival of Jewish learning and culture based on volunteerism. Volunteerism was almost a nonexistent concept in the former Soviet Union. It is therefore remarkable that the key to the success of Limmud Ukraine events is the development of local volunteer leadership. This empowering volunteer experience is creating a new generation of Russian-speaking young adults characterized by an ever-growing commitment to their Jewish community. The last Limmud Ukraine took place in Odessa in October 2010. The event was very successful and was open to people of all backgrounds, ages and interests and had a special warm and friendly atmosphere. For many participants it was the first conference of inclusive and pluralistic Jewish education where they could learn not only from recognized experts, but also from each other and where everyone’s opinion was respected. This concept is very important and new to many Ukrainian Jews. 199
The hippotherapy program for young people with disabilities was a highlight of my Peace Corps service. This picture represents a high point of working together to make a meaningful difference.
Perry Teicher
Fellow, Repair the World Co-Founder & President, TheGivingApp
“Hippotherapy Program in Aktobe, Kazakstan � (Aktobe: Kazakhstan. 2006)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Perry Teicher is interested in the intersection of service and social enterprise within a Jewish and broader context. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, he served as the first Repair the World Fellow (2010-2011) based in Washington, D.C. In this role, he developed new initiatives in volunteerism and service in the North American Jewish community. Prior to this, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan (2007-2009), working primarily with an organization focused on creating an environment where people with disabilities can lead independent lives. Perry helped the organization succeed in reaching its goal to build the first wheelchair factory in Central Asia and to develop a volunteer club in a society without a strong foundation of volunteerism. Since returning to the USA, Perry founded TheGivingApp, a company that creates mobile applications for nonprofits. A 2007 graduate from the University of Michigan, Perry will return to U of Michigan in the Fall of 2011 to start a JD/MBA program with a focus on social enterprise and international public interest law. However, Judaism will continue to be a core part of his future activism.
Being a Repair the World fellow gave Perry the opportunity to think strategically about major projects related to service and volunteerism within the Jewish community. One project, creating a Jewish City of Service, enabled him to combine his passion for creating new methods and mechanisms to empower communities, individuals and organizations with Detroit and Jewish Detroit revitalization efforts. He is currently writing the plan for the Jewish City of Service in Detroit, a new concept that will connect organizations and individuals engaged with service and volunteerism to more effectively work alongside other communities in Detroit. The Detroit Jewish community has never before strategically addressed the role service can play in urban renewal and Jewish community building efforts. Jewish City of Service will create a mentality that showcases Detroit as a hub of community activism engaged in collective social impact and change.
Currently lives in: Washington, D.C., USA Website: www.pteicher.wordpress.com, www.werepair.org, www.thegivingapp.com 201
I volunteer for Mitpakdot, a civic initiative that seeks to encourage women to join political parties in order to influence their agenda and promote equality between the sexes.
Plia Chetner Editor-in-Chief, Open University Student Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Israeli Gay Youth Portal
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Plia Chetner started to work in journalism at the age of 13 by writing for Rosh1, Yediot Achronot’s youth newspaper. It was at that point that Plia discovered the power that a journalist has in shaping public opinion. At the age of 15, she published a feminist project for teenagers, where she presented the readers with examples of strong and independent young girls and women who refused to accept what was socially expected of them.
Plia is currently active in in three different projects. Mitpakdot is a group that tries to convince Members of Knesset to vote for pro-feminist bills. She founded the lobby division of the initiative and has organized a series of lectures with known artists and speakers at the Open University to raise awareness for this cause. She also takes part in Ken NGO by trying to increase the number of women who participate in economic conferences. Her role is to study the reasons for the low number of female participants in those conferences and to convince the organizers to increase these numbers. At IGY, Plia works with LGBTQ youth and helps them find new and original ways to express themselves through writing and journalism.
“Plia in Mitpakdot” (Tel Aviv: Israel. 2011)
Plia continued working in journalism while studying media in high school. She served as a military reporter and tried to put an emphasis on women’s issues and other injustices in the army. Her first stop after the army was Hot News on Channel 3 as an investigative reporter. She is also experienced in radio, Internet and print media. She is now completing her B.A. in gender studies and literature at Tel Aviv University, while working as Editor-in-Chief of IGY portal and the Open University Magazine. She also manages the lobbying for Mitpakdot, an initiative for equality of the sexes.
Currently lives in: Kfar Saba, Israel Website: www.studentop.org, www.igy.org.il
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Premshay Hermon Artistic Director, Activism Festival Chief Coordinator, Cannons & Muses
In the midst of the Galilee lies a river. Flowing water, dirty, shiny leaves, movement freezes time. This photograph seems like a painting. Barriers of technique melt, and thus melt the barriers in our hearts.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Premshay Hermon has been involved in Israeli cultural life for the last decade. Music, dance, theatre, visual art, education - all of these are parts of his résumé.
Premshay believes that art and culture shed light on human affairs and also protect us from the loss of values and desensitization. During the 2008 Gaza War, he established a network of artists and researchers called Cannons & Muses whose aim was to revive the connection between artists and social thought by enabling artists around the world to collaborate and create art in the context of real-time crisis. They held academic conventions in Israel and Ireland and curated several art shows in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Dublin and Tokyo. In this context, they created innovative process-based models of teaching, curating and creating to encourage artistic dialogue between artists from different countries and cultures.
“Painting Light” (Israel. 2010)
As Founder of Cannons & Muses, an international association of artists that focuses on the role of art during a time of crisis, he has collaborated on projects in Dublin, Tokyo and Israel. All of these encounters promoted a dialogue between cultures and people looking to cope with actual crises, such as ongoing wars and social and economic difficulties. Premshay is the Artistic Director of the Activism Festival, an annual gathering of people, organizations and initiatives devoted to the social and environmental betterment of life in Israel. Premshay studied dance, theatre and education at the Kibbutzim Seminar. He is currently studying at ALMA: Home for Hebrew Culture. He lives in Kfar-Malal, with his dear spouse and with Puska, the kitten that has adopted them.
Premshay is one of the Founders and Artistic Director of the Activism Festival, an annual gathering of 100 organizations, celebrating social and environmental activism. The festival attracts 4,000 participants. As Artistic Director, he seeks out the most thought-provoking music shows, theatre acts and visual artists not always viable in other venues. He also manages the fundraising staff of the festival. For the past decade, Premshay has taught photography and activism to gifted children. In the past three years, he has worked in collaboration with UNICEF to create awareness for children’s rights by developing a photographic calendar and several stopmotion short films on related issues.
Currently lives in: Kfar-Malal, Israel Website: www.premshay.com, www.cannonsandmuses.org
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Rachel Ishofsky Associate Executive Director, Jewish Heart for Africa
BIOGRAPHY:
“First Time Seeing Light” Nanzala Village (Uganda. 2011)
This picture was taken in February when Jewish Heart for Africa installed Israeli solar technology at the Nanzala Primary School in Uganda. It’s an honor and a privilege to celebrate our installations with local people.
Rachel Ishofsky is the Associate Executive Director of Jewish Heart for Africa, a nonprofit organization that brings sustainable Israeli technologies to rural African villages. While studying art and literature at New York University, Rachel took some time to study and teach in West Africa, where she founded a small nonprofit for street children. After graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in individualized study, she traveled throughout Eastern Europe and Asia before returning to her native New York and joining the Jewish Heart for Africa team. Rachel has worked with various nonprofits promoting the arts, education and human rights; speaks Hebrew and Spanish; taught English on three continents and has traveled to over 30 countries.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Rachel runs the New York office of Jewish Heart for Africa (JHA), whose mission is to save African lives with Israeli innovation. JHA was founded by Sivan Borowich in January 2008 and Rachel was hired in June, working for free for seven months from Sivan’s living room. For the first time, Rachel found a way to bring together her love of the developing world, the Jewish community and Israel.
In 2008, JHA had two unpaid staff, 20 volunteers and an email list of a few hundred. Today there are eight staff members in the USA, Israel and Africa. The mailing list has grown to 12,000, the website gets 20,000 hits a month and the community of volunteers numbers over 300. Rachel is responsible for JHA’s outreach, development and engagement. She goes on speaking tours across the country to introduce new communities to JHA’s work and partners with organizations such as the Jewish Federations of North America and StandWithUs to provide a new kind of Israel programming for schools, synagogues, universities and community centers. JHA focuses on Israel’s role as an innovator and contributor to the global community. On a daily basis Rachel has the privilege of interacting with everyone from middle school students to major donors and loves nothing more than introducing new individuals and communities to the concept that you don’t have to choose: that there is a way to help Africa and Israel at the same time. For the most part, people are just as excited about it as she is.
Currently lives in: New York, NY., USA Website: www.jhafrica.org 207
Rachel Olstein Kaplan Director of Volunteer Services, Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village
This was my home for a season, during which I deepened my connection to the Jewish world, to teva, to adamah, to shemayim. Four years later, my husband’s photography captured the beauty of the place.
“Fall at Teva” Photo by Ori Kaplan at the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center. (Falls Village: CT. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rachel Olstein Kaplan’s interest in social justice began in 1999 when she volunteered for a year with AmeriCorps. She received her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in urban education and French and served as President of the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. After graduating, she taught second grade at an inner city school. She then spent several years leading outdoor education programs at the Teva Learning Center and on service trips to India and the Azore Islands.
The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) serves over 400 Rwandan orphans, providing them with a home, family, food, security, education and the ability to plan for their future. Modeled after Yemin Orde Youth Village in Israel, ASYV demonstrates the power of a holistic development approach and its work already has visible rippling effects throughout the country. Rachel was hired in 2009 to develop immersive service-learning opportunities for international volunteers. Her long and short-term volunteer programs have already touched the lives of over 200 young adults.
Rachel has a master’s degree in community leadership and nonprofit management from Hebrew University where she focused her studies on international development and volunteer management. As part of her studies, she spent two months working on a banking project in rural Ghana. Currently, as Director of Volunteer Services at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, Rachel applies her depth of knowledge in the fields of education and service learning, as well as her extensive experience in international travel. She developed and manages the Village’s short-term service learning program, its year-long professional service corps and local outreach volunteer programs. In her free time, Rachel enjoys spending time with her husband, Ori, traveling, taking long hikes, making homemade pizza and getting outdoors as much as possible.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.asyv.org
In today’s world where many young Jews are blessed with lives of privilege and a wealth of experiences, it takes a truly remarkable “aha” moment to affect the values and choices that these young adults will make. The Village is a unique context for exploring issues related to Israel, Jewish values, the essence of tikkun olam and the interconnectedness of today’s world. Post-trip, most graduate volunteers stay connected; they feel a deeper commitment and pride in their Jewish identity and express a desire to make service central in their lives.
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Raquel Laniado Director, Metta Saade Foundation
This image, the edges and roots of a dead tree, speaks to my sensitivity towards perspectives and textures. It makes me think about beginnings and ends; about dialogues between earth, stars and our own body.
“Blooming” Bosque de Chapultepec (Mexico City: Mexico. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY: Raquel Laniado is currently Director of The Metta Saade Foundation, a Mexican NGO dedicated to the promotion and support of innovative individuals and organizations that explore and create new approaches to Judaism and Jewish life. She has been involved in community services since she was 16 years old with Aharai, a youth movement engaged in social and cultural projects. Raquel participated in the Israeli Leadership Training Seminar, Taglit-Birthright and March of the Living. She has also worked with production companies and cultural magazines as an editor, scriptwriter and proofreader. She’s interested in cultural promotion and publishing activities.
INNOVATIVE WORK: The Metta Saade Foundation’s goal is to unleash the creative potential and reflect the views of members of the Jewish community of Mexico City. The Foundation has a Jewish, Zionist, social and environmental vision, with the aim of being the main Jewish cultural activity center in Mexico.
Even though the Jewish community in Mexico is strong and highly organized, it has lost the capacity to engage youth with their Judaism. In today’s globalized and ever changing world, many of the young people are having a hard time finding spaces to connect with each other and identify with Jewish values that are relevant to their everyday lives. The idea is to be an entry point for different visions and expressions of the Jewish world both within the institutional framework and outside of it. The Foundation allows for a constant questioning and reinvention of one’s Jewish identity by exploring and expressing the wide range of viewpoints and Jewish lifestyles in order to broaden the community’s horizons and to enable more dynamic Jewish engagement opportunities in Mexico. As Director of the Metta Saade Foundation, Raquel is responsible for assisting the President of the association with public relations, logistics and program evaluation. Her job is also to be a “project catcher” and, as such, to be a platform on which different parties can work to create the best level of synergies possible. There is no other organization working in Mexico with the same goals. The Foundation supports the initiatives, but above all, the Foundation’s goal is to promote them.
Currently lives in: Estado de México, Mexico 211
I took this picture in 2009 after my first ROI experience. It’s one of my favorite spots in Jerusalem and the view always makes me smile!
Rebecca Karp Director of ACCESS & Communications, AJC Philadelphia/Southern NJ Founding Resident, Moishe House Philadelphia
“Tayelet” (Jerusalem: Israel)
“The ROI Community is amazing! I have made wonderful friends, expanded both my personal and professional networks and strengthened the programming for my community. Let the collaboration continue!”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rebecca Karp is the Assistant Director at AJC and Director of ACCESS and Communications of AJC in Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey. AJC has 26 regional offices as well as centers abroad. Rebecca is also a founding member of Moishe House Philadelphia (May 2007). Moishe House is a worldwide community with more than 34 houses across the globe. In addition, Rebecca Co-Founded the Idea Coalition, a black/Jewish professional network within Philadelphia that offers events in the fields of education, arts and networking. Rebecca sits on the Executive Committee of the Tribe12 Social Entrepreneur Fellowship, ignited by PresenTense, in Philadelphia. With AJC, Rebecca works to build bridges between the greater Philadelphia Jewish community and the African-American, Latino, Christian and Catholic communities. ACCESS is the emerging leaders cohort within AJC and Rebecca implements all programming for this dynamic group. With MHP, Rebecca serves the Jewish community of Philadelphia 20-somethings by hosting events in either the social, social justice or Jewish communal arenas. Rebecca is an active individual who enjoys running and practicing yoga. She loves to cook and is incredibly close to her family and friends.
Rebecca is working to change the face of young, Jewish involvement in Philadelphia. Through her professional capacity as Assistant Director of AJC and Director of ACCESS and Communications at AJC, as well as through her positions with Moishe House, Idea Coalition and Tribe12, Rebecca seeks to engage largely unaffiliated Jews in meaningful programming and community building. By providing substantive programming through AJC’s ACCESS cohort, Rebecca gives emerging leaders a unique opportunity to speak with top level officials in state, local and national governments, senior business leaders within the Philadelphia community and impressive academics at top universities - an opportunity they would not otherwise have at such a formative age. Within MHP, Rebecca works to create exciting programming to draw in young professionals on the fringes of the organized Jewish community. Whether it is a women’s-only workshop on sexuality in Judaism, a Mustachio Shabbashio (the best mustache Shabbat ever!) or a discussion on Jews and the environment in a local park, innovative programming is what continuously grows these communities.
Rebecca has been an enthusiastic member of the ROI community since 2009.
Currently lives in: Philadelphia, PA, USA 213
Rebecca Keys Assistant Director, Communications, American Jewish Committee My inspiration for Jewish communal engagement, human rights advocacy and interreligious dialogue: Abraham Joshua Heschel marches beside Martin Luther King, Jr., to promote civil rights.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rebecca Keys is the Assistant Director for Communications at the Boston office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). With a network of over 30 offices in the USA and around the world, AJC advocates for a secure Jewish future in a more just world.
Rebecca believes that local activism can have global impact; that the work she does with Jewish leaders and diverse ethnic and religious communities in Boston will advance Israel’s pursuit of peace and promote the human rights of vulnerable peoples in the Middle East and around the world.
Rebecca is passionate about connecting with Jews of diverse backgrounds and working with different religious and ethnic communities to educate about Israel and human rights issues in the Middle East.
“Praying with My Legs”
Whether running social media sessions for the Boston Jewish community on how to become better advocates for Israel online or bringing together Muslims, Christians and Jews to share traditions, history and culture, Rebecca thrives on engaging people about what matters to her most: community, collaboration, Jewish identity and pluralism. Rebecca holds a B.A. in Jewish studies and world religions from McGill University and studied for an M.A. in the history of the Jewish People at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Rebecca also worked at the Interreligious Coordinating Council of Israel (ICCI), a Jerusalem-based NGO that promotes peace building projects between Jewish, Christian and Muslim youth, women and religious leaders in Israel. Rebecca lives in Brookline, MA, with her husband, Yoni, and Boston Terrier, Philo.
That’s why she works around the clock to educate, empower, build bridges and connect. Rebecca educates members of the Boston Jewish communit y ab out emerging global issues of Jewish concern. She leads informational meetings, manages taskforces, creates educational materials and launches platforms for engagement. Rebecca empowers members of the Jewish community to take action by providing venues for activism, such as online advocacy, petition campaigns and congressional outreach. She also mentors young leaders on how to market thoughtfully messaged projects and programs. Rebecca helps build bridges between the Boston Jewish community and religious and ethnic communities by developing creative, cultural and educational programming with colleagues and friends across many communities. She does all of this because global impact starts with an idea and the courage to share it with others.
Currently lives in: Brookline, MA, USA Website: www.ajcboston.org 215
Rebecca Stone Director of Community Engagement, Encounter This photo of a Balinese water temple that I visited last year, sums me up in two key ways: I have a cancer moon sign (and therefore am drawn to water) and I love Bali and go back every summer for R&R.
“Untitled”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rebecca Stone is the Director of Community Engagement for Encounter, an organization that fosters healing and conversation between Jews and Palestinians. Before joining Encounter’s team, Rebecca worked for three years in major gifts fundraising at American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Rebecca is a graduate of Yeshiva University (YU) and a recipient of the YU Presidential Fellowship where she engaged the modern Orthodox community in social justice activism and the Save Darfur movement. Rebecca served as Marketing Co-Chair of Limmud New York 2010 and is currently a member of the AJWS global circle steering committee. Rebecca has spent time volunteering with at-risk youth and teaching classes on spirituality at addiction rehab centers. She is certified as a Reiki practitioner and does shaking meditation and qi gong.
Encounter’s work targets the most influential Jewish leadership in Nor th America: philanthropists, rabbis and community leaders who are all at the forefront of Israel understanding. The goal is to create more informed, constructive, inclusive and solutionoriented Israel engagement in North America. Encounter brings leaders across the political spectrum, AIPAC and J Street supporters, American Friends of Likud and Americans for Peace Now lay leadership, anti-occupation activists and religious Zionist settlers, on trips to Palestinian cities in the West Bank to learn firsthand about Palestinian experience on the ground. When these leaders return home, Encounter works with them to reshape Israel engagement through education, philanthropy and more. In her role as Director of Community Engagement, Rebecca is responsible for fundraising, communications and visual branding, VIP trip recruitment and institutional diplomacy. Since starting one year ago, she has overseen Encounter’s website re-design, developed relationships with key Washington stakeholders, including key members of the Obama administration, helped to raise $200,000 and recruited some of the most influential leadership on trips.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.encounterprograms.org 217
Rebecca Zeffert Founder & Executive Director, Israel-Asia Center
Drawn by my calligraphy teacher, the Chinese reads: ‘Rebecca and YuSi are concentrating on calligraphy. This is their first time practicing together. Rebecca is really talented. However, she also realizes the difficulty of pursuing art.’
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rebecca Zeffert is the Founder and Executive Director of the Israel-Asia Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and furthering cooperation between Israel and Asia.
The Israel-Asia Center is dedicated to promoting understanding and furthering cooperation between Israel and Asia.
“Rebecca in Calligraphy Class” (YuSi: Shanghai. 2001)
Rebecca has more than a decade of media, public relations and public affairs experience in China, Japan, Israel and Britain. At APCO Worldwide, she worked on communications campaigns for heads of state in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Prior to that, she headed the Citizens’ Accord Forum’s international public relations department and since 2005, she has represented the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to the international media. Rebecca has provided PR consultancy to the OSCE, Maala and the Aoshima One World Festival in Japan. She also worked at Lonely Planet publications and the BBC World Service Chinese Section, where she co-produced and co-presented a series of programs in Chinese. Rebecca studied at Kansai Gaidai University, Tianjin Normal University and Shanghai Theater Academy and holds a B.A. in modern Chinese studies from the University of Leeds. Rebecca was a 2009 PresenTense Global Fellow and served on the 2010 PresenTense Global Fellowship Steering Committee. She also sits on the Board of Advisors of Capital Jewish Forum. In her spare time, she is a keen photographer.
Through their website and newsletters, they provide news, features and analysis on Israel-Asia and Jewish-Asia affairs. They cover economic, foreign policy and cultural issues for their readership of diplomats, government officials, business leaders, academics, nonprofit organizations and journalists. The organization also coordinates seminars, cultural events and panel discussions. They advise Israeli universities on Asian program development, facilitate Israel-Asia academic exchanges and provide the media with information and experts on Israel-Asia affairs. This year, the Israel-Asia Center will launch its Asian Leaders fellowship program designed to equip Asian students with the tools, contacts and support network necessary to build practical and strategic partnerships with Israel through their professional careers, thereby building a shared future between Israel and Asia. As Founder and Executive Director, Rebecca leads a global team of 30 volunteers in this exciting venture. In 2010, the Israel-Asia Center became PT Investments’ first portfolio venture.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.israelasiacenter.org 219
Regev Ben David
Governance & Public Policy Internship Program Coordinator, “New Spirit” Group Facilitator, “Gesher” Jewish Educational Projects
“Where I Come From” (2007)
My beloved parents, very different from one another, yet completing each other. I consider much of what I am to be taken from one of them, or from both, or by becoming a synthesis of them.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Regev Ben David is pursuing a joint B.A. degree in psychology and the interdisciplinary Amirim honors program at Hebrew University. After high school, Regev volunteered for a year of communal service with the Bnei Hamoshavim youth movement and afterwards served as an officer in the Intelligence corps of the IDF for six years. He participated in and later guided the Elul program at the Ein Prat Academy for Leadership. Regev currently coordinates the Governance and Public Policy Internship Program with New Spirit in Jerusalem. He is also a group facilitator at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, as well as at Gesher, where he focuses on educational projects involving Jewish and Israeli identity and religious/ secular dialogue. He works with Jerusalem City Council member Rachel Azaria on promoting pluralist Jewish institutes in Jerusalem and works as a research assistant with Dr. Micah Goodman from the Department of Jewish Philosophy at Hebrew University. Regev participated in a Jewish Thought seminar at Princeton University as well as in the Tikvah Political Leadership program at the IDC Herzliya. He won the Suss Scholarship for Academic Achievement. He lived in Belgium for three years and speaks fluent French.
Regev is involved in multiple programs that he believes to be significant for the Israeli-JewishZionist community, mostly in Jerusalem. The first is the New Spirit internship program aimed at strengthening the young adult population in Jerusalem by helping students obtain significant work experience. The core belief is that the future character of the city depends on its ability to create a strong pluralistic and productive young adult population as a counter-factor to extremist groups influencing the city’s character. Regev coordinates the Governance and Public Policy internship program, which reflects his belief that it is important to influence the political system both from the inside and from organizations that support the work of political institutes. Secondly, Regev is involved with various institutes operating in the area of pluralistic Jewish thought and education. This year, through his work with City Council member Rachel Azaria, he helped create a forum of over 20 organizations and communities operating in Jerusalem. In this way, he worked to spread the message of pluralistic approaches to Judaism to a wide range of organizations and people.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.new-spirit.org.il, www.gesher.co.il 221
Renna Khuner-Haber Bay Area Program Associate, Hazon
This photo is from the Summer 2008 when I participated in ADAMAH: the Jewish Environmental Fellowship. For the first time, I used a bike as a daily mode of transport and learned how to farm organically.
“Field of Dreams” ADAMAH Farm (Summer 2008)
BIOGRAPHY: Renna Khuner-Haber is the San Francisco Bay Area Program Associate for Hazon, North America’s largest Jewish environmental organization. In 2008, Renna participated in Adamah, a three-month environmental leadership fellowship, which inspired her to explore the wonders of fermentation and where she discovered her love for milking goats. A Bay Area native who spent five years in New York, she now resides in San Francisco, where she travels everywhere by bike and is an active member of the Mission Minyan, a vibrant independent minyan. Renna holds a B.A. in biological sciences from Barnard College and a B.A. in modern Jewish studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. In her spare time one might find her buying absurd amounts of produce at the farmers market, cooking up a storm and knitting stuffed vegetables.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Renna discovered that her deep interest in food sustainability systems could be woven into her strong commitment to Jewish practice and community while attending the 2007 Hazon Food Conference. In 2009, as a recent college graduate, she moved crosscountry from New York to establish Hazon’s first satellite office in San Francisco and to become Hazon’s Bay Area Program Associate. Since 2000, Hazon, North America’s largest
Jewish environmental organization, has been building sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond. Renna’s primary role at Hazon is lead coordinator of the Annual Hazon Food Conference. This national four-day event convenes food activists and growers, Jewish leaders and professionals, educators and change-agents and hundreds of other Jews who are passionate about their food choices and/or their Jewish identity to explore the dynamic interplay between food, Judaism and the environment. In this role, she works closely with a group of dedicated volunteers to plan the conference. In 2010, Renna was a lead staff person in organizing the inaugural Hazon California Bike Ride. Hazon’s annual California, New York, and Israel Rides transform people’s relationship to biking, their physical (and often spiritual) selves and the biking communities that Hazon helps foster across the country. Renna’s passion for biking, her strong commitment to supporting sustainable food systems and her deep involvement with Jewish communal life help further Hazon’s mission to inspire people to rethink their food, transportation and other everyday choices with both an environmental and Jewish lens.
Currently lives in: San Francisco, CA, USA Website: www.hazon.org, www.missionminyan.org 223
Rita Brudnik CEO & Co-Founder, Fishka Resource Developer & Project Leader A board game that was invented by a team of volunteers from our Russian Speaking community to tell the story of Passover in a way that is interesting even to those estranged from Jewish tradition and religion. Eventually, they used this board game during the Seder for as many as 50 young people.
“Playing Exodus 2010” Seder Peasch in the Fishka community (Tel Aviv)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rita Brudnik immigrated to Israel with her family 20 years ago from Latvia. She has a B.Ed. in youth advancement and special education from Beit Berl College and worked for five years in the public sector with youth-at-risk and immigrant youth advancement. Rita is a graduate of the Gvanim Olim leadership program run by Shiluv, which works to enhance pluralistic Jewish identity among immigrants from the former Soviet Union. She is also a graduate of the Secular Yeshiva’s postarmy program, a graduate of the Intercultural Navigators program of the British Council in Israel and a student at Alma Hebrew College. Rita is married and a mother to an infant son.
Rita is Co-Founder of Fishka, a communitybased organization made up of young Russian speakers in Israel. It provides members with support and guidance for the development of social, cultural and business skills and initiatives. Fishka’s mission is to maintain and expand its young Russian-speaking community through cultural and social engagement, all in the context of Jewish traditions and Israeli society. Fishka’s community is primarily comprised of young Russian-speaking adults who immigrated to Israel as children and teenagers from the former Soviet Union. Consequently, they are often dealing with complex questions regarding their identity; they are Soviet-born, Russian-speaking immigrants, Jewish and Israeli all at the same time. Fishka, therefore, helps them grapple with questions of how these different - and sometimes conflicting - identities merge within the multi-cultural, immigrant society of Israel. Fishka also helps them manifest these dual identities in constructive and useful ways, both for the individuals and for Israeli society.
Currently lives in: Holon, Israel
Fishka’s purpose is to deal with these questions systematically to provide constructive solutions and make the lives of its community members more purposeful, socially useful and personally rewarding. As a community-based learning organization, Fishka maintains and develops its own organizational structure by piloting new projects, providing on-going training for project leaders and holding regular executive board meetings. 225
Rochelle Shoretz Founder & Executive Director, Sharsheret Attorney
“Untitled” (South Africa. 2009)
I’m no photographer, but the strength of the sun in South Africa compelled me to capture this image. Yellow is my favorite color - happy, optimistic, life-affirming. And I appreciate the fact that you can never quite tell, from the photo alone, if the sun is rising or setting. It just IS.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Rochelle Shoretz, a two-time breast cancer survivor, founded Sharsheret to connect young Jewish women fighting breast cancer. She is a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women and in 1999 served as a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In 2001, following her own diagnosis at age 28, and while undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Rochelle founded Sharsheret, a national nonprofit organization providing support and resources for young Jewish women facing breast cancer. For her pioneering efforts she was named one of the Forward 50, a “Woman to Watch” by Jewish Woman Magazine and a Yoplait Champion in the Fight Against Breast Cancer. She is a Board member and graduate of the Joshua Venture Group, Bikkurim and the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program in Northern New Jersey. Rochelle is a graduate of the American Association of Cancer Research Scientist-Survivor Program and the Alamo Patient Advocate Program. She has served as a resource for major media, with appearances on the Today Show, CBS News, Fox News and in more than 100 articles. A single mother, Rochelle lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with her sons, Shlomo and Dovid.
Sharsheret, Hebrew for “chain,” is a national nonprofit organization supporting young Jewish women and their families facing breast cancer. Its mission is to offer a community of support to women diagnosed with breast cancer or at increased genetic risk by fostering culturally relevant, individualized connections with networks of peers, health professionals and resources. Sharsheret also offers a continuum of care for the Jewish community, including concerns of increased genetic risk for breast and ovarian cancer in families of Ashkenazi descent. Sharsheret women and families participate in 11 national programs. Since Sharsheret’s founding in 2001, they have responded to more than 23,000 breast cancer inquiries, involved more than 1,000 peer supporters, presented more than 200 educational programs and engaged more than 10,000 health care professionals, communit y leaders and students on campuses nationwide. Sharsheret was named a 2005 recipient of the New York State Innovation in Breast Cancer Early Detection and Research Award and was selected as a member of the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance.
Currently lives in: Teaneck, NJ, USA Website: www.sharsheret.org 227
I chose this photograph because it represents what has become of what I studied/ experienced while in Israel, studying Hebrew at two Kibbutzim. I currently work for Oracle India as a Hebrew Resource for Order Administration. This photograph was taken at the Oracle Annual Bash in Bangalore.
Roni Hyam Order Administration, Oracle India
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Roni Hyam lives in Pune, India, and at age 22, is the only Jewish male his age in a city of 4 million people with a Jewish community of fewer than 200 members. Sometimes he travels four hours to the JCC in Mumbai so that he can mingle with other Jews his age.
As the Hebrew Language Resource for Order Administration at Oracle India in Bangalore, Roni processes audit transactions, interacts with customers and generates reports.
“Oracle India Annual Bash” (Bangalore: India. 2011)
Roni has a bachelor’s in computer science from a college in Pune. After graduating, he lived on a kibbutz in Israel for a year to learn Hebrew. He loved his stay in Israel and even considered aliyah. Roni’s father, who made aliyah when he was 17, was in the Golani Brigade, one of the most admired infantry troops in Israel. He fought a few wars for Israel in Lebanon in the 70’s and spent 11 years in Israel before returning to India.
Previously, Roni volunteered for two years at the JCC in Mumbai, managing activities for the day and youth camps until he went to Israel for a year. He also volunteered for the Teach India Campaign where he taught computers, English and math to under-privileged children. In this way, Roni happily gave back to society in the way that he feels life has given to him.
In addition to visiting Israel on Taglit-Birthright in 2007, Roni staffed a Birthright group from India in 2009. He went on Birthright for a third time in 2009 while living in Israel, but this time he was part of a very special group that consisted of 11 alumni to celebrate Taglit’s tenyear anniversary. Today, Roni works at Oracle India in Bangalore where he’s the Hebrew Language Resource for Order Administration.
Currently lives in: Bangalore, India 229
Sacha Litman Managing Director & Founder, Measuring Success Principal & Founder, Jewish Journey Connector
Going through the mourning process over the past year for my father has been a deeply moving experience that has led me to examine life with a lens of gratitude for all of the blessings I’ve received. I am also grateful for the Jewish mourning traditions that have helped me through the process.
“Grave Marker” (Paramus: New Jersey. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sacha Litman grew up in New York City but spent several years in Israel, Boston, Chicago and France. Through the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Sacha earned an M.B.A. with highest distinction from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and an M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School. He received a B.S. in applied mathematics, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University. Sacha is the Founder and Managing Director of Measuring Success, a firm that combines quantitative tools, advanced analytics and training to help nonprofit organizations. Sacha started his career working for McKinsey & Company and Credit Suisse First Boston and he was the Director of Strategy for Hillel International. Sacha spent three years living in Israel, through the Dorot Fellowship program where he studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, at Hebrew University and on consulting work with McKinsey. He loves leading a highly active life. If you catch him at the right time, he might demonstrate for you his stupid human trick (but you’ll have to provide him with a full bottle of water or wine).
Sacha was honored to win a Jewish New Media Innovation Fund award for the Jewish Journey Connector Project. The Connector will enable Jews to navigate their own Jewish journey. The Connector will be an intelligent database with a predictive modeling algorithm that creates comprehensive profiles of individuals, like Amazon or Netflix, aggregating individuals’ background, past Jewish institutional connections, expressed interests and life stage. These profiles will be used to link young adult Jews to Jewish opportunities and experiences that match their interests and needs. The Connector will create a unified approach for maximizing each individual’s Jewish journey and will create ‘stickiness’ in each Jew’s identity development. Jewish organizations will advertise their programs through the Jewish Journey Connector, targeting their potential audience far more effectively. The Connector will be permission based; only organizations that an individual has authorized may contact them directly. Through Measuring Success, Sacha has also created the “Peer Yardstick,” a performance measurement methodology and tool for nonprofits to measure their effectiveness and shift from anecdotal to data-driven decisionmaking. The Peer Yardstick is currently in place with the Federation system, Synagogues, JCC system, Jewish Day School system (through PEJE), Hillel and the Joint Distribution Committee.
Currently lives in: Washington, DC, USA Website: www.measuring-success.com, www.measuring-success.com/jewishjourneyconnector
231
Sam (Bodi) Bodenheimer Founder & CEO, Spicerack Music Group Founder & Director, Bsamim Productions
Forward moving, open ended, multi-dimensional logo representing an initiative whose mission is to inspire, entertain and connect people through multi-sensory experiences of culture and creativity.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sam Bodenheimer is an entertainment industry entrepreneur, accomplished musician, community organizer and social activist. He is the Founder/CEO of Spicerack Music Group, whose performance division is a leading music and entertainment provider for weddings, corporate functions and special events. Known as “Bodi” in the music world, he has toured North America, Europe and the Middle East as a singer/songwriter, bandleader of Bsamim, cantor and guest speaker. He has produced and composed for a variety of film, sports, television and advertising productions, as well as several internationally popular albums.
Sam utilizes entertainment, media and live events as a means to facilitate bridge building between different cultures and to create a forum for dialogue. Spicerack events focus on Israel’s cultural richness and diversity, to showcase the true Israel often ignored by the mainstream media. Each event or production raises funds and awareness for a carefully selected, relevant Jewish charity.
“Spicerack Logo”
Sam founded Project Tesfa to help provide food and education for Ethiopian Jewish children. He is currently developing and collaborating on several initiatives for crosscultural dialogue and social action through live entertainment events and media productions. He is a frequent speaker on the music industry, social action through entertainment and next generation Jewish activism. He is a proud member of both the JNF Speaker’s Bureau and the AJC Access Board of Trustees. Sam received his JD/MBA from Fordham University and resides in New York City.
Sam anticipates that Spicerack will be an internationally recognized social action entertainment brand, serving as the nexus between media/entertainment and social action/philanthropy. It will function as the entertainment hub for young Jews and their counterparts to positively collaborate and connect with each other and the community.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.bsamim.com, www.spicerackmusic.com 233
This picture takes place during my visit to Bogotรก, Colombia, for the opening of the Shoah Exhibition we exported from Uruguay. This was one of the greatest moments for me, to work on this important project.
Samuel Dresel Director, Information Technology Hardware Company Executive Director & Creator, Shoah Project Latin American
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Samuel Dresel is 35 years old and and lives in Montevideo, Uruguay. For nearly ten years he worked in the information technology field before devoting himself to working for the Jewish community. In this capacity, he worked as a coordinator for young university graduates. After Hillel opened in Uruguay, Samuel created and ran programs and served as President of the Union of Academics. He also represented Hillel at different international conferences.
The Shoah Project was conceived by three young people with the support of the Uruguayan government. An interdisciplinary team of professionals worked hard to get it off the ground. The first stage of the exhibition, launched in 2008-2009, drew 50,000 visitors in Montevideo. It created much buzz in the media.
Samuel was Executive Director of the Jewish Community German in Uruguay. Currently, he is a member of the organizing committee for the launch of New Generations of CJL (Latin American Jewish Congress) in Uruguay.
“Untitled”
He is also creator and Executive Director of the Shoah Project, which received governmental and academic support. Launched in 2008 in Uruguay, the Project traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2010 and to Bogota, Colombia, in 2011. It will continue on to Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Brasilia in Brazil, Cali and Medellin in Colombia and San Jose in Costa Rica.
Last year, Project Shoah opened in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and drew 35,000 visitors. The exhibit was held in the SESC Pompeia, one of the most important cultural centers in the city. In 2011, the exhibit opened in Bogotá, Colombia, at the Modern Art Museum of Bogotá. The President of Colombia attended the inauguration. The exhibition was open to the public, with particular outreach to high school and university students. This enterprise was a major challenge for the Uruguayan community and was accomplished in large measure due to the persistence of young activists. Project Shoah is innovative in the way it has taken Holocaust education across Latin America. It also set a precedent in terms of working cooperatively with the governement. The ultimate goal is to use this as a tool to increase tolerance, respect for differences and healthy coexistence.
Currently lives in: Montevideo, Uruguay Website: www.proyectoshoa.org, www.urunotebook.com 235
This is me in the archipelago of Stockholm last summer. I love going out in nature with my kayak. If you ever come to Sweden, don´t miss the opportunity.
Samuel SjĂśblom CEO, Fanzingo
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Samuel Sjöblom is a Jewish innovator and social entrepreneur based in Stockholm, Sweden. He is currently the CEO of Fanzingo, a major independent media house that uses new media as a tool for social change. His main mission in life is to use innovative and entrepreneurial strategies to foster positive social change.
Samuel is the CEO of Fanzingo, an independent media house situated in Alby, a suburb 45 minutes outside of Stockholm with a large population of immigrants. Fanzingo aims to be the best media incubator in the world, a place where young people from disadvantaged urban areas can discover the power of telling their own personal stories through creative writing, film and radio.
Samuel graduated from the Kaospilot University in Denmark in 2005. This very unique and competitive program focuses on developing entrepreneurs and value-based leaders to solve some of the world’s most pressing social problems.
“Saying Hello to the Baltic Sea”
Samuel’s family and his Jewish Swedish roots are very important to him. He has spent a lot of time living and working in South America and is currently running a hostel in Buenos Aires with Argentinean friends. Samuel likes to dance the tango and he meditates every morning.
Such a media house is crucial in Sweden where more and more young people, especially immigrants, feel excluded from the social debate, Swedish society and the media. This segregation creates frustration and social divisions. Fanzingo believes that a major cause of this exclusion is due to lack of access to digital technology. By giving young people access to and instruction for how to use cameras, computers and editing equipment, and by reminding them that their voices are important and that their stories have value, Fanzingo encourages the next generation to broadcast themselves in the established media channels and thereby contribute to the integration process in the society in which they live.
Currently lives in: Stockholm, Sweden Website: www.fanzingo.se 237
Sarah Glidden Cartoonist, “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less”
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sarah Glidden’s first full-length graphic memoir, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, was recently published. The book follows her participatation in a Taglit-Birthright Israel tour as she grapples with her relationship with Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The book has been well received and was included in both Publishers Weekly and Entertainment Weekly’s “Best of 2010” lists. Sarah lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Sarah uses comics to talk about the issues that are important to her. Comics, as a medium, give people who wouldn’t normally be interested in political subject matter a safe way to enter into the topic. She feels that many people who might turn away from yet another book about Israel might be willing to take a chance on a comic book. The way she sees it, her book, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, is not meant to be a textbook, but rather a record of her own emotional struggles and she hopes it will inspire readers to get engaged in a variety of ways.
A panel from the comic book memoir, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.
Currently, Sarah is working on a new project, a non-fiction comic book about journalists reporting on Iraqi refugees. With this book she hopes to show American readers a very human side of the war in Iraq.
“Katzrin” (2010)
Her work is innovative because instead of focusing on the historical facts and faces behind an issue in current events, comics allow readers to connect with the people behind the stories. By making the news “come to life” she hopes that people will reframe the way they look at the world around them.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.smallnoises.com 239
Sarah Indyk Jewish Life Initiatives Manager, Rose Community Foundation
This was just one of those perfect Colorado summer days in the mountains.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sarah Indyk works at the Rose Community Foundation in Denver, Colorado, in the Jewish Life program area. The Foundation makes grants and creates innovative initiatives to help Jewish people connect to Jewish life. Sarah learns something new every day and she loves her work.
Rose Community Foundation funds in five areas including Jewish life. Each year they direct about $2.5 million to organizations serving local Jewish communities, specifically programs and projects that create new connections between Jewish people and Jewish life, build organizational strength and foster leadership.
For fun, she cooks, eats, reads, and does things outside like skiing, running, biking and hiking. She is also an acupuncturist, a hobby that fascinates her and gives her a chance to make a tangible, positive difference.
Sarah spends most of her time running three Jewish Life Foundation initiatives. The ultimate goal of each one is to offer younger generations of Jewish people accessible, meaningful and relevant ways to connect to Jewish life.
Sarah grew up mostly in Washington, D.C., but she lived in Israel for two years in high school and found that to be one of the most meaningful experiences she has had.
Two of these initiatives are volunteer grantmaking teams. Rose Youth Foundation is a group of 23 Jewish high school students from Denver/Boulder. Roots & Branches Foundation is for Jewish young adults ages 25 to 40. Both groups explore Jewish teachings around giving and strategic philanthropy and are responsible for making grants totaling $60,000 to help solve community problems they identify. Sarah learns a lot from these groups about what it means to give Jewishly and how ancient Jewish teachings can inform doing good in the world today. Rose Youth Foundation was featured in Slingshot 2010/11 as one of North America’s 50 most innovative Jewish organizations.
“The Rockies” (2009)
She graduated from Yale in 2003 with a B.A. in American studies and graduated from the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture in 2009. Between college and acupuncture school, she participated in Teach For America in New York.
The third initiative she runs is MazelTot, an innovative approach to Jewishly engage families and make it easier for them to explore and afford Jewish opportunities.
Currently lives in: Denver, CO, USA Website: www.mazeltot.org, www.rcfdenver.org 241
Sarah Pumroy Communications Associate, Birthright Israel NEXT
“A Spiritual Place” Boundary Waters (Northern Minnesota. August 2010)
This is me on a camping trip in the Boundary Waters, a region of protected wilderness in northern Minnesota. My love for and connection to the natural world is an important part of my identity.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sarah Pumroy hails from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and moved to Brooklyn, NY, in 2008 to escape the brutal winters and launch a career in communications. Sarah has always loved writing, editing and the Jewish people, so she jumped at the opportunity to combine these passions by working at Birthright Israel NEXT.
The Birthright Israel trip has existed for over ten years, but the follow-up organization, Birthright Israel NEXT is only three years old. Its goal is to encourage Birthright Israel alumni to participate in the broader Jewish community once they return home from their trip. No other Jewish organization is attempting broad community engagement for post-college Jewish adults on such a large scale.
Since 2008, she has had the exciting opportunity to work in the Birthright Israel NEXT national office where she is responsible for crafting and dispelling communication to 200,000 Birthright Israel alumni across North America. She is also a writer and editor for Alef, the Birthright Israel NEXT webzine on Jewish identity. Sarah adores living in Brooklyn, has a love/hate relationship with New York City’s mass transit system, is a foodie, can play a few tunes on the harmonica and hopes to spend some time living and working on a kibbutz someday.
In her role, Sarah crafts and deploys email messaging that aims to ignite Birthright Israel alumni to join the Jewish community. A large part of her work is supporting NEXT’s 13 local chapters with regular email communication on events and opportunities. When people think of community-building, they often think of inperson, one-on-one interactions, not email. But Sarah uses email, full of images and personal stories from participants and volunteers, to ignite those experiences. When someone first gets home from Birthright, they get a personalized, friendly “Welcome Back” email that comes from the local NEXT staff on the ground inviting them out for a cup of coffee. Email sparks that initial in-person interaction that leads to greater community building. Sarah has significantly boosted Birthright’s email open and action rates, raising the open rates as high as 65%. Such a boost in open rates can mean tens of thousands of more people who decide to take action.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.birthrightisraelnext.org, www.alefmag.com
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Here I am at the 18,000 foot summit of Kala Patthar with Mt. Everest over my shoulder. This photo represents not only a special memory, but many things I value: nature, international travel, fun, challenge and adventure.
Sarah Schonberg Director, Friends & Alumni Network, BBYO, Inc.
“On the Way to Everest Base Camp” Mt. Kala Patthar (Khumbu: Nepal)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sarah Schonberg is the Director of BBYO’s Friends & Alumni Network (FAN). Her professional passion is helping communities achieve their goals by organizing people, training leaders and raising funds. Sarah led the creation of BBYO’s Friends & Alumni Network to connect BBYO with its 250,000+ alumni and other supporters. In building FAN, Sarah works to ensure the long-term sustainability of BBYO.
Sarah helps communities achieve their goals by organizing people, training leaders and raising funds. When she took the job, she was charged with finding a way to connect with BBYO’s 250,000+ alumni. After immersing herself in various BBYO communities across North America, she learned that communities were concerned about the long-term sustainability of BBYO programs. To that end, she led the creation of BBYO’s Friends & Alumni Network (FAN), now the local grassroots network that supports BBYO’s 35 regions. Through FAN, alumni, parents and others can support, advocate and volunteer in order to ensure that Jewish youth have access to BBYO’s meaningful Jewish experiences.
After serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, Sarah was excited to bring her organizing and fundraising skills to a more familiar community. While in the Peace Corps, Sarah promoted health by working in rural schools teaching students, training teachers, organizing adults, raising funds and managing infrastructure projects. In May 2011, Sarah completed her MBA from Indiana University and received a certificate in informal Jewish education from Hebrew College. Sarah graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in political theory from Michigan State University, where she was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. While at MSU, Sarah studied in Nepal and Mexico. She has traveled extensively, loves the outdoors and is deeply committed to her yoga practice.
Currently lives in: Washington, DC, USA Website: www.fan.bbyo.org, www.bbyo.org
In FAN’s two and half years, Sarah and her team raised $848,000 in FY09, $1,270,000 in FY10 and are on track to raise $1,600,000 in FY11. Sarah’s work takes a holistic approach to development. BBYO donors are individuals, not checkbooks. This seemingly subtle distinction has a profound effect on BBYO and the community. Sarah connects individuals to BBYO in three ways: as donors, advocates and volunteers. Individuals who engage on all three levels become the most passionate and dedicated supporters.
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This is Paris. My city and the city where I was born. Intensity, Energy, Rhythm, Fire, Lights, Passion, Intuition, Spirituality - all the feelings and qualities I have inside of me and need to express.
Sarah Simha Benkemoun Certified Public Accountant Member, Limmud France
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sarah Simha Benkemoun turned 26 in March 2011 and lives in Paris, France. She graduated from the University of Paris-Dauphine where she studied accounting and finance. For the past two years she has been working for the international PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Sarah is especially inspired by Limmud France, as she considers it to be one of the best organizations ever created. She feels that unlike in America and England, it is uncommon in France for Jews from different religious backgrounds and denominations to come together. That Limmud does so is a small “revolution” in itself.
Sarah divides her time between working as a certified public accountant and her involvement in French Jewish life. She is a volunteer in the Limmud France team and a member of the Limmud board. She was also in charge of fundraising and scheduling for the March 2011 conference. Sarah loves music and the arts, especially movies, and had the opportunity to participate in the French Cannes Festival in 2007. She defines herself as modern Orthodox and she has studied in Neve Yerushalayim, an ultra-Orthodox seminary for women in Jerusalem. She has spent time in different American Jewish communities, including the Chabad community in Brooklyn and a liberal community in Manhattan.
For her work with Limmud, Sarah organizes fundraising initiatives for French Jewish institutions, such as the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah directed by David de Rothschild. She is also in charge of the schedule for the upcoming conference in March 2011. Her future goals include organizing Torah classes for French Jews of all backgrounds.
“Fireworks in Paris”
While she loves France, she hopes to one day make Israel her home.
Currently lives in: Paris, France 247
Shawn Landres Co-founder & CEO, Jumpstart
“Photo of poster of Berlin Wall mural from the Sigfried Rischar series, Überwindung der Mauer durch Bemalung der Mauer.” (West Berlin. 1985)
I bought the poster near Checkpoint Charlie in March 1990. This photo incorporating my own reflected hands - embodies the formative influence of the 1989 Revolutions on my personal, professional, spiritual and familial journey.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Shawn Landres is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jumpstart. Under his and Co-Founder Joshua Avedon’s leadership, Jumpstart has changed the global conversation about Jewish innovation and social entrepreneurship. Shawn’s interest in social entrepreneurship dates back to his 1993 service as a White House Intern for Vice President Gore’s Reinventing Government initiative. In 2009, Shawn was named one of the Forward 50, where he was described as “an essential thinker in explaining the new Jewish spirituality and culture.”
Shawn and Joshua Avedon co-founded Jumpstart because they wanted to make 21st-century Jewish life accessible, adaptable, diverse and significant, not only for its own sake but for the sake of humanity and the world. Jumpstart inspires resource providers — those who invest time, expertise and money into Jewish life — to become changemakers by equipping them with information, interaction and infrastructure to create meaningful Jewish opportunities and significant Jewish responses to global challenges. Their core challenge is to shift the Jewish communal paradigm from survival and preservation to significance and impact.
Shawn earned his footnote in history in 199192 when he suggested what became Bill Clinton’s campaign theme song, Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow).” A member of the first national cohort (2007) of the Selah Leadership Program, an inuaugural Ariane de Rothschild Fellow (2009) and an international Nahum Goldmann Fellow (2010), Shawn serves on the Board of Directors of Keshet (having previously chaired the advisory board of Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity), the Sh’ma Advisory Committee and numerous national and local advisory boards for Jewish and interreligious initiatives. Shawn and his wife, Zuzana Riemer Landres, live in Southern California with their two young daughters.
The impact of their work is visible in the continued and new funding that is flowing to Jewish innovators as a result of their research and advocacy, in the relationships created among both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Beyond Jumpstart, Shawn’s advocacy work is focused on encouraging people not to fear knowledge of the other: interreligious affairs, especially evangelical-Jewish and Muslim-Jewish relations and advancing the welcoming and inclusion of all Jewish families, whatever their form.
Currently lives in: Santa Monica, CA, USA Website: www.jewishjumpstart.org 249
Shelby Zitelman
Venture Resources Coordinator, PresenTense
Although currently a city-chick, I find a tremendous amount of inspiration from nature personally, professionally and spiritually. And in this picture, specifically, I love the implications of the road that leads to an uncertain horizon.
“The Road Ahead” Somewhere between Tahoe and Vegas (2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Shelby Zitelman joined PresenTense in 2010 after spending a year in Israel studying at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and working for a joint M.B.A. program between the University of Maryland Entrepreneurship Center and the Technion. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where she studied entrepreneurial management at the Wharton School. While pursuing this degree, she worked as an analyst at two early-stage venture capital funds in Philadelphia and lived in the Moishe House Philadelphia.
Shelby is part of an innovative R&D engine. As Venture Resources Coordinator of PresenTense, she is responsible for developing new programs and methodologies to better equip their Community Entrepreneurs with the resources, tools and connections they need upon completion of the various PresenTense Fellowships. Since taking this position in September, she has begun to execute PT Investments, a venture philanthropy fund fueled by both time and money, has started compiling a comprehensive database of resources and opportunities for their Fellows and has started working on a volunteer engagement strategy.
Shelby is excited to have the opportunity to pursue her passion for start-up consulting and social entrepreneurship as the Venture Resources Coordinator for PresenTense and as coordinator of the PresenTense NYC Fellowship. Shelby enjoys yoga, NCAA basketball, reading her RSS feeds, working out of coffee shops, traveling, pairing cheese, chocolate, wine and micro-brews, exploring Philadelphia BYO’s, checking out sustainable design, listening to hip hop and biking. She is a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters and an avid fan of all things entrepreneurial.
Shelby feels blessed to have the opportunity to build and implement the first-ever NYC PresenTense Fellowship program. She has also been heavily involved with the vision of the SocialStart Training program – identifying and training individuals to teach the PresenTense workshops to various constituencies in the future. PresenTense’s goals are to foster an innovative Jewish community that works to find the solutions to our most pressing problems and Shelby truly believes that her work at the organization enables those involved with the program to realize their collective potential.
Currently lives in: Philadelphia, PA, USA Website: www.presentenseinvestments.com, www.nycfellowship.com, www.presentenseschool.org 251
Music transcends backgrounds and has the power to create community and inspire, educate and engage simultaneously and instantaneously. Here’s one way I am trying to help set new standards for exciting and relevant Jewish experiences.
Sheldon Low Artist & Educator, Jewish Rock Records Artist-in-Residence, Barnert Temple of Franklin Lakes, NJ
“Positive Jewish Experience” Emtza USY Kinnus (Des Moines: IA. 2006)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sheldon Low is the newest face on the Jewish music scene. He performs rock concerts, “Light Up Shabbat” services and workshops and he leads artist-in-residency weekends in Jewish communities throughout the USA. Low has a strong appeal to youth and family audiences, not only as a musician and entertainer, but most importantly, as a Jewish educator and role model.
As a recording artist on Jewish Rock Records, Sheldon builds Jewish identity using a combination of recorded music, live performances, workshops and mentoring to educate and excite people about Judaism. He employs a variety of methods and technologies such as advancing CD’s, sheet music and invitations for members of the community to become part of the performance and he uses social networking to develop relationships and create an impact.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Low is a third generation songleader who developed a strong Jewish identit y at Solomon Schechter Day School, Camp Ben Frankel, USY and his synagogue, BSKI. In high school, Low was fortunate to meet and be mentored by Jewish artist and CEO of Jewish Rock Records, Rick Recht. Low earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Tufts University. Shortly after starting work as an engineer, Low was signed to Jewish Rock Records and to date has released four albums. He is a faculty member of the Songleader Bootcamp and is the Continuity/Artist Relations Director at Jewish Rock Radio. Low is also the Artist in Residence at Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, where he uses Jewish music to inspire, build identity and educate the entire congregation.
Sheldon is also on the faculty of Songleader Boot Camp, an intense Jewish Songleading immersion program training clergy, educators and songleaders from across the USA and Israel. Additionally, Sheldon is on the faculty of several teen leadership programs around the country called “Teen Teams” where he trains select groups of teens to be Jewish music educators and leaders and helps them establish sustainable Jewish music cultures in their communities. Lastly, as the Artist Relations/Continuity Director of Jewish Rock Radio, Sheldon is part of a team that created the first ever, high caliber 24/7 Jewish rock radio station.
Currently lives in: New York, NY, USA Website: www.sheldonlow.com, www.jewishrockradio.com, www.songleaderbootcamp.com 253
‘By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest’ (Confucius). My ship on the first night of operation ‘Cast Lead.’
Shimon Levy Captain, Israeli Defense Forces Navy Projects Manager & Professional Instructor, Israel Shipyards
“Quiet Before the Storm� Mediterranean Sea (2008)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Shimon Levy was born in 1985 in Israel. After living with his family in Nepal and Australia, he returned to Israel to finish his Bagrut (matriculation exams) and enlisted in the IDF Naval Academy. In 2004, he was elected Cadet Brigade Commander and in 2006 he graduated with honors. Shimon was an officer on an Israeli Navy missile ship during the second Lebanon War. After six months as a Deputy Commander of a combat ship, he joined the Advanced Naval Academy where he finished his B.A. in business management and political science with honors. He then returned as a naval ship Commander where he participated in Operation Cast Lead. In 2009, Shimon was promoted to the rank of Naval Lieutenant and was elected to be a Flotilla Commander of seven ships, 90 soldiers and ten officers at the young age of 23.
Growing up with two amazing parents who are both educators, Shimon was taught the value of helping others and social activism. As a youth he was a counselor for troubled teens, worked in after-school programs for less fortunate children and distributed food for the disadvantaged on Jewish holidays. Only when he joined the army did he realize the responsibility he would have as a commander in charge of young soldiers.
In September 2010, Shimon was named foreign liaison at the Ashdod naval base where he was responsible for major projects, press and outreach. He is currently on leave from the navy and preparing to study full-time for his M.B.A. in the USA.
Israeli teens are forced to mature at a young age and are placed in morally charged situations as combat soldiers when their peers overseas are in college. Shimon took it upon himself to educate the young soldiers under him that they are serving not only their country but the world Jewish community. Shimon was instrumental in sending over 200 IDF soldiers to participate in Taglit-Birthright. By placing them in a program made up of young Jews from around the world, they not only forged lasting friendships, but gained insight into cultural differences and perceptions.
Currently lives in: Ganie-Tikva, Israel Website: www.navy.idf.il/navy, www.israel-shipyards.com 255
This picture represents me and my family who were all born and raised in Jerusalem. It is my major achievement and my motivation in my position in the Yerushalmim movement.
Shira Katz-Vinkler Young Families Coordinator, Yerushalmim Movement Social Worker
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Shira Katz Vinkler is a certified social worker and proud mother of three sons.
Over the last decade much has been done to retain young residents in Jerusalem, but most of the efforts targeted students and others aged 20-30, neglecting an entire demographic of young working families. Yerushlamim decided to tackle the issue by bringing it to the public agenda and taking action to improve the quality of life for its young families. In this vein, the Young Families Group (YFG) was formed. As its coordinator, Shira leads activities and works with a group of dedicated volunteers, all parents to young children.
“Me & My Family” Children’s museum. (New York: New York. 2009)
Upon completing her IDF service in an intelligence unit, Shira left her hometown of Tel Aviv to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has worked as a social worker in various positions and has developed an expertise working with at-risk children. Recently, Shira became involved with the Yerushalmim Movement, which aims to strengthen Jerusalem as a pluralistic and inclusive city. Run by a community of religious and secular volunteers, Yerushalmim believes that Jerusalem should not only be a capital city, but also a place where its residents can live, work and raise their families. Today, Shira leads the young families division of the organization. Shira’s hope is that Jerusalem will be an attractive and viable option for her children to choose to live when they grow up.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.yerushalmim.org
The YFG strives to strengthen families’ sense of belonging and creates a base of action by building communities around the city. To achieve this they partner with various organizations. One of the group’s most notable activities is Berale, a series of weekend happenings for young families created in response to a concern voiced by young families about the lack of cultural and recreational activities available on Shabbat. A pilot series successfully launched last summer and a winter series followed, attracting over 1,500 people. The events strengthened the sense of community among its participants. Currently, Shira is leading the development of Berale’s next phase. Shira believes that the group’s true achievement is the community of activists it has formed that is committed to influencing the municipal agenda. She is inspired every day by this community. 257
This is a one-man show that I scripted and where I play the ‘one man!’ Performances have been staged across Israel over the last five years. The combination of writing and acting are a satisfying medium for sharing self-expression.
Shmuel Beru Producer, Zeyt Production Director, Events Production
BIOGRAPHY: At the age of 8, Shmuel Beru walked across the Sudanese desert to immigrate to Israel. Over the last few years, Shmuel has begun making waves across seas of communities and styles. He is bringing humor, entertainment and unique cultural flavors to his peers and to audiences both young and old. Shmuel studied political science and theater at Haifa University. After a few stints at the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv and at the IDF Theater, Shmuel discovered he has a knack for acting.
“Taking the Stage”
Shmuel, however, sought out more than the satisfaction of appearing on stage and perfecting the performance of rehearsed words. His creative spirit and his bold, uncanny sense of humor continued to burn deep within. Following his heart and allowing seemingly distant dreams to crystallize, Shmuel began to write. He produced a script that led to his prize-winning film, Zrubavel, which was also his directorial debut. The Haifa International Film Festival awarded the film Best Drama in 2008 and in Sicily, Zrubavel claimed the Special Jury Prize at the Taormina Film Festival.
Shmuel continues to write, direct and act. He performs in Hebrew and Amharic and he has performed his one-man show, Milah Shel Etyopi, on stages across Israel. In addition to film and theater, Shmuel is also a stand-up comedian at various locations and events, including the ones he co-organizes with his business partner and good friend, Fanta Prada.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Shmuel is currently working on a new documentary film for Israeli television Channel 1. He is also busy with a DVD he is producing, a sitcom style Amharic comedy. Shmuel has no trouble integrating humor into his conversations, film productions and stage performances. Comedy comes naturally to him and through it he seeks to share a rich Ethiopian culture with a broad audience. To do this, Shmuel and Fanta Prada combine their energy and time to organize events that are growing in popularity. Some of their big events have attracted hundreds of people. They bring comedy and upbeat music to ‘mixed’ audiences – people from different communities, backgrounds and ages.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel 259
As my deceased father requested, I am protecting the Gate of Jerusalem as an Israeli policeman. This means a lot to me to learn to be a leader with the Israeli police force and to protect the Gate of Jerusalem!
Shmuel Legesse M.A. Student, Hebrew University Executive Director, DIUN
“Keep it Safe: the Gate of Jerusalem� Kikar Sefra (Jerusalem)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Shmuel Legesse was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he attended local elementary and high school. He has three older brothers and one younger sister. After completing high school, he traveled to the USA and volunteered for two years with an organization that outreaches to homeless and street youth in New York City. He returned to Ethiopia to attend Ethiopia International College and completed his B.A. in religion and communities.
Shmuel considers himself a Zionist social justice activist. He is the Founder and Director of Ze Efshari, Hebrew for The Possible International. Programs include a Jewish summer day camp for youth ages 13-22 from low-income Israeli families, which Shmuel runs and also acts as parent educator. All of his programs place Jerusalem and the Torah as the center of Jewish values for the 21st century.
After graduation, Shmuel returned to New York and worked as a social worker for the Administration for Children and Family Services. In 2005, Shmuel became certified as an alcohol and substance abuse counselor. Zionism drew him to Israel and in 2008 he made aliyah. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in the Community Leadership and Philanthropy program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In the future, he hopes to become a community activist and mentor young leaders and assist families in need, particularly in the Ethiopian community.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.diunproject.org, www.maromamlat.org, www.jovenesporlapaz.org 261
This photo shows Naomi and Rachelle, who have learning disabilities, as proud, knowledgeable, passionate and active Jews. Building a more inclusive British Jewish community drives both my professional work and my involvement with Limmud.
Shoshana Bloom Jewish Cultural Manager, Norwood Conference Chair, Limmud 2011
“A Jewish Community for All” (September 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Shoshana Bloom is head of Jewish culture for Norwood, a leading Jewish charity that supports the field of learning disabilities and children and families in need. In this role, Shoshana works on creating innovative, informal education programs and projects for children and adults. She also works with other Jewish communal organizations to develop their accessibility and approach towards the learning disabled.
As a Jewish charity, Norwood originally focused on practical Judaism, such as keeping kosher and Shabbat observance. In 2010, when they recruited Shoshana to oversee Jewish cultural initiatives, she broadened their scope to include empowering children and adults with learning disabilities to explore and celebrate their Jewish identities. The informal education programs she launched include Hebrew language instruction, creating Judaica for the home, twinning programs, learning how to make Shabbat on one’s own, participating in Mitzvah Day and more. She has also created resources, including writing a hagaddah for Passover.
A political science and modern history graduate, Shoshana has more than 12 years’ experience in the third sector with a particular focus on cultural identity, the impact and lessons of genocide and vulnerable children and adults. She is passionate about building a fairer society, particularly for the marginalized. Shoshana’s career in the Jewish community includes fundraising, campaigning and informal education, while her volunteer work includes mentoring, volunteer development and co-chairing the 2005 Limmud Conference, an international five-day Jewish educational and cultural event. She has also been a delegate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and is a graduate of the Adam Science Foundation Leadership Program. Shoshana is Co-Chair of the 2011 Limmud Conference in the UK.
Shoshana aims to give those with learning disabilities access to activities across the community. She advises The Judith Trust on their Inclusion Campaign and has successfully worked with synagogues and other communal organisations to welcome those with learning disabilities and mental health issues. A highlight this fall was her initiation of a Birthright Israel trip for adults with learning disabilities. For the second time, Shoshana will chair the Limmud Conference in the UK. 2011 marks the first Limmud event in the world with a track designed specifically for adults with learning disabilities, as well as their participation in the wider conference as presenters and volunteers.
Currently lives in: London, UK Website: www.norwood.org.uk, www.limmud.org 263
Simon Carpman Entrepeneur & Engineer, VivĂ Conectado
My grandfather’s story in Poland, my link with Israel, shwarma at the local community, organizing TEDx Rosario, pedal powered generator constructed by my NGO, launching a non-profit entrepreneurship, sailing, my link with nature.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Simon Carpman is a mechanical engineer from Argentina’s second largest city. An outdoorsman, he likes to bike and sail. After completing his studies at a Jewish high school, Simon spent a year in Israel where he improved his Hebrew, learned how to be a leader, volunteered, lived on a kibbutz and traveled “from Metula to Eilat.” After returning to Argentina, he worked as a Jewish youth counselor for three years, serving as Director of the Jewish youth center in Rosario and representing the Argentinean Zionist youth at the World Zionist Congress in 2006.
For the last few years, Simon has been a young leader in the Jewish community of Rosario, his work ranging from leading the youth movement to the founding of the city’s only Jewish group for university students (Beit Scopus Rosario), and more.
Simon is passionate about being an entrepreneur and excited about having founded an enviromentalist NGO. In the for-profit world, he created Vivi Conectado, a company that designs and installs rapid cellphone battery chargers in public spaces across Argentina.
“Collage”
Simon dreams about pushing the barriers between the for-profit and the nonprofit entrepreneurial realm since both embody the desire to make a better world through innovation. He also wants to bike the whole shvil Israel before turning 30!
In 2007 and 2008, he led a group of 150 volunteers who ran the Israel booth at the Community Fair, a ten-day cultural event that drew over one million attendees. He also trained the next cohort of young leaders to continue running the fairs, thus aplying one of the pillars of his work: to assure the sustainability of all his projects. In 2009, while still a student, he founded STS Rosario along with fellow ROIer Gabriel Weitz. STS Rosario is an NGO that tackles issues of renewable energy sources and sustainable transport. Many of the STS Rosario projects were inspired by things Simon saw on his trips to Israel, such as the “Pedal Power fueled concert” and the solar energy water heating devices for impoverished neighborhoods. Currently, Simon is working on a project to “green” the Jewish institutions of Argentina, combining the growing awareness about the enviroment among the youth with the social justice legacy of the Jewish tradition.
Currently lives in: Rosario, Argentina Website: www.viviconectado.com.ar, www.stsrosario.com.ar 265
Stephen Shashoua Director, Three Faiths Forum
BIOGRAPHY: Born in Canada and of Iraqi Jewish descent, Stephen Shashoua has lived in London for the past seven years. With a professional background in education, he joined the Three Faiths Forum in 2004 and has been its Director since 2008. Under Stephen’s leadership, the organization has become one of England’s largest interfaith organizations. He initiated the Forum’s award-winning programs targeting schools, university students and young professionals. Through his work on the ground, his writing and lectures, Stephen continues to promote cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue.
INNOVATIVE WORK: “The Future?” (London. 2010)
Muslim and Jewish primary school children from Three Faiths Forums and the Pears Foundation Faith School linking program. They show us what may be if we are brave and willing enough to be different and learn and celebrate together.
Stephen is a Freeman of the City of London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the CoFounder of Iraq in Common. The Jewish News recently named him one of the 40 individuals under the age of 40 who are making an impact on the UK Jewish Community.
Under Stephen’s leadership, the Three Faiths Forum offers a variety of programs. The Interfaith Education Program for high school students gives young people and their teachers the tools to handle difficult or controversial topics, learn dialogue skills and better understand other people’s faiths or beliefs. This award-winning program (UN
Alliance of Civilizations Award for Intercultural Innovation and Commendation) ran in 70 schools and touched the lives of 9,500 students in 2010. Shared Futures, the most ex tensive educational faith outreach program in the UK, works with a diverse range of 45 elementary and high schools. This program works with all of London’s progressive Jewish schools and 50% of London’s Muslim schools. Urban Dialogues facilitates the engagement of single faith arts organizations and contemporary artists to collaborate as social-changemakers. This weeklong arts festival reached more than 800 people and involved more than 25 artists and over 10 partner organizations. Undergraduate ParliaMentors (UP) is an award-winning initiative (winner of a UN Award for Intercultural Innovation) launched in 2007. Each year, 45 politics students from Muslim, Christian and Jewish backgrounds are mentored by Parliamentarians and supported by leading NGOs as they develop social action projects. The Jerusalem-based 3ff Middle East uses text from the Koran, Tanakh and New Testament to engage trainee doctors and nurses, young people and interfaith groups. Faith & Fashion engages school girls from traditional Muslim schools to explore fashion and identity.
Currently lives in: London, UK Website: www.threefaithsforum.org.uk 267
Like Don Quixote, I love to dream and fight against bad ‘giants’ like Sancho Panza. I believe in justice and practical solutions; David and Solomon of the Spanish culture, childhood idols!
Sumiko Zayon President, Cuban Jewish Youth Organization
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Sumiko Zayon lives and works in her home country of Cuba. She is very involved in the Jewish community where she is President of the Cuban Jewish Youth Organization, a youth counselor and a teacher at the Jewish school.
Sumiko originally became involved with Jewish cultural events in Cuba as a way to find and influence young Jewish people from across the country who were disconnected from their Jewish roots. After an intense amount of research, Sumiko and her colleagues began visiting these young Jews and personally inviting them to a series of well-organized cultural and educational events. The impact of this outreach was significant since, as a very small community, the engagement of each new member is crucial to keeping Jewish life in Cuba alive. As a result of this outreach project, today the young Jewish community is stronger and more vibrant than ever before, growing in numbers and quality. There are now over 100 new young people who are discovering, enjoying and building their Jewish identity.
“Picasso’s Don Quixote”
Sumiko is currently a student of sociology at Havana University. She runs a radio program on Radio Ciudad de La Habana, is a writer and broadcaster. She is also a dancer and actress involved in different cultural projects in the Jewish community and in Cuba’s professional theater group. She has participated in many important Jewish programs such as Birthright Israel, March of Living, Masa Israel, Congress of Leadership and Rikudim Festival.
Currently lives in: La Habana, Cuba 269
Talia Gorodess Analyst, Reut Institute
“Untitled” 109th & Broadway (New York: NY. Spring 2010)
My former building’s courtyard. When I lived in NYC, I missed everything I had left behind in Israel: animals, sunshine, nature (‘speak for trees’)... This photo represents what is essential to me in life, in addition to academic and professional success.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Talia Gorodess recently returned to Israel after spending seven years in the United States. Based in Tel Aviv, she is an analyst for the Reut Institute for Strategic Thought where she focuses on the changing relations between Israel and the Jewish World. Talia holds an M.A. in security policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, was awarded a fellowship from Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies and served as the Security Policy concentration program assistant. Prior to that, she worked as a research associate for the President of the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.
Talia’s mission at the Reut Institute is to overcome the growing rift between Israel and the Jewish world through the promotion of Jewish Peoplehood. The strategic gap identified by the Jewish World team at Reut is that the old paradigm between Israel and the Jewish world is increasingly irrelevant – even though most Jewish organizations and Israeli government offices are still structured around it.
Talia received a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago (with honors) in 2006. While there, Talia served as President of the Chicago Friends of Israel and as a campaign coordinator at U.S. PIRG, a Washington D.C.based environmental organization. After finishing her B.A., she spent a year in Israel practicing organic agriculture in Kibbutz Neot Semadar in the Arava desert.
How does one impact the entire Jewish world? Since the Jewish world is built like a network, Reut’s “one hub at a time” strategy is designed to move the major organizations of the Jewish world towards this new paradigm, which puts the idea of Peoplehood in its heart - thus creating ripple effects. Talia has also helped identify and launch cutting-edge initiatives with organizations to catalyze change in Israeli society and to harness the potential of the Israeli Diaspora. Several Israeli organizations conduct research on the future of the Jewish people, but Reut is the only Israeli entity that is actually working with Jewish organizations in Israel and abroad to catalyze large-scale change. They hope over the next three years to create meaningful connections between Jewish hubs, mobilize the Israeli diaspora and serve as the main address for thinking about Israel’s relationship with the Jewish world.
Currently lives in: Tel Aviv, Israel 271
Tamar (Tami) Schlossberg Social Marketing Manager, HeYYoya Social Media Services
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Tamar Schlossberg was born in Italy and grew up in Belgium. At the age of 18 she came to Israel for the year. She decided to make aliyah and pursue her studies in Israel where she received a degree in political science and French literature at Bar Ilan University. Immediately after completing her B.A., she went on to get an M.A. in government, diplomacy and conflict resolution at the Inter Disciplinary Center in Herzliyah. Simultaneously, she started working as a researcher for NGO-Monitor where eventually she was promoted to project manager. This prompted her to move from the center of the country to Jerusalem. She is currently working for HeYYoya - Social Media Services, where she assists Dr. Eitan Eliram who heads New Media at the Prime Minister’s office, in implementing social media strategies for several political, academic and art institutions across Israel.
Tamar currently works for HeYYoya - Social Media Services, where she assists Dr. Eitan Eliram. Whether she’s blogging, tweeting, flickering or updating Facebook statuses, she is disseminating important messages to as many people as possible and is creating communities and engagement between different communities.
Tamar has lived in three continents, has traveled to many countries and is fluent in six languages.
“Is the World Really Flat?”
As a Swiss, Belgian, American and Israeli citizen who was born in Italy, I think this picture represents me pretty well! And it was one of the few that actually fit the size requirements!
BIOGRAPHY:
This is innovative because the entire concept of Web 2.0 is new and she is proud to be working with people who have recognized the importance and influence of this new mode of communication and are trying to use it in the best possible way. Presently, Tamar blogs mainly for the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies about matters regarding Jerusalem, the Middle-East Conflict, interfaith dialogue and US-Israel Relations. HeYYoya also offers live videoconference services to unite communities all around the world. In a recent event on international Holocaust day, two cermonies on opposite ends of the world were united via videoconference: one held at Beit Avi Chai in Jerusalem and the other in San Francisco. This new mode of influence and communication has great potential and Tamar hopes to help society leverage its power of connection.
Currently lives in: Jersualem, Israel Website: www.heyyoya.com, www.intv.co.il 273
Named for a tree (tamar = date palm), this Talmudic phrase reflects aptly the many elements of who I am. Hence a mosaic of recent photographs of myself, family, work and friends, within my daughter’s photograph of a carob tree near our home.
Tamar Wisemon Director of Media & Technology, Sviva Israel - Eco Campus
“Ki Ha’Adam Eitz HaSadeh – Man is a Tree of the Field ” Photo by Shira Wisemon of a Carob Tree. Beit Natif (Beit Shemesh: Israel. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
In 2007, Tamar Wisemon co-founded Sviva Israel with her husband, Carmi, to change the dynamics of how Israelis and Jews from all sectors of society around the world relate to their Jewish environmental identity, to one another and to the world. They now run the largest global Jewish environmental school network with integration of Web 3.0 technology into quality educational curricula and hands-on workshops inside the schools.
In 2007, Sviva Israel was founded to connect young Jews around the world and across denominational divides through shared values of environmental responsibility. To achieve this, they harnessed the power of the Internet, the wisdom of Jewish tradition, quality educational curricula and content to create a Web 3.0 experience of online learning for real life change. The rest of the Jewish world was just beginning to talk about Web 2.0.
In 2009, Sviva Israel won the Microsoft Israel R&D Community VC Contest and Tamar left her position at a social start-up to join Sviva Israel full-time, leading the development of the Eco Campus, an online school platform and social network for Generation Z. A former journalist and children’s book author who has written for the Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Report, Tamar now specializes in the intersection of social media, education and social change. She was the sole Israeli participant in a U.S. State Department program on using New Media Technology to create change in civic society. A member of KolDor and Co-Chair of Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM), Tamar is originally from the UK, having moved to Israel as a student. She lives in Beit Shemesh, Israel, with her husband and six children.
Sviva Israel has since grown into the largest global environmental school network of Jewish schools. Its Eco Connection won the 2010 Award of Excellence from the Jewish Agency Partnership 2000. They have been widely featured in the media and Tamar was the only Israeli participant in a U.S. State Department program on using new media technology to create change in civic society. In November 2009, Sviva Israel won the Microsoft Israel R&D Community VC contest and began development of the Eco Campus, an environmental school platform and social network for children and teens in North America and Israel.
Currently lives in: Beit Shemesh, Israel Website: www.ecocamp.us, www.svivaisrael.org 275
Tamas Buchler
Youth Projects Coordinator, Jewish Agency for Israel, Israeli Cultural Institute
BIOGRAPHY: Tamas Buchler is completing law school this semester at the ELTE University of Budapest. He grew up in Budapest, Hungary, and also spent significant periods of time in Israel. His work in the Jewish community includes Jewish youth work for various organizations, such as the Jewish Agency, Israeli Cultural Institue and the Haver Fundation. He has coordinated educational projects in the field of young Jewish leadership (MiNYanim project) and social justice (Tikkun Olam project). A graduate of the University of Haifa’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program and Wesley College’s Refugee Studies program, Tamas has coordinated international projects for the Kidma Jewish youth movement and has worked with the local Roma community in different frameworks. He is also a volunteer for Limmud Hungary.
INNOVATIVE WORK:
“Untitled?”
Abandoned synagogue in the countryside of Hungary.
Currently, Tamas works at the Israeli Cultural Institute (ICI) in Budapest, a joint initiative of the Jewish Agency and local individuals and organizations that was launched in September 2010. In this capacity, he is in charge of projects for the student and young adult age group, mainly focusing on leadership trainings, seminars and social justice
activities in Hungary, the CEE region (Poland, Bulgaria Germany) and Israel. Tamas is also involved with Israeli cultural events at the ICI, including movies, concerts and exhibitions. The Institute’s main goal is to reach out to unaffiliated young Jews and to enrich their Jewish identity, particularly with Israel education. They specifically try to showcase Israel to the wider Hungarian public from the often ignored cultural perspective. In addition to his work, Tamas often volunteers with the Haver Fundation, visiting schools across the country to hold workshops about Jewish identity, history and culture, in the context of cultural diversity for teenagers. He also volunteers for Limmud Hungary. In his everyday work, Tamas challenges existing methods, tools and approaches of Jewish informal education to adapt it or tailor it to the needs of almost totally assimilated, yet curious young Jewish Hungarians. As a coordinator of groups of Jewish students, he feels responsible for preparing the most inspiring educational activities that he can. Since his work is often not supervised professionally, he is very dependent on participant feedback and evaluation.
Currently lives in: Budapest, Hungary Website: www.israelculture.hu 277
Taras (Easy) Prokopenko Youth Programs Coordinator & Project Manager, Gomel Jewish Community “Beit Yakov� Resident & Organizer, Moishe House Gomel
Now it is completely destroyed, as was Jewish life in our country, but this symbolizes to me the lost experience of our ancestors. I feel that, with our past as our guide, and with a willingness to move forward, we can build an even better future.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Taras Prokopenko holds a Master of Laws from Belarusian State University, studies at Dniepropetrovsk Yeshiva (distance learning) and attends Jewish culture and history lessons in the Gomel Jewish Community in Belarus.
As a Moishe House Gomel resident, Taras works with Jewish youth and young professionals in their 20s. This is a crucial time for making important life decisions and, as such, he feels it is his obligation to help introduce and integrate the mostly assimilated Jews to the local and global Jewish community.
His thesis on Talmudic law earned excellent marks and as a result it is used as part of a tutorial on Talmudic Studies.
“Gomel Great Choral Synagogue” (1907)
Taras runs his own legal practice and volunteers for the local Jewish community in different arenas. He is a Moishe House Gomel resident and a permanent idea generator and organizer of different activities. He has nine years of informal Jewish education experience. Tamas has participated in and organized numerous Jewish seminars and workshops for children and youth. Taras likes to read and is crazy about the Jewish history of Gomel. He plays guitar and his favourite occupation is “friendraising.” He is open-minded, humorous and is always ready to help others. He is able to inspire people. An idealist and maximizer, Taras is ready to change the world, starting with himself.
Taras is the project manager of two educational projects in Gomel. He is also a regular participant and organizer of different Jewish projects, mostly on a volunteer basis. In addition to his work with children and youth in the local Jewish community, he volunteers for Yad Vashem by collecting lost names. Thanks to the work performed by Taras and others, they have uncovered a village that was completely destroyed by the Nazis, as well as a lost burial place. Taras and his friends are working to revive their community from the ashes and looking back over the past three years, they have certainly accomplished a lot.
Currently lives in: Gomel, Belarus Website: www.moishehouse.org, www.jewishgomel.com, www.mitzvatemet.com 279
Tera (Nova Jade) Greene Award-Winning DJ & Independent Film Producer Consultant, Educator & Social Entrepreneur
...Then one day, the little girl became a woman. And she remembered she had wings, because she finally climbed out of the box and saw that, indeed, the instructions WERE always written on the outside.
“Tera “Nova Jade* Greene is High Flyin’!” (USA. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Many people use the word “enigma” to describe Tera Greene since one never knows where she’ll pop up or what life experience story she will share next!
Tera is currently launching a Next Gen artist initiative called GenToGen. GenToGen is innovative because it has both outreach and in-reach components; it utilizes both a nonprofit structure and for-profit ideals and it aims to reach across - and thus, bridge generational gaps, all through the intrinsic value of the arts.
Tera is a contributing writer for the Jewish Journal’s historic LGBTQ blog, Oy Gay, and a contributing essayist for Living Jewishly: A Snapshot of a Generation, a project of the Spertus Institute’s Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies program. She remixed the Hatikvah in 2009 and interpreted the v’ahavta in spoken word form in 2010. She is a Moishe House alumna, Birthright Israel NEXT Community Engagement Fellow and a Keshet Training Institute for Jewish Educators participant. As an award-winning DJ and film producer, music specialist and entertainment expert, Tera’s career highlights include: showcasing original music at [Inside] The Ford, opening for Grammy-nominated artist, Kelis, and having her film screened at over 50 major film festivals on four continents.
GenToGen will bring arts programming to the elderly and the youth via the unique Veggie Bus Program, a bus whose diesel engine is converted to run on recycled vegetable oil. GenToGen will spotlight emerging and under-supported artists via podcasts and performance opportunites. This initiative will include the robust GenToGen Mentorship Network where artists will have access to mentors and to the Goose Egg Project, a concept designed to foster sustainability. A permanent Co-Op housing kibbutz structure will eventually be secured to provide the necessary space for affordable living, mindsharing and creating. The projected impact of GenToGen is sky-high, measurable by computer-based and social media statistical tools and good old fashioned checking-in with goals through monitoring and evaluation. It only takes one person to make an impact, one raindrop to raise the sea, but the ultimate goal is to make lasting impressions upon each generation to come.
Currently lives in: Los Angeles, CA, USA Website: www.djnovajade.com, www.jewishjournal.com/oy_gay 281
This picture shows my two children, Imri and Ziv. When I look my children in the eyes, I want to feel I did my best to create a better place for them to grow and live.
Tom Lahad
Teacher of the Bible & Talmud Leader Of “Sky is Not the Limit� Project, Israeli Air Force
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Tom Lahad and his wife, Tahel, are the proud parents of a toddler and an infant.
Tom’s work is innovative because it encourages talented people to uncover their dreams and in pursuing them, meet the needs of Israeli society.
“My Desire to Make a Better Future”
Tom grew up in Kiryat Shmona, in the north of Israel. Throughout his youth, he spent a lot of time in the Scouts, including three months at a Young Judea summer camp in Texas as a Scouts repsentative. Before enlisting in the army, Tom dedicated a year to voluntering through the National Service program. During this period he was the Director of the Scouts in Alfei-Menashe where he was responsible for the activities of 150 children. Tom then joined the IDF and graduated from flight academy with honors. He spent the next nine years in the IAF in multiple positions. After the army, Tom was accepted to a unique program for excellent students who wish to become teachers for Bible, Talmud and Jewish philosophy and he is now in the third year of this four-year program. In parallel, he is pursuing his master’s in Jewish education from the Hebrew University and teaches Bible in a Jerusalem high school. Three years ago, Tom established a very unique course called, “The Sky is Not the Limit” that focused on recruiting Air Force graduates to work in education and public service. Since its inception, 200 Air Force graduates have participated in this course and it has become the main entryway for Air Force graduates to segue into these two arenas, which are both critical for the future of the State of Israel.
Tom believes that Air Force graduates who gave so many years to the country, must have a very strong connection between their dreams and what is good for society. In that sense, he feels society suffers when this talent pool ends up going to work for the military or for commercial airlines. With “The Sky is not the Limit,” Tom shows them that they can be instrumental in shaping the fabric of society and the future of Israel.
Currently lives in: Tel-aviv, Israel 283
Tzvika (Josh) Avnery Co-Founder, WiseStamp
“In the WiseStamp Spaceship Hub” WiseStamp HQ near the beach (Tel Aviv: Israel)
Our cool WiseStamp startup hub is called ‘Hachalalit’ (the spaceship). This is our funky and hipster workspace and where all our WiseStamp magic and fun happens every day.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Tzvika Avnery is the Co-Founder and Marketing Director of WiseStamp, a successful global Internet start-up, with over 1.5 Million installs worldwide. Before founding WiseStamp, Tzvika was the TEDx Tel Aviv Marketing Manager and a partner at TAGADAM Ltd., a strategic web marketing consultancy firm. He has consulted for several major web start-ups in web marketing and is the Founder of the SMO, a popular social media blog in Israel. Earlier in his career, Tzvika served as the VP of Marketing and Business Development at TENS SEO Co. (Search Engine Optimization) and wrote a popular Web marketing column in TheMarker, a prominent Israeli financial website. In 2008, Tzvika was named one of the “Most Promising Entrepreneurs in Israel,” by TheMarker’s business magazine. Tzvika is a native of Jerusalem. He graduated with a B.S. in life science and business administration from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Tzvika loves to be inspired by innovative ideas and people. In his spare time, he likes to cook extravagant Shabbat dinners for friends and to travel internationally.
Tzvika is a serial web entrepreneur at heart. He loves to bring abstract ideas to life. He seeks to develop services and products that are simple to use yet have the potential to influence many lives. It is with this vision that he founded WiseStamp, an email apps platform. WiseStamp enables users to transform their day-to-day emails into a powerful tool of self expression. Wish to promote your business? Want to support a charity that brings water to communities in Africa? WiseStamp enables you to easily do so by enhancing one’s emails with dynamic and interactive email apps. WiseStamp Email Apps is a global startup that has already impacted more than 1.5 million installing users worldwide and its user base is growing. WiseStamp was named the “Best Social Media Gadget” by the Open Web Awards competition held through Mashable. com. The simplistic innovation of the idea, coupled with his genuine belief that they are developing a product that impacts many lives on a daily basis, are what inspire and motivate him daily.
Currently lives in: Jersualem, Israel Website: www.wisestamp.com 285
Uriel (Puma) Rosenfeld Executive Director, Hebraica Macabi Uruguay
Logo of Hebraica Macabi Uruguay, a leader in the educational youth movement Macabi Tzair in sports, recreation and culture. We are currently designing the future...
“We are Designing the Future of Community Life” (Montevideo. March 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Uriel Rosenfeld is from Uruguay and has been involved in the Jewish community his whole life. He attended Hebrew School and was an active participant in the Maccabi Tzair youth movement. Today, Uriel is the Executive Director of Hebraica Maccabi Uruguay and a local activist for Maccabi Tzair. In the past he worked in finance and private banking for the Jewish Agency.
As Executive Director of Hebraica Maccabi, designing a new Jewish Community Center in Uruguay is a major undertaking. Once the vibrant center of Jewish life in Uruguay, today Hebraica Maccabi is a forgotten institution since the Jewish community has dwindled over the years and the small community that remains has settled in a different geographical area. Today, there are an estimated 12,000 Jews in Uruguay, with the numbers continuing to decline through assimilation and aliyah. As a result, there are many abandoned buildings that once served the community. Uriel’s main task is to complete this new JCC, a multi-faceted structure that will accommodate the needs of everyone in the community. Part of this endeavor includes forging partnerships with other community institutions, such as B’nai Brith and WIZO, to rally support for the new community center and maximize its potential.
Uriel is in the midst of designing a Jewish Community Center (JCC) that will be available for the community-at-large in Uruguay. As he works to make this JCC a reality, Uriel feels his challenge is to continue to learn and grow because once it is complete, this center will be a tremendous asset for the entire community, serving the needs of all ages, infants to seniors. Uriel comes from a traditional Jewish background and keeps all the Jewish traditions and holidays.
Currently lives in: Montevideo, Uruguay 287
Through people’s eyes you can see everything: mood, smile, if they are sorry... Eyes, like a soul, feel and express every emotion of a person.
Valentina Nemirovskaya Director, Hillel, Khabarovsk
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Valentina Nemirovskaya is the Director of Hillel in Khabarovsk, in Far East Russia. After spending several years in Israel, Valentina moved back to Russia seven years ago.
As the Hillel Director, Valentina is intricately involved in all projects and programs. Her favorite project is by far the Young Leadership School, in which 15 select activists participate in a variety of trainings and activities for one year. The training includes: studying Jewish history and tradition, studying with different Chabad rabbis, leadership trainings, informal Jewish education and guidance for the creation of individual projects. Participants come to the Hillel once a week and this keeps the center active and thriving as it builds future leaders for the Jewish community. At the end of the program, students present their projects, which benefit the entire community. So far, there have been two Leadership School cohorts and the results have already influenced the greater community.
“Eyes”
Growing up, she attended a traditional Jewish school. She first became involved with Hillel when the director invited her to become the Shabbat Coordinator. This led to her participation in training seminars until she eventually became Hillel’s Educational Director. In this role she worked in different capacities: recruitment, running the Young Leadership school, organizing tzedek projects and more. As this particular Hillel chapter is establishing itself day-by-day, Valentina is constantly growing and learning. In January, she was promoted to Hillel Director and has energetically added fundraising to the rest of her duties. She strongly believes that it is important to share experiences and learn from one another.
Currently lives in: Khabarovsk, Russia Website: www.hillel.ru 289
Vukan Marinković
Lecturer of Jewish Thought, University of Zagreb, Filozofski Fakultet President, Rimon Center for Jewish Education
A perfect blend of past and future, tradition and invention.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Vukan Marinković was born in Zagreb, Croatia. He received his B.A. in philosophy and comparative religion at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb and then continued his studies in medieval Jewish philosophy at the Paideia Institute for Jewish Studies in Stockholm and at the Mayanot Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he explored traditional readings of Jewish texts. Currently, Vukan teaches a course titled, “Classics of Jewish thought” at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. He also teaches an introduction to Judaism course at the Institute of Social Sciences-Ivo Pilar in Zagreb. He collaborates on numerous scholarly publications and delivers many lectures in Croatia and abroad.
Established in 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia, The Center For Jewish Education-Rimon grew out of the need for quality Jewish education in the wider Balkan region. While primarily catering to the Croatian Jewish community, Rimon also reaches out to governmental institutions and the general public. Courses run the gamut from introductory to in-depth studies of topics such as, Jews and Land of Israel and the role of Judaism in inter-religious dialogue.
“Kindle”
Vukan is active in the Croatian Jewish community and its neighboring countries. He was a regular participant in many European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) gatherings and European Center for Jewish Students (ECJS) seminars and has played an important role in organizing the EUJS summer in Croatia in 2005. Vukan is President of the Center for Jewish Education-Rimon.
Rimon also enriches the Croatian cultural scene with events open to the public that reflect the Jewish experience, such as guided tours of Jewish Zagreb, artistic workshops and exhibitions, including, “Tel Aviv - Virtual Heritage.” Rimon has been successfully collaborating with the Croatian Ministry of Education and the city of Zagreb. In response to positive feedback and growing demand, this young organization is preparing to launch even more educational and cultural services for the Jewish community and beyond.
For several years, Vukan has worked in the entertainment industry as a consulting editor, program coordinator, booking agent and more. In addition, he has worked as an art director for KULA, known for its Park-In Festival, an open-air spectacle in the center of Zagreb.
Currently lives in: Zagreb, Croatia Website: www.erimon.hr 291
Warren Hoffman Director of Arts & Cultural Programming, Gershman Y
I love to cook, especially for shabbes dinner, and these are the first challahs I ever made. I think sharing a home cooked meal with others is one of the best ways to build community.
“Challah for Shabbes� My Kitchen (Philadelphia: PA. 2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Warren Hoffman is the Director of Arts and Cultural Programming for the Gershman Y, a Jewish arts and culture community center in Philadelphia. Prior to this, he served as the literary manager and dramaturg for Philadelphia Theatre Company and as the Associate Artistic Director of Jewish Repertory Theatre in New York. As a writer and reviewer for TalkinBroadway.com, Warren covered the Off-Broadway and cabaret scene. Warren holds a Ph.D. in American and Jewish literature from the University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz and has taught at multiple universities. He recently earned rave reviews for his book, The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture.
Warren never thought he would end up working professionally in the Jewish community, but looking back, it seems hard to imagine otherwise. Two years ago, he left a career in theater to become the Director of Arts and Cultural Programming for the Gershman Y in Philadelphia. Skeptical at first since he considered their programming out-dated and unengaging, Warren jumped at the chance to take the organization in a new direction.
Warren is also a playwright and his new play, The Last, was named a recipient of the 2008 Foundation for Jewish Culture Theatre Projects Grant and was a finalist for the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition. His first play, New Words, received a reading at the Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and was a finalist for the Christopher Brian Wolk Playwriting Award in New York. Warren is currently writing a book about race and the American musical.
Since becoming Director, Warren has turned the Y into one of the main arts organizations in Philadelphia, filled with fun community building activities: a sing-a-long screening of Fiddler on the Roof for children and for the gay community (hosted by a local drag queen) and a community Shabbat dinner that drew 200 people. Given a lot of free reign by the board and his supervisor, Warren has been empowered to try new things and as a result, new people walk through their doors everyday. For Warren, partnering with other major Philadelphia organizations has been a priority. Currently, he has built relationships with over 15 organizations, resulting in new programs, new audiences and higher visibility for the Y.
Currently lives in: Philadelphia, PA, USA Website: www.gershmany.org 293
William Levin Cartoonist, JewishRobot.com Writer, Shalom Sesame
“ROI has allowed me to collaborate on creative projects with hundreds of Jewish innovators worldwide.”
“Sesame Street Cast and Writers on Capitol Hill” Capitol Hill (Washington, DC. 2011)
Standing with the cast of Sesame Street on Capitol Hill, in defense of federal funding for public media.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
William Levin, a.k.a. the Jewish Robot, creator of the comic strip, Shabot 6000, produces animated cartoons, music and videos for Jewish organizations. Levin is an animator for Sesame Street and a writer for Shalom Sesame, a co-production of Sesame Street for Jewish American children. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, East and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
In 2010 and 2011, William met with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., as a representative of WGA East and Sesame Workshop, to advocate for increased federal funding of public media and Children’s educational programs on PBS. In 2010, William contributed to the Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, 13th Edition.
William’s work has been featured in the Jewish Exponent, Jerusalem Post, Forward, Jewish Week, PBS Frontline’s Tehran Bureau, YNet News, New York Times, Boston Globe and ABC News Good Morning America. William has led seminars on animation and been a guest speaker at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts, the Apple Store Soho “Made on a Mac” series and the Macworld Conference and Expo in New York and San Francisco. In 2008, William received an ROI Small Grant to produce a Chanukah music video, “Pass the Candle” with fellow ROIer Michelle Citrin. Together they created the popular musical YouTube hits, “Rosh Hashanah Girl” and “20 Things To Do With Matzah,” receiving millions of views worldwide. William has been a member of the ROI Community since 2006.
Currently lives in: Brooklyn, NY, USA Website: www.jewishrobot.com, www.macboy.com, www.shabot6000.com 295
The picture was taken by me at the Paran river in the Arava this February. I chose it since the Israeli desert is my favorite area and where I can truly feel connected to this land and its people.
Yael Assor
Director of Social Seal Project, BeMa’aglei Tzedek M.A. Student, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“Zin River” Bika’at Zin (2010)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yael Assor is the Coordinator of the Tav Chevrati (social seal), a certificate granted free of charge by Bema’aglei Tzedek to restaurants that treat their workers ethically and are handicap accessible. Yael worked her way up the ranks of Bema’aglei Tzedek, as a university activist at Hebrew University, as a volunteer supervisor for the Tav Chevrati, and as an educator running Bema’aglei Tzedek programs in high schools in Tel Aviv and Lod. Yael is also active in the Meretz political party and is a master’s student in sociology and anthropology at the Hebrew University.
Yael directs Tav Chevrati (social seal), a certificate granted free of charge by Bema’aglei Tzedek to restaurants that treat their workers ethically and are handicap accessible, so that consumers can choose to go to these places and thus put economic pressure on businesses to become fair employers and accessible to all. The criteria for obtaining a certificate are based on Israeli law, stressing the need to preserve the basic rights of workers. The inspiration for the project comes from our Jewish heritage, particularly the idea of the responsibility each member of society has to make his community a better place. In this light, Yael sees Tav Chevrati as a project that appeals to not only the underprivileged or disabled, but to every member of Israeli society. It is an instrument to invoke social responsibility within Israeli society, making each supporter of the Tav an active agent for social change. Yael is passionate about her work and feels its innovation stems from how it connects important concepts from Jewish tradition with issues of contemporary life, such as human rights. In this way, Yael’s work allows her to fully express her identity as a young, secular Jewish woman with issues of Jewish identity, justice, human dignity and human rights.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.mtzedek.org.il 297
Yaniv Rivlin Student, Harvard Kennedy School of Government Co-Founder, CareerVibes
“Being a part of ROI has been a great networking and skill-building experience and a place where I have made friends for life.”
This picture was taken during the week long Shvil Hagolan hike, which I did with friends in 2009. This brings together my passion for the beautiful Golan Heights, the region where I am from, and my love of hiking.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yaniv Rivlin is a social entrepreneur who co-founded and served as the Executive Vice President of the nonprofit division of Comtribute, a company specializing in providing nonprofit organizations with a free and unique platform to raise funds through the Internet. Prior to Comtribute, Yaniv did extensive work in the nonprofit sector, including work as a One Voice Ambassador. Yaniv worked with, among others, the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Naumann Foundation for Liberty in Jerusalem, the Israeli Knesset and the Israeli Embassy in London. Yaniv is a frequent speaker and writer regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including features in The Huffington Post and the Washington Times. Yaniv holds a B.A. in political science, sociology and anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is currently studying public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Fischman scholar and is the Co-Chairman of the Israel caucus. For the past year, he has been a Sauvé scholar, a program designed to develop the leadership potential of promising youth from around the world.
How many times have you met someone with a cool job and thought to yourself, I didn’t even know that job existed? How many times did you wish you knew someone in a specific field or industry? How many times did you just wish you had some guidance in your professional path? Yaniv co-founded Career Vibes, which is a new and unique interactive video sharing website that will guide people to their dream job. It tackles what Yaniv believes to be one of the most common problems today: Young and ambitious people are ready to tackle the work force, but they are not sure what they want to do, what is available in the market and how to get there. Career Vibes will provide them with all the information and connections they need as they begin their journey. Not your average job hunting website, Career Vibes is an interactive community that will help current students optimize their professional goals.
“Untitled”
Yaniv has been a member of ROI since 2007.
Currently lives in: Cambridge, MA, USA 299
Yoav Schaefer Executive Director, Avi Schaefer Fund Parliamentarian Intern & Foreign Policy Advisor, MK Dr. Einat Wilf
Avi, an IDF veteran and Brown University student, was killed by a drunk driver on February 12, 2010. Avi is my inspiration, motivating me every single day to make the world a better place.
“My identical twin brother, Avi Schaefer (z”l), being inducted into a special forces unit in the IDF.” The Kotel (December 2006)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yoav Schaefer was raised in Santa Barbara, California. At age 18, in the summer of 2006, Yoav and his identical twin brother, Avi, made aliyah and enlisted as Lone Soldiers in the IDF. Yoav served as a combat soldier for over two years and was released in 2008 due to a serious knee injury from a combat operation near Hebron.
The Avi Schaefer Fund is committed to changing the atmosphere of the Israel/ Palestine discussion on North American college campuses. As the Director of this organization his family created in memory of his brother Avi (z”l), Yoav is building various projects to change the way Israel is perceived on campus and to help Jewish students and Israel supporters create strong and effective voices for Israel in what is often a polarized, antagonistic and intimidating campus environment. The projects include the Avi Fellowship for IDF veterans studying on North American college campuses and the Avi Colloquium for Young Middle East Scholars, a conference bringing together Israeli and Palestinian student leaders studying at Ivy League campuses with top Israeli and Palestinians scholars. The Fund also hosted its very first symposium on Israel advocacy. “Reimaging Israel on the North American College Campus” took place in Jerusalem in February and examined issues facing Israel on campus.
Yoav is currently the Executive Director of the Avi Schaefer Fund, a nonprofit organization created in memory of his brother Avi (z”l), who was tragically killed by a drunk driver at Brown University in February 2010. Yoav lives in Jerusalem, where he spends his time interning for Knesset member Dr. Einat Wilf, studying Arabic and Jewish philosophy, and developing projects for the Avi Schaefer Fund. Yoav speaks frequently in Israel and North America about Israel, Zionism and his experience in the IDF.
The Avi Schaefer Fund is determined to change the way Jews and Israelis approach Israel advocacy and education and to create nuanced, constructive dialogue based on mutual understanding and respect. They hope to use Avi’s model of relationship building and innovative and effective techniques to promote Israel and the “human story” of Israel to accomplish its goals.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.avischaeferfund.org 301
With crayons of many colors like these, I paint the world. Each color represents a part of me and how my past, present and future interact to shape the person I am today.
Yona Weisleder Chief of Education, XVIII Machon Continental Tzfoni Jai 2010 Chief of Public Relations, Hanoar Hatzioni
“Crayons” (San Jose: Costa Rica. 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yona Weisleder is 20 years old and lives in San Jose, Costa Rica. She studied at Dr. Chaim Weizman Institute and is a junior at the Universidad Veritas where she is majoring in advertising design. Yona is very passionate about Jewish history and education. In 2005, she participated in the National Bible Contest and won 9th place. Since she was 9 years old, she has been an active member in the Hanoar Hatzioni youth movement, working as a counselor for three years and also serving on its board of directors. She participated in several national and international camps and seminars and spent a prepratory year in Israel where she took an intense leadership course in Jerusalem, volunteered on Kibbutz Hatzerim and went on the Marva army experience. Recently, Yona got involved in Un Techo Para Mi Pais, a nonprofit organization that helps build houses for low-income people.
Yona’s innovative project was organizing the XVIII Machon Continental Tzfoni Jai in Tequisquiapan, Mexico, in July 2010. She served as Chief of Education, a position she has wanted ever since becoming a counselor because it embodies all the characteristics of a leader and focuses on Jewish education. In this role, her mission was to transform the seminar into an intensive leadership course, teaching the new generation the basics of informal education while educating them about Zionism, humanism and ecology. Yona also supervised the counselors and coordinators from different countries, reviewed all of the materials for five programs and organized a walk for Gilad Shalit. The seminar was a complete success because it was well organized and gave young Jews from eight countries across Latin America the opportunity to form lasting bonds and develop leadership skills. Yona was also in charge of public relations and education for her youth movement in Costa Rica where she worked to bring youth into the larger Jewish community. She directed the graphic design for the first issue of Kol Hanoar, a digital magazine launched last year for members of Hanoar Hatzioni Worldwide and Costa Rica’s Jewish Community.
Currently lives in: San Jose, Costa Rica Website: www.hholamit.org.il 303
In today’s vibrant environment, it is important to take time to reflect and appreciate the small things in our lives. It’s good to dream big, but don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.
Yonatan Sternberg International Trade Specialist & Consultant Wine & Culinary Writer
BIOGRAPHY: Yonatan Sternberg was born in New York and is currently living in Jerusalem, where he is a trade specialist at Atid EDI, assisting in the development of business and trade opportunities for EDI’s clients, as well as a myriad of special projects. Yonatan’s primary responsibilities include cultivating trade leads, organizing trade missions, promoting joint ventures, developing export interests and market research and facilitating communication. Yonatan holds a B.A. from the Hebrew Universit y in Jerusalem, with majors in international relations and business management and a minor in Asian studies. Yonatan is also a recognized culinary and wine critic with over 80 articles published both in Israel and abroad.
“Stop & Smell the Roses”
INNOVATIVE WORK: At EDI, Yonatan’s work primarily involves various forms of “cooperation promotion” between foreign and regional firms. His role includes conducting the initial research and feasibility of a given project and then identifying the best way in which the market should be approached. Once this is established, he works to identify and contact relevant entities in the target market.
Much of his work is done with partners across the Middle East. He has found that doing business and cooperating with people living in countries that may have different geo-political, political or religious views definitely has an effect. Overcoming these gaps and doing so in a sensitive manner is often challenging but once a relationship is built, it is very satisfying and confirms the need for personal, human connections. Yonatan feels that his work is a different kind of hasbara (Israel advocacy) and portrays Israel and the Israeli business community in a positive way. Working with Israel’s neighbors and building strong economic ties benefits both Israeli economy and its position in the international arena. Yonatan recently began volunteering for an organization called AlmaLinks, a community comprised of talented young Jewish professionals and senior executives across the world. AlmaLinks promotes knowledge sharing and mutual commitment among members while reinforcing their ties with the Israeli economy and local business community. Yonatan is assisting with the organization’s external relations and resource development efforts.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.atid-edi.com, www.wines-israel.co.il/len/ 305
This picture conveys a truth that is meaningful in both the literal and figurative sense: Always have extra bullets, socks and cookies on hand, but stay positive overall.
Yoni Heilman Special Advisor to the CEO & Director of Worldwide Groups, Taglit-Birthright Israel
“ Packing for Miluim” (Jerusalem: Israel. March 2011)
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yoni Heilman currently works at TaglitBirthright Israel as Special Advisor to the CEO and Director of Worldwide Groups. Originally from New York, Yoni grew up shuttling between New York and Jerusalem and he has continued to follow this pattern in his professional life. While studying international relations at the University of Pennsylvania, he took time off to serve in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade as a Squad Commander. After graduating, he worked in the media and public relations department of the Israeli Consulate in New York and was later a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Yoni’s work at Taglit-Birthright Israel is tremendously inspiring. Yoni believes TaglitBirthright revolutionized Diaspora Jewry by drawing in Jews who are at the farthest reaches of their communities and giving them a sense of Jewish identity. Yoni wears two hats at work and he finds that both of his roles are fascinating. Primarily, Yoni works hand-in-hand with the CEO, consulting with him on matters of politics, various projects and matters connected to the administration and running of the organization. Yoni’s second job involves working with community partners around the world (outside of North America), overseeing their marketing and registration of participants for the trips and troubleshooting all of the issues that can and do come up along the way. Yoni loves being involved in cultivating the vast Jewish communities worldwide, from the largest in Western Europe to the smallest pockets in South America. When Yoni sees groups arrive in Israel, he is filled with awe, satisfaction and appreciation.
Af ter mak ing aliyah in 20 09, Yoni worked briefly at the Knesset as a Senior Parliamentary Aide to MK Meir Sheetrit. He has since made his way out of government and into Taglit-Birthright Israel. He is married to Gabrielle Mashbaum of Baltimore and is father to Reut Heilman.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.birthrightisrael.com 307
Yoni Litt Entrepreneur, TEDxTalpiot Student, Open University, Israel
What do birds do when it rains? Look for company. I took this picture in Port Douglas, Australia, on a rainy Sunday morning. The gray birds taught me a lesson about friendship.
BIOGRAPHY:
INNOVATIVE WORK:
Yoni Litt is married to Noa and is the father of Galya and Aviad. He has lived in Jerusalem for the best part of his life. He is currently an M.A. student of learning technology at the Open University and has a B.A. from Ben-Gurion University in behavioral sciences.
TEDxTalpiot is based on TED – “ideas worth spreading,” which celebrates exceptional individuals in every field of human activity: arts, research, business, community work, education, media and more. Participants come together to share their ideas for changing the world, delivered in front of a high caliber, live audience, in a talk no longer than 18 minutes, free from any political, religious or commercial agendas.
Passionate about ideas and dreams, Yoni constantly strives to give others the push they often need to accomplish their goals and to discover their qualities and strengths. Yoni teaches Hebrew in a variety of ulpan frameworks – for children and youth in Jerusalem and through online courses for adults all over the world. He also works in the field of marketing for theaters and community health programs. If that’s not enough, he has been working with senior citizens in his community, helping them feel comfortable with computer usage.
“Birds”
In addition to all of this, Yoni is a Michael mentor, running a 14-week course in high schools across Israel that taps into each person’s potential and then, through a unique, holistic method, develops a personalized plan of action. Over the past year he has been leading TEDxTalpiot, an “ideas worth sharing” event in Jerusalem licensed by TED.com.
The goals of TEDxTalpiot are to bring local people together to share their ideas and to create a TED like atmosphere, tailored for Israelis. TEDxTalpiot aims to facilitate the growth of a community devoted to what connects people, to create discussion on topics that shape our future, that give our life meaning and are deeply relevant to our dayto-day. These goals are achieved by widening the circle of people who are involved with the ultimate goal being to strengthen the community and to give people who care room for intelligent and deep discussions.
Currently lives in: Jerusalem, Israel Website: www.tedxtalpiot.com 309
These are some of the music, the media, the movements that have all mixed and remixed themselves into my Jewish identity. They span time and place, religious and secular, personal achievements and the shoulders upon which I stand.
Yoni Sarason
Program Director, Next Dor STL Israel Engagement Concierge, Jewish Federation of St. Louis
“The music is the movement.� Next Dor library/listening room. (circa 2011)
BIOGRAPHY: Cincinnati born and bred, Yoni Sarason attended Washington University, where he earned a B.A. in psychology. Since graduation, Yoni founded the St. Louis Moishe House, TheStLouJew.com, HipHopInspires.us and Next Dor STL. Yoni has blogged extensively and has spoken to small and large groups on Israel, the Middle East conflict, Jewish young adults in the USA, Judaism, social media and social entrepreneurship. Yoni enjoys metropolitan entertainment, networking and finance.
INNOVATIVE WORK: Next Dor is a vibrant center of activity that builds community for young Jewish adults. The programming at Next Dor is created by young adults and community organizations specifically for young adults. Located in St. Louis City, Missouri, the house serves as a catalyst to create a thriving Jewish young adult community. Next Dor engages young Jewish adults by providing coordination, networking and marketing support for individuals, groups and organizations who wish to connect to other young adults. The space was donated by Central Reform Congregation and has been transformed into a comfortable place
for use by young adults. Next Dor provides space for other organizations to increase the effectiveness and expand the reach of programming geared towards this target audience. Next Dor events leverage the interests and talents of community members to provide engaging and diversified programs that often cost little or nothing to execute. As one of the founders of Next Dor, Yoni wanted to create a solution for the lack of cohesion, the barriers to entry and dispersion of the young Jewish community in St. Louis. Next Dor exists as both a community space, as well as a platform for young adult community building. His role is to facillitate relationships with peers and to encourage the use of the space for innovative, interesting and engaging programs, planned by other young adults. Additionally, Yoni works with Jewish communal organizations to help them create programming that is more relevant and appealing to young adults. In the year since its inception, Next Dor has quickly grown to be one of the most dynamic organizations for young adults in St. Louis. More than 1,700 visits have been made to Next Dor, connecting over 350 young adults.
Currently lives in: St. Louis, MO, USA Website: www.yonisarason.com, www.nextdorstl.org, www.hiphopinspires.us 311
ROI COMMUNITY MEMBERS Aaron Edelheit USA
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Aaron Small USA
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Adam Angel USA
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Albert Levi Israel
Aleksandra Wilczura Poland
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Alexander Chester Israel
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Alan Levy Venezuela
Alan Meyer Chile
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Andrew Harris Australia
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Ari Moss USA
Ari Teman USA
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Anna Pivovarova Anne Lumerman Russia USA
Anne Marie Moralli Israel
Anthony Anneli Radestad Rogers-Wright Sweden USA
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Ariel Beery Israel
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Ariela Levy Argentina
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Avery Pack USA
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Aviel Avraham Israel
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Avner Warner Israel
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Ayelet Sagi Israel
Azi Fishman USA
Benjamin Magarik USA
Benjamin Zagzag313 Belgium/France
Baruch Rock Israel
Becca Hailpern Becky Goldberg Ben Levitt Benjamin Davies Benjamin Kamm USA Israel United Kingdom USA USA
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Benny Meir Israel
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Brian Heimberg China
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Candice Rakusin South Africa
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Daniel Herszenhaut Brazil
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Daniela Blank Venezuela
Daniella Sandler Danielle Lauren Danielle Rugoff Israel Australia USA
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Danny Greene USA
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Dany Koren Israel
Daria Gutkina Belarus
Darina Privalko Dario Rosemblat Ukraine Argentina
David Burnett, Z�L Australia
David Chernovetzky Mexico
David Goodman Canada
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Daniel Adesse Brazil
Chaym Feldman Israel
Chloe Safier USA
Cindy Luterman Claudia Kravetz Cochav Elkayam Canada Argentina Israel
Dafna Neiman Dafna Rosenberg Dana Bairamov Israel Chile United Kingdom
Daniel Rattner Canada
Daniel Roth USA
Dana Peer Israel
Daniel Sieradski Daniel Silverstein USA United Kingdom
Dana Pulver Israel
Daniel Weil Israel
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David Koekoek Netherlands
Deon Kamien Australia
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Dean Rabinowitz Deborah Fishman Deborah Levitan Deborah Plum Australia USA Brazil USA
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Eduardo Berner Eileen Levinson Mexico USA
Einat Amitai Israel
Einat Kramer Israel
Eli Cohen Spain
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Elizabeth Corlin USA
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Erika Keibel Costa Rica
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315 Ethan Wagner USA
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Gerardo Tyszberowicz Argentina
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Hannah Janal Hannah Solomon Hannah Weisfeld Harry Rubenstein Hershey Novack USA USA United Kingdom Israel USA
Eva Serebrinsky Evan Rosenstock Evelyn Goldfinger Chile Argentina Argentina
Felipe Baytelman Fernando Blum Chile Brazil
Gad Lazarov Italy
Gal LeifermanBensadon Spain
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Gidon Melmed Giordana Grego Graham Hoffman Israel Israel USA
Guido Setton USA
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Ilan Tzadka Israel
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Inna Vainstein USA
Ira Gewanter USA
Irena Kokusz Poland
Isaac Hametz USA
Isaac Zones USA
Ishay Fishman Israel
Israel Duanis Israel
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Jacob Strumwasser USA
Jared Jackson USA
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Jeremy Applebaum USA
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Joel Kurulkar India
Jonathan Gutstadt USA
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317 Kleri Kapyas Turkey
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Jeffrey Waldman USA
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Kate Forester Katharina Duarte Kimberly Gordon USA Denmark USA
Joel Stanley Johanna Herman Canada United Kingdom
Jordan Mandel USA
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Julio Levy Paraguay
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Laura Talinovsky Lauren Feldman Lauren Gottlieb Israel USA USA
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Michael Misrachi Michael Novack Michel Gherman Michelle Collins Michelle Kerner Australia USA Brazil USA USA
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319 Noa Ohayon Israel
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321 Tami Lapid Israel
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Valentin Solomiak Lithuania
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Yuri Tsitrinbaum Israel
Yury Nabutovski Russia
Yuval Passov Israel
Yvonne Feiger USA
Ziv Maor Israel
Ziva HallerRubenstein Israel
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ROI SUMMIT STAFF Abigail Pickus Jerusalem, Israel
Beth Glick Vancouver, Canada
Elissa Krycer Jerusalem, Israel Beto Maya Modi’in, Israel
ROI Headquarters, 7 Derech Beit Lechem, Jerusalem, Israel
Esther Kustanowitz Los Angeles, USA
Jen Keys Washington DC, USA
Yonatan Gordis Vancouver, Canada
Tracy McNamara Boston, USA
Roben Kantor Washington DC, USA
Steve Yastrow Chicago, USA
Shoshana Boyd Gelfand London, UK
Shoshana Israel Jerusalem, Israel
Justin Korda Jerusalem, Israel
No’a Gorlin Jerusalem, Israel
Seth Cohen Atlanta, USA Shahar Tishkoff Har Adar, Israel
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Justin Korda
No’a Gorlin
Justin Korda is ROI Community’s Executive Director. He has been with ROI since its inception in 2005. Growing up in Montreal, Canada, Justin was influenced by “Robin Hood-type” Jewish activists, young people who were catalysts for change. Justin believes in making Judaism accessible to the next
No’a Gorlin is responsible for all grantmaking in the ROI Community, including actively supporting ROIers by helping them set and achieve their goals.
Executive Director
generation of secular Jews. In 1999, Justin led the first Taglit-Birthright Israel trip from Canada. He went on to become the coordinator of follow-up programs for returning participants and he later served in a number of positions at the CanadaIsrael Experience where he was instrumental in implementing TaglitBirthright Israel for the first 5,000 participants from Canada. Justin holds an M.B.A. from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya and a B.A. in Political Science from McGill University. He and his wife, Yael, live on a moshav in the outskirts of Jerusalem, with their son and dog.
Grants Manager
No’a began her career as a marketing professional in the Israeli high-tech industry. Searching for a way to add meaning to her life while impacting the Jewish world, No’a transitioned into the nonprofit sector. No’a served as Associate Director of Kolot, an organization that sets out to increase Jewish identity among secular Israelis through Jewish text study. She then joined the Chais Family Foundation, which was devoted to the advancement of educational excellence in Israel and the deepening of Jewish identity. As Program Officer, No’a managed the full grant cycle, handling new requests for funding and overseeing existing grants, relationships and partnerships. Before joining ROI, she worked on developing partnerships at the Rashi Foundation. No’a lives in Jerusalem with her husband, son and three daughters.
Beto Maya
Program Manager As the Program Manager for ROI, Beto Maya is responsible for summit selection, programming, regional gatherings and more. Born in Mexico City, Beto was very active in the Zionist youth movement, Dor Chadash. After making aliyah in 1993, Beto developed Zionist Education and Leadership programming in many different frameworks. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Education Degree from the Beit Berl College in Informal Education and Israeli Studies, Beto worked in the Hagshama Department of the World Zionist Organization. Beto was then sent to Mexico City as a shaliach for the Jewish Agency for Israel and returned to Israel after three years. Before joining the ROI team, Beto was the Education Coordinator of the Herzl Museum. Beto lives in Modi’in with Liora (wife), Tamar, Yael and Michal (daughters) and Kranky and Pushke (dogs). He misses real Mexican food and he truly loves the San Diego Padres.
Elissa Krycer
Communications Manager Elissa Krycer joined ROI in February 2011. She grew up in Australia where she was an active member of the Zionist youth groups, including serving as the State Director for Bnei Akiva Victoria. Elissa graduated from Monash University with bachelor degrees in law and commerce. In 2006, days before making aliyah, Elissa began the process of test-taking, internships and bar exams to qualify as an Israeli lawyer. After gaining experience in a commercial Tel Aviv law firm and a Jerusalem-based British law firm, Elissa took the next most logical step - and went into nonprofit. Elissa has also worked in International Relations at Keren Kayemeth L’Yisrael. Although Elissa led a Taglit-Birthright program in 2003, she still enjoys the Birthright atmosphere on many Fridays throughout the year as she shops for last minute Shabbat supplies at Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market, opposite her home in Nachlaot.
ROI COMMUNITY
Shoshana Israel
Jen Keys
Shoshana Israel recently took maternity leave from her position as the Communications Manager of the ROI Community where she was responsible for communications materials and website development.
Jen Keys is a consultant for the ROI Community and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in Washington D.C. In 2008 and 2010, Jen was a staff member for the ROI Summits.
Communications Manager
Prior to joining ROI, Shoshana worked in Canada and Israel in public relations and marketing. In Canada, she worked with UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and was responsible for PR for their annual Walk with Israel in addition to working in communications for the Ontario Government. In Israel, Shoshana worked at Hadassah College Jerusalem, where she was responsible for creating marketing materials and was also the Director of Online Content for a film production company. While Shoshana enjoyed Toronto, she sought fresh produce and a day off on Yom Kippur. Shoshana made aliyah in 2007. She hasn’t looked back and currently resides with her husband and newborn son in Jerusalem. She looks forward to visiting the 2011 ROI Summit.
Shahar Tishkoff
Administrative Coordinator Shahar Tishkoff is the administrative coordinator for the ROI Community, the Schusterman Foundation-Israel and the Jerusalem Season of Culture (JSOC). Shahar was born and primarily raised in Jerusalem, although she spent a number of her early years in Los Angeles, CA, with her family on shlichut. Shahar served in an elite unite of the IDF air force intelligence, after which she studied film and television production at Hadassah College in Jerusalem. She later earned a B.A. in economics, management and political science from Bar-Ilan University. Shahar worked as a target planner and case manager for A4E – Jerusalem, “Action for Employment.” She also worked for one of the biggest law firms in Israel, Yigal Arnon & Co., as a personal assistant to leading partners, as well as at another leading law firm, Yehuda Raveh & Co., where she managed the visa and citizenship department.
Y STAFF
Communications Liaison and Summit Co-Producer
Jen pursued her love of dance at the Baltimore School for the Arts and New York University’s (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Her numerous volunteer opportunities include the “Leading up North” initiative and Project Otzma, where she taught English and dance to children with special needs throughout Israel. As a graduate of the Schusterman Insight Fellowship, Jen worked at three Jewish organizations throughout Washington D.C., including BBYO, Inc., the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. She has also served as an Account Manager for The Dershowitz Group. Jen is a serious dog-lover, grammar geek and has a tendency to sneeze in multiples of 7.
Abigail Pickus
Editorial Consultant Abigail Pickus is the Editorial Consultant for the ROI Community. She settled in Israel two years ago from her hometown of Chicago, IL. A journalist, she is the former single’s columnist and blogger for the Jewish Week in New York and currently writes their monthly “Home and Away” column. In addition to past stints as a reporter and editor, she helped spearhead and run the Nextbook literary series in Chicago. Her work has been published in the Chicago Tribune, Time Out Chicago, many Jewish publications and more. When she’s not trying to perfect the art of ghee making or working on her novel, she’s taking long walks with her cranky and constant doggy companion, Trevor.
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Yonatan Gordis
Managing Director, The Center for Leadership Initiatives Yonatan Gordis is Managing Director and Senior Consultant of the Center for Leadership Initiatives (CLI). A renowned designer and facilitator of retreats and conferences, Yoni has nearly 25 years of experience as an organizational consultant. As a strategist and coach, he has worked with social entrepreneurs on four continents. He is also part of the ROI design and facilitation team. Prior to the launch of CLI in 2006, Yoni was the principal at a consulting firm that worked with non-profit and philanthropic clients internationally. Yoni was a founding member of the Elul Beit Midrash in Jerusalem and a teacher in numerous educational institutions throughout Israel. Born in the United States, he lived in Israel for nearly twenty years, and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two daughters. A graduate of Columbia University, Yoni received private rabbinic ordination in Israel, served as an officer in the Israel Air Force, and spent time as a midwife’s assistant, a teacher of Jewish text and creative writing, a translator of military history, and a fan of live music.
Beth Glick
Senior Consultant, The Center for Leadership Initiatives Beth Glick has worked with organizational clients in over fifteen countries on three continents. Her expertise lies in working with organizations to maximize their strategic and operational impact, using a variety of techniques including coaching and consultation, training and facilitation. Prior to Beth’s work with CLI, she was Associate Director at Dasra, an Indiabased venture philanthropy fund maximizing social investments and building nonprofit sector leaders across South Asia. With philanthropic organizations such as The Global Fund for Children, Ashoka and American Jewish World Service, she has worked on strategy, organizational restructuring, human resources, leadership development, and impact evaluation. Beth has also held positions with Partners for Democratic Change, Amnesty International and Sarvodaya (Sri Lanka’s largest nongovernmental organization). She holds a master’s degree in religious conflict and conflict resolution from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in religion from the University of California, Berkeley.
Esther Kustanowitz Senior Media Consultant, ROI Community
Esther Kustanowitz is the Senior Media Consultant to the ROI Community. She is committed to creating and cultivating collaboration between established Jewish organizations and innovative initiatives. A Los Angeles-based writer, avid Twitterer and entertaining blogger (including the creator of My Urban Kvetch and JDaters Anonymous), consultant and Jewish communal professional, she specializes in social media, pop culture, Jewish community and innovation. Esther has written and consulted for many Jewish publications and organizations, she has served as innovation consultant for the 2010 JFNA General Assembly and she currently works part-time as Program Coordinator for the NextGen Engagement Initiative at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. In 2011 alone, Esther presented at the BBYO International Convention, LimmudLA, Jewlicious Festival and TribeFest. Esther is a long-time consultant for the ROI Community and she is proudly attending her sixth ROI Summit.
Tracy McNamara Intern, Project Otzma, ROI Community
Tracy McNamara is a recent graduate of the University of Tampa where she majored in psychology. While at Tampa, Tracy was the Student Coordinator of organizations for the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement as well as a volunteer coordinator for the PEACE Volunteer Center. She visited Israel on a leadership training program in 2004 and in 2008 as a participant in the Jewish National Fund’s Alternative Spring Break. Tracy is currently on Otzma, a 10-month volunteer program in Israel, organized by the Jewish Agency, where she has volunteered with the elderly and the mentally disabled, taught English in elementary schools and worked for Haifa Hillel. Currently, Tracy is interning with ROI, an experience she knows will prepare her for future endeavours and adventure.
ROI SUMMIT STA Beth is a native Californian who lives with her husband and son in Vancouver after many years in India, Washington D.C., Boston and Sri Lanka.
Seth Cohen
Director of Network Development, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Seth Cohen is the Director of Network Development for the Schusterman Foundation where he is leading the effort to identify, connect, support and create global networks of young Jewish adults. He is also a legal advisor for the Foundation. Seth worked for 13 years as a corporate attorney, most recently as a partner at the international law firm of Holland & Knight LLP. Seth is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program and has served as a committed volunteer activist in the local and national Jewish community, including as a Vice-Chair and Chair of Allocations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and in volunteer leadership roles for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Seth is a member of the board of Joshua Venture Group and a member of the Young Leadership Cabinet of Jewish Federations of North America. Seth and his wife, Marci, live in Atlanta, with their children, Morgan, Danielle and Jordan.
Steve Yastrow
Author & Advisor, Yastrow & Co. Steve Yastrow is the author of two books, We: The Ideal Customer Relationship and Brand Harmony. Management guru Tom Peters said, “When Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention.” Peters called Brand Harmony “compelling and powerful,” and We a “superb book.” Steve’s next book, Ditch the Pitch, will be published in early 2012. Yastrow & Company, Steve’s consulting firm, advises companies on branding, business strategy, marketing, sales and customer relationship-building. Steve’s clients have included organizations as diverse as McDonald’s, Kimpton Hotels and The Cayman Islands government. In 2011, Steve and his team have worked closely with the ROI Community to help draft ROI’s future, discovering ways to support members as they impact the world in powerful ways.
AFF
Roben Kantor
Communications Officer, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Roben Kantor is the Communications Officer at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation’s Washington, D.C., office. She is resp onsible for advancing the Foundation’s efforts to strengthen Jewish identity and community through strategic communications, thought leadership, traditional and social media, grant management, special projects and other activities. Prior to CLSFF, Roben worked at Designkitchen where she created content for websites and digital branding campaigns. She also has extensive editorial experience honed during the three years she spent writing and editing at the nonprofit monthly World Jewish Digest. Roben holds a master’s of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. A native of Chicago, she is excited to be living in D.C. where she can explore the East and South while running outside in winter and discovering new yoga studios.
Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Director, JHUB – Jewish Social Action and Innovation Shoshana Boyd Gelfand is the Director of JHub, a programme of the Pears Foundation. JHub provides residency, organizational development and support to Jewish charities working in the areas of social action and innovation. Previously, Shoshana served as Chief Executive of the UK Movement for Reform Judaism and prior to that, Vice-President of the Wexner Heritage Foundation in New York. She received her rabbinic ordination in 1993 at the Jewish Theological Seminary and currently makes her home in London, with her husband, Jonathan Boyd, and their three children.
Steve has homes in Deerfield, IL, and Jerusalem. He plays in a band, Shakshuka, with his 22-year old son. You can check Steve’s work-life out at www.yastrow.com, and his music out at www.shakshuka.com. 329
MANY THANKS TO: Lynn Schusterman, Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Sandy Cardin, President of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation The Schusterman Philanthropic Network: Adam Simon • Alana Hughes • April Merrill David Gappell • Deidra Payne • Kim Weiss Kristen Foshee • Lila Miller • Lisa Eisen • Randy K. Macon • Renee Jacobs • Rhonda Youngblood • Roben Kantor • Sarah Mathews Seth Cohen • Shannon Oliver • Sharon Lemel • Sharon Robinson Jerusalem Season Of Culture: Gili Dror • Itay Mautner • Karen Brunwasser • Malki AmirDanon • Naomi Bloch Fortis • Rotem Rozental Roy Regev • Ruthi Soudack Taglit-Birthright-Israel: Gidi Mark • Ada Spitzer • Doron Karni • Nimrod Ran • Channa Chadad-Flick • Mooli Brog • Zohar Raviv Elizabeth Sokolsky • Flora Segal • Hagit Polatov-Frankel • Yehuda Hason • Shoshana Coblentz • Na’ama Shaarabi • Patricia Garten • Shirly Golan • Sivan Abergel ROI members who share their Jewish journeys with us
Production: Iris Zohar Productions Ltd. – Iris Zohar • Ilanit Regev • Ofri Patal • Ronit Bar-El • Nadav Kravitz Public Relations: Lead Story Plus, Ltd. – Sara Averick • Jose Rosenfeld; The Dershowitz Group – Toby Dershowitz • Elana Itzkowitz Travel: Tag Travel – PJ Sahor Branding and Design: Say – Brand Strategy & Expression – Asaf Issacaroff • Daniel Eber Dan Hotel Jerusalem: Oshrat Edry Website: Kula One – Daniel Gwerzman iPhSoft: Liron Barzilay • Yinon Yamim Yad Ben Tzvi: Arik Wirtzburger • Nir Ortal Video and Photography: Adi Cohen • Liora Levi • Roi Merkel • Sivan Baron Family, Friends, Supporters and Contributors: ABC Print House • Amanda Cullen • Amos Gilboa • Amy Caron-Shif • Ari Gorlin & Family (Nitzan, Ma’ayan, Einav & Dolev) • Caroline Ceisel • David Bachar • Doug Pinche • Ehud Afek • Joanne Glass • Jo-Ann Mort • Jonathan Shiff • Liora Maya & Family (Michal, Tamar & Yael) • Mirit Ben Naim • Rina Bentuza • Suzy Cohen • Svetlana Shmuliyan • Yael Goodman-Korda & Noam
תודה
Friends and colleagues who helped recruit such incredible candidates for this year’s Summit and all the great individuals who applied.
While we celebrate our creative, religious and personal freedoms, we remember those who still suffer the indignity of captivity. In particular, we extend our thoughts and prayers to Gilad Shalit. May we witness his safe and imminent return home. To all of you, and to those of you who were mistakenly omitted, we express our most sincere appreciation. Thank you for your numerous contributions to the 2011 ROI Summit. In gratitude, The ROI Team
Printed in Jerusalem 2011
Program Operated and Implemented by Iris Zohar Premium brands & lifestyle Branding and Design by Say brand strategy & expression (www.saybrand.co.il)