ROI 2013: Who Are You?

The final list of participants in the 2013 iteration of the ROI Summit was released recently. The ROI summit is an annual gathering that brings together a select group of 150 young Jews from across the world for an almost all expenses paid, intense, 4-day experience that involves networking, collaboration, skill building and more. To date there are over 800 alumni who have participated in ROI over the last 7 years of its existence. The alumni include some of the best known names in the areas of Jewish Innovation and social entrepreneurship – I’m not going to embarrass anyone by mentioning names, but if there’s something cool and Jewish going on almost anywhere in the world, chances are that an ROI alum is not too far away. Once you become an ROI member, you belong to this very diverse, international group of people. The Schusterman Foundation, who underwrites the cost of this event, also supports a whole series of gatherings and get-togethers that take place throughout the year – these include Connection Points, Meetups and Regional Gatherings – some of which are open to prospective ROI members as well as existing ones. On top of that, every ROI alum is entitled to an annual stipend which they may spend to support a project or use to attend relevant events.

Long story short – ROI is clearly the gold standard when it comes to the direction and face of young Jewish innovation. Said innovation does not exist in a vacuum. It takes place in a context of decreasing levels of affiliation among young Jews. Jewish denominations like to trot out numbers and statistics to show how one or the other is the fastest growing, but the fact remains that the fastest growing segment of the young Jewish population is one that is unaffiliated with the larger Jewish community. Many reasons have been posited for this situation – young Jews are uninspired by what the organized Jewish community has to offer. Thus they either create their own extended and more personally relevant communities or they simply opt out entirely. ROI stands as an attempt, at least in theory, to create avenues of identification that are relevant because they are the product of young Jews seeking to find relevance. And it’s as pareve and ideologically neutral grouping you will ever find, one that includes a purposefully diverse group of Jews of every stripe and persuasion.

As such, the annual cohort merits a closer look. Whoever they are, they represent one organization’s perception of the future of the Jewish Community. The application process itself is a bottoms up affair, with alumni and community members suggesting prospective candidates and the ROI staff undertaking the often painful task of deciding who to choose out of the hundreds of applicants. As Justin Korda, Executive Director of ROI Community recently wrote in eJewishPhilanthropy:

The application process for the ROI Summit is simultaneously one of the best and hardest times of the year for me – best because it reinforces the incredible young Jewish talent coming of age in communities around the world; hardest because I’m reminded that the Jewish world still does not have enough compelling opportunities to nurture all of it. Until we do, far too many young Jews who want to contribute to strengthening the Jewish future will be told “no, but” rather than “yes, and.” Faced with a negative response, many will choose to focus their time and talent elsewhere – a loss for them and for our community.

Yeah. No doubt. As such, Wendy In Furs and I divvied up the bios of this year’s cohort and looked for some commonalities. The first thing we did was create the word cloud illustration which you see at the top of this post. The Word Cloud is generated from entering all the bios at once into Wordie. You can try it yourself using this form – just click on the submit button below and using wordie you can create your own ROI 2013 word cloud and customize it any way you like:

Agata Kaplon was born and grew up in Poland. She graduated from the University of Wroclaw, where she studied sociology and philosophy. She also studied in Austria and Germany, where she researched migrant pathways and biographies, which later became the focus of her Ph.D. thesis. Currently, Agata lives in Berlin and works as the Project Coordinator of Jews Go Green, an environmental project of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Agata is passionate about traveling, Judaism, Portuguese literature, writing and yoga, and she believes that Berlin has emerged as a real player “on the map” of Modern Jewish Europe.
Jews Go Green puts environmental awareness on the forefront of the Jewish German Community, particularly targeting its younger generation. This is a project that showcases Judaism’s universal values, which is especially important in light of the challenges facing the world in the 21st century. Considering Jewish voices have always been part of the conversation about universal values, they should not be silent in the face of today’s environmental discussions. This is what Jews Go Green hopes to impart to today’s young Jewish community.
Agustin Pereira was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. At the age of 18, he moved to Florida to study international affairs and play golf. At age 20, he moved back to Uruguay, stopped playing golf and ended his career in international affairs. Agustin initially worked for a file storage company, BANK – Compañía de Archivos y Servicios S.A., which operates in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. He then launched his own company with two friends at the age of 22. APWIND is a small wind farm (10 MW) 85 kilometers east of Montevideo. Once the founders began mastering the business and realized its potential, they decided to develop much larger wind farms. Currently, the group is constructing its first wind farm (50 MW) – a $110 million investment. For this project, called Parque Eólico Kiyú, San José, they teamed up with the Spanish construction company, COBRA. Now APWIND is developing four other wind power projects in Uruguay, as well as a photovoltaic farm.
The wind power business has the potential to lessen Uruguay’s crippling reliance on the importation of oil and gas and enable it to harness free and renewable energy sources. Every year, Uruguay buys huge quantities of electricity from Argentina and Brazil at very high prices – around $480 per mw/h – and as a result, Uruguayan citizens and companies end up paying exorbitantly high prices for electricity. Changing the energy matrix in Uruguay will not only save everyone money, it will positively impact the environment. Renewable energy is the future and the entire world must become involved in its research and development. Agustin’s wind power project, APWIND, is constructing 12 wind farms (50 MW each) throughout Uruguay to gradually transform its energy standard. Agustin co-founded the company and is its General Manager. He drafted the business plan, oversaw the agreement with the land owners, supervised the wind measures, kept track of the project’s cash flow and negotiated with the national utility company and the construction company.
Alana Shultz is fortunate to have inherited a strong Jewish identity from her parents and Holocaust-survivor grandparents. Since receiving her master’s degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary, she has devoted her time to the Jewish community of New York City. For eight years, she has worked as the Program Director of Shearith Israel – The Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue. In this multi-faceted position, she works to preserve the rich historic legacy of America’s oldest Jewish congregation while rendering the synagogue relevant for a modern generation. She creates cultural programs for the community, from toddlers to seniors, while focusing on reaching the young professional demographic. Over the years,
Alana has been active in many Jewish communal and philanthropic organizations, including Dor Chadash, MJE, Friends of the IDF, Innovation: Africa and JICNY. She has served as a board member and Director of Young Leadership of Jewish Life Series and the OR Movement. Currently, she is on the board of the nascent Israel Academic Institute and the Am Yisrael Foundation. She is also an adviser to the global crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Alana has been very active in spreading the gospel of crowdfunding, raising money from the masses to support the Jewish communal world. As an advisor for Indiegogo, she helped create a partnership with the ROI Community and other projects and organizations. She is interested in bringing the concept to the civic realm in Israel to create Startup Tel Aviv. Using Startup America as a model, local government will be tapped to help stimulate entrepreneurship and community projects that have been vetted by the public. Money contributed is the ultimate vote, proving community approval and leading to success stories. Alana envisions three categories for the White City: Entrepreneurship, Public Art and Festivals and Communal Services.
Alex Fain is a young enterprising man of 26 years who devotes a great part of his life to the Jewish community and its continuity. He holds a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires and is the Director of CoolAm, an organization that he created three years ago to engage young Jews that has so far reached more than 17,000 people. For the last two years, Alex has been the CEO of Iaacob House, a hostel where Israeli backpackers live and participate in hundreds of activities and events with their Argentinian counterparts. He is currently the Executive Director of Hillel Argentina where he oversees the development of its three branches throughout the country as well as a new strategic plan to engage those young Jews estranged from the Jewish community.
In order for the Jewish community to thrive, it is crucial to find ways to forge relationships with those disconnected from Jewish institutions. Traditionally, this is a role expected to be performed only by leaders of the community. Innovation comes into play by creating a strategy in which all young people active in the community reach out to those who are not involved. Through this, a chain of responsibility is created. Alex’s role is to make this chain work, thereby exponentially increasing young, engaged Jews. The impact that can be generated through this is revolutionary. The secret lies in the right selection of the first 30 links. Alex is constantly in touch with all the institutions that target Jewish youth, helping them generate new members. Through the direction of Hillel, CoolAm and Iaacob House, he is in touch with thousands of young people every day.
Alison Hardacre lives in Melbourne, Australia, and has also lived in Asia. After leaving a high-flying corporate career, Alison founded a global health technology platform that, in just four years, has gone from an idea to a service that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Alison is a former Young Australian of the Year, thanks to her community service, and has been the director of a number of Australian charities and services, including in the mental health, welfare and disability sectors. She is also an active member of the Melbourne Jewish community. Alison speaks five Asian languages and holds an M.B.A., as well as law and liberal arts degrees. She is greatly attracted to the Jewish value of tikkun olam.
Alison is the Managing Director and Co-founder of HealthKit, the first global health technology platform for doctors and patients that makes health efficient, effective and accessible all over the world while finding cures for the world’s diseases. The problems of healthcare are the same everywhere: Two-thirds of people don’t get the help they need when they need it because they can’t find the right practitioner. It is worse in rural areas. Compounding this is the hour of administration a day doctors must complete, which is time that could be better spent treating patients. HealthKit provides software for doctors in every country of the world to manage their practice and patients so they can treat more patients. For patients, HealthKit has the largest, most detailed directory of doctors anywhere in the world and currently serves over 50% of the world’s English speaking population while also providing tools for patients to track their health that they can share with their doctors and transform treatment. Alison founded HealthKit as an idea four years ago and now HealthKit improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Even the data behind HealthKit can save lives as its health data analytics has more potential to save lives than drug innovations, according to the World Health Organization.
Allison Josephs has been involved in the field of Jewish outreach for over a dozen years as a teacher and lecturer. She has worked at Partners in Torah, Sinai Retreats and NCSY and is the spiritual mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. Allison was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers in 2012 and has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post and Yahoo News. Allison has been interviewed on television and radio, including programs such as What Not To Wear, Associate Press TV, and National Public Radio. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the newly released anthology, “Like Water on a Rock,” The Washington Times, The Jewish Press and The Forward. She has also directed and produced videos for Aish.com and lectures around the country and on WebYeshiva. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.
Many people have negative perceptions of Orthodox Jews and Judaism. To them, Orthodoxy is: backwards, repressed, outdated, sexist, anti-science. Scandals that reinforce these misconceptions hit the media all too often. Popular movies, books and TV shows repeat negative stereotypes about religious Jews and their lifestyles. This is the battle that Jew in the City (JITC) has been fighting since 2007. Through YouTube videos, blogs and other social media platforms, JITC (through its founder, Allison Josephs and a group of volunteers) publicizes the message that Orthodox Jews can be funny, approachable, educated, pro-women and open-minded and that Orthodox Judaism links the Jewish people to a deep and beautiful heritage that is just as relevant today as it ever was. Jew in the City has reached hundreds of thousands of people since its inception from across the spectrum, including Muslims, Christians and atheists. The feedback received is that JITC’s content inspires, educates and helps them better understand a group that they’d never truly understood before. The key to JITC’s success is in its ability to introduce a relatable Orthodox Jew to the world through the power of new media.
Amanda Goodman is a proverbial citizen of the world, having been born in South Africa, attended school and university in the United States, lived and worked in England and found a place to call home in Australia. Amanda is the Head of Communal Planning at JCA, an organization responsible for supporting the New South Wales Jewish community through fundraising and planning on behalf of 22 member organizations, where she works to plan for future community needs and identify strategies to enhance Jewish continuity. Prior to joining the JCA, Amanda worked with the LJCB Investment Group, a diversified investment vehicle owned by the Melbourne-based Liberman family. Before moving to Australia, Amanda worked for a London-based private equity firm focusing on early-stage technology investments. She also worked for Goldman Sachs in their Investment Banking division in both London and New York. Amanda has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie 
Amanda is a senior manager at the JCA, where she is responsible for all strategic planning and where she oversees a team of project coordinators and consultants/volunteers. Her responsibilities include providing for strategic allocation of annual funds raised, ongoing review of constituent debt/capital projects, management and allocation of income from endowment funds, evaluation of new member organizations, design and execution of a range of planning projects to optimize performance and service delivery and more. The reality is that work in the Jewish community is not always innovative, but it needs to be in order to safeguard ongoing relevance and effectiveness in engaging Jewish donors and changemakers. By having direct input into the allocation of resources (both financial and human) across the community, Amanda is in a position to shape communal offerings and priorities. She seeks to learn from peers around the world to ensure her own community is supporting innovative solutions that have the potential to create real, measurable and meaningful change.
Amy Witt grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended the University of Michigan. She graduated with high honors in 2007 with a double major in psychology and sociology. She is also certified in intergroup relations and facilitation. Upon graduating, Amy joined Teach for America where she taught fifth grade in the Bronx, New York, and was a grade leader, student council sponsor and a member of the curriculum mapping team. Amy moved back to Chicago in 2009 to join Chicago Run, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote the health and wellness of Chicago children through running. Over the past three and a half years, Amy has served many roles at Chicago Run and has helped the organization grow to serve over 16,000 students. Amy is currently the Director of Strategy and Development. Through her involvement as a REALITY Israel participant and REALITY Check fellow, Amy has bridged her passion for social justice with her Jewish values. She currently serves on the board of Repair the World and is a Starting Bloc Fellow. In July 2012, she was named part of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Young Leadership Division and Oy! Chicago’s “36 under 36” list.
Amy’s work at Chicago Run (CR) is innovative in its simplicity and impact. CR takes an asset based community development approach in ensuring that its programs are best meeting the diverse needs of each of its 55 schools. CR aims to instill the importance of an active and healthy lifestyle in children by providing schools with the resources and incentives needed to start adding physical activity into the school day. In addition, CR uses running as a neutralizer by bringing together participants from different neighborhoods to participate in local road races. The hope is to enhance the health and well-being of every child in Chicago. Amy’s role includes overseeing program implementation, development and creating innovative strategies to address various challenges (such as unsafe play space, inclement weather and the changing structure of schools). CR is also innovative in its use of digital learning to allow participants to take pride in their communities and learn about the city by virtually running through Chicago. As one of the only free programs in the Chicago Public Schools, it has a direct impact on the overall health environment of schools by engaging teachers, students, staff and family members.
Anna Vainer is in the process of reinventing herself. What never changes is her passion for Jewish culture and the country in which she lives. Anna was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and made aliyah to Israel in 1991. She graduated from Haifa University, earning a B.A. in political science and an M.B.A. in nonprofit management. Discharged with honors from the IDF as a lieutenant, Anna landed a summer job that turned into a decade-long professional career in informal Jewish education. As a teacher and trainer, Anna has also learned from her participants across North America, the FSU and Israel. She has launched and directed numerous educational projects for the Jewish Agency for Israel and Oranim College of Education. After three intense years in New York as an emissary of the Jewish Agency, directing a team that outreached to émigrés from the FSU, she returned to Haifa. Currently, Anna is a freelance educational programming developer and consultant in Israel and abroad. Supporting her through all of her endeavors are her husband Leonid and tots, Naomi and Yonatan.
Anna is at her best when finding a hard nut to crack. Her passion for challenges and a firsthand understanding of what it means to be an unaffiliated Jew and an immigrant led her to work with Russian speaking Jews (RSJ) in North America. In this role, Anna reached out to those who had never attended anything remotely Jewish, created new educational concepts and always paid attention to the smallest of details. An example of Anna’s work is the Blueprint Fellowship, a program she created with the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations. This fellowship for Russian speaking Jewish artists and community leaders has so far empowered 80 fellows and has drawn thousands of unaffiliated Jews to unique cultural and educational events. Anna’s current venture focuses on developing and teaching innovative Jewish programming. Tentatively named CITRUS (Community Initiators Training for Russian Jews in the U.S.), the venture seeks to fill the void in professional training in the areas of community building and group facilitation among Russian speaking young adults in America. Its goal is to reach hundreds of RSJ young adults through its trainees.
Anny Degani is a Senior Consultant and Project Manager in the Incentives Department at Deloitte, Israel. She has over two years of experience working with the Office of the Chief Scientist in all areas of technology. In her work, she focuses on assisting companies to leverage their abilities by formulating research and development plans and by availing themselves of various government incentives. Anny is also a secular rabbi. She conducts lifecycle ceremonies (e.g. weddings, kabbalat Shabbat services and Passover seders), workshops and lectures on Jewish traditions and its calendar. She also serves as a member of the board of Merchav: Israeli Secular Rabbis Association, a 12-year-old volunteer community. Every year, 250 rabbis build a camp in the desert for the week of Passover. Anny is certified as a secular rabbi from Tmura: The institute for Training Secular Humanistic Rabbis & Jewish Leadership in Israel. She also holds a B.Sc. in life sciences and art history from Tel Aviv University and completed coursework for a M.Sc. in plant sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Anny believes each generation must take an active part in creating its culture in a manner that corresponds with tradition. As a rabbi, Anny is involved in many aspects of creating value to secular Jews, both in their everyday lives and in their sacred moments. She conducts secular Jewish wedding ceremonies, created especially for (and with) the married couples. She also lectures and conducts workshops on Jewish holidays and events and on topics relating to social justice and human rights. In her work, Anny combines her scientific knowledge and her understanding of the arts with her Jewish and humanistic content. Anny was active in building Merchav’s volunteer community in its early years and in recent years has conducted Kabbalat Shabbat services and the second Passover Seder for around 250 people in its desert camp. During last year’s social protests, Anny conducted workshops and several Kabbalat Shabbat services on Sderot Nordau in Tel Aviv (for approxinately 400 people each), created especially in the spirit of the protest. As part of Merchav’s Board, she is in charge of the culture committee where she helps formulate the Association’s agenda and plan of action.
Ari Eitan was born in Jerusalem as the eldest son of eight siblings to a father who is a prominent rabbi in the Haredi community. After years of religious studies at a yeshiva where he was studying to become a Haredi rabbi, Ari decided to take an unacceptable step and enlisted in the IDF as a combat soldier. He then spent 14 months in Southeast Asia where he learned about Eastern religions and philosophy. His exposure to a variety of religious cultures, from Buddhism to Haredism, helped him develop a unique approach to Judaism and religion and ultimately to choose an independent path from the Haredi community. In addition to his Ph.D. studies in law and education at Tel Aviv University, Ari is the Founder and Chairman of The Ilan Institute, an NGO that aims to advance higher education and employment among the Haredi sector. Ari is also a lawyer and a writer. His two books “Yedid Nefesh” and “In The Name of Reason” are thought provoking. Ari speaks Hebrew, English and Arabic.
One in every four Jewish children in Israel grows up in the ultra-Orthodox “Haredi” sector. Due to a variety of reasons that derive from religious dogma, the Haredi boys (unlike the girls) are not exposed to secular studies, such as English, mathematics, science, civics, etc. This lack of basic knowledge causes hardships and limitations to both the average Haredi man and to the State of Israel, as well. Ari overcame these barriers to education in his 20s. After leaving yeshiva and serving in the IDF, he gradually advanced in his pursuit of higher education until he became a Ph.D. law student. Today, he is the Founder and Chairman of The Ilan Institute, which is a first of its kind. Currently, 30 Haredi youth attend the Institute’s two-year program where their education is enhanced by leadership and life skills on issues such as social activism, critical thinking and tolerance. The future of Israel cannot be secure without the Haredi sector becoming active participants in the workforce and contributing members of Israeli society.
Ariane Mandell was born in New Hampshire and currently resides in Boston. She graduated magna cum laude in East Asian studies from Bates College and earned a master’s in comparative religion, folklore and mythology from Harvard Divinity School. Ariane’s talk at the Harvard Folklore Symposium on the religious and healing properties of weeping in folklore was standing-room only. She was part of a round table discussion published in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. By day, Ariane is a sales trainer in the educational travel industry, but she dedicates most of her spare time to writing fiction. Ariane is dedicated to creating work with central Jewish characters and hopes to inspire others to do the same. Her first novel, “Ether,” will hit shelves in the next few years. She has a second book in the works.
The transition from childhood to adulthood is often difficult. One comfort for teens is identifying with characters in the media who are going through similar travails. There is a sad lack of Jewish characters in current young adult literature. To combat this, Ariane writes young adult novels featuring Jewish issues, themes and protagonists. She is currently revising her first, “Ether,” for publication, likely in 2014. Ariane’s next project is a young adult historical novel set in Israel around its founding as a modern nation. She hopes through ROI she can learn how her peers represent their faith and experiences to an increasingly secular world. How can young Jews authentically share themselves without making their stories inaccessible to those from outside the tribe? How can they find support and community without isolating themselves and their work? Ariane is especially interested in contemporary literary representations of Israel.
Ariel Merpert lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born in 1984 to a middle class Jewish family. From an early age, he became interested in the creative process and participated in various extra-curricular activities. A graduate of Madrichim Hebraica, he honed his hadracha leadership inside and outside of the local communal institutions and later founded and chaired the Juventud Macabea Argentina. After studying political science at the University of Buenos Aires, Ariel decided to focus on multimedia design. He is a fan of technology and is known for his commitment to the projects he produces. Ariel is considered creative and tries to innovate at every opportunity. Critical by nature, he never misses an opportunity for a good debate.
Ariel assumes multiple roles in a variety of projects and organizations. For Association ORT Argentina, he is a teacher specializing in training other teachers about inclusion of information and communication technologies in the classroom. He also works for Sociedad Hebraica Argentina as Director of Creative Development. Beyond that, Ariel develops and Directs Wiludoki, a wiki for collaborative writing activities for informal education (in Hebrew), which reaches 200 informal educators from different backgrounds (Jews and non-Jews) and has created over 300 activities. At the university level, he worked for FLACSSO Argentina, as a member of PENT. There he coordinates the Social Networking Committee, dedicated to strategizing the best ways to use social media to educate. Finally, Ariel works as a trainer and consultant for Programa Red of the Municipality of Rivadavia in the province of Buenos Aires. In this framework, he assists in the implementation of a 1-1 inclusion of netbooks in primary classrooms in the district.
About Me 
Ariel Bohorodzaner lives in Santiago, Chile. He attended the Chaim Weitzmann school in Santiago. He grew up in a religious family in which Israel and Jewish identity were always fundamental. As a result, Ariel was active in his local Jewish community and regularly attended B’nei Akiva camps. In 2008, after being accepted to the Universidad de Chile’s law school, Ariel decided to defer his studies to serve for 18 months in the Nahal combat unit of the IDF though the Mahal program for overseas volunteers. Ariel resumed his law studies in 2010 and came back from Israel feeling that the need to protect Israel goes far beyond serving in the IDF and is an imperative for every young Jew. In this light, Ariel got together with a group of friends and founded, in 2011, the Jewish Student’s Federation of Chile (FEJ) to advocate locally for Israel and to encourage the development of Jewish youth through tzedakah, cultural activities, classes and more. All of these activities are in keeping with preserving Jewish identity for the 21st century and beyond. In 2012, Ariel assumed the presidency of the Jewish Student Federation of Chile where he works with WUJS to bring together Jewish students unions throughout Latin America.
Ariel´s work with the Jewish Student Federation of Chile strongly influences the local Jewish community and beyond, as he is its representative to the rest of society. He also leads the battle against the defamation of the Jewish people and Israel. Nowadays, the Jewish Student Federation of Chile, under Ariel’s direction, is leading the effort to bring about the creation of Jewish student unions in other Latin American countries, as well as the creation of a continent-wide network of Jewish students that will link the Jewish students of Latin America with Jewish students from the rest of the world. In addition, Ariel is trying to generate a movement that brings dialogue between the local Jewish and Palestinian (the largest one outside the Middle East) communities to bring about peace, not conflict.
Born and raised in Jerusalem, Ariel Levinson has been a cultural entrepreneur since his student days when he founded a student magazine and a calendar of citywide events to encourage students to engage with their local community. Recently, Ariel founded the Jerusalem Secular Yeshiva and is active in Jerusalem’s cultural life. He is married and the father of two girls.
The Jerusalem Secular Yeshiva is an educational program for young adults in Israel (20s -30s) located in the neighborhood of Ein Karem. The program aims to deepen its students’ connection to Jewish culture and Jerusalem. The students come from across the country to live and study together in Jerusalem and to create a community. Its cultural events, which are held all over the city, attract hundreds of young Israelis who are eager to connect to Jewish culture from a secular perspective. The Yeshiva has become a cultural center and anchor for many young people who are now rewriting their Jewish heritage and who are creating a young, vibrant, dynamic and new Jewish identity.
Asaf Gilboa is a business and social entrepreneur, a major in the reserves of the IDF and an avid backpacker and mountain biker. In 1999, after growing up in Yavne, Israel, and in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Asaf enlisted in to the IDF’s newly founded unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit. During his six years of service, Asaf advanced within the unit, leading dozens of operations, commanding numerous teams and finishing as head of operations. In 2006, after traveling through South America for nine months (cutting his trip short as he was called back for the Second Lebanon War), he began studying law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During his freshman year, Asaf and four partners established Themis UAV Applications, a startup company that made UAVs from the military accessible to the civilian world. Asaf was Themis’s CEO for five years, growing it in size and sales and expanding its activities around the world. In March of 2012, Themis’s cash flow hit a low point and its activities were frozen. Over the years, Asaf has also been involved in creating and leading organizations and projects in politics, education and public policy. This year, Asaf completed his law Internship at Yigal Arnon and in September, 2013, will begin studying at Harvard Business School.
As CEO of Themis, Asaf led a revolution in the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) market. Originally created for military use, UAVs have endless applications in the civilian world, but because of their high cost, they weren’t utilized. In response, Asaf created and implemented a unique business model that allows users to share the costs of operating UAVs by creating an intermediary between them and the manufacturer. This enabled Themis to execute the first UAV flight in Greece and one of the first in Europe, as well as the first agricultural UAV flight in Israel and the first fully civilian UAV flight in India. Asaf impacted the UAV market and led the way for dozens of UAV service providers, which gave civilian users access to these amazing tools. As Co-founder of the Israeli chapter of Khan Academy, Asaf has also been leading a revolution in education. As Director of the organization’s operations, he works with teachers across Israel to implement Khan’s flip class approach, where students learn at home via videos and the classroom is retained for processing and sharing information. This approach, implemented in five Israeli schools, is changing the way teachers and students interact and is helping students acquire crucial skills for the 21st century.
Bar Pereg is a social entrepreneur and research client executive at Nielsen. She recently earned a B.A. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Bar’s first original social initiative failed. It was when she was 16 years old and didn’t succeed in establishing a children’s playroom at the Kaplan Hospital in Israel. Since then, she has initiated and participated in many other (more successful) projects, like Hoongo, a free youth adventure group, Mishehu Larutz Ito (Someone to Run With), a social oriented running club, an educational program for the children of refugees and more. Bar completed her military service and volunteer year at The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and then spent a year in New Zealand where is worked in a bar. When she returned to Israel, Bar joined Digital Fuel, a software Company in Jerusalem, first as an administrative assistant and later as a human resources and operations coordinator. While working at Digital Fuel, she came up with the idea behind Crumbs, her current initiative and main focus (apart from her full-time job). Bar enjoys running, hiking, scuba diving, climbing and reading.
Bar’s current focus is the Crumbs initiative. More than half a million employees in Israel use prepaid lunch cards on a daily basis. The Crumbs initiative strives to encourage employees to donate a few shekels per week, their “crumbs,” through a prepaid card or corporate e-dining solution to charitable organizations of their choice. Crumbs solves two corporate challenges: it encourages employees to take part in the donation process when personal philanthropy is decreasing and it enables companies to meet the requirements for social responsibility indexes. Additionally, Crumbs utilizes technology to redirect small amounts of money that would normally be reabsorbed by the company to become meaningful charitable donations. Crumbs also enables smaller companies without the ability to dedicate resources to charitable endeavors to take part in social initiatives at a low cost. The potential of this initiative (according to surveys of hundreds of prepaid lunch card users) is over $40 million a year! Bar was chosen to represent the Hebrew University with the Crumbs initiative in the Stanford Entrepreneurship conference last April.
Barbara Reich was born in Argentina in 1980. After earning a degree in education, she went on to do postgraduate work in human rights. She has always been active in social causes and organizations dedicated to education and/or human rights. Currently, Barbara is the Supervisor of the Education Department of Fundación Temaikén, a national organization that works to protect and preserve nature through education and research. Until 2012, she was the Regional Coordinator of a national program that works to strengthen public schools. In 2010, she was the Cabinet Advisor to the Under Secretary of Human Rights in Buenos Aires. Between 2003 and 2006, Barbara directed several youth programs for the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). She also acted as an advisor and strategist on youth issues and coordinated educational programs on human rights for Amnesty International Israel (2006-2007).
Fundación Temaikén (FT) knows that there is still much to be done to protect nature. That is why they want to inspire as many people, companies and organizations as possible to generate a positive change in the way people relate to nature. FT offers a transformational experience for discovering and connecting with nature. The organization breeds and rehabilitates endangered species; protects threatened native species and preserves natural habitats. They also provide valuable information about ways to contribute to species and ecosystem conservation. Currently, FT preserves 174 acres of missionary forest, a unique shelter for flora and fauna in Argentina. Its education department works to raise awareness for people of all ages through a variety of programs. 
Ben Youngerman is often described as a “one man band.” He takes on many responsibilities, has diverse talents and delivers consistently. From his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, to his more recent homes in Brooklyn and San Francisco, Ben has always surrounded himself with creativity. Though Ben is frequently a one-man operation, he has built a life and career around community. He values his friends and family above all and has established a reputation as someone who maintains strong relationships – both personally and professionally. For example, when Ben first arrived in San Francisco, he decided to create a photo show entirely of images captured in the four square blocks around his apartment. He advertised around the area and hosted an opening at his favorite local cafe. Over 200 people came to share art, food and socializing. The photos remain a neighborhood conversation piece to this day. Ben’s focus on creativity and community is rooted in his experiences at BBYO, NFTY, summer camp and High School in Israel where he met lifelong friends and was infused with the belief that life’s true happiness goes beyond one’s self.
Ben’s passion has always centered around creating and telling stories through video production. As a teenager, a typical weekend involved staying up through the night with a group of friends creating a short film or spoof video for his local high school or BBYO chapter. Aside from amusing friends and family, Ben quickly developed a lasting devotion to video editing and camera work. These days, Ben has upgraded from his parents’ home video camera to professional grade studio equipment and built his own independent production company in San Francisco, Panhandle Productions. The company is dedicated to documentary storytelling and Ben still experiences a lot of joy and growth behind the lens. In recent years, Ben has crisscrossed the country for organizations such as the Young Elected Officials Network, Pandora Radio, Feeding America and The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. His mission is to connect with exceptional people and organizations – telling their stories and sharing their missions. A highlight each year is traveling around the state of California to meet with remarkable winners of the Diller Teen Award who are making a difference in their community. In all of Ben’s endeavors, he is dedicated to authentic storytelling – inspiring others to make a positive impact.
Ben Lang is an entrepreneur who recently moved from New York to Israel. He founded EpicLaunch, a popular blog for entrepreneurs, and Mapped In Israel, an interactive map that highlights Israel’s startup industry. Currently, he is a soldier in the IDF and a growth hacker at lool ventures. Previously, he worked on the marketing team at Wibiya, a startup that was acquired by Conduit. Ben has created projects that have been used by millions of people and featured on many sites around the world, such as TechCrunch, LifeHacker, The New York Times and more. He has contributed to Business Insider, TechCrunch and Forbes. Ben speaks English, Hebrew and French. He plans to one day create a startup that will make an impact on the world.
Ben has created many viral projects that have reached millions of people. His goal is to present Israel in a better light to the world. The first, Hummus Day, had tens of thousands of people celebrating this original holiday. After that came falafel day, which was just as popular. Soon after, Ben built Mapped in Israel, a crowdsourced map of Israeli startups that aimed to actually showcase the “start-up nation” for the whole world to see. This enticed more than 1,000 companies to add themselves to the map and attracted tens of thousands of monthly visitors. Investors used it as a resource to find new companies in Israel, as did people looking for jobs in the high-tech industry. During Operation Pillar of Defense, Ben created Iron Dome Count, a Twitter and Facebook page that was updated every time there was an Iron Dome interception. Thousands of people began following within days of its creation. 
Benjamin Davies has a background in NGO management and strategy in the areas of education, public health, humanitarian and human rights. He has consulted for the government and private sector clients. His experience includes managing domestic emergency response operations for Save the Children, where he provided field support and guidance to response teams, partners and policy makers on best practices to support children and families. He was also the Chief of Staff at the Nobel Prize winning Physicians for Human Rights. Benjamin wrote and presented testimony for the Maryland Senate mandating regulations standards for childcare preparedness. He has a B.A. in philosophy from St. Lawrence University, holds a master’s degree in NGO management from the University of Pennsylvania and attended the Wharton Executive Development Program. Benjamin joined the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative to manage operations for the Satellite Sentinel Project. He is currently focused on technology for improved humanitarian response.
The Signal Program on Human Security and Technology at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative utilizes the latest information and satellite technologies to conduct research and education projects to understand how these technologies can protect vulnerable populations from human and natural disasters. Established to explore how technology can be used to document and prevent threats to human rights and human security around the world, Signal brings together leading technologists, organizations and practitioners to develop innovation for the human security of vulnerable populations. As the Deputy Director of the Signal Program, Benjamin’s role is to manage the staff and day-to-day operations of the program. He also engages in strategy and fundraising activities to further the impact of the work and harness new opportunities for innovation and advancement.
Boaz Mamo holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. (specializing in finance and strategy) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has over eight years of experience in business development and project management. Boaz is currently leading projects in agriculture and smart transportation at the Israeli Science Technology and Innovation Policy Institute. Prior to that, he held the position of business developer for Digital Fuel, an Israeli startup company, and was a project manager for Young Judea. He grew up in Jerusalem, but currently enjoys the great vibes of Tel Aviv.
Boaz works for the Israeli Science Technology and Innovation Policy Institute (ISTIPI). As an independent nonprofit “Do-Tank,” ISTIPI focuses on the development of Israel’s science, technology and innovation as a basis for sustainable socioeconomic development. As a catalyst for the positioning of Israel as a global center of innovation, the Policy Institute is focusing on three key initiatives: (1) Upgrading Israel’s innovation policy (2) Promotion of disruptive projects in targeted emerging fields (3) Fostering partnerships to create a national system of innovation development. Boaz’s role at ISTIPI focuses mainly on the promotion of disruptive projects in the agro-tech and smart transportation fields and encouraging and facilitating collaborative partnerships around these areas.
Dani Serlin is the London-based Limmud International Project Coordinator. Her professional background is in social research and project management, including facilitating public sector workshops to produce a toolkit preventing and managing community conflict in the UK. Initially active as a volunteer peer and senior youth leader for the UK Jewish community, Dani attended the Machon leadership development program in Israel and later became a volunteer for Limmud. Combining personal interest and professional skill, Dani now supports over 60 Limmud groups worldwide, including China and Mexico, in creating cross-communal Jewish learning and experiential events based on principles of volunteerism and mutual respect. As the gateway to a global network, she works on improving communication between different Limmud groups through online tools and in-person training to address common challenges and identify common opportunities.
Limmud International (LI) nurtures and networks Limmud volunteers around the world, taking these individuals one step further on their Jewish journey and supporting them to do the same for their community through local Limmud programs. In partnership with the LI Steering Group and Limmud volunteers worldwide, Dani has initiated an online forum and shared resources directory to strengthen and expand a virtual Limmud activist community. Dani further coordinates the knowledge, skills and in-person connection of activists through bespoke training and development seminars both nationally and regionally through the Training on Tour program and the global LI gathering at Limmud Conference UK each year. Activists learn, share, challenge themselves and each other and are inspired to create more diverse and engaging Jewish learning programs back home.
Daniel Ben Yehuda lives in Tel Aviv. He is the Community and Capacity Building Coordinator of the Innovation and International Development Program at Tel Aviv University. Daniel is also Co-founder of DevTechHub, a social venture that aims to implement technology to meet the needs of developing countries. Daniel holds an M.A. in environmental studies with a focus on eco-innovation and technology transfer to developing countries. His Master’s thesis compared the business models used by Israeli drip irrigation companies in their Indian market activities. His proudest achievement, however, is his unspeakably adorable 20-month old daughter, Mia. Daniel enjoys hiking, swimming and sailing when he is lucky enough to have the time for it. Daniel is married to Giulia, the most charming Italian you’ve ever met.
The Innovation and International Development Program at Tel Aviv University works with the Israeli government, the private sector and NGOs to transform Israel into an important source of innovative solutions for challenges facing the developing world. The goal is to create an infrastructure in Israel to support Israeli and Jewish innovators, companies and nonprofits interested in Israeli innovation for development. Daniel originally initiated and continues to lead the community and capacity building efforts of the program. Daniel also Co-founded the DevTechHub, a social venture that aims to nurture a generation of Israeli entrepreneurs and companies addressing the development needs of developing countries. In both positions, he leads the creation of a community network of activists, entrepreneurs, startups, business and civil society organizations dedicated to international development. Daniel links the different players that take part in the community, thereby enhancing their ability to reach their common tikkun olam goal. Among his activities are organizing lectures and workshops, designing and managing web portals for community networking and providing international development related content for hackathons and other technology events.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Daniel Kraus studied at Monash University in Melbourne and Yeshiva University in New York. An ordained rabbi, Daniel and his wife, Rachel, served as the inaugural Directors of the Manhattan Jewish Experience Downtown (MJE), where they were tasked with building a vibrant community of young Jewish professionals in the midtown Manhattan area. After six years, with over 7,000 people from diverse backgrounds participating in their programs, Daniel moved to the Upper East Side to become the Director of Community Education at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ). There he is responsible for community outreach, as well as servicing the 1,000 synagogue member families through creative programming and classes. Daniel exudes a warmth and love for the Jewish people and Judaism. He is also passionate about kosher food and is a true food aficionado. His passion led him to create koshertopia.com, a leading kosher restaurant database and review website. Daniel is a founding board member of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents where he currently sits on the board, as well as an executive board member of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) and the New York City Hemophilia Chapter.
Daniel is a unique rabbi. He has developed a niche in Jewish communal growth through innovative leadership, targeted programming and a personal touch. In his work at MJE, Daniel impacted thousands through cutting edge programs and by facilitating opportunities for young Jewish professionals to network and connect to one another. Over the course of six years, thousands of people were hosted at Daniel’s table for Shabbat and holiday meals, which for many was their first Shabbat experience. Daniel’s Shabbat table and programs have been responsible for the sprouting of many friendships, professional connections and, most importantly, some good dates and long-lasting romantic relationships. As part of his role at KJ, Daniel is tasked with bridging the gap between infrequent synagogue attendees and regular attendees. A key project at hand is taking the 600+ High Holiday service attendees and finding innovative and creative ways to bring them back to the synagogue more than just once year.
Danielle Abraham joined Israel’s Foreign Ministry in 2010 and is currently a Policy Advisor to the Head of the Policy Planning and External Relations Division of MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation. Prior to that, Danielle worked for the Strategy and International Directorate of the UK Home Office, providing internal consultancy on a variety of issues. Following graduation from the University of Oxford, she worked for British Civil Society organizations such as the British Red Cross and Barnardo’s Children’s Charity. Danielle is passionate about Zionism and international development, and most importantly, how the two can be combined – addressing how Israel can best harness her knowledge and experience to contribute to solutions for developing world challenges. Danielle is outgoing, ambitious and open minded. She loves to meet new people from all over the world and to think creatively about complex, real world challenges.
Danielle’s work within MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development consists of several elements. Firstly, she works closely with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to integrate Israel further into its development bodies. Following Israel’s accession to the OECD, it is important that Israel is present, can contribute her expertise where appropriate and can also contribute to the formation of global development policy. Secondly, Danielle works closely with the UN and UN development agencies to identify and formulate paths for collaboration and cooperation on the ground in developing countries. Thirdly, Danielle contributes to the planning and preparation for development dialogues with other developed countries, with the aim to establish some form of trilateral cooperation. Finally, Danielle advises on internal policy planning and strategic issues within MASHAV. Danielle’s work impacts upon the internal workings and outlook of MASHAV, different OECD meetings and forums and, hopefully, upon those who directly benefit from MASHAV training / development projects on the ground.
Danii Goldstein is the Head of Business Development for Red Onion, a startup that bridges the gap between online shopping and social games. She also runs the Sandbox hub in Tel Aviv, a network for young entrepreneurs. Danii recently opened the Sandbox chapter in Tel Aviv with her co-partner, Narkis Alon. Last year, Danii graduated from IDC Herzilya where she studied communication. As part of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program, Danii founded her first startup, CrowdPic. Prior to that, she lived in New York City for two years and worked in the fashion industry.
Danii’s main drive in life is meeting new people and connecting them with one another. She believes that this has the power to create amazing things. Initially exposed to Sandbox through a friend, Danii decided to attend their global event in Lisbon last year. She came back convinced that this network should also be activated in Israel as it is essential that entrepreneurs be able to connect with people abroad and learn from them and vice versa. Six months later, Danii opened the Sandbox chapter in Tel Aviv. There are now 20 young entrepreneurs who meet regularly to network, learn from one another and grow together. The Tel Aviv hub is connected to the global Sandbox network, which has branches in 50 cities worldwide.
David Burstein is a millennial writer, filmmaker and storyteller. He is the author of “Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World,” an inside look at the ways the millennials are changing business, technology, culture and politics. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Generation18, a nonpartisan youth voter engagement organization based on the documentary film, 18 in ’08, which he directed and produced about young voters in the 2008 election. Generation18 registered over 25,000 new voters and held over 1,000 events in 35 states. For his work, David received a DoSomething Award and was featured on millions of bags of Doritos. His 2012 follow up film, Up to Us, focused on the optimism and resilience of millennials in the economic crisis and their continued desire to participate in public service. David is a frequent speaker and commentator on millennials, social innovation and politics. He has appeared on CNN, NPR, the ABC Evening News and in The New York Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, among many others. David is a contributor to Fast Company, where he writes about innovation, social entrepreneurship and creativity. David runs the Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship @ Chicago Ideas Week, which supports young social entrepreneurs to grow their impact.
David believes deeply in the power of stories to change the world. Whether in business, politics or nonprofit work, those who tell better stories often win over their counterparts who may actually be better qualified. This is why David has devoted himself to telling stories. Rather than seeing himself as a journalist on a quest for the truth, in his filmmaking and writing he is a disruptor, using stories to change things. In his work for Fast Company, he helps bring stories of great thinkers, creators and entrepreneurs to the forefront. In his work as a filmmaker, he tells stories about politics to young people in a way that allows them to relate to the system and engage with it like never before. In his book, he tells the story of the power and potency of his generation so that they gain their rightful recognition. Often journalism and filmmaking react to the moment, adding to the conversation that is already ongoing. David aims to shape and create those conversations into the ones worth having.
Until this year, Chicago-born, NY-based David Chapman was pretty much solely a theater artist. He traveled the world directing, performing, writing and teaching theater, including year-long stints as a Fulbright Scholar in Hungary and a Luce Scholar in Vietnam, credits on and off Broadway and runs of his solo shows in Edinburgh, London, Canada and elsewhere. In the summer of 2012, after much soul searching and turning 30, David knew the peripatetic and shortsighted life of a freelance artist, albeit exciting, wasn’t enough. He decided to return to a (much) earlier interest: pursuing social justice through a Jewish lens. Taking the biggest professional risk of his life, he cleared his calendar of theater work and took a temporary assistant gig for the Jewish Life and Values Program at the Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF), a progressive philanthropy animated by the same values of tzedek and chesed David had always believed in, but rarely got to express through his work. After a trial period, his contract was extended and his role expanded to Program Coordinator. Now, after a humbling but inspiring start, he’s excited to dive deeper into the world of Jewish social justice, while continuing his journey as a creative artist.
David believes his most innovative work – integrating his longtime passion for theater with Jewish social justice – still lies ahead. As a theater artist, David makes bold, original stories on stage that challenge audiences to rethink assumptions. His solo work, which spans everything from sexuality to Raoul Wallenberg, demonstrates his willingness to take risks with humor, heart and joy. As Director of the Core Co Apprentice Program, David mentors genre-busting young artists, imparting his love of theater while teaching grit, patience and pragmatism. At NCF, David plays a key role in grantmaking and convening progressive religious voices and advancing the Middle East peace process. This year he is honored to be a Slingshot evaluator. Though new to this work, he already understands the power of innovative, catalytic philanthropy to build fields and maximize impact throughout the Jewish world and beyond. Surprisingly (or not), many qualities he developed in theater are valuable in philanthropy, among them leadership and collaboration. In March 2013, David took a first step towards wearing both hats simultaneously during his residency at the ROI Connection Point, Asylum, Six Points Foundation’s new retreat for international Jewish artists.
David el Shatran is a specialist in both privacy and recommendation systems applied in the scope of social networks. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in artificial intelligence At university, David was a student representative and a leader in student politics. He was also active in the Jewish community, serving as president of different Jewish associations for young people in Boulogne, his suburb in Paris. David then decided to create an innovative association, JewSalsa, which combines his two passions: innovations based on Latin and klezmer fusion and Jewish social events. Today, David is a musician and salsa and Latin dance teacher, which enables him to share his passion for dance with several dance schools in Paris. JewSalsa has performed for conferences in France, such as Limoud and Taglit, as well as in Europe and Israel. They have also performed for French associations that raise money for tzedakah, such as AUJF and POURIMLAND. David’s first original world music CD, la Descarga Klezmer, was recorded in May 2013. He is the pianist and arranger of a klezmer/salsa fusion orchestra.
Outside JewSalsa, David’s main project is the huge annual party organized for Sukkot, which draws up to 2,000 young people. His most interesting projects on campus were a demonstration on behalf of students’ rights and the one week memorial visit to Poland with 40 students, half of whom were not Jewish. JewSalsa’s most popular project is the video series created for Rosh Hashannah, Hanukkah and Passover (which received 35,000 hits on YouTube). JewSalsa performed for various French Jewish gatherings, such as Summer U, Winter U and Junction. Their performance at the annual Festival Dance Contes raised 5,000 Euros for tzedakah. Today, David is looking for help, money and ideas to reinforce JewSalsa and for making his music and his videos known in North America and beyond. JewSalsa is considered one of the most innovative concepts within the French Jewish community. Its slogan is, “JewSalsa: another way to feel Jewish.” JewSalsa is a cultural and artistic concept that helps in the dialogue between Jews and non-Jews, brings Jews together and spreads the warmth of Jewish and Latin cultures.
David Kline is a determined business leader who focuses on expanding his company in real estate development, hospitality and real estate investment. Originally from Columbia, SC, David moved to Austin, TX, to attend the University of Texas in the fall of 1999. He became a licensed real estate agent in the spring of 2002 and founded his business during the summer before his senior year of college with the acquisition of a single family home. Since 2002, David’s companies have completed over $30 million in real estate acquisitions, development and dispositions. Family and community have always been a priority for David. These principles were instilled in him at an early age from his parents and grandparents, who were active in Jewish Federation life. David has been active in the Austin Jewish community since 2004 and has been a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the JFNA since 2011. David enjoys spending his free time with friends and family and he likes to do the CrossFit workout several days a week.
David is actively involved in many charitable organizations. He is committed to giving back to the community through philanthropic activities. His devotion to volunteering has led him to become a board member of the Jewish Community Association of Austin. His responsibilities on the board are related to young leadership as an ex-officio member of the board. He is also a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America, an organization that promotes philanthropy and leadership within the community. Currently in his second year on Cabinet, David has attended study missions to Greece and will attend missions to St. Petersburg and Stockholm. Additionally, David has been picked to Co-chair TribeFest in 2014, one of the larger JFNA events that focuses on engaging the young Jewish adult community. In the past, David has served on other boards and cabinets in the Austin Jewish community, including: men’s division cabinet, YAD chair and committee member, J-Lead steering committee, J-Lead participant, recipient of the inaugural Hineni award (given to a young leader at the annual young adult division campaign event), allocations committee and Maccabi games baseball coach.
As Training and Partnerships Manager for leading interfaith organization Three Faiths Forum (3FF), Debbie Danon manages programs exploring diversity, community building and controversial intercultural issues. Under her management, 3FF’s education program, which offers dynamic interfaith education workshops in UK schools, has grown to reach nearly 10,000 young people and 1,000 educators per year. Debbie has led intercultural training all over the world, including in Berlin, Stockholm, Istanbul, Yangon, Jerusalem and New York. She also consulted for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s “Face to Faith” program, facilitating video conferences between students and teachers across the world (and once for Tony Blair himself!). Debbie now lives in a Jewish communal house in London, playing an active role in the budding minyan movement. She recently served as Sessions Coordinator for GrassRoots Jews Independent High Holidays Services, providing intellectual and spiritual stimulation for 300 Jewish seekers at Moishe House London. Debbie studied Theology at Cambridge University, where she was President of the Jewish Society, Co-led MoJoW (Muslim-Jewish Womens’ Group) and was awarded a scholarship to research Hindu communities in India. She graduated from Machon L’Madrichei Chul in 2004.
Debbie pursues her vision of inclusion and conflict transformation as both a professional and a volunteer. 3FF does not believe that policy will get to the root of extremism or hate crimes. Instead, positive contact and relationships across communities are proven to help. Debbie trains interfaith educators to visit schools, youth groups and universities. Many of the young people that 3FF works with had never met someone of a different faith/belief before encountering 3FF’s young, dynamic speakers. Debbie enjoys using 3FF’s language-based tools to help participants become more confident, sensitive and effective communicators across faiths/beliefs and to correct misconceptions by answering difficult and controversial questions. Debbie is currently developing the social enterprise wing of 3FF. By marketing its UN award-winning training and initiating delivery partnerships, she hopes to expand 3FF’s impact, as well as generate revenue. Debbie brings her skills as an intercultural facilitator to her post-denominational volunteering in the London minyan movement. She has worked with both GrassRoots Jews and LEAPP Minyan (Learning, Eating & Progressive Prayer) to provide spaces where Jews of all persuasions can engage creatively and honestly with Jewish tradition.
Fluent in French, Spanish, English and Hebrew, Dona Levy currently holds the position of VP International Business Development for a multinational renewable energy company that develops solar fields in emerging markets. Before that, she was Spokesperson and Press Attaché at the French Embassy in Israel, where she landed the job thanks to her knowledge of the Israeli media, society and politics. Previously, she worked at ELNET (European Leadership Network), a nonprofit organization seeking to improve Israel’s relations with the EU, where she was in charge of projects in France and Spain. Dona organized politicians’ delegations to Israel, as well as collaborations and strategic dialogues between renowned Israeli and European institutes. A lieutenant (reserve) in the IDF, Dona graduated from her officers’ course with distinction. Before becoming an officer, she served as a weapons instructor for the infantry’s combat units. Dona is currently an M.A. student in government at the IDC in Herzliya in the Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution track. She graduated magna cum laude from Haifa University. As a StandWithUs fellow, Dona attended the 2008 AIPAC conference in Washington, DC. In 2010, she took part in the Tikvah program in political leadership at the IDC Herzliya.
Dona works for a renewable energy company that develops solar energy projects around the world. The company’s founder, Yosef Abramowitz, has been recognized by CNN as one of six leading green pioneers on the planet. The target market are developing nations where many people do not have access to electricity or great quantities of fossil fuels are being burned to produce energy. Clean, safe and affordable energy is a basic right for all. Thanks to her fourth language, Spanish, Dona is in charge of business development in Latin America. Besides her work at Energiya Global, Dona is an M.A. student in government, where she is part of the Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution track at IDC. She has a dream of going back to the public sector to serve the State of Israel. In the meantime, she is socially active and involved in PresenTense, as well as with an NGO called WePower, which empowers women in Israel to be more politically engaged. She has been active in the Jewish world and believes in strengthening Jewish communities outside of Israel. She also believes that all of the different streams in Judaism, such as Reform or Conservative, should be recognized as legitimate in the State of Israel.
Edna Novak is an American expat now living in New Zealand and working for Teach For All, a global network of organizations working to expand educational opportunity in their nations. In her role as Partner Engagement Director, Edna serves as a consultant to Teach First New Zealand and Teach For Australia, helping them to adapt lessons from the Teach For All network to their local contexts, collaborate with other Teach For All partner organizations, and accelerate their impact on the ground.
Edna moved to New Zealand in January 2012 after a decade of working with Teach For America, one of the founding organizations of Teach For All. Edna first joined Teach For America as a primary school teacher in New Orleans, then worked as a recruiter for the organization, and most recently served as the Executive Director of Teach For America’s Connecticut region. Over the last three years, Edna has had the opportunity to serve as a staff facilitator for the REALITY Israel and REALITY Global experiences, which have in turn sparked Edna’s interest in ROI and in building new bridges, both locally and globally, with Jewish values, community and leadership. Edna holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA from Wellesley College, and can often be found on skype or google hangout catching up with her family in upstate NY.
Elan Sultanik is the youngest rabbi in Colombia. He was born and raised in a traditional family. After his bar mitzvah, Elan attended the Chabad Lubavitch Yeshiva in Argentina to become a rabbi. After five years of learning, he returned to Colombia to help the local kashrut organization and to become the spiritual counselor at the Jewish elderly home. In 2007, Elan continued with his rabbinical studies in Israel while also studying the culinary arts to become a chef. After getting his degree in culinary arts and kashrut supervision, he returned to Bogota to continue his work at the Jewish elderly home and with the Jewish community in Medellin as a cantor and spiritual leader. He became a rabbi in 2010 and since then, Elan has worked with the Jewish community of Barranquilla in the north of Colombia. One of his main goals is making his community more vibrant and active and bringing the youth closer to tradition by presenting it in a more modern and attractive way. Rabbi Elan is a member of the local Interfaith Council and the International Rabbinic Fellowship, as well as an award-winning chef in Colombia.
Since he was 22, Elan has been the rabbi of the Jewish community of Barranquilla, Colombia. He provides spiritual and religious assistance to its members, runs the Shabbat and holiday services, prepares youth for bar mitzvah, performs weddings and assists with all other Jewish lifecycle events. Elan also teaches religion at the Jewish school. His life is entirely dedicated to his community and in bringing them closer to Judaism by strengthening Jewish traditions. For example, he organizes big Shabbat dinners (which he cooks himself) and runs holiday activities, such as Rosh Hashannah dinners, Purim parties for the children and building a big sukkah in the synagogue for Sukkot. Currently, Elan is developing a project to bring more Jewish youth to Barranquilla by promoting the city as a hub for college studies, offering scholarships and work incentives. To accomplish this important goal, Elan is fundraising and networking. He has also devoted considerable effort to strengthening interfaith relationships in Barranquilla.
Eli Nassau likes to refer to himself as a trilingual traveler. He was born and raised in Mexico City and attended the Tarbut Jewish school from kindergarten through high school. After high school, Eli took a gap year in Israel where he lived and worked on kibbutz Na’an, near Rehovot, and then in Tel Aviv, where he worked at the Yotvata restaurant on the promenade. After Israel, Eli completed his bachelor’s in film studies with a theater minor at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. At USC, Eli Co-founded and was the President of JAGS (Jewish Alliance for GLBTs and Straights), an organization that held social, cultural and religious events. In 2010, JAGS hosted the NUJLS (National Union of Jewish LGBTQQI Students) conference. Upon graduating, Eli moved to New York City where he worked as a production assistant in a theater company and as an industry assistant at the Tribeca Film Festival. Eli is now back in Mexico City, working as a producer for audiovisual and theater projects. In early 2012, Eli Co-founded Guimel, where he now serves as the Executive Director. Guimel is a first-of-its-kind LGBT Jewish initiative in Mexico.
In February 2012, a group of people gathered to talk about the status of LGBT Jews in the Mexican Jewish community; thus, Guimel (pronounced geeh-mel) was born. Guimel’s purposes are: to give support to LGBT Mexican Jews, their families and friends; create awareness among the larger community; and promote values of equality and diversity. Such a task was not easy given the conservative values of the Mexican Jewish community. However, in only a few short months, and under Eli’s leadership, Guimel was able to reach out to various Jewish institutions (synagogues, schools, youth movements, etc.) and was greeted with open arms. Often, however, there was no knowledge about the subject, thereby underscoring Guimel’s importance. As LGBT equality continues to gain recognition, with Mexico City following suit by also legalizing same-sex marriage, the time was ripe for Guimel to be launched. Even though the subject of sexual and gender orientation in the Jewish community in Mexico is still a sensitive one, what Guimel hopes to achieve is that “out” LGBT Jews won’t have to sacrifice their Jewish identities to live a fulfilling life.
Elisa Trotta Gamus is lawyer specializing in international law and politics. She received her law degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. In 2010, she graduated with a dual M.A. in sustainable international development and coexistence and conflict from Brandeis University on a Fulbright fellowship. Elisa has participated in numerous activities to promote human rights in her native country, Venezuela, as well as in Brazil, the U.S. and Argentina. She was very active in the Venezuelan Jewish community, promoting Jewish values on the international level. Currently, Elisa lives in Argentina and is a member of the Latin American Jewish Congress’ New Generations program and the Jewish Diplomatic Corps Steering Committee.
From a young age, Elisa has been committed to social justice, and has worked on several projects that seek to create a more conscious and egalitarian society. She has defended and promoted human rights in several countries and has been active in various organizations committed to justice and equality. Jewish values and culture are an essential part of Elisa’s life and the work that she does, all stemming from the concept of tikun olam. This is also why she has always collaborated with the Jewish community in her current home country, as well as with the global Jewish community, since she believes it is crucial to strengthen Jewish leadership on both the local and societal levels.
Elyasaf Ish Shalom, a ninth generation Jerusalemite, grew up in the home of his parents, Binyamin and Rivka. At the age of 32, he is a philosophy professor and social worker who is imbued with love for others. Elyasaf has always been active in various volunteer capacities, including for Magen David Adom, One Family, which helps Israel’s victims of terror and Hitorerut, for young activists in Jerusalem, among others. Elyasaf served six years in the IDF and continues his reserve duty as an officer in the armed forces. He studied philosophy and is certified in business management. Upon his release from the army, he continued to volunteer in agriculture, specifically in greenhouses and dairy farms. Elyasaf served as a stage manager for the Israeli theater director Ophira Henig. For the past few years, Elyasaf has run a company for entrepreneurs and has lectured in various capacities, including for PresenTense and the Harielli school in Haifa.
Elyasaf is the Founder and Manager of the Salon Shabazzi Community Center and the Summer Seedlings platform for community entrepreneurs. Salon Shabazzi is a unique community center that responds to the different needs of each community. Members of the community, from students to the elderly, find in it a home away from home, a place to interact and seek culture. It is also a hub for freelancers and students. It is a home for social events and a junction point for entrepreneurs and community meetings.
Emma Roberts is Associate of Development Operations at BBYO in Washington, DC. She manages the organization’s fundraising database, thereby creating systems and efficiencies to expand and strengthen BBYO’s development operation. Emma collaborates with colleagues and lay leaders across the country to understand their communities and help them identify potential donors and sources of funding within BBYO’s universe of data. Emma’s professional drive is to help people find ways to support their communities and the issues they care about. Prior to working with BBYO, Emma served in American Jewish World Service’s Volunteer Corps. She taught grant writing skills to the members of a Burmese women’s rights group on the Thai-Burma border. It is through community service and a commitment to social justice that Emma explores her Jewish identify. Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Emma came to DC to attend George Washington University. She graduated magna cum laude in 2009 with a B.A. in anthropology. While at GWU, she studied in Argentina and Israel and to this day continues to enjoy learning and growing through her travels. Emma identifies strongly with her community in Seattle and credits her appreciation for the outdoors and an active lifestyle to her Pacific Northwest upbringing.
Emma works for BBYO, which is a teen-led, staff-run organization that connects teens of all Jewish backgrounds and helps them develop leadership skills and become inspired to make a difference in the world. As BBYO’s Associate of Development Operations, Emma manages the organization’s enormous fundraising database and brings a systematic approach to the way BBYO uses its data to raise money and engage alumni and stakeholders in various communities. Emma works closely with her colleagues to understand which pieces of information are most useful in a given project, whether it be securing a major gift or sending a stewardship mailing to a specific community. Her work is innovative because she creates systems and hierarchies of codes that translate into visual markers and reports, enabling her colleagues to target specific segments of the population. Emma’s work is at the core of BBYO’s development operation. Her ability to create systems for her colleagues helps the team raise money more efficiently and better engage stakeholders and meet its goals.
Eszter Lanyi lives in Budapest, Hungary. She is an educator who likes to think outside the box. Over the past decade and a half, she has produced and hosted a variety of Jewish and cultural radio shows and contributed to a Jewish hipster blog in Hungary, judapest.hu. She Co-created the Haver Foundation, which provides informal Jewish education to non-Jews. She is still active as the chairperson of the board. Eszter loved her job as the cultural attaché for Hungary in Israel because she did what she knows best: connecting people and sharing cultural values. She returned to Hungary in late 2011 and slowly picked up the threads of her life again. Eszter is about to start a new position and a new independent educational initiative. She has the unique ability to connect people and initiatives. Sometimes the result is a gig and other times it’s marriage with children.
Currently, Eszter is creating the pilot for a non-affiliated Jewish adult learning program due to launch in October 2013 in Budapest. The program focuses on strengthening the methodological skills of professionals and lay leaders and will also help participants tap into the current global issues of Jewish life. Of her many projects, this is one of the most exciting endeavors yet as there is currently nothing similar in Hungary or in the region. Eszter is also about to launch a blog on Tel Aviv (a very personal city guide) for the Slovakian Jewish community. She often lectures at community conferences (i.e. Limmud) about the culture of Hungary and its connection with Israel.
After playing professional soccer in the U.S. and Zimbabwe, Ethan Zohn went on to win the CBS reality show, Survivor Africa. He used his prize money to Co-found Grassroot Soccer (GRS), an international organization that uses Africa’s most powerful role models, pro-soccer players, to educate youth about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. In 2011, after twice surviving a rare form of Hodgkins Lymphoma, Ethan ran the NYC Marathon and was asked to be a global ambassador for StandUp2Cancer and the LIVESTRONG Foundation. He is currently the host of the Emmy nominated show, Everyday Health on ABC and Outside Today on the Outside Television Network. Prior to that, Ethan was the host of Earth Tripping, an eco-friendly travel adventure show that brought him to over 50 countries. Ethan returned to reality TV as a contestant on The Amazing Race, Survivor All- Star, Fear Factor, Eco-Challenge and was featured in the documentary film on the global AIDS pandemic, A Closer Walk, along with The Dalai Lama, Bono and Kofi Annan. Ethan co-wrote, “Soccer World,” a series of five books for young readers to explore different nations in a compelling and meaningful way through the sport of soccer. He has also played/coached in Israel for the Pan Am Maccabiah Games. Ethan is an inspiring inventor and his EZ-Crunchbowl was featured on Discovery’s show, PitchMen.
Ethan Co-founded the organization Grassroot Soccer (GRS) that uses the power of soccer and the energy of youth to educate, inspire and mobilize communities to improve health. Through targeted training, mentorship programs and participation in educational sports programs, young people in resource-poor settings are given the knowledge, skills and support to live healthy lives and become leaders in their communities. Ethan’s own experience in Africa as a professional soccer player, then as a contestant on Survivor Africa, exposed him to the challenges facing youth in the developing world, such as unemployment, gender inequality and HIV/AIDS. Ethan has been an important force in driving the strategic direction of GRS and building partnerships that have helped to provide lifesaving education for more than 550,000 young people in 23 different countries. As global spokesperson and captain of GRS Endurance Teams, Ethan launched GRS UNITED, a U.S. awareness campaign, by dribbling a soccer ball 550 miles from Boson to Washington, D.C. Ethan travels the world as a motivational speaker emphasizing character, leadership, resiliency, service and Jewish values to nurture the immense potential that young people have to change their world.
Evan Bregman is Director of Digital Media at Electus, where he oversees creative, production and audience development for all of the Electus digital properties, including their premium YouTube channels. A founding member of the Electus team, Evan previously worked with Electus Founder and Chairman Ben Silverman at NBC. Prior to that, Bregman was an independent web producer for his production team Half Day Today!, whose creations continue to receive millions of views. Evan holds a B.A. in film from the University of Southern California (USC), where he was also among the first to graduate with honors in Multimedia Scholarship, a four-year interdisciplinary program through USC’s Institute for Multimedia Literacy. A singer since childhood, in 2005 Evan founded USC’s only all-male a cappella group, The Trojan Men, which continues to entertain audiences today. He spent most of his weekends in 2012 studying for a pilot’s license and he looks forward to exploring more of the U.S. from the air. As a Chicago native, he’s positive the Cubs will win the World Series in his lifetime. They have to, right?
At Electus, Evan creates, develops and produces digital series airing on YouTube, Yahoo!, Xbox, dedicated websites and other platforms, mostly aimed at audiences age 25 and younger. He’s also responsible for using innovative strategies in social media marketing and PR to bring audiences to these projects and engineer an entertainment hit. Evan weaves narratives into the audience’s experience of using the Internet and interactive media, allowing users to have a much different and more emotionally resonant relationship with characters and stories. By experimenting with new forms of storytelling, Evan is on the front line of a cultural initiative to become literate in new media. Society still struggles to understand the implications of many of these new forms of communication and expression and Evan believes creators have a certain responsibility to pass on the knowledge they gain from manipulating the new platforms, allowing audiences to be more informed as consumers, more independent as thinkers and more critical as citizens. Evan hopes by creating complex interactive narratives with mass appeal he can contribute to this educational effort while making the experience a little more fun.
Evonne Marzouk is the Founder and Executive Director of Canfei Nesharim. She is also Co-founder and Team Leader of Jewcology, uniting and empowering the global Jewish environmental movement through innovative new tools. In addition, for 12 years Evonne has worked in the Office of International and Tribal Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Jewcology is a project created by ROI members, who came together to build a resource for the entire Jewish-environmental community. Jewcology incorporates collaboration from a range of Jewish environmental leaders and organizations worldwide. This project was funded by the ROI Innovation Fund. The long-term goal of the project is to build a multi-denominational, multi-generational, regionally diverse community of Jewish environmental activists, who are learning from one another and from an expanding set of Jewish-environmental resources on how to educate their communities about the Jewish responsibility to protect the environment. This project has recently been used by the Green Hevra, the new collaborative leadership network for the Jewish environmental movement, to build an innovative map of Jewish environmental projects, which can be viewed at www.jewcology.com/map.
Selected among the 100 Chilean Leaders of 2009, Felipe Baytelman imbues all of his activities and projects with talent and energy. He recently received an M.A. in learning, design and technology from Stanford University, where he focused on improving lives through mobile technologies. Felipe founded Baytex Software in 1997. In 2009, he opened Baytex’s first official headquarters in Santiago, Chile. In its first year, Baytex established itself as a recognized player in the local and regional mobile industry. In 2007, Felipe became the first Latin American to publish an iPhone app. Today, Felipe works as a lead front-end engineer at Evernote, while creating other amazing mobile apps in his free time.
Felipe began his career as a tech entrepreneur in Chile and is currently part of the Silicon Valley scene. As part of his master’s program at Stanford, he participated in several incubation projects to better understand how to successfully create startups in an ever-changing market. Besides being a mentor to younger Chilean entrepreneurs, Felipe is part of a team creating an exciting product intended for a mass market. In 2010, as a response to the earthquake in Chile that reached a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, Felipe and his colleagues created ChileAyuda.com, a digital effort to assist victims and those affected by the disaster. As a result, he and his peers founded Digitales Por Chile, a tech NGO that supports non-tech NGOs.
Flavio Tyschler was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he still lives. The son of a Jewish father and mother, he is a 24-year-old guy who wants to live life in the fullest way possible. Flavio recently graduated with a degree in industrial engineering and is now working in the oil platform construction industry. For over three years, he has also volunteered for Hillel, where he coordinates a special project for children ages 7 to 14 from Pavão-Pavãozinho Favela, a poor community in Rio de Janeiro. His life is full with his studies, work, family, friends, community and more. Flavio’s favorite hobbies are diving, surfing and skydiving, especially while traveling. He has been to 26 countries and to every single continent in the world – only missing Antarctica, which isn’t so far away in his dreams.
Flavio is an innovator. In his work as a youth volunteer for Hillel Rio, he has coordinated its biggest project for the past three and a half years. The main idea is to bring Jewish youth who are members of various movements like Habonim Dror and HaShomer HaTzair to volunteer in Brazilian favelas, very poor neighborhoods, such as in Pavão-Pavãozinho in Rio, just across Copacabana beach. Working with youth (ages 7-14) in the favelas is a big challenge, but even more difficult is to inspire and encourage Jewish young adults to volunteer in in the first place and to meet their neighbors who they would never had otherwise encountered. So far, the project embodies true social action and the pursuit of social justice, which is the materialization of the concept of tikkun olam that Flavio learned from his family – his grandfather volunteered his whole life for the Jewish Communal Fund; one of his grandmothers volunteered for WIZO and the other for Na´amat Pioneiras Brazil.
Florina Moscovici was born on May 31, 1980, in Bucharest, in a nonreligious, yet traditional Jewish family. From childhood, she was raised on Jewish values and the horrors of the Holocaust, thanks to her grandparents, especially her grandfather, Leo Schadach, a Yiddish author. As a child and teenager, Florina attended Talmud Torah classes and was a soloist in the Jewish choir of the Jewish Community of Bucharest. Since 2012, she has served as the JGlobal representative from Bucharest for the Seidner Jewish Foundation. She has a bachelor’s in law and a master’s in international and European law. For the past five years, she has worked as a legal counsel for the Romanian Government in the area of environmental and labor law. She is fluent in English and French and has a basic knowledge of Russian and Hebrew. Last but not least, her main interests are in the areas of Jewish values, entrepreneurship, women’s issues and human rights.
Since May 2012, Florina has been with the Seidner Jewish Foundation as a JGlobal representative from Bucharest. The aim of the organization is to connect young Jews globally as a way to strengthen Jewish continuity and Jewish Peoplehood. A strong believer in this mission, Florina has been spreading the word. She was also the mastermind and part of the organizing team of the Tikkun Olam conference in Vienna. Based on the concept of tikkun olam, Florina decided to head a first of its kind project dedicated to Jewish women. Its aim is to connect Jewish women across the globe to transform their lives, restore their Jewish identity and provide them with leadership and social activism training. Florina feels strongly that women need to rediscover themselves, their femininity and balance, in order to face the challenges of their multiple roles in modern society. The project also welcomes men who care about these issues and invites them to an open debate. Florina plans to accomplish these goals through global seminars, conferences, workshops and media (she created the JGlobal Jewish Network on Facebook). She is confident she can bring an added value to Jewish life with ROI’s valuable support.
Gabe Salgado is an educational technology specialist with expertise in curriculum development, media production and game design. He has headed up development for several successful initiatives, including interactive online classroom applications and virtual training programs for large organizations. In collaboration with popular Israeli hip-hop artists Hadag Nahash and major Jewish organizations, he developed The Sticker Song Curriculum – the first Jewish curriculum to go viral online. This was followed up by a series of acclaimed multimedia curricula dealing with Israeli music, film and culture. Although his background is multi-faceted, he has kept a single vision throughout: to bring technology and education together in a way that opens up boundless opportunities for those who need it the most.
Gabe is the Co-founder of Simnik, an educational gaming company that aims to bridge the digital divide and bring K-12 education into the 21st century. Simnik develops learning tools that are in sync with the way modern youth use technology, learn, collaborate, communicate and engage with information. Simnik is geared towards K-12 schools both in the United States and worldwide.
Gabriela Orellana Asturias is a 22-year-old Jewish student, currently studying international relations in Guatemala City. She considers herself an Israeli as she was born in Guatemala in 1990, but made aliyah in 2000 with her mother and two younger siblings. Gabriela was born to teenage parents. Her father passed away when she was five years old, forcing her to grow up fast and help tend to the family so that her mother could work to give her family a better future. Gabriela developed a passion for reading, delving into different worlds in order to escape her own. Gabriela believes in art as the most natural form of expression. She believes in nurturing the human spirit and caring for others. Gabriela believes in the realization of the self by means of helping those in need. She finds inspiration in observing those around her. Gabriela’s biggest hero is her mother who, despite becoming a widow at the young age of 23 and being left alone and on the streets with three babies to care for, has battled cancer and risen to exceed all expectations and inspire greatness.
Gabriela is an idealist. She believes that it is important for a young mind to develop ideals in order to find their own way and to be nurtured and grow intellectually. She believes that by means of reading the written word one can achieve this and it is her goal to help young Jewish minds develop their own ideals in order to grow and become the leaders this world needs. The opportunities for young readers are infinite and it is up to them to heal this world. Gabriela also volunteers for any social cause she can. She currently volunteers for the organization Un Techo Para Mi Pais (A roof for my country), by building temporary homes for families in dire need. She believes in justice for all, as opposed to equality, and is determined to do all in her power to accomplish this.
Gary Samowitz is a young leader who is passionate about social change and experiential learning. He is a dynamic informal educator and has staffed 12 Israel programs and presented at conferences around the world. Gary has degrees in Jewish history and Middle East politics. He is currently the CEO of Jewish Aid Australia, which focuses on mobilizing the Australian Jewish community to become active in pursuing social justice causes in the wider community. He was the recipient of an Australian Leadership Award from the Australian Davos Connection in 2012, and is the proud father of twin daughters.
Gary has created a range of innovative programs over the last ten years with a focus on youth leadership. He was an active leader of Habonim Dror in South Africa and Australia where he received his hadracha (leadership) training. As Hillel Director, he ran a range of leadership courses for university students, including Hillel Leadership Institute and the Hillel Footsteps retreat. In his role at Jewish Aid Australia (JAA), Gary is taking the essential hadracha skills that have been so effective in running Jewish youth movements to facilitate leadership training courses for Sudanese refugee youth and Aboriginal youth. Many of JAA’s volunteers are ex-youth movement leaders who are excited about passing on what they have learned. In January 2013, JAA volunteers ran three camps in different Aboriginal communities and holiday programs for Sudanese communities in Sydney and Melbourne. JAA hopes to scale this youth movement model in more vulnerable communities over the coming years.
Gina Flash lives in Cape Town, South Africa. From an early age, she identified with all the elements of her progressive youth movement, Netzer: a love for Judaism and Zionism, community and social justice. Through her youth work she practiced her skills in communication and community building. Gina studied graphic design in Australia and worked in top design, communications and advertising houses in Melbourne. She ran her own freelance design business, extending her clientele into nonprofit organizations in a desire to direct her creative efforts into this sector. On a holiday to Thailand in 2009, Gina formed an association with a social enterprise NGO that worked with refugees from Burma and enabled Westerners to experience Thai Buddhism. She volunteered with the organization for two years from Australia and built their brand and communication mechanisms with donors and participants. She returned to Thailand in 2011, continued her work in communications and managed their small field office for eight months. In 2012, Gina returned home to South Africa and now works for the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies, harnessing her varied skillset to promote social development motivated by the Jewish obligation to tikkun olam.
Gina is the Social Development Manager at the Cape Board of Deputies. This year she is focused on two major projects centered on the enterprising and uplifting work being done in South Africa by Jewish individuals, NGOs and communal organizations. Gina is creating a social development network that will showcase this work, facilitate networking and create a centralized resource for coordinating appeals and volunteer opportunities. It will also increase awareness around the world for the work Jews are doing to transform South Africa. In partnership with the HCI Foundation, Gina is also coordinating a ‘Peer2Peer’ mentorship program for approximately 80 students at two universities in Cape Town. In the program, Jewish students join a group of senior university students mentoring first year students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Now in its second year, it aims to increase academic success, lower dropout rates and encourage higher education.
Grace Lesser lives in Kigali, Rwanda, where she works as COO of Rwanda Works. In this role, she designs maternal health programs, oversees new health initiatives and drives organizational strategic development. She is a strong believer in the importance of strengthening health systems to improve public health and has a deep understanding of how to effectively create lasting and sustainable change in this field. In a previous life, Grace advocated on behalf of women’s health and reproductive rights in the U.S. to ensure that women’s equality was given equal billing in the new healthcare reform. Grace uses her experience as a professional community organizer to influence bottom-up approaches to social change and to cultivate strong partnerships. A graduate of Wesleyan University with a degree in sociology, Grace was the recipient of the Anna Julia Cooper Prize for overall academic, moral and intellectual excellence and work against discrimination.
In Grace’s work with Rwanda Works, she plays many roles. As COO, she is responsible for managing the nonprofit, overseeing everything from financial planning and budgeting to developing a strong team and a culture of productive communication. Outside of the office, she identifies and initiates new health infrastructure projects where they are needed most. To date, Grace has overseen the construction of three brand new public health centers serving over 75,000 people. Leveraging her personal passion for maternal health in the context of a country with tragic – but preventable – high maternal mortality rates, she has designed a series of innovative maternal health programs and raised over $1.5 million for their implementation. Recognizing the importance of strong health management in affecting community health outcomes, Grace and her team provide technical assistance in 86 health centers, serving over 2 million Rwandans, to boost the capacity of rural health providers.
Grace Lesser lives in Kigali, Rwanda, where she works as COO of Rwanda Works. In this role, she designs maternal health programs, oversees new health initiatives and drives organizational strategic development. She is a strong believer in the importance of strengthening health systems to improve public health and has a deep understanding of how to effectively create lasting and sustainable change in this field. In a previous life, Grace advocated on behalf of women’s health and reproductive rights in the U.S. to ensure that women’s equality was given equal billing in the new healthcare reform. Grace uses her experience as a professional community organizer to influence bottom-up approaches to social change and to cultivate strong partnerships. A graduate of Wesleyan University with a degree in sociology, Grace was the recipient of the Anna Julia Cooper Prize for overall academic, moral and intellectual excellence and work against discrimination.
In Grace’s work with Rwanda Works, she plays many roles. As COO, she is responsible for managing the nonprofit, overseeing everything from financial planning and budgeting to developing a strong team and a culture of productive communication. Outside of the office, she identifies and initiates new health infrastructure projects where they are needed most. To date, Grace has overseen the construction of three brand new public health centers serving over 75,000 people. Leveraging her personal passion for maternal health in the context of a country with tragic – but preventable – high maternal mortality rates, she has designed a series of innovative maternal health programs and raised over $1.5 million for their implementation. Recognizing the importance of strong health management in affecting community health outcomes, Grace and her team provide technical assistance in 86 health centers, serving over 2 million Rwandans, to boost the capacity of rural health providers.
Guy Ben-Aharon is a stage director, producer and cultural entrepreneur based in Boston, MA. Born in Israel, Guy is the Producing Artistic Director and Founder of Israeli Stage for which he has produced nine plays, one world premiere, five American premieres and three regional premieres. As Producing Artistic Director, Guy was commissioned by Harvard University to adapt David Grossman’s “To The End of the Land” into a play, and oversaw a campus tour of his own production of “Apples from the Desert” from a story collection by Savyon Liebrecht to over half a dozen academic institutions, including M.I.T. and Brown, among others. Following the success of Israeli Stage, Guy was asked by the Goethe Institut Boston to develop German Stage, which began its premiere season with a tour of “Voltaire and Frederick: A Life in Letters,” co-produced by the Consulat General de France, presented in Boston (four locations), Atlanta, GA, Bangor, ME, Ottawa, Toronto, and Waterloo, Canada. Guy is dedicated to producing the works of international playwrights whose voices are unheard in the United States and is passionate about bridging cultural gaps through the arts. An avid traveler, Guy has lived in Herzliya, Madrid and Boston and dreams of living in London, Buenos Aires, Paris and the French Riviera.
Two and a half years ago, Guy founded Israeli Stage, the only organization in North America solely dedicated to producing works by Israeli playwrights. By focusing on the Israeli perspective, they are able to present the many narratives and different faces that co-exist within Israeli society: Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, etc. This impacts not only the theater practitioners from all sides of the stage, but also the audience, some of whom are experiencing Israel for the very first time. Israeli Stage’s mission is to expose audiences to the diversity and vitality of Israeli culture through theater. Its goal is that they will use their new understanding of Israel to relate to its people and to recognize the universality of humanity at large.
Heather Wolfson is a nonprofit management consultant and the part-time Managing Director of the Avi Schaefer Fund. She most recently served as the Western Regional Director for NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation. Heather has been very active in the Jewish community. After being a dedicated USYer, an educator and involved in her campus Hillel, she decided to pursue a career in the Jewish world. She worked at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation as the Special Projects Coordinator and later settled in Los Angeles. She started her early career with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger as the Marketing Manager. Outside of work, Heather has been involved in many activities, including with the Progressive Jewish Alliance as a Jeremiah Fellow and as a recipient of the Emma Fellowship. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a dual B.A. in journalism and communication and her M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and 18-month-old son, Joshua.
Innovation has been a part of Heather Wolfson’s professional and personal life for the last decade (if not longer). From developing initiatives to educate individuals about the importance of both the short and long-term goals and ending hunger to creating engagement programs for young Jewish adults, she has always challenged the norm and continually thinks outside the box. Today, Heather works with the Avi Schaefer Fund, a startup organization dedicated to continuing the values of Avi, a bridge-builder on his college campus and supporter of Israel, who was tragically killed in 2010. Heather is the first paid staff member of the Fund and it is her responsibility to developits programmatic components. The goal is to bring together students on college campuses – pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, Jewish or Muslim – so that together they can help change the climate. Although only a recent addition to the Fund, Heather encourages the family and the board to think big and helps design educationally rich programs to engage students (on all sides of the conflict) to be change agents on their campuses.
Helen Bennett is passionate about what brings people together. A native Seattleite, Helen studied urban planning and religion at the University of Washington, cooperative living, intentional community building and organic farming as an Adamah Fellow and community organizing and power building as a Jewish Organizing Fellow. Additionally, Helen’s values and visions have been further influenced by her adventures and learning experiences in Israel and India and in the ethical food/farming world on Orcas Island, WA, at Hazon food conferences and with the Jewish Farm School. Currently, Helen is a Resident Organizer at Moishe House Boston: The Kavod Jewish Social Justice House, where 600+ progressive Jews in their 20s and 30s work to create a welcoming Jewish community that is personally meaningful and deeply engaged with the world. Formally, Helen spends her days as the Development Associate for the Jewish Women’s Archive. When not at the Archive or at a meeting of some kind, Helen loves crafting, pickling, playing music, people watching and friend-shidduching.
As a Resident Organizer at the Moishe Kavod Jewish Social Justice House in Boston, Helen is building and facilitating the growth of a strong network of relationships, which serve as the foundation of the Moishe Kavod House community. With three to five events every week, the Moishe Kavod House engages over 600 Jewish young adults in social justice and community building initiatives. Along with her three housemates and co-organizers, Helen meets with individuals one-on-one, listens to their stories, helps draw out their passions, values and leadership potential, along with their fears and unsurprising baggage around organized Jewish community – and then helps them connect to others who share their passion or vision, plugging them into a facet of the community in the way that feels best for them. This ‘network organizing’ model is innovative because it allows young Jews to act on their own behalf: They are able to grow, share, shine and learn together with their peers in unique and profound ways. Specifically, Helen is responsible for a handful of Moishe Kavod’s 20 different lay-led teams, each with their own focus. She works with the Farm to Shul/Food Justice Team, the New Moon Rosh Chodesh Team, Chessed (LovingKindness), Arts and the Social Justice Strategy team.
Hewan Elias was born in Ethiopia in 1983. The youngest of nine children, she made aliyah to Israel with her family at the age of 3. Upon arrival in Israel, Hewan’s family settled in Haifa and later moved to Hadera, with some going to Rishon LeZion. Hewan served in the IDF as a medic in the border patrol unit. After the army, she traveled in the U.S. and returned to Israel for university at the College of Ashkelon where she studied human resources and sociology. She currently lives in Rishon Lezion and works two jobs: the first as a bank teller and the second as a Program Director for Friends by Nature – Community Empowerment organization. Hewan is also a member of Garin Ichud, the Ethiopian-Israeli Community garin in the Ramat Eliyahu Neighborhood of Rishon Lezion. Having experienced aliyah firsthand and as an active member of the Ethiopian-Israeli community, Hewan dreams about and works for the successful integration of Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society. Seeing the challenges of the absorption process and its results, especially on children and youth, Hewan is passionate about empowering young Ethiopian Israelis to embrace their own unique identity while connecting with the greater people of Israel. She dreams of a united, diverse Jewish People and Am Israel.
Being a member of Garin Ichud involves social-communal-grassroots innovation every day. The garin is made up of a group of young people who came together to make change in neighborhoods on the periphery of Israel. The concept is based on the realization that most of the young people from the periphery who succeed have to first leave their childhood neighborhood in order to make a better future for themselves. When this happens, however, there are no good examples for the youth who remain and no positive role models for them to follow. Garin Ichud members decided to break this pattern by staying in the neighborhood, creating a network of support and a community of committed social activists. Each garin member experiences different challenges, but together they are able to face them and work toward change. Hewan’s work, together with the garin, impacts the Ramat Eliyahu Ethiopian-Israeli community, mainly focusing on children and youth. Her work is innovative in the sense that it grows from the bottom-up, embodying a true grassroots process of civic responsibility in a community that has traditionally been treated as needy and dependent. In Hewan’s work, she draws strength from the community itself and its rich cultural background, to empower and motivate change.
Ilya Krasnov lives in Munich, Germany. While studying computer science and economics, he participated in an entrepreneurial qualification program, “Manage&More.” Designed to nurture entrepreneurs selected from universities throughout Munich, it gave them the tools to launch their professional careers and startup projects through personal coaching and access to an entrepreneurial network. Ilya’s keen interest in group psychology, personal development and time management inspired him to implement a workshop to support the participating students. After finishing his degree, Ilya joined Xantera Holding Corp, a Munich-based incubator for web and mobile applications. He oversees the young Business Development team and is responsible for strategic development for existing startups and for building new IT projects. Ilya is an active member of the Jewish community of Munich and helped develop the long-term vision and implement the roadmap for its youth center. He also consults other nonprofit Jewish organizations that seek his advice.
The German Jewish community is the fastest growing Jewish community in the world. Over the last 20 years about 250 thousand Jews from the FSU arrived in Germany. They are fully integrated into German society and have settled in around 100 Jewish communities across the country. Eager to learn about their Jewish roots, there is not enough Jewish content in German available online. With this in mind, Ilya and Artur Lokomet (ROI 2009), are planning in 2013 to launch a first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing Internet project that aims to enrich the German-speaking public with Jewish texts in their native language and at the same time, to preserve Ashkenazi heritage. The idea of the project is to create a digital library of old Jewish books in the German language that are no longer subject to copyright/intellectual property rights. Each user will be able to upload/download the books, read them online and/or discuss them on the Facebook page of the project. New technologies of scanning and digitalizing will be used. Ilya and Artur hope that this digital media projectwill have a positive and necessary impact on preserving the past by creating a future for the German Jewish community.
Inés Finchelstein is a young Jewish social entrepreneur committed to spearheading social justice and equality in her country and beyond. As a social anthropologist, Inés is an advocate for empathy and tzedakah as the cornerstone for cultural understanding and sustainable development. She is passionate about dialogue among people and has participated in various international summits, from UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to RIO+20. To better understand other cultures, Inés learned and is fluent in English, French, German and Portuguese, and she also studied Japanese and Quechua. In 2007, during fieldwork in an indigenous community in Argentina, Inés decided to create La-Revistita-Multicultural, which has helped 600+ children through workshops and a publication where they, as authors, express their creativity and produce content about their socio-cultural heritage, becoming their own agents of change. Inés has worked for grassroots and international organizations, such as UNESCO, International Indigenous Women’s Forum, UNICEF and the Social Development Ministry. She is Ashoka’s Youth Program Coordinator for the Southern Cone. In her free time, Inés takes a drama course and enjoys rowing with friends.
The commitment Ines has to social justice and tikkun olam is tied to the way she views herself as a Jew. While doing fieldwork in an underprivileged community outside Buenos Aires, where she observed first-hand the social exclusion that indigenous children face, she realized that research was not enough: She had to turn her passion into action by creating transformative work, and so she did. For five years, Inés has led La-Revistita-Multicultural, aimed at social integration in Argentina, which has impacted 600+ children. Apart from coordinating the team and developing new strategies and partnerships to expand the project, Inés has led other tzedakah initiatives at Hillel and takes part in gatherings for Jewish, Arab and Muslim youth. Inés is the Coordinator for the Ashoka Youth Venture Program. Within Argentina, empowering youth by allowing them to develop their own projects for change is an innovative challenge that creates a sustainable impact not only for the youth themselves, but for the communities where they work. Inés has been featured in the media as an outstanding young professional in the field of young social entrepreneurs.
Jamie Plotnek is an accidental environmentalist and an expert in green communications. Having qualified as a lawyer, he later produced events in the Middle East and eventually got involved in setting up a campaign called Climate Week, which is currently Britain’s biggest climate change campaign. For this, Jamie managed a team of five and was responsible for engaging businesses, the government and the public sector. He also designed and managed the Awards scheme and other special projects. In its first year, Climate Week engaged half a million people through over 3,000 events around the UK. It was supported by the Prime Minister. Jamie currently works for the Carbon Trust providing communications support and helping to manage relationships with governments and NGOs. This work can be extremely diverse, ranging from advising governments on effective policy to innovations in low carbon technology and renewables. It involves working with large businesses and the public sector on everything from reducing their emissions and resource use to the certification of organizational and product carbon footprints.
At the Carbon Trust, Jamie’s role ranges from strategic communications to public relations. This has recently involved advising major brands on how to communicate their work on measuring and reducing their carbon and water footprints, delivering national and international coverage of the Carbon Trust’s work and coordinating policy statements, viewpoints and partnerships. Jamie is also responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the British Government, international agencies and NGOs. During his time at Climate Week, Jamie learned a lot about the art of the possible – turning ideas into reality. In this context, he met with Arnold Schwarzenegger in New York to discuss the campaign, he produced a series of short plays written by award-winning young playwrights, gaining national coverage and he wrote a quiz hosted by over 300 pubs and workplaces. He also ran the Climate Week Awards, providing a showcase for some of the most impressive actions on climate change happening across every sector of British society and judged by a panel of eminent international figures.
Jamie Plotnek is an accidental environmentalist and an expert in green communications. Having qualified as a lawyer, he later produced events in the Middle East and eventually got involved in setting up a campaign called Climate Week, which is currently Britain’s biggest climate change campaign. For this, Jamie managed a team of five and was responsible for engaging businesses, the government and the public sector. He also designed and managed the Awards scheme and other special projects. In its first year, Climate Week engaged half a million people through over 3,000 events around the UK. It was supported by the Prime Minister. Jamie currently works for the Carbon Trust providing communications support and helping to manage relationships with governments and NGOs. This work can be extremely diverse, ranging from advising governments on effective policy to innovations in low carbon technology and renewables. It involves working with large businesses and the public sector on everything from reducing their emissions and resource use to the certification of organizational and product carbon footprints.
At the Carbon Trust, Jamie’s role ranges from strategic communications to public relations. This has recently involved advising major brands on how to communicate their work on measuring and reducing their carbon and water footprints, delivering national and international coverage of the Carbon Trust’s work and coordinating policy statements, viewpoints and partnerships. Jamie is also responsible for building and maintaining relationships with the British Government, international agencies and NGOs. During his time at Climate Week, Jamie learned a lot about the art of the possible – turning ideas into reality. In this context, he met with Arnold Schwarzenegger in New York to discuss the campaign, he produced a series of short plays written by award-winning young playwrights, gaining national coverage and he wrote a quiz hosted by over 300 pubs and workplaces. He also ran the Climate Week Awards, providing a showcase for some of the most impressive actions on climate change happening across every sector of British society and judged by a panel of eminent international figures.
Jamie Susskind is an advocate, writer and teacher. He was the youngest ever captain of the England Schools Debating Team and in 2006, was ranked the number one debater in the world. He was the youngest commoner in history to speak at the dispatch box of the House of Lords and was awarded a prize for speechmaking by the Oxford Union. By the age of 21, he had worked for Tony Blair, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy and as a speechwriter for the leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband. Jamie is passionate about teaching advocacy skills at home and abroad, having worked in Israel, the Palestinian territories and central Africa. He also worked briefly as a community organizer in London hospitals, helping low-paid staff to improve their pay and conditions. Jamie is a published historian with a small book to his name, “Karl Marx and British Intellectuals in the 1930s.” He graduated first in his year from Oxford University in 2010 and is presently training to be a barrister. He will specialize in human rights and employment law.
In 2010 and 2011, Jamie and a small team ran workshops in Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for young Israeli and Palestinian political activists on the fundamentals of speechmaking and debate in English (argumentation, rebuttal, strategy, teamwork and style). The courses were primarily about learning and networking, but also covered difficult topics, including torture, terrorism, conscription and the two-state solution. This was the first project of its kind. It has attracted some media attention in the UK. Jamie now plans to establish a fellowship for exceptional young Israelis and Palestinians who want to be flown to England for intense advocacy and leadership training in the context of the British political system. At the ROI Summit he hopes to gain valuable wisdom from others who have set up successful ventures.
Jared Jackson, born in Philadelphia to one Jewish (Ashkenazi/Sephardi) and one non-Jewish parent, knows what it is like to be connected to many communities, but not fully welcome in any. His journey has taken him from hiding parts of his heritage to inspiring others to share in and continue loving being a dual-heritage Jew. His love for Judaism and community building led him to found Jews in ALL Hues: an organization dedicated to inspiring and creating a welcoming place for dual-heritage Jews. Today, Jared has to his credit a growing body of positive diversity work for the betterment of all Jews and has spoken across the United States. He has six nieces and nephews and a wonderful group of Jewish professionals that he is proud to call his second family. Aside from community building and organizational leadership, Jared is a professional saxophonist and works with children on the autism spectrum as a play therapist/personal care assistant.
Jared is the Founder/Executive Director of Jews in ALL Hues (JIAH), which embraces dual-heritage Jews, both as a group and within the larger Jewish community. Dual-Heritage Jews are children of intermarriage, adoptees or Jews by choice who are often faced with feeling unwelcome, even though they currently comprise more than 50% of North American Jews. In celebrating dual-heritage Jews, JIAH challenges the established Jewish community to learn about and to accept its own diversity. In addition, JIAH and Jared create training and learning opportunities that invite Jews from communal Jewish institutions and established Jewish communities to join the effort to repair the rift between minorities within a minority. Jared’s many roles include: executive director, volunteer coordinator, establishing the board, speaker/facilitator, building JIAH’s new website (currently under construction) and establishing and maintaining a grantwriting and fundraising team.
Jay Stone has been a dedicated Israel advocate since 2007. He attended seminars at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, won a Birthright Alumni grant to produce a screening of Unsettled in New Orleans and is currently organizing “Hip-Hop Sulchas” in NYC that bring Jewish and Arab artists together to celebrate peace and religious tolerance through the performing arts. He is also a Birthright Ambassador and was invited to perform his Sh’ma Israel beatbox to a crowd of 10,000, including Lynn Schusterman, at the 2010 Mega Event. Last year, Jay joined PresenTense as a SocialStart Instructor to help young professional Jews launch their social businesses. His most exciting endeavor, however, is Co-founding the Jewish vocal/beatbox duo Bagels ‘n Box, which revolutionizes traditional Jewish prayer with a funky modern twist. Bagels ‘n Boxhas performed everywhere from synagogues to Jewish day schools to engage children in Jewish prayer in a fun, innovative and engaging way. Professionally, Jay works with Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Operations group. He received his M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business and B.S.B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. In addition to Israel advocacy and Judaism, Jay’s hobbies include yoga, cycling, international travel, live music and technology.
In 2009, while obliging friends with some beatbox, a friend said, “Jon [Murstein], you were a cantor in a synagogue for five years. Jay, you can drop a beat to anything. Why don’t you two collaborate?” Jon began singing Yigdal to Jay’s beatbox and so Bagels ‘n Box was born. In a few short months, they had created a website, produced an album and had their very first performance at Ansche Chesed in Manhattan. Afterwards, the Director of Education said, “Our most difficult challenge in the Jewish education world is getting our children excited and engaged in prayer. And you guys do it effortlessly!” They realized they were onto something. Since that performance in December 2010, the duo has taken their love for Jewish prayer to dozens of synagogues, Jewish day schools, sleep away camps, retirement homes and bar/bat mitzvahs. With each performance comes a new opportunity to inspire a room of Jewish children to engage and stay connected to Judaism throughout their lives.
Joelle Berman believes deeply in the power of connecting to our identities, our visions and our communities. With almost nine years of experience in marketing, communication and content production in the Jewish nonprofit space, she is sure that the conversation about Jewish identity and community will only get more complex (and thus more beautiful) and challenging (and thus more fulfilling). Joelle nerds out on text study (when she can), conversations about God and the idea of holiness. She is also fascinated by technology and its potential to help us organize and enrich our lives. Joelle helps run a community-supported agriculture project in Brooklyn, where she lives, that is focused on raising awareness of and engagement in food justice issues. Incidentally, Joelle loves food and thinks that it’s a great tool in building community. She is a personified Zagat’s guide to Brooklyn, a dedicated kick boxer and is known to start infectious dance parties, which is another great tool in community building.
There is perhaps no greater opportunity in today’s Jewish community than to leverage the Birthright Israel experiences of hundreds of thousands of Jewish young adults. As the communications manager at NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation, Joelle wonders: How can we inspire Birthright Israel trip alumni to continue their encounter with Judaism after ten days in Israel and how can we give them every opportunity to do so? NEXT is innovative because it relies on a growing number of partnerships with both mainstream organizations and grassroots projects. Only through these partnerships can NEXT realize its goals: making the Jewish community more transparent to returning alumni, offering do-it-yourself Jewish experiences to alumni and developing the field of professionals engaging this population. Joelle’s charge is two-fold: communicating all the ways that trip alumni can connect to their communities, Israel and new kinds of Jewish experiences and empowering professionals engaging young adults to reach them effectively. She manages a broad portfolio of marketing, branding, social media and website projects and innovates by leveraging the power of branding, messaging, technology and networks to provide new modes of connection.
Johnathan Podemsky is a young Jewish professional set to make a difference in the tech scene of glamorous Silicon Valley. He completed his undergraduate degree in computer science in Israel when he was only 18 and joined Unit 8200, a top Israeli army intelligence unit. At age 22, he became the youngest captain of the unit. During six years as a software engineer and an engineering manager, Johnathan received a personal citation from the head of the unit. After joining the private sector, he graduated from MIT Sloan’s M.B.A. program. At MIT, he served as the president of the tech club and was active in the Jewish community, including organizing the annual Israeli cultural event. Johnathan also worked as a senior associate for a leading VC, investing in Israeli and local tech companies. After MIT, Johnathan joined LinkedIn as a product manager for search. Furthermore, Johnathan is very active in organizing round tables for Jewish nonprofit organizations, such as the Schusterman Foundation, featuring senior executives from LinkedIn. Johnathan’s goal is to leverage LinkedIn to make the Jewish world more connected and to strengthen its members’ connection with Israel. He aspires to connect the international Jewish community and harness LinkedIn to do so!
Johnathan is the Product Manager for Search at LinkedIn, a professional social network with more than 200 million members worldwide. Search plays an integral role in LinkedIn’s success since the power of the professional social network is to help users find professionals for networking. Its impact is significant, with 5.7 billion professionally oriented searches done in 2012. As part of his Putting America Back to Work campaign, President Obama participated in LinkedIn’s town hall and made a strong statement about LinkedIn’s role in putting America back to work. Johnathan’s personal role in this is to make the product more intuitive and valuable for the users and to prioritize features. To that end, he designed the 2013 plan that includes a new strategy that will completely change the way people perceive LinkedIn. To make this dream a reality, he led the search group that included more than 30 experienced engineers, designers, marketers and testers.
Jonah Halper began his career in nonprofit fundraising working for a variety of Jewish causes. After nearly a decade of successful development work, he started a consulting firm to help organizations focus on new donor acquisition and ways to engage the next generation of philanthropy. He also started NextGen:Charity, a national conference on nonprofit innovation. The videos and content from the conference have reached more than 1.5 million people over the last two years, including being picked up by TED. Jonah is now launching FundraisingPrep, a fundraising boot camp in NYC to teach new and experienced professionals the nuts and bolts of how to prospect, connect, engage and solicit funds in the 21st century. Jonah is married with three children (yes, he is only 31) and lives in Wesley Hills, NY. CEO, ALTRUICITY INC.
Jonah prefers to focus on innovation within legacy institutions. The ability to take the perfect problems that exist in the establishment and to find solutions to help them grow in the 21st century is an area that may be considered less sexy than the startup, but much needed to support and grow the Jewish infrastructure that has been indispensable for the last 60-100 years – whether the work is new donor acquisition, better understanding the definition of “community” or how to support it or reinvent institutions to be less bureaucratic and flatter. Jonah is in the unique position of being both classically trained in organizational development while also being an entrepreneur.
Jonathan Dworkin is enthusiastic, outgoing and passionate about building Jewish life in Beijing. Born in California, Jonathan later moved to Boston and graduated from Tufts University. At Tufts, he majored in economics and was on the board of Tufts Hillel. He has lived in China since 2003. Jonathan was drawn to China by a sense of adventure and wanting to be in a place that was changing quickly. He moved to Beijing to study Chinese and now works as a corporate trainer, which he likes as it involves working with Chinese staff at local firms on cross-cultural skills, helping them understand how their colleagues in the U.S. think and operate. One reason Jonathan has stayed in China for so long is the vibrant Jewish community in Beijing. He has been very active in building Jewish life and loves how the community is incredibly diverse. From his involvement with Kehillat Beijing to founding the Moishe House and organizing the first-ever Limmud in China, Jonathan is driven by a desire to build community and bring together people who are far from home. Jonathan’s work is innovative because he’s willing to take risks on new projects and always questions the status quo.
As a community organizer for Kehillat Beijing, Jonathan has arranged new activities focused on building community among a population of international, transient Jews. He welcomes many newcomers to Beijing, helps show them the ropes and connects them with resources and information. He has organized events ranging from baby namings and learning sessions to Chinese-Jewish dialogues. Jonathan is also a resident and Co-founder of Moishe House Beijing, which hosts events aimed at Jewish young adults. In Beijing, most young people are far from home and looking for a sense of home and belonging. Jonathan has focused on reaching out to young Jews who don’t feel much connection to their Jewish heritage, helping them make friends and build strong Jewish lives in Beijing. Finally, Jonathan was a Co-organizer of the first-ever Limmud China. Held on the Great Wall, this was an incredible event bringing together Jews from all over the region for a weekend of Jewish learning and culture. Organizing this event required a great deal of work and the result was amazing. Jonathan believes Limmud will have a lasting legacy on Jewish life in China.
Jonathan Frenkel became the Executive Director of Dor Chadash in August 2011. Prior to joining the Dor Chadash professional team, Jonathan was involved with Dor Chadash for over three years as a volunteer and lay leader, including spending time as a board member. He also sat on the board of another successful young leadership organization, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), which raises money for Israel, and was actively involved in Jewish life in Manhattan. Jonathan or Yoni, as he is also called, is an American born to Israeli parents who brings with him an authentic understanding of Israel’s culture, politics and society, as well as a familiarity with the community and its needs. He is also comfortable around, and identifies himself with, American Jews. Jonathan represents the atypical American/Israeli hybrid, having spent many years in Israel, including time in an IDF infantry unit.
Dor Chadash, a nonprofit with the mission of connecting the New York community to Israeli cultural, social, and educational events, was very proud to present Fashion Gala TLV in November at the Out Hotel. 
This elegant event provided ten emerging, young Israeli designers with the opportunity to preview their thriving design talents for a young professional community with an interest in fashion, new talent and/or Israeli culture. Fashion Gala TLV’s aim was to promote new Israeli designers and culture.This high-end, cocktail attire event was attended by a diverse array of young professionals, investors and fashionistas who networked and celebrated over cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a fashion show, followed by a party hosted by Israeli/American DJ Fame Cohen.
Jordan Fruchtman grew up in Oakland, CA, where he now lives with his amazing wife, Rachel. He spent seven years in Santa Barbara where he attended UCSB and went on to become the Regional Director of the Forest Foundation, the organization that founded Moishe House. He then moved to Boston for two years to pursue an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Jewish professional leadership from Brandeis University. Jordan spent the next three years as the Executive Director of the Hillel Foundation of Orange County, CA, and for the past year and a half has been the Chief Program Officer for Moishe House. He loves working with new ideas and projects and especially enjoys working with young people and growing them in their capacity to become great professionals. Jordan loves cooking, anything outdoors, positive psychology and spending time with friends.
As the CEO of Moishe House, Jordan oversees the program team that both works with the 53 Moishe Houses in 14 countries and tests out new projects and ideas. Moishe House provides a rent subsidy and program budget for three to five Jewish young adults in their 20s to live together and build community for their peers. The project is innovative because it provides the opportunity to harness the collective power of young, passionate and engaging Jewish adults around the world and shows the world myriad ways to express one’s Judaism. He is dedicated to providing the tools and resources for young adults to build their ideal Jewish community and works diligently to ensure Judaism is not something that is proscribed. Jordan is inspired by the thought that Moishe House could have the potential to make being in one’s 20s the most exciting time in a person’s Jewish life. It takes considerable intention to allow for the freedom and space it takes to foster the innovation residents create.
Jordan Namerow is a writer, activist and communications professional committed to building a global network of leaders who celebrate Jewish identity through meaningful engagement with the world. She is the Director of Public Engagement and Strategic Content at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), in which she manages AJWS’s community engagement strategy and speakers’ bureau, serves as the organization’s principal opinion writer and curates AJWS’s Story Bank. Prior to joining AJWS in 2009, Jordan worked in communications at the Jewish Women’s Archive. She was the 2005-2006 Roslyn Z. Wolf Fellow of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Warsaw, Poland, where she helped implement social welfare programs for Holocaust survivors and developed inter-generational projects for Poland’s Jewish elders and Jewish young adults. A graduate of Wellesley College, she holds a master’s in strategic communications from Columbia University. Outside of her nonprofit work, she is writing a Jewish children’s book about Tu b’Av. With contributions from the ROI community and her broader network, Jordan also hopes to develop an anthology of essays about Jewish surprises.
In her role as AJWS’s Director of Public Engagement and Strategic Content, Jordan weaves together stories, successes and challenges at the intersection of Jewish values and human rights. The thrust of this work involves navigating the universalistic and particularistic aspects of Jewish identity and developing a master narrative about the relevance of human rights and Jewish teachings to share with diverse audiences. While living in Uganda in 2008, Jordan learned that Jewish experience must not exist in isolation, but must be deeply integrated and expressed within a global context. The Ugandan health and human rights professionals with whom she volunteered had never before met a Jew and knew little about the Jewish community. Building these relationships across lines of race and class reinforced the important role Jordan can play in transnational and multiracial communities. It also strengthened her desire to build a Jewish community that is creatively and humbly responsive to today’s global challenges.
Josh Burstein is just your run of the mill Asian Jew from Tulsa, OK. His last three employers were the Government of Israel, Charlie Sheen and President Obama – he’s confident it’s the only thing the three have in common.
Josh started MyPi in 2011, a nonprofit for inner-city youth to show children the horizons beyond a high school diploma. For President Obama’s reelection, Josh engaged in online to offline organizing in the top battleground state of Wisconsin. He was selected out of 82,000 applicants to be Charlie Sheen’s social media guy at the height of his mania. Team Sheen secured two Shorty Awards in 2012, including best overall Twitter brand presence. As Director of Business Development for Israel on the West Coast, Josh formerly served as an economic liaison, connecting innovative Israeli technology to major international corporations.
Josh Gottesman, a native of Houston, Texas, has spent his entire life engaged with Judaism, Jewish causes and Zionism. Born into Young Judaea, Josh spent his formative years and all of his summers in the movement, gaining valuable experience and training in leadership, peer-education and Israel advocacy. While a student at the University of Texas at Austin, Josh founded The White Rose Society, a student organization dedicated to Holocaust education and genocide awareness, which is still active on the UT campus today. Following a year spent learning Spanish and traveling through Central and South America, he returned to Houston where he taught Jewish studies at the high school level at the Emery/Weiner School. Wanting a change in location while continuing his education, Josh then moved to Israel and began studying for his master’s in Jewish thought. This challenging and demanding program, which involved studying Jewish philosophy in Hebrew with Israelis, gave Josh the opportunity to improve his Hebrew language skills and fall even more deeply in love with Israel. Josh is an avid scuba diver and a fan of yoga.
Josh is currently working at the Reut Institute in Tel Aviv, where he assists Reut founder Gidi Grinstein on his forthcoming book, “Flexigidity: The Secret of Jewish Adaptability.” In this capacity, he is responsible for editing the text itself, as well as preparing materials to facilitate discussion using the book as a springboard. The book seeks to identify some of the most pressing issues that are going to face the Jewish people in Israel and around the world in the coming years, with an aim to crowdsource the solutions. The text is designed to lend itself to Talmudic style discourse – the Talmud being the Jewish people’s proto-crowdsourcing venture. Josh is also involved with further development of the Reut sponsored Cross Lab Network (XLN) of 3D printers. Josh initiated a relationship with the Branco Weiss school in Bat Yam. In the Spring, a group from this school for underprivileged and troubled teens will begin learning the basics of 3D design and printing at XLN. Josh’s greatest passion is education. 
Judith Prays is from Long Beach, California, where she was born to Russian parents and attended the same high school as Snoop Dogg. With a degree from UCLA film school in documentary production and postgraduate training in web development, her passion is creating meaningful, provocative multimedia experiences. Alternatively known as “janglestien” and “prayz,” she, among way too many other projects, is working on her first album, “90% Kosher.”
Judith, trying to not be bored and lonely, started the Pheromone Parties, a matchmaking experiment based on scent. She has now hosted them across the globe and has been recognized by media like CNN, Today Show, Colbert Report, Discovery, Time, National Geographic, as well as international media likeHaaretz and the Times of India. In the end, she found that G-d and Torah have been the best cure for boredom and loneliness and is now focusing on innovating interactions in that space. She is currently creating a crowdsourcing platform and community for Torah commentary, chavruta and Torah inspired art, as well as inspecting G-d’s brand perception among intellectuals and working on how it can be improved.
Julie Finkelstein is the Program Director at Slingshot, where she supports innovative Jewish projects across North America. She has dedicated her career to empowering others by helping professionals effectively advance their missions and by facilitating educational opportunities for young people to explore their potential as leaders of social change. Julie earned her M.B.A. from George Washington University (GW) as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. During her studies, she developed change strategies at Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters, although most of her time was spent applying her business knowledge to her non-corporate interests. She led GW’s chapter of Net Impact, created marketing strategies to advance a social change organization in Ghana and consulted for Sixth & I and the Foundation for Jewish Camp. Previously, Julie was the Assistant Director of Capital Camps (JCCA), where she oversaw programming, operations, staff recruitment and training. Julie got her professional start at the Maryland Hillel, where she now sits on the Board of Directors, and at Hillel’s international offices in Washington, DC. Julie earned a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Maryland and studied abroad on Young Judaea’s Year Course in Israel and for a semester in Rome, Italy.
Vision and big ideas alone are not enough to make change. That is why Julie is committed to using her skills to enhance the Jewish community by making change from within existing frameworks. Through the unique blend of her background in the Jewish professional and philanthropic worlds and the secular business and entrepreneurial worlds, Julie helps organizations work more effectively and professionals find satisfaction in their work. Julie values a model of Jewish living that is inclusive and has deep respect for the myriad of ways that Judaism can be expressed. Through the Slingshot platform, Julie works alongside the Jewish community’s innovators to ensure that a variety of relevant and impactful Jewish offerings are accessible to all who are seeking meaningful experiences. Julie manages Slingshot’s network of innovative Jewish organizations, including the creation of the Slingshot Guide, which highlights the breadth and depth of the most innovative Jewish initiatives in North America and provides an essential resource for raising awareness among funders about groundbreaking projects. Julie builds and supports a network of startups, as well as larger and more established institutions that are attempting to remain relevant in a changing community.
Lana Volftsun is Executive Director of the One Percent Foundation. She is also on the board of Slingshot, a collective fund that provides support for a subset of innovative Jewish organizations featured in the Slingshot Guide. In addition, Lana sits on the Issues Committee for the National Center for Family Philanthropy, Upstart Bay Area’s Connect Advisory Group and the Impact Grants Initiative Committee of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation. Lana takes her work on the road, speaking at conferences, gatherings and universities about Millennial giving. Previously, Lana sat on the Young Leadership Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and was a facilitator for the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Initiative of the Partnership for Jewish Life & Learning. Lana has a B.S.B.A. and master’s certificate in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. She lives in San Francisco, is a regular contributor to GOOD.is and enjoys skiing, skydiving and wearing bows!
Lana is Executive Director of the One Percent Foundation (OPF), a nonprofit that makes philanthropy accessible to Millennials+ and empowers them to change the world. The foundation’s goal is to inspire young adults to give at least 1% of their income to philanthropic causes. OPF’s core program, the One Percent Giving Circle, has grown to become the largest online giving circle in the country with hundreds of members who have awarded over $200K to worthy nonprofits doing work around the world. OPF is currently developing a scalable Giving Circle Platform to allow discrete communities (companies, nonprofits, community foundations and individuals) to engage their members, alumni, employees and friends in a sustained and meaningful philanthropic experience. Each of these communities will be able to establish their own giving circles, customized lightly to their needs, and supported by the One Percent Foundation. This model will allow the One Percent Foundation to quickly scale across the country and accommodate the varying needs of new philanthropists. Lana strongly believes in democratizing giving in this country so that everyone can be a philanthropist.
Laurina Todesaite was born in Vilnius – known as the Jerusalem of Vilna – during the Soviet era, and left as soon as it was possible, moving to Israel in search of a better Jewish life. She graduated from Haifa University with a degree in sociology and education. While studying and working, Laurina learned negotiation skills, corporate social responsibility and sales. She returned to Lithuania (once it had joined the EU) eager to share her expertise, and was accepted into one of the best business consulting firms working in the areas of sales and human resources. Later, Laurina became the Baltic States Representative of the Israeli security company Nemesysco, which works with LVA technologies (layered voice analysis). Beyond work, she is an active volunteer in in Lithuanian Jewish community (LJC), Gesher and student organizations. Laurina is also a member of the organizing committee of Limmud Baltics. Laurina’s current passion is the Jakovas Bunka Charity and Sponsorship Fund (JBFund), which works to preserve Jewish heritage and promote tolerance in Lithuania. She also runs a traveling photography exhibition of Lithuanian wooden synagogues and offers guided Jewish tours of Vilnius.
Laurina represents the JBFund, whose motto is a quote from a Vilna ghetto survivor: “It is very important for the world to know how we lived, not only how we died.” Unfortunately, Lithuania is perceived very negatively because of the annihilation of almost all of its Jewish population. Throughout Lithuania there are constant reminders of the slaughter, with monuments for mass graves and massacres and Shoah memorials, but very little remains as a testament to the positive aspects of a once thriving Jewish life. Beyond this, many Lithuanians, even educated ones, still believe that matzah is made from the blood of Christian children. That is why the JBFund is devoted to preserving Lithuania’s Jewish heritage while promoting tolerance by working with children in tolerance education, preserving remaining Lithuanian wooden synagogues and building a special park to commemorate famous Litvaks. The fund’s initial project is a memorial for David Wolffsohn, a businessman and early Zionist. Funds are also being raised to build a Jewish farmstead to show how a Jewish family lived before WWII. Following the opening of the photography exhibition, “Kadish to Lithuanian Wooden Synagogues,” the Fund plans to hold a Pesachseder for its friends, Jews and non-Jews alike, to share in the joy of Pesach and cultivate mutual understanding.
Lev Levitskiy was born in the city of Togliatti, along the Volga River in Russia. There he founded a youth club for the Jewish community before moving to Moscow for work. Lev is an active member of Hillel Moscow. Currently, he works in IT and is pursuing his dream of developing the Russian Jewish mobile app.
Lev’s innovative project is a new free application for mobile devices that will help users follow local Jewish life and events in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and access Jewish-related content to ultimately enrich their knowledge of Jewish tradition and connect them to the broader Jewish community. The application will target both those already active in Jewish life and those who have yet to participate in communal activities. Beyond this, it will give local Jewish organizations a new way to communicate and reach young people while providing an accessible platform for individuals and organizations to meet and communicate.
Liat Krawczyk was born to Argentinean parents and grew up moving between Israel and the U.S. She holds a B.A. in human rights and film and an M.A. in international development. During her time in New York, Liat served as a 2007 Humanity in Action Fellow, a 2008 Public Service Scholar Fellow and a 2010 Junior Professional Fellow at the United Nations University. In San Francisco, she was an HIA Grassroots Fellow focusing on journalism. In Washington, DC, Liat worked at the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights. Internationally, Liat is the Co-director of the Jeneba Project, an organization devoted to expanding educational opportunities for children in Sierra Leone. She recently worked with Search for Common Ground and the Liberian Ministry of Youth and Sport to conduct a study measuring youth engagement in Liberia. She currently lives in Israel and works as former MK Yossi Beilin’s Executive Assistant at his strategic consulting company, Beilink. Through documentary film and research, Liat has recorded the reality of marginalized, impoverished and in-conflict people around the world, including survivors of the Holocaust and the atomic bomb, victims of violent insurgence in El Salvador, Sierra Leone and Liberia, troubled youth in New York City and Palestinian-Israelis.
From 1991-2002, Sierra Leone suffered a brutal civil war in which children were particularly affected – many were forced to become child soldiers and had their limbs amputated and 60% of the educational infrastructure was destroyed. In response, Liat Co-found and Co-directs The Jeneba Project, an organization devoted to expanding educational opportunities. The project has so far built a library (2007) and a school (2009) that now serves over 300 students. They are currently fundraising to build a high school founded on a new model that introduces concepts such as democracy and human rights through interactive community service and creative, project-based learning, thus encouraging ideals of citizenship by fusing theory and practice within communities. They have also provided over 160 scholarships for girls whose education is often considered secondary to that of their male counterparts. Finally, given the lack of civil war memorials in Sierra Leone, they recently started The Memory Project, an oral history project that records testimonies from survivors to ensure that the war’s history is preserved to help prevent a repetition of similar atrocities. Liat also has directed several short documentaries, with the aim of highlighting various social issues.
Lior Zalmanson is a writer, lecturer and researcher, interested mainly in digital culture and the information society. He is currently a Ph.D. student at Recanati Business School of Tel Aviv University. His research interests include social media, pricing of information products, consumer engagement and user generated content. Lior teaches various courses throughout Israel on information and knowledge management, as well as on digital culture and new media. In the Jewish world, he served as a member of the executive board of the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism in charge of community development and youth and young adult planning. He founded Shonim, a series of cultural nights celebrating the esoteric, weird and fringe themes of Judaism. In the art world, he is the Founder of the Print Screen festival, which explores themes of digital culture in cinema and audio-visual arts. Furthermore, his first play, “Ingale,” has been produced both in Israel and Serbia and won the 2009 Haifa Fringe Festival. His first script is now in post-production and is expecting a March 2013 debut.
Lior founded Print Screen, which he considers his most precious work so far. In 2010, he identified a need for artists and technology experts to get together for a shared analysis and a critical view on our information society. He contacted Holon Mediateque, which is one of the biggest venues for arts and culture in Israel. Fortunately, they trusted that the then 26-year-old who knocked on their door would come through with their venue and funds. He told them that while Israel is being called a “Start-Up Nation,” it is still very much at the beginning of the discussion on the effects of technological innovation on society and culture and for some reason, nobody thinks it is worth discussing. This is currently the third year for Print Screen and in that time, the event has proven to be innovative in it’s choice of topics, style of lectures and the “think-tank” that occurs when artists, media and technology people are in the same room.
Lior Lapid is Executive Director of Ore to Excellence ??? ??????) ) and a freelance group moderator specializing in leadership development, outdoor training and project management. Since January 2013, Lior has been a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee, working alongside President Shimon Peres in a host of areas. In 2009, he was chosen to be a Social Entrepreneur Fellow at IVN (Israel Venture Network). He attended the Seeds of Peace international camp in Maine, both as a student and as an educator (2002-2012). Lior hold an LL.B. degree from Tel Aviv University law chool (2012) and studied the history of the Middle East and computer science at Haifa University (2009). He served in unit 8200 of the intelligence bureau of the IDF. Lior was awarded the Seal of Excellence (2009, Minister of Education), Minister of Welfare Award (2008) and the Prime Minister’s Shield (2007).
Lior is the Founder and Executive Director of Ore to Excellence, an Israeli nonprofit that works to promote excellence and a commitment to volunteerism among children and teenagers in Israel’s social and geographic fringes. Ore operates on a multi-tiered approach: offering personalized training for teen mentors, weekly mentoring sessions group activities, and monthly mega-events. To date, Ore has fundamentally changed the lives of over 1,500 children and teens.
Lior Shabo: Entrepreneur, social activist and proud Jerusalemite. Lior was active for years in the Jerusalem cultural scene as the Co-founder and Director of the Yellow Submarine production company and as the Founder of the Israeli Salsa Movement. He also served on the Forum of Student Union Presidents during his student days at the Open University. Lior launched two businesses in Jerusalem’s city center and was elected to the Central Jerusalem Business Owners’ Committee. Today, Lior is the Director of Marketing and Sales (Israel) for a global tourism company, is a partner in the entertainment index goingout.co.il of Nana-Channel 10 and is also working on the social startup, Sipurenu (Our Stories). He was recently selected (along with Sipurenu) from among tens of applicants to be one of 13 fellows in the current class of PresenTense Yazamim.
Lior is the founder of Sipurenu, an effort to bring history to life through personal stories. The project seeks to build a rich, comprehensive and dynamic historical database by combining cutting-edge technology, student researchers and the memories of Israel’s unsung heroes – ordinary citizens and friends from abroad who took part in the country’s founding. Inspired by the remarkable stories of his grandparents, and aware that similar stories will be lost as the founding generation passes, Lior and his team will recruit students to visit the elderly and collect their memories through one-on-one meetings. In parallel, the project will develop a technological platform to amalgamate the stories along with information from other historical sources, resulting in a broad and multi-dimensional digital mosaic. The project brings a technological solution to the challenge of capturing the stories that comprise our collective history and integrates them to offer a larger and deeper picture. The difference between a history book and Sipurenu is like that between black and white television and IMAX. Lior hopes the project will also honor the elderly, enrich the students, create an inter-generational bridge and offer an historical treasure to Israel and Jews everywhere.
Liron Smadja grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa (where he felt he never quite fit in), and graduated from the University of South Africa (where he didn’t fit in, either). In 2009, he made aliyah and only then, started to feel like he fit in. He began his career in animation and film production, but half a feature film and several music videos later, he decided to join the Internet revolution. Liron is currently working for one of Israel’s sexiest startups, Fiverr. He lives in Tel Aviv and loves to soak up all it has to offer. He is an amateur photographer, Israeli theater junkie and hopeless foodie. Liron is involved in a few new projects that will show the world how kick ass Tel Aviv is.
Liron works in PR and branding for Fiverr, a global online marketplace offering tasks and services beginning at $5. Founded in 2009, Fiverr currently lists more than $1.5 million services (that range from funny and quirky to business micro-services) and was voted Globes’ #1 Startup of 2012. Fiverr is empowering entrepreneurs from all over the world to quit their 9-5 jobs and create their own businesses. Liron uses the power of social media to grow the website, create positive messaging and build a community of buyers and sellers.
Lizzi Heydemann grew up on the South Side of Chicago, attended Young Judaea Year Course (1999-2000), graduated with honors in religion and philosophy from Stanford in 2004 and was ordained a Conservative rabbi at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2010. Lizzi spent summers in Germany as a kid, went to retreats at Buddhist monasteries in college and rollerbladed on the beach every Sunday morning, hitting the Santa Monica farmer’s market throughout five years of rabbinical school. Serving in her first job as a Rabbinic Fellow at IKAR in L.A., Lizzi felt the pull to return to her roots in Chicago. Having grown accustomed to the dynamic, engaged Jewish community that was IKAR, Lizzi sought it out in Chicago. Realizing that it didn’t exist, she set out to create that space and founded Mishkan Chicago in 2011. Mishkan now has over 1,000 people on its listserv, hosted free high holiday services to over 600 people and touches hundreds of formerly disconnected young Chicago Jews every week, transforming Jewish life in Chicago. Lizzi feels she has much to teach the broader community about how Judaism can be a force for healthy, engaging, spiritually and intellectually resonant community building.
When Lizzi did an environmental scan of what the options were for a young Jew moving to Chicago in 2010 in terms of progressive social and spiritual community, she came up with nothing. Mishkan Chicago was born out of that void and is based on the notion that everyone – Jewish/not-Jewish, experienced or inexperienced in Jewish learning, gay, trans, straight, young or young-at-heart – can have powerful Jewish experiences that enrich their lives and enhance the world. Not wanting to duplicate the social activities offered by Federations and the JCC, Mishkan focuses primarily on the intellectual and spiritual side of Judaism that people often find absent in Jewish communities (the reports all say young adults, in particular, find shuls alienating, boring and coercive.) Mishkan aims to correct all of those conceptions by creating dynamic prayer and learning experiences that are radically accessible, no matter one’s background. It reaches hundreds of people every month through services, classes and one-to-ones. Its free high holiday services reached 600 people, its listserv has grown to 1,000 people in just over a year, and its Facebook group has 366 active users. Mishkan has attracted the support of the greater Chicago Jewish community because it is seen as doing something wholly unique.
Magda Dorosz was born in 1984 in Walbrzych, Poland, and lives in Wroclaw (also known as Breslau). She graduated from the University of Wroclaw and received an M.A. in public administration. During university, she spent a year working and traveling in South Africa. Magda has participated in Taglit Birthright Israel and MiNYanim for Young Jewish Leaders and because of their influence, in 2011, became the Coordinator of Taglit and Masa in Poland. Through her involvement in the Jewish community, she was offered the position of Manager of Jewish Information and Cultural Center and was later promoted to Deputy Director of the Jewish Community in Wroclaw. An ongoing quest for what Judaism means to her, while learning the history, culture and religion of the Jewish nation – all information that was once forbidden for her family – has become Magda’s passion, not to mention has led to a very interesting professional life. In her free time, Magda enjoys traveling, skiing and reading books about the Middle East.
As a Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) coordinator in Poland, Magda organizes trips to Israel for young adults (18-31), either for short-term Taglit programs or long-term Masa programs. This includes outreach to all the Jewish communities in Poland to find potential participants. Often, this is very difficult, as there are many people with no knowledge about their Jewish heritage or Jewish culture, religion and history. As such, it is up to Magda to teach them about the Jewish nation and to enrich their Jewish identity. Magda’s other position as Deputy Director of her local Jewish community includes running the office, outreach and supporting the needs of its members. She is also responsible for organizing and running all the cultural and religious events that take place within the community. In her work, Magda focuses on the younger generation, Poland’s Jewish future. She reaches them through educational, cultural and historical seminars and projects to help build their Jewish identity. 
Marina Lecarteva was born in 1980. Being the only child in the family, since always enjoyed reading books. Throughout her childhood she also took dancing lessons. Marina became acquainted with Judaism in 1998, and since then has worked only with Jews and for the benefit of the Jewish community. She graduated from the Department of Jewish Studies at the Moldavian State University. Marina worked as madricha at the Israeli Cultural Center and was twice the Director of Hillel. Later she worked as the Deputy Director General of the Jewish Congress of Moldova and today, she is the Director of the Jewish Community of the Republic of Moldova. Beyond this, Marina loves the theater. She has acted in the Theatre Studio at the Jewish Cultural Center, Kedem. For over ten years, Marina has actively participated in various seminars, trainings and conferences on the theme of leadership, Jewish tradition and more. She is married and has a daughter.
First it is more volunteering then it becomes work itself. In that way, Marina becomes one with the Jewish community, they breathe the same values and same air, they go step in step. She simply loves what she does. As Director of the Jewish Community, Marina faces a myriad of possibilities every single day, beginning with holidays and continuing on to any kind of support for preserving Jewish history, culture and memories. Her work is not to sway people; it is to bring about change for the better and to ease life for all Jews living in the poorest European country, such as when the hanukkiah was destroyed in the center of the city. As an innovator, Marina innovates every day. She imagines, thinks and implements new ideas –together with a team and the generous support of volunteers who donate their time. And, of course, it’s all for the people whose eyes are once again full of sparkle.
Marina Lemlekh was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2005, she graduated from the Music College in Saint Petersburg, majoring in piano. In 2006, she received another university degree in marketing and economics. Professionally, Marina heads an intellectual property practice where she focuses on the development of innovative companies. Since 2002, Marina has been active in her local Jewish community, including participating in the American-Russian Passover Project. She first became acquainted with the global Jewish community when she joined the ROI Community in 2007. Today, Marina is involved in Limmud in her native city and volunteers with Hillel, among other volunteer projects. Since her first visit to Israel through Taglit Bithright Israel in 2004, Marina has fallen in love with the country. In 2012, she studied Hebrew at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Marina thinks that the most vibrant way to create and develop community is to encourage each member to take an active part in a specific project. There are so many needs, tasks and projects that require the help of volunteers. In light of this, Marina became active again in Hillel in 2012. One of her plans is to build a new community project that unites students who share similar professional paths. Being a serious Limmud lover, Marina joined the organizing committee of Limmud Saint Petersburg. What is particularly innovative about her local Limmud is that it brings together people of all ages, including those in their 30s. Marina is a master of thinking up new ideas and of motivating people to take a more active role in their community. 
Martin Rozenblum is the Founder of Visibility.org, a platform dedicated to empowering philanthropy by fostering collaboration among donors, nonprofits and beneficiaries. By democratizing access to available resources, best practices, statistics and other initiatives in their areas of interest, Visibility.org aims to help nonprofit organizations increase the efficiency and impact of the giving process. In addition, Martin is the Director of the Rozenblum Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting innovation in the arts, sciences and education. Martin has held a variety of positions for local and international nonprofits, such the New World Symphony, Hillel, The Many Hats Institute, MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art Miami, among many others. He is also the President of Asset Management and Development Corp (AMAD), a consulting/investment advisory firm dedicated to the identification of opportunities, acquisitions and reorganization of distressed assets in the real estate, hospitality, and finance sectors. Martin is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in finance and entrepreneurial management.
Visibility.org is a platform created to engage players in the world of philanthropy. By building communities around common objectives, it facilitates stronger and more effective interaction between different organizations, as well as between supporters and beneficiaries. One of the driving forces for visibility has been the understanding that the nonprofit world is riddled with inefficiencies that result from uncoordinated, duplicated efforts. As visibility works to employ information technology to help solve such inefficiencies, it offers its users advanced tools that allows them to plan, monitor and guide programs and projects. Such tools, which are used intra-organizationally, also provide an opportunity to directly involve beneficiaries, partners or donors in the process. Matching resources to needs can be achieved very efficiently through its marketplace platform, where programs request their needs for specific resources in the form of ‘goods,’ ‘services’ or ‘volunteers.’ Visibility allows users to post their requests for needs or post offers to such requests and provides tools for the program to match the two.
Moti Ipacs is currently a student in international relations. At the age of 20, he became involved in the Jewish communities both in Hungary and abroad. He became the Hungarian representative of a Jewish youth organization in Brussels. Judaism and connecting young Jewish people have always been his goal. His family background and history made him decide to set up the Budapest-based Seidner Jewish Foundation to strengthen Jewish identity across the globe. His grandmother, Magdolna Seidner, had a strong influence on him. Moti believes that after the dark period of the Holocaust there should be a way to give hope, joy and light for the Jewish people. He believes in connecting people from all over the world and his biggest idea and main goal is to provide a common platform for Jews, where everyone can find his or her own place and level of interest. JGlobal, the platform for young adults to meet, connect, create and recreate has already attracted hundreds of active members from many countries and has awakened interest globally. Moti believes this is the best way to strengthen Jewish identity and faith.
Launched by the Seidner Jewish Foundation, JGlobal is a platform for young adults to meet, connect, create and recreate. Moti is the CEO of the Foundation. He believes strongly that his mission is to connect different groups of Jews in order to create a better global Jewish community. The platform aims to reach everyone – young and old, religious and assimilated. All Jews are one nation living in different parts of the globe. Moti’s goal is to make a Global Jewish Network for online and offline programs.
Matt Bar is a kind fellow. Pretty goofy. He writes songs real well. He’s pretty tall for a Jew. He has friends from all walks of life across the globe. He loves his nephews and his wife. He studies Torah a lot and is ALWAYS listening to an audible book, usually history or other types of nonfiction. He loves the philosopher Nietzsche and he says that it’s his life goal to bring Nietzsche into the beit midrash as Nietzsche got so screwed by Nazi co-opters. Matt lives in Philly. He’s got an impressive new diet and workout regime. He’s not gay, but he is looking sexier by the minute. He has a whole community in Israel that he loves visiting.
Matt is Founder and Executive Director of Bible Raps, a nonprofit born from his desire to engage his Hebrew school classes on a deeper and more contemporary level. Bible Raps launched from his participation in the PresenTense Institute during the summer of 2007. Matt continued to further his Jewish education during his 2008 year of study at The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Since its inception, Bible Raps has reached over 100,000 young Jews with Torah-rich performances in schools, Hillels, conferences and camps across the U.S. and abroad. Their teaching materials are being used in countless classrooms and teachers are currently being trained to be certified “Bible Raps educators.” In addition, over 25,000 Torah songs have been sold. In 2011, Matt was named by The New York Jewish Week in their “36 Under 36” list of talented young Jews to watch. 
Matti Kovler is a Russian-born Israeli composer and Artistic Director of the newly established Jewish Music Theater (JMT) at the New Center for Arts and Culture in Boston. His works have been performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands), Fox Studio’s Symphony Orchestra and many others. Matti’s music has been praised for its “emotive potency” (The New York Times) and described as “part mystical, part comical” (Grade A Entrepreneurs). Called by the The New York Times, “a potentially estimable operatic composer in the making,” Matti wrote his first opera at the age of 17. In Israel, his long-term interest in new Jewish music led to the foundation of the Ha’Oman Hai Ensemble, focused on contemporary interpretations of Hassidic nigunnim. Upon moving to the U.S., the focus of Matti’s musical activities has become to explore the potential of Jewish musical theater beyond its Fiddler on the Roof stereotype. Following the premiere of his opera, “Here Comes Messiah!” (commissioned by Carnegie Hall), he founded the Matti Kovler Ensemble, which led to the establishment of JMT. Based in Boston and New York, Matti is now collaborating with the visual designer Theodor Tezhik (Cirque du Soleil, Brian Eno) on a new opera.
Many young Jews today are looking for fresh and meaningful ways to connect to their Jewish identity. Live musical theater, perhaps the most universally engaging art form, is capable of filling this need. Exposure to new, provocative works in this genre can open a door to Jewish heritage in a way that only art can: through the emotional and the intellectual. An entertaining artistic event can often serve as a common ground for a wide scope of Jewish people, promoting cultural exchange between them – from secular to religious Jews. The mission of JMT is to explore new and original models to integrate Jewish heritage with musical theater – from incantation inspired operas to performance art. Their belief is that the future of Jewish musical theater is not limited to Broadway-style musicals, but rather has the great potential for combining modern day theater with the allure of an ancient culture. Launched by Matti in 2012 as a part of CJP’s PresenTense Fellowship, JMT is presently operating from the New Center of Arts in Culture in Boston. The company’s first productions, Kovler’s mono-opera, “Here Comes Messiah” and vernacular oratorio, “The Escape of Jonah,” were produced to critical acclaim in Jerusalem, New York, Boston and Moscow.
Merav Ben-Nun was born in 1975, together with her twin sister, to Israeli parents in Berkeley, California. Most of her life was spent shuttling between the two countries and feeling comfortable in both cultures. She lived in Jerusalem, Princeton, NJ, and Haifa. After completing her army service where she served as an officer in the educational corps, she received her B.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master’s and a Ph.D. in international education from New York University. Today, she is back in Haifa with her husband and two children, lecturing at teacher’s colleges and working as a community organizer to build a shared Jewish-Arab community in Haifa, as well as shared spaces for this community.
Merav is an expert in the field of peace education, pursuing it both in academia and in the field. She has spent time in Belfast and Israel studying peace education initiatives. Merav lectures in academic colleges in Northern Israel and is responsible for developing and initiating courses in peace education, a field that is not found in most colleges in Israel. Additionally, Merav is employed by the NGO Hand in Hand that, since 1998, has established three shared, bilingual, Jewish-Arab schools in Israel. In Haifa, she manages the organization’s first preschool for children and is working with the municipality and the Ministry of Education to expand the preschool into a formal kindergarten and school. Merav is also Haifa’s Hand in Hand Community Organizer and is working to build a shared community of Jews and Arabs. Although Haifa is a mixed city, friendships and social networks that include both Jews and Arabs are very rare. Building a shared community defies many of the separations and barriers that are inherent in Israel’s existence. Morally, Merav believes that as adults we have the responsibility to lead this effort.
Michael Brodman was born in 1982 in Israel and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was the rabbi of a large Jewish community. Encouraged from a young age to be kind and compassionate, Michael grew up with a strong desire to help Jewish people in need. In 2007, after receiving his teacher’s certificate, he travelled to Odessa with his wife and three young children to work for Tikva, a humanitarian organization based in the Ukraine that provides lifesaving services for orphans, destitute families and vulnerable pensioners of Odessa’s Jewish population. 
Michael taught at Tikva’s Jewish University, quickly becoming responsible for all student programs. The Jewish University program serves over 300 young Jews (ages 17-21), many of whom have grown up in Tikva’s orphaned children’s homes. They receive a first-class education that combines advanced secular and religious studies with leadership skills development, all of which is accredited by the Crimea State University. Michael has been instrumental in expanding the curriculum at the Jewish University to give students greater perspectives on Judaism and the Diaspora. This includes bringing students to Israel. These trips were incredibly exciting for the young Jewish men and women participants, providing inspiration and awakening their spirituality. Without Tikva’s initiative, they would not have been able to contemplate a visit to the Holy Land. Since then, Michael’s interest in Jewish education and awareness-building in Eastern Europe has seen his involvement in a number of diverse activities. Together with the Conference of European Rabbis, he led a Genesis Foundation program for the Lo Tishkach Foundation, dedicated to preserving and protecting Jewish graves and cemeteries in Europe. 
Since he was a little kid, Michael Reitblat has been a technology enthusiast, not the kind that breaks things to understand how they work, but rather someone who likes to build new things. His greatest talent is looking at things as they are and then using them as they previously weren’t meant to be used, thereby creating something completely new. He landed his first job for a technology company at the age of 15, and continued on to a fulfilling placement as an officer in the IDF Intelligence Corps. Following his army service, he worked as a product manager for a few successful companies (such as Imperva, Verint, Fraud Sciences and Pango) until finally starting his own venture with friends from high school. At the same time, he has been very involved in his community, volunteering for several educational projects and mentoring junior high team members of the Junior Achievement of Israel. Lately, Michael joined the Act For Israel organization, which strives to promote Israel’s image in the U.S. by using new media. Michael serves on the Technology Committee of the organization responsible for the smartphone application. He is especially fond of extreme travel, whether it’s diving in Mozambique and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or skydiving and driving through the tundras of Lapland below the Aurora.
As VP of Products for Pango Parking, Michael has introduced a completely new system to the parking world – turning any type of mobile phone into a remote control for gated parking in existing garages. This innovative solution is now available in many cities in the world (from New York City to Lublin, Poland) and is being used by hundreds of thousands of drivers on a daily basis, making their lives easier. This is something completely new in a market not used to new technologies so it was at first treated with great suspicion. It took a lot of vision – and the fast adoption of smartphones – to turn this idea into a reality.
Michael Vole is a young Israeli public servant. Born and raised in Tel Aviv, he attended the School of Arts and the Daled High School, where he graduated with honors. Michael was an active scout and later served five and a half years in the IDF as a Lieutenant Commander in the Haman Talpiyot elite program of the intelligence corps. He has worked in the Prime Minister’s office with the cabinet secretary. Currently, Michael is the Founder and Director of the Young Adults Unit of the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo, one of the youngest cities in the world. His mission is to make Tel Aviv a world-class city. Michael is also a Co-founder of Mitpakdim, a grassroots NGO that promotes participation in political parties. He was active in programs such as the YPL of the Peres Center and was invited to lecture at conferences such as WING. Michael has a B.A. in law and the humanities (cum laude) from Tel Aviv University.
Three years ago, the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo was hardly aware of the fact that 35% of Tel-Avivians are young adults (ages 18-35). In the early stages, Michael’s work focused on bringing this fact to the awareness of the municipality so that for the first time in Israel, a strategic plan would be created specifically regarding its young citizens. This led to the establishment of a unit for young adults. By the end of 2013, Michael’s unit will employ more than 15 people, manage three young adult centers and run different projects around the city, serving thousands of young residents every year. In addition to employment services and a platform for artists, Michael’s work focuses on promoting civic engagement among young people and creating a better ecosystem for emerging young social entrepreneurs. These centers and services are innovative in that they provide a bridge between local government and the city’s young residents while creating platforms for change.
Michelle Collins desperately wants to look Asian. (Hence the bangs and eyeliner.) When not attempting this impossible feat, she is a comedian, writer and producer. She spent her youth as the Managing Editor of VH1’s “Best Week Ever” blog, which garnered her two Webby Awards for Best Celebrity Blog. (She put one of them on the hood of her Mercury Milan.) Last summer, Michelle was a Producer and frequent guest on Kathy, the Kathy Griffin talk show on Bravo. She’s also made appearances on The Wendy Williams Show,Chelsea Lately, The Tyra Banks Show, the BBC, many a VH1 countdown show and was a roving reporter for VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live. She has more exciting things in the works, but does not want to jinx them by printing them in her bio. You understand. Michelle is currently a freelance writer for VanityFair.com, where she recently covered the Oscars and the 2012 London Olympics. 
Michelle does not want to lie to you. She does not help the community in a real, tangible way. But she does love to make people laugh. And if that doesn’t improve the community, what will?
Mira Marcus is the International Media Director at the Tel Aviv Municipality. Way back when, she was born in the United States but has lived in Israel since 1987. Formerly, Mira worked at Headline Media where she was a communications consultant, advising public officials on messaging and appearances in the foreign media. Previously, 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 (2009 and 2010). Mira received an M.A. in political marketing and communications from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and was awarded the Legacy Heritage Fellowship. A few years ago, Mira co-founded the Sanhedrin Forum, a young professionals forum that brings young leaders and “old” leaders together for informal meetings.
Every foreign journalist who wants to write about Tel Aviv, Israel’s strongest brand nowadays, has to go through Mira first. She tries to think of new ways to interest them and get them as excited about the city as she is. Eventually, her work will impact millions of people’s perceptions of Tel Aviv and Israel.
Mira Oreck is a Senior Associate at Moore + Associates, where her clients include: the pro-Obama Super PAC, JCER, the city of Newark, the Nathan Cummings Foundation and Canadian labor unions. Previously, Mira served as the Founding Manager of Make the Road Action Fund, and from 2005 -2008, she was the Director of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. As Executive Assistant and Senior Strategist for the candidacy of the current Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, Mira played an instrumental role in his first election (2008). She earned a master’s degree in urban policy from The New School (2011) and a B.A. in sociology and women’s studies from McGill University (2000). Mira was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Mira is a political strategist and seasoned communications professional specializing in issue-based and electoral campaigns. The “innovation” can be found in Moore + Associate’s approach. Strategically, they are trying to create new spaces by blending worlds that don’t often exist: politics and humor or politics and fashion. In this way, they engage people who are political, but who do not spend their time working professionally in politics. As a result, the company uses different language that is often more liberated and direct. The goal is to develop campaigns or a message that can breakthrough and engage new and different people in the political process.
Miriam Ganz holds a B.A. in musical theatre and secondary education from American University. She spent ten years performing in regional theaters, such as the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Folger Shakespeare Theatre and Imagination Stage, among others, as well as in a Deaf theater company called, Quest: Arts for Everyone. Miriam acquired her understanding of Deaf culture and fluency in American Sign Language while working as a performer, director and teacher for Quest. Among her credentials are conceiving, directing and performing in an original visual theatre piece, “Mosaic,” which addresses the power of identity and the journey to find it. “Mosaic” has been performed all over the world since 2004. Miriam graduated from Gallaudet University with her M.A. in interpretation in 2012. She is now a freelance interpreter in the Metropolitan DC-area and is the Co-founder of Fourth Wall Gone, an initiative for inclusion and access in the DC theater community. Miriam serves on the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the interpreter membership organization and on the Performing Arts Standard Practice Paper task force to develop professional practice standards for the specialization of theatrical interpreting.
As a freelance interpreter, Miriam serves a diverse Deaf community in Washington, D.C., interpreting for business, medical, educational, theatrical and religious settings. One part of the Deaf community that Miriam feels particularly interested in is the Jewish Deaf community. Synagogues rarely provide interpreted services to Deaf members and often these individuals are left to seek out friends and/or family who are willing to volunteer their time, even when they have little understanding of the language, rituals or the environment. On too many occasions Deaf Jews are left without access to religious services, Hebrew school and community events. In response, Miriam provides religious interpreting services for a variety of events and services in the Deaf Jewish community in Washington, DC. She also started the Inclusion Fund for Moishe House to enable Deaf individuals in their 20s and 30s to attend Moishe House educational events. Miriam hopes to further serve the needs of this community by creating accessibility funds, workshops for Judaic interpreting skill development and by broadening the access and resources for the Jewish Deaf community.
A cozy apartment in the heart of the pre-war Filtry district in downtown Warsaw boasts one unusual owner. He is almost 31 years old and only his non-Polish name gives away his foreign background. Born in Bulgaria, Mladen Petrov is an international relations and business graduate from the University of Warsaw. He has been living in Poland for the past 12 years. Wondering what he does with himself? “How much time you got?” asks Mladen in impeccable Polish. So here it is: Mladen is predominantly a (successful) journalist who writes in Polish, English and Bulgarian, depending on the subject. Professionally, he has been writing a lot on business and the economy, but he is especially thankful for his freelance assignments for major media outlets in Poland, Bulgaria and the U.S. (for the Jewish Daily Forward), which really gives him the opportunity to cover topics that deeply interest him. What are these? Jewish culture and Israel.
Mladen is a big reader, but one if his favorite publications would go unnoticed on his library shelf. “We called it sefer, it’s the Hebrew word for book,” he says. Sefer is a literary supplement focusing on contemporary Israeli literature for Aktivist, Warsaw’s hip, monthly city culture guide. Since Israeli literature is big in Poland and Poles are big readers, it made sense to launch the magazine. All it took was two e-mails to the Israeli cultural attaché, one meeting and three weeks of extensive reading, editing, coordinating with writers, critics and graphic designers (it did help that Mladen’s graphic design firm RebelZOO was in charge of the graphic design of the project) and Sefer was good to go. It’s exactly the type of thing Mladen loves doing for if he is really into an idea, he wastes no time. Ideas start swirling, sleeping becomes an abstraction and in the end, it’s all worth it – he wants to see the results. “Well! I am lucky to be surrounded by the right people who get me and are eager to play, too,” observes Mladen.
Moran Nir was born in a small moshav in Israel. Since she can remember, she has tried to combine communal involvement and leadership in all aspects of her life. Moran has a B.A. in computer science, with a major in entrepreneurship from the Zell Program for Outstanding Students at IDC Herzliya, where she also received the Efi Arazi Scholarship for Leadership. She is the Co-founder and CEO of FunkKit Co., a startup that combines technology, community and design in footwear. FunkKit has raised enough funds to operate both online and in retail in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Poland, Malaysia and soon in additional select stores. Aside from managing FunkKit, Moran is a guest lecturer for entrepreneurial classes and mentors young entrepreneurs and early stage start-ups. Moran was a Jewish Agency summer shaliach for more than four years in the U.S., England and Israel. She was also a member of the developing team of GIYUS.org, a global, digital movement of activists who campaign on behalf of Israel. Moran is an entrepreneurial leader, an extreme sports fan and an avid photographer.
Moran is passionate about Internet, fashion and technology, and connecting them to make a difference. The concept of FunkKit started during Moran’s studies at IDC Herzliya as part of her entrepreneurship major in the Zell Entrepreneurship Program. FunkKit opens up a whole new line of self-expression, creativity and fun by offering cool, trendy and cost effective ‘Stickers for Sneakers,’ enabling individuals to make a new fashion statement every day. The Stickers4Sneakers are not like any normal stickers, they are made of high quality materials and most importantly, they are easy to apply and remove. FunkKit’s uniqueness is not only in the product itself, but in its community-based approach. FunkKit provides artists the opportunity to showcase their work on a global platform, exposing their work to the masses and at the same time, enabling them to join a leading community of designers who are creating a new category of expression in global apparel.
Moshe Kaptowsky is 30 years old who, for the last three years, has been living in Jerusalem. Moshe loves Jerusalem and plans on staying. In the future, he would like to lead and initiate employment and social programs that will improve human capital in Israel in both the business and social arenas, while also maintaining profitability and cooperation between the public and private sectors. For the past two years, Moshe has been the Head Manager of the Internship Program at Ruach Chadasha (New Spirit). He was a reserve CH-53 helicopter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and as an undergraduate, majored in Middle East and Islamic studies from the Hebrew University. Moshe strives for excellence and is eager to learn and grow both personally and professionally. As a manager, he cultivates interpersonal relationships and teamwork and leads people to success in business and social projects.
Every year, more and more middle and upper class residents of Jerusalem leave the city. Joining them are 70% of the city’s academic graduates who primarily leave the city due to a lack of suitable employment opportunities. The goal of the internship project that Moshe manages is to give Jerusalem’s students valuable professional experience, help them make essential business contacts and increase their chances of finding a job in Jerusalem upon completion of their studies. Many of these students come from low socio-economic backgrounds or are olim hadashim (new immigrants). New Spirit offers them a personalized empowerment program and small scholarships. This is a unique, and by far the biggest and most advanced program, of its kind in the country. Approximately 1,000 interns have successfully completed the program; a fact that has led both the Hebrew University and other colleges to take over different parts of the program.
Naomi Kincler is the CEO of Trudat, an online platform for collaborative data exploration and analysis. She has led significant public health initiatives for almost a decade – from maternal mortality reduction in India and tuberculosis control in Malawi to obesity prevention in New York City. As an epidemiologist, Naomi’s experience inspired her to create better tools to help advocates and researchers find the data they need to collaborate on understanding their existing data. She recently organized a successful conference, the Open Data Exchange 2013 (ODX13), in Montreal to promote open data standards for increased transparency, civic engagement and innovation. Hailing from Montreal, she has lived in Jerusalem, Barbados, Mumbai, Baltimore and NYC. Naomi attended McGill University (B.A. 2005) and Johns Hopkins University (M.P.H. 2009). She is a Sauvé Scholar (2012/13). Naomi has also been involved with Jewish organizations such as AJWS, Pursue and ROI, including the recent ROI Connection Point NU: Media Innovation Initiative in Montreal.
Narkis Alon is the Co-founder of ze-ze.org, which works to engage young people to channel their talents into unique and sustainable social projects. Narkis is a member in the Sandbox-network and a global shaper in the World Economic Forum. This year Narkis had the privilege of attending the World Economic Forum’s prestigous conference in Davos as a representative of the Tel Aviv global shapers hub. Narkis is currently a blogger for the Huffington Post and is a member of the steering committee of the Tel Aviv municipality youth center and a former mentor for the Junior Entrepreneurs Association. In 2012, with the Tel Aviv municipality, she helped create a platform for social projects and exhibitions. Narkis was a soldier in an elite intelligence unit in the IDF. She was promoted to a commanding position and received an outstanding commander award. Between 2004 and 2006, Narkis was a Scouts counselor, working with autistic and deaf members. She is pursuing a double major in psychology and film studies at Tel Aviv University.
Narkis dedicates her time to empowering young people to utilize their abilities for social change. Firstly, through the organization she co-founded, Ze-Ze, which is a community that gives its members the opportunity to channel their talents into social projects. Members of the community are assigned to unique and sustainable social projects initiated by other members of the community based on their talents and interests. Ze-ze’s innovation and impact is mainly emphasized through their target market – young people who are not yet engaged. Through Ze-Ze’s events and marketing approach, they are engaging the unengaged. As a Co-founder, Narkis oversees the business development of the organization both through local and global partnerships, raises investments and recruits youth. Secondly, Narkis is active in outreach activities to youth. She regularly delivers lectures to youth movements and to forums that prepare youth for the military and social service, focusing on ways to generate positive impact on the community. Narkis is also an active global citizen. She is an active member of global youth networks (the Global Shapers and Sandbox network) where she leads global initiatives with peers from other countries.
Natalia Seriakova was born on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East of Russia. She finished school in Bryansk, Russia, and she graduated from the State University of Bryansk with a degree in pedagogy and philology. During her university years, Natalia was active in many Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Agency, Hillel and Netzer, where she organized activities for young people in Bryansk. In 2001, Natalia moved to Germany and worked for different companies in Hamburg, Lubeck and Dortmund. In parallel, she studied tourism and management at the International Tourism College in Hamburg. Beginning in 2001, Natalia volunteered for several Jewish communities and worked as a Taglit staff member. In 2008, she Co-founded and now acts as the Project Manager for the Jewish grassroots organization, JuBuK, which promotes Jewish education and culture. Natalia has led many successful educational projects. Since 2009, she has been a trainer in the areas of informal education, diversity, inclusion and interfaith dialogue. Since 2012, Natalia has directed the Taglit-Birthright Israel program of Israel Experience in Germany.
Natalia founded a Jewish NGO because she wanted to enhance Jewish life in Germany and to give the young people who participated in Taglit programs a place to connect, learn and network. She wanted to make a change and she didn’t want to wait for it, but decided instead to be the change she wanted to see happen. Her organization is by young people for young people, without structure or hierarchy. All people are welcome to share their ideas. All projects are based on the principles of informal education and inclusion. Natalia is empowering young people to be active, to be entrepreneurs and to create and be together. She and her colleagues have created a huge, young Jewish network in Germany without an infrastructure, offices or salaries. It is an active, vibrant network of people. Natalia leads several educational projects with the aim of strengthening Jewish identity and solidarity with Israel among young people in Germany. She is a project coordinator, leader, trainer and facilitator at seminars, training courses, local groups and other activities.
Natalie Silverlieb is an actress, vegetarian, Zionist and health coach dubbed, “Shaniqua Lipshitz” by her fellow performers. “Shaniqua” grew up in the small town of Montville, NJ, to a Russian-born mother and American father, and had one love: performing. Natalie always envisioned being on Broadway and her dream became a reality at age 24 when she performed as an original cast member in Disney’s Broadway musical, “Tarzan.” In the midst of her career, a new dream was born when Natalie came to Israel with Birthright. Natalie grew up with little connection to Judaism and Jewish life. She came to Israel without a sense of Jewish identity and left with her second love: Israel and the Jewish people. Just like realizing her Broadway dream when she pounded the pavement to land the role, Natalie pursued Israel. She returned multiple times leading Birthright trips, interning through Career Israel and working with Masa – all the while rehearsing for her greatest role yet: olah chadasha. Today, Natalie is directing the scenes, serving as the Community Director for Career Israel and guiding others in exploring their own distinctive roles in the story of the Jewish people.
As an actress, Natalie has played many parts, but her current role as Career Israel’s Community Director has proved to be the most innovative and rewarding. Natalie embraces this complex professional position as life coach, confidant, cultural ambassador, educator, tour guide, advocate, friend and mentor for over 200 young Jewish adults annually. They come from all over the world in pursuit of career development and engagement in Israeli life through internship opportunities and the experience of making Israel their home for five months. From actress to Israel advocate, Natalie’s passion for Israel is attributed to her own successful Israel programs. She draws upon her personal experiences, eclectic background and professional expertise as a health coach to guide her participants during a critical time in their lives. Natalie has brought a fresh and innovative approach to her work redefining the traditional madricha role in her organization from coordinator to leader. Whether with her group packaging food for low income families or advising a young man through his decision to make aliyah, Natalie knows she is privileged to be mentoring and empowering this next generation of Israel ambassadors and future Jewish Leaders who will shape the world.
Noah Bernamoff is the Founder, Creative Director and Managing Partner of Mile End Delicatessen. Operating since 2010 out of a tiny storefront in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, Noah has simultaneously managed to bring newfound respect for old world recipes and springboard the future of the deli. Nominated for Rising Star of the Year by the James Beard Foundation and Zagat’s “Top 30 Under 30” restaurant professionals in 2011, and critically acclaimed by Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, The New York Times and New York Magazine, Noah and his crew at Mile End smoke, dry cure, bake and pickle Jewish comfort foods entirely in-house with great attention to tradition and authenticity. Noah recently opened a second Mile End location in NOHO, Manhattan, and released “The Mile End Cookbook” in September 2012. In October 2012, with support from Tablet magazine, Noah organized the first ever Future of Jewish Food conference in New York City, which included panel discussions featuring Joan Nathan, Mitchell Davis, David Sax and Gail Simmons, as well as an innovative ten-course Shabbat Dinner for 85 guests. Noah has been quoted and spoken extensively on the topic of the Jewish delicatessen and the Jewish comfort food revival and led the 2013 James Beard Passover Seder.
Mile End Delicatessen is comprised of two restaurants in New York City, as well as a catering and events company. It was founded by Noah Bernamoff, a Montreal native, soon after he completed final exams for his fourth semester of law school. A leave of absence from law school quickly became a full-time commitment when Mile End opened in January, 2010, to hordes of deli loving New Yorkers – Jews and non-Jews alike. Starting with 12 employees, Mile End has grown to a company of nearly 70 dedicated food service professionals in just three years. Mile End was the first Jewish deli to open in North America over the last 75 years with the primary goal of producing its goods completely in-house. It was also the first restaurant to re-examine the cultural connection between Jews and their culinary traditions through foods and dishes that are at once traditional, innovative and aligned with modern sensibilities for sustainable agriculture and human resource management. “The Mile End Cookbook” is the first Jewish cookbook of its kind that de-mystifies the world of deli staples and offers a fresh approach to everyday Jewish food – one that does not revolve around the Jewish holidays or the nostalgia of forgotten recipes. Basically, it’s a Jewish cookbook for all Americans.
Oran Huberman is a journalist, writer and editor. When he was 16, Oran founded the technology section of one of the first sites in Israel, Netking.com, and later served as Chief Technology Editor for some of the leading newspapers and websites in Israel, including Ma’ariv, Calcalist and nana10. In 2010, Oran founded Musaf Calcalist, which quickly became the most popular business weekend magazines in Israel. Recently, he left Calcalist to establish his own startup company, Kinetic Art.
Oran is the CEO of Kinetic Art, an Israeli based startup. The company’s main product is a new platform for cookbooks for iPad and Android. The company’s goal is to change the way people cook by using the iPad’s capabilities.
Oshrat Morag was born and raised in Haifa, Israel. She was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s (HUC JIR) Jerusalem campus. She also graduated cum laude from the Jewish Theology Seminary (Schechter Institute) in Jerusalem with an M.A. in biblical and gender studies. Currently, Oshrat is a doctoral candidate in the field of feminist theology at HUC-JIR’s Cincinnati campus. She has written articles, modern midrashim, poems, prayers and lifecycle ceremonies that have been published in books and journals in Israel and the United States. Oshrat is married to Claudio and together they happily raise their two boys and baby girl. They are currently living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, because of Claudio’s position as a Jewish Agency representative.
As a feminist rabbi and researcher, Oshrat strives for her work to generate social and religious change regarding the status of women in Israel. Oshrat’s research focuses on Israeli feminist theology as reflected in liturgy composed and practiced by Israeli women. Using women’s liturgy as data for theology has a few important purposes: introducing and integrating new data into the “male” academic world, giving voice to Israeli women and listening to those voices. Oshrat is dedicated to giving women a voice and listening to them, especially in light of recent occurrences in Israel where women have been silenced. As a rabbi, Oshrat organizes women’s groups where they are empowered through feminist study of Jewish texts and the celebration of lifecycle events and Jewish ceremonies.
Paola Salem is constantly looking for new ideas and projects. She is restless, energetic and enterprising. She is 35 years old, lives in Buenos Aires, is married and the mother of two beautiful children, ages 4 and 7. For many years she worked in Argentina’s organized Jewish community in the areas of education and culture, developing programs for children, youth and adults. She is now an independent consultant in the area of corporate social responsibility, orchestrating educational and volunteer programs. Recently, she had the idea to connect people to Jewish life through culture and technology. After two years of research, Paola created, developed and put into operation Turismo Judaico, an online community that provides information and promotes tourism in Jewish communities throughout Latin America. Due to her perseverance, dedication and initiative, the site is constantly improving and attracts an ever-growing number of visitors and followers each day. Paola is very proud of her important contribution to the global Jewish community.
Paola developed a unique website, Turismo Judaico. She is its creator, researcher and content developer, as well as the person in charge of communicating with its followers and of carrying out public relations and institutional ties. Her partner, a computer programmer, is responsible for the technological tools. Turismo Judaico promotes Jewish identity by providing information about Jewish sites of interests in different cities throughout Latin America, such as monuments, museums and memorials. It also provides information about synagogues, where to buy kosher food and recommends Jewish-focused city tours. The project, which represents a new expression of Jewish life through culture and tourism, is constantly enriched by comments and information added by visitors of all ages who are interested in travel and Jewish history and culture. The website aims to be the most sought after information guide about Jewish places to visit when traveling around Latin America. Its goal is for travelers from around the world to spend at least a day or a few hours of their vacation connecting with their Jewish roots by visiting different places where community life unfolds, wherever they may be.
A world renowned cyber and data security entrepreneur, Raphael Ouzan leads BillGuard’s technology and product teams in its Tel Aviv office. Raphael has been coding professionally since the age of 13 and has been lecturing on big data, crowdsourcing and cyber security ever since. In 2010, he Co-founded BillGuard and built its first version and core technology. Raphael received Israel’s esteemed President’s Award for Technology Innovation and most recently, was invited to address world leaders at The World Economic Forum 2012 in Davos. Prior to BillGuard, Raphael was a decorated officer in Israel’s elite military programming and intelligence units where he led the country’s best and brightest engineers. In 2006, Raphael was named Israel’s Top Young Scientist by the president. On the social front, Raphael founded Mission Intelligence, the first program to gather young, talented students from all over the world to an elite high tech boot camp in Israel. Raphael is also a regular official spokesperson for Israel to the world on behalf of the Jewish Agency and other organizations, as well as a Global Shaper Curator and member of the World Economic Forum.
Raphael strives to solve significant problems through technology. It began by researching how the brain predicts motion and continued during his days as an officer in the intelligence unit when he used bleeding edge technology to create significant military advantage, even when outnumbered by the enemy. Raphael then followed his dream of entrepreneurship and co-founded a company the day he returned his army uniform, raising $13 million to create the world’s first “antivirus for bills.” Raphael oversees 18 people in the product and technology team that works to alert consumers of deceptive and unfair charges by harnessing the wisdom of crowds. Raphael also heads the Tel Aviv Hub of the WEF Global Shapers, which empowers the best minds of the world to solve issues such as communication within the Middle East and methodologies to foster innovation in cities. Raphael also started Mission Intelligence to enable high tech talents to join Israel’s technology ecosystem in Tel Aviv’s first tech boot camp.
Raquel Laniado was born and raised in Mexico City. She majored in communication at university and has since grown professionally as an editor, scriptwriter and proofreader. She enjoys promoting culture and publishing. Having participated in community service projects, leadership and Jewish programs since she was 16, her interests in communication, nonprofits and Jewish life brought her to her current position as Director of the Metta Saade Foundation (Fundación Metta Saade, A.C.), a philanthropic entity that supports and promotes initiatives that explore Jewish culture in Mexico. This has allowed her to be a part of the generation that is now building a more dynamic, inclusive, conscious and modern Jewish community. Raquel is also working on a research project as part of her master’s in semiotics on the narrative structure of Mexican NPO’s fundraising messages. She has been a member of the ROI Community since 2011.
The Metta Saade Foundation is dedicated to supporting social, artistic and environmental initiatives that create innovative approaches to Judaism and Jewish life. It empowers individuals and organizations through funding, guidance, networking and promotion. As the Director, Raquel is responsible for assisting the President of the association with public relations, logistics and program evaluation. She also serves as a project hunter and a connector for ventures, entrepreneurs, opportunities and programs. Aiming to cultivate a more creative and dynamic community, the Foundation seeks not only to ensure its continuity, but to foster its development. It is becoming a connection point for diverse expressions of the Jewish contemporary world, both within the institutional framework and outside of it.
Rebecca Saidlower is a creative community builder for NYC’s Jewish Young Professionals, where she combines her talent for experimenting with new approaches with her strong social network to galvanize others to act, give and advocate. As Director of Marketing and Communications at The Jewish Education Project, Rebecca is transforming a 100-year-old agency to connect with today’s lay leaders, educators and families by moving the staff into new technologies and new ways of thinking. An active community lay leader and activist, Rebecca is a dynamic presence in her community. She served as Vice President of the board of trustees, as well as the Events Committee Co-chair at the Mt. Sinai Jewish Center in Washington Heights, a fast growing congregation with over 500 members primarily in their 20s and 30s. Rebecca is currently the Development Chair of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel Young Alumnae Board. She is also actively involved with several synagogues on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where she currently resides. Rebecca graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College, where she served as Vice President of the Orthodox Community at the Columbia University Hillel.
Rebecca fearlessly challenges the status quo. She was charged with transforming the brand of a 100-year-old agency with deeply rooted perceptions to reflect a redefined mission of innovative Jewish education. With great diplomacy and perseverance, Rebecca teaches a large staff of new and veteran professionals how to communicate their work in a way that embodies the agency’s mission of innovation and philosophy of collaboration. Under her leadership, the agency was acknowledged by Slingshot for two years in a row as a leading innovative organization. Frustrated by a mainstream Orthodox approach to contemporary issues that she considers to be out of touch with modern values, Rebecca uses her strong social network to effectively respond to community issues. One example: As a response to statements from the OU and NCYI condemning President Obama’s condoning of gay marriage, Rebecca spearheaded a petition to tell the Orthodox leadership that their opinion did not speak for Modern Orthodox Jewry today. She gathered 1,000 signatures in 24 hours, leading to productive meetings with both organizations’ leadership. Rebecca was proud to bring together Jews of all ages to speak out for a change in communal attitudes that is a necessary and positive jump forward for Orthodox Jewry.
Rebecca Soffer is an independent writer and producer whose passion for storytelling and community building has woven her professional life together. She is currently building Modern Loss, a website that helps Generations X and Y deal with losing a loved one. Until recently, Rebecca worked at Reboot, where she developed and produced programming for its international network of 400 Jewish thought leaders. She was also an original staff producer on The Colbert Report, where she accompanied Stephen Colbert on his quest to interview all 435 members of the U.S. House. Rebecca is fluent in Spanish, worked at the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce in Caracas, and assisted the 1998 Carter Center election observation team there. She is a graduate of Emory University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is an advisor to TheLi.st, a startup promoting women’s careers in new media and technology, and recently guest hosted several episodes of Tablet Magazine’s podcast, Vox Tablet. A Philadelphia native, Rebecca currently resides in New York City and the Berkshires with her husband, Justin, and labradoodle, Ziggy.
Rebecca’s project, Modern Loss, is committed to helping people deal with loss and erasing the stigma associated with discussing it. When she was 30, Rebecca’s mother died in a car accident. When she was 34, her father died from a heart attack. She has come to respect grief as a lifelong, nonlinear process. Yet she and friends in similar situations have had trouble finding adequate support channels; for example, many “parental loss” events are comprised of people in their 60s. Modern Loss is in its nascent stages. Rebecca is honing its focus with advisors and brainstorming salons. Ideas include original essays, podcasts, creatively honoring memories, article aggregation and resources. The initiative will extend to various web platforms, books and local events. Rebecca is fueled by her parents’ commitment to tikkun olam and the Jewish sensibility of questioning things and trying to improve on them. What she was looking for didn’t exist, so she’s creating it for others to find.
Becca Youngerman has dedicated her career to building communities and growing networks grounded in identity, professional industry, policies and causes. In her current role as Associate Director of Alumni Relations at the American University (AU) Kogod School of Business, she advances partnerships and creates leadership and educational opportunities for alumni. Under her leadership, AU hosted its first Women in Business conference and established the Women’s Network. Previously, Becca spent several years in BBYO’s international headquarters, and at the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago, Cleveland and Washington, D.C., where she focused on issue advocacy, leadership development, strategic planning and intergroup/interreligious relations. Becca completed her master’s in public administration and B.A in political science from AU’s School of Public Affairs. She is a proud native of Madison, WI, and an active volunteer for Think Local First DC, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue and City Year DC.
Becca creates and grows networks that reach new audiences and offer content and opportunities for diverse segments of the community. In her professional role at the Kogod School of Business, she created the AU Women’s Network and New York Finance Network for alumni, each offering quarterly engagement programs and ongoing network benefits. Personally, she is part of a core group of volunteers at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, where she helped create and launch a donor-funded women’s initiative that offers content and skill building for a population ripe for deeper engagement. Each network is open to members who affiliate based on identity and/or profession, helping them grow on a personal, organizational and communal level.
Regev Ben-David was born and raised in Ramat Raziel, a small moshav near Jerusalem. After a year of voluntary civil service and six years of military service in the Intelligence Corps (ranked Captain), Regev attended Ein Prat Academy and became an active member of its alumni network. After completing his B.A. at Hebrew University in psychology as part of the Amirim honors liberal arts program, Regev received the Tikvah Fund Fellowship 2011-2012, a one year paid fellowship in NYC. Regev currently Directs the alumni activity of Ein Prat in Jerusalem, organized as a community-based beit midrash called Beit Prat. Regev also works for a think tank called Metzilah – Center for Zionist, Jewish, Liberal, and Humanistic Thought as a Program Manager to push for the implementation of civil marriage and divorce in Israel. In addition, Regev is pursuing an M.A. in political science at Bar-Ilan University. Regev participated in the 2011 ROI Summit and several additional ROI programs such as the Magid Project.
Regev is the Director of Beit Prat Jerusalem, Ein Prat Academy’s center of alumni activity. This community-based beit midrash is home to some 200 members – both alumni of Ein Prat, friends of alumni and additional young adults who have joined the group. These members come from a variety of backgrounds on the religious-secular spectrum and together form a colorful and diverse community of young adults, centered around values of learning, celebrating Jewish-Israeli culture (including Shabbat and holidays) and creating a shared and pluralistic environment. The belief is that this kind of activity creates a live model of a healthy way to self-identify as Jews in Israel. The growing interest in the beit midrash indicates how relevant this option is for a new generation of Israelis.
Reuel Shualy lives in Tel Aviv. 32 years old and single, he received his B.A from the Marc Rich Honors Program in the Humanities and Arts from Tel Aviv University. He is the Founder and Director of The Sky is Not the Limit leadership program, which helps dismissed Israeli Air Force (IAF) officers consider and seek out careers in public service, education and entrepreneurship. Recently, Reuel founded the program’s alumni organization. Ranked Major, he served as a Black-Hawk (UH-60L) IAF pilot for eight years until 2008 and now serves in the Reserve forces. Reuel is also a social activist and was active in the 2011 protest movement, where, among other things, he worked pro bono as a consultant for the an organization called Social Movement. He was also elected as a delegate to the Israeli Labor Party. Originally from Mitzpe Ramon, Reuel attended high school at the Sede Boker Environmental School. He grew up in a big, happy family with ten brothers and sisters.
Reuel’s main innovative projects are The Sky is Not the Limit leadership program and alumni organization. Reuel and his colleagues, all former IAF officers, noticed that the contribution of IAF officers to society is small. They thought that such great potential should not be left untapped and therefore decided to harness it for the greater good of Israeli society. Therefore, they founded this program to strengthen Israeli society by guiding talented people towards self-fulfillment through meaningful careers. Today, over 250 outstanding IAF officers have graduated from the program, which has motivated and guided them towards making meaningful choices in their lives in both the social and professional sphere. Last year, Reuel launched the program’s alumni organization after seeing that the alumni needed support and a home for their activities even after the program had ended. The organization also operates an entrepreneur and CEO forum, a mentorship program, a website, lectures, an annual gala and a seminar.
Ricardo Capuano, 23, is proud to identify himself as a Mexican Jew. When he was a boy, he joined the Zionist youth movement, Hanoar Hatzioni. As a member of Hanoar, he lived in Israel for a year after graduating from the American School in Mexico City. During his time in Israel, he worked the fields on Kibbutz Yotvata, enrolled in a two-month army program, Marvah, and took a four-month leadership seminar with 120 Hanoar delegates from other Latin American countries. For university, Ricardo moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend Suffolk University and lived there for two years. His passion for global issues, specifically those affecting Latin America, made him find his way to The University of Texas at Austin where he finished his undergraduate studies. He obtained a double major in political science and Latin American studies in 2012. Ricardo is now part of the Deport-es para Compartir team, which is devoted to creating better citizens from childhood. Ricardo believes that a better citizen makes a better community; a better community makes a better country; and a better country makes a better world.
The United Nations Youth Association of Mexico (UNYAM) empowers children to become global changemakers, beginning in their local community. The program Deport-es para Compartir (DpC) (Sports for Sharing) uses the power of games and sports to form better citizens from childhood. Through a unique methodology, DpC translates the eight UN Millennium Development Goals into educational content and exalts children’s cultural diversity, as well as promotes healthy lifestyles. All activities in the program are based on seven universal values: respect, tolerance, fair play, responsibility, gender equality, teamwork and empathy. DpC teaches and practices teamwork. A strategic partner analyst finds potential allies and partners that want to reach a win-win situation by supporting a social venture. Instead of competing, cooperation can make many parties stronger simultaneously. Therefore, teaming up with like-minded government agencies, foundations, private sector companies and other civil associations make more resilient communities.
Rochelle Behrens grew up outside San Diego, CA, before attending the University of Pennsylvania, which launched her life on the East Coast. Majoring in both art history and political science, Rochelle was always drawn to duality, such as the game of politics and a love for creating and looking at beautiful things. After time spent at W Magazine in New York City, and then as a White House intern, Rochelle moved to Washington, DC, upon graduation to pursue politics at a lobbying firm. Among her more interesting clients was working with America’s small foie gras industry. But her work took second fiddle to an emerging problem that she faced: ill-fitting button down shirts. Convinced that her uniform of button down shirts for the office was the best way to connote professionalism, she realized that they rarely fit properly, namely at the bust. Rochelle set out to create the perfect button down shirt for women. She patented a technology seamlessly built into every button down shirt she manufactures that eliminates blouse-gape. Ultimately, combining her interests led her to be featured in Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list, profiled in The New York Times and featured on the Today Show. Rochelle is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and frequently speaks on entrepreneurship.
Rochelle founded and currently serves as CEO to her company, The Shirt by Rochelle Behrens. She believes in empowering women by providing them with shirts that actually fit as well as they look, inspiring confidence in and out of the boardroom. Rochelle sent The Shirt with its patented technology for the perfect fit to Oprah who named it her “Must-Have Fashion Item of the Year” on The Oprah Winfrey Show. While The Shirt is very much about looking and feeling good, it is as much about making women feel confident. As a young female entrepreneur, Rochelle has also become a leader in her sector. She has spoken at Harvard, Stanford and UCLA’s business schools to promote entrepreneurship among women. Rochelle’s own experience circuitously led her to do everything she ever hoped to do – combining her interest in the arts with business. And so she always encourages women to pursue their ideas and to do it on their terms.
Rotem Nachmany admires creative thinking, honest people and good food. She is 28 years old, born and raised in Israel, and has been living in Tel Aviv for the past six years with her husband, Asaf. Rotem, as the eldest of three, learned to balance responsibility with a strong connection to her inner-child. After graduating from high school, she served as both commander and instructor in the IDF casualty notification unit. Rotem graduated from Tel Aviv University in 2011 with a B.A in communications and economics. By graduation, Rotem was already working as a Junior Account Manager in an advertising agency. Today, she works for an online marketing company, managing accounts for publishers and media buyers around the world. Aside from her profession, Rotem volunteers for Project Sunshine Israel, an organization that supports children overcoming medical challenges. 
For the past three years, Rotem has explored the fields of advertising, online marketing and Internet media content production. This year, Rotem began volunteering for Project Sunshine, a nonprofit organization that provides free social and educational programs in different children’s hospitals around Israel for children affected by medical challenges. Once a month, she roams the halls of Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, equipped with games, magic tricks, books and gifts. By playing and chatting with young patients in this way, Rotem offers them support and strength. Rotem’s main goal is to expand Sunshine’s activities to additional hospitals around Israel. With her knowledge of the media combined with her will to volunteer, Rotem regularly manages the social media activity for Project Sunshine – a task that requires her constant innovative and creative thinking. She strives to expose Sunshine’s amazing initiative to as many people as possible and to help recruit new volunteers. Rotem’s biggest challenge is to reach people’s hearts and to inspire them to give without expecting anything in return, except for a child’s smile – which is the greatest prize of all.
In his professional life, Russell Collins works as a business consultant for an IT company, but outside of work he gets excited by Jewish innovation and local community building. Russell’s first experience working within the Jewish community was as a teenager and university student in his hometown of Liverpool. As someone with one foot in each camp, he saw an exciting opportunity to bring together these two small communities, so he committed himself to welcoming new students to the established local Jewish community. After university, Russell moved to London and after seven years in the ‘Jewish wilderness’ he took a leap of faith and enrolled in the Adam Science Foundation Leadership Programme – the UK’s foremost leadership initiative for young professionals in the Jewish community. A visit to the Boston Jewish community inspired Russell to re-immerse himself in Jewish community organizing. Russell is currently involved in a number of grassroots Jewish initiatives, is a member of JHub and acts as an advisor to Jewish Care, the UK’s largest Jewish welfare charity. Russell is also an active tweeter and blogger who contributes to Cartoon Kippah, an independent blog providing commentary on issues of interest to British Jews. 
In 2010, Russell set out to bring together two of his greatest interests: Jewish community innovation and emergent, people-led community building. After calling on a group of his peers, Russell established a new initiative, The Community Lover’s Guide to the Jewish Community. The guide is initially an online book featuring some of the most inspiring people led initiatives from around the Jewish world (including ROI Community). It is part of a series of similar guides featuring stories and perspectives from around the world – not just the Jewish community. The book was launched in November 2012. The Community Lover’s Guide to the Jewish Community is more than a book – it is also an idea, a blog and a conversation about new ways of “doing” Jewish community, which: challenge traditional ways of doing things or inspire people to do things differently; are people led, rather than organization led; involve ‘hands-on’ doing, learning or other types of creativity; include, involve and connect people and are run resourcefully, re-using, re-imagining or sharing resources In 2013, Russell will be re-launching the project website, rolling out free community workshops to spread the themes of the book and following up on interest from the Muslim community and the UK Government. of interest to British Jews.
Having recently completed his master’s on ties between China and the Middle East from Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington DC, Sam Chester is now seeking new professional opportunities. A fluent Chinese speaker and frequent visitor to the Far East since 2006, Sam’s experience in China includes organizing emergency aid for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, volunteering in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and advising the JDC on their successful expansion into Shanghai in 2011. In the process of researching Chinese investments in the Middle East, Sam has resided in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and, most recently, Saudi Arabia. Sam joined ROI in 2006, attending the first summit as the 21 year old founder of a Jerusalem-based urban-renewal environmental organization. In the years since, he has partnered with ROI peers like Seth Garz, Manuela Zoninsein and Rebecca Zeffert on various China related initiatives.
Ten years ago, a high school student decided that if China was to one day transform the modern Middle East, he wanted to play a role in that transformation. Having spent years in China mastering the country’s language, culture and connections and many months in the Arab world learning firsthand about the interests and opportunities involved in China’s expanding role in the wider Middle East, Sam has gradually developed the necessary skill set to realize his high school aspiration. Today, his ambition remains to find ways to leverage the growing Chinese regional presence for the betterment of Jews and Arabs across the Middle East. Past projects include assisting ROI peers in furthering ties between China and Israel in academia and agriculture; advising the JDC’s entry into China in 2011, analyzing Chinese market strategy in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and authoring an investigative report on Chinese investments across the region.
Sam Zeev Konig was born in Vienna to Jewish Polish parents who were expelled from Poland with their families in 1969 and sought refuge in Copenhagen, where Sam grew up. He completed his secondary schooling in the United Kingdom. Sam attended McGill University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in German and Jewish studies. Thereafter, he moved to Ottawa, where he completed a Master’s in European, Eurasion and Russian studies at Carleton University. Sam currently resides in Baltimore where he is the Executive Director of Towson University Hillel. He is a past recipient of Montreal’s Federation CJA Jon Roskies award for New Leadership and a past faculty member of PANIM’s Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values in Washington, D.C. Sam was awarded by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Sam’s love for community, Israel and Jewish learning transcends borders, cultures and languages. He is passionate about his work in the community.
Sam self-identifies as a cosmopolitan Jew. He relates very strongly to the concept of Global Jewish Peoplehood. Through his position as the Executive Director of Towson University Hillel and his international networks, Sam works on projects that reflect his passion. One, funded by the Foreign Ministry of Poland, will bring 18 American college students from across Maryland on a ten-day study tour of Poland. The students will explore Poland beyond the Holocaust. The participants will encounter Polish Jewish and non-Jewish students. They will engage in dialogue and cultural exchanges. Sam’s role is to expand the initiative to other U.S. colleges and to organize similar study tours for other European countries with rich Jewish history, such as Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Currently, there are a number of Jewish experiential tours of Europe, however, these have mostly focused on Europe’s dark history and portraying it as one large graveyard. The purpose of the project is to have the students undergo a transformative experience that will inspire them to strengthen the connection between the Jewish communities in a positive and healthy way. This program is meant to fill a gap and shed light on Europe’s past in a more complete manner.
Samuel Dresel is 37 years old and lives in Montevideo, Uruguay. For nearly ten years he worked in the IT field, but he is currently the CEO of an Israeli company based in Uruguay. Since the arrival of Hillel to Uruguay, Samuel has been involved in various capacities, such as running programs, acting as President of the student union and representing Hillel at various international conferences. He was Executive Director of an organization that supports German Jews in Uruguay. He is also a member of the organizing committee of the new generation of CJL (Latin American Jewish Congress) in Uruguay and the only member from Uruguay of the Jewish Diplomatic Corps. Samuel is also the Creator and General Director of the Shoah Project, which has received support from the Uruguayan government since 2008. Samuel is considered an excellent social and business entrepreneur who is concerned about growth in his community.
The Shoah Project began as an initiative by three young people who obtained the support of the Uruguayan government. The first exhibition took place in Montevideo in a hall donated by the municipality. After that, the project traveled to Brazil and Colombia. It received over 150,000 visitors and because of the project’s influence, schools have incorporated lessons of the Holocaust and tolerance into their curriculum. What makes this project innovative is the way it works in partnership with the government. It is also influential because of the unique way it promotes tolerance education and co-existence for young people so that they can help make the world a better place.
Sara Wallén was born in Sweden and has since lived in seven other countries, an international lifestyle that began as a child when she accompanied her parents who worked in foreign aid. She received a B.A. in social anthropology, followed by three years at KaosPilots, an alternative business school in Denmark where she focused on creative business development, process and project leadership. Sara then continued living globally as an organizational consultant within innovation and process leadership at, among other places, the Copenhagen Business School. From 2008 until 2012, she founded and was the CEO of a social entrepreneurial enterprise working with and for expatriates accompanying children. The company, mjuka flytten, (translated as “the soft move”) focuses on cultural transitions and children’s needs for training in intercultural communication and coping with transition, and the importance of including children and children’s rights in expatriates’ global transitions.
Previously, Sara worked half-time at Ashoka Scandinavia’s head office in Stockholm as the Fellow and Venture Manager. The other half was carefully distributed across interesting organizational consultant jobs, teaching intercultural communication and sitting on several boards. A nature lover, Sara is a soccer player at heart, but because of a bad knee she now enjoys sailing instead.
Mjuka flytten, the company Sara founded, was recognized for its commitment to upholding the UN conventions relating to children’s rights. Sara taught innovation at the Copenhagen Business School from 2008-2010. The course, Instant Innovation, didn’t give exams but rather had its students participate in a 48-hour innovation camp, which was unusual at the time. Since then, Sara has initiated and led one of Sweden’s most innovative projects, Nacka Next Step (Nacka Nästa Steg) for the Nacka Municipality. This initiative was innovation in its truest form and not just a buzzword in its mission statement.
Sara Wallén was born in Sweden and has since lived in seven other countries, an international lifestyle that began as a child when she accompanied her parents who worked in foreign aid. She received a B.A. in social anthropology, followed by three years at KaosPilots, an alternative business school in Denmark where she focused on creative business development, process and project leadership. Sara then continued living globally as an organizational consultant within innovation and process leadership at, among other places, the Copenhagen Business School. From 2008 until 2012, she founded and was the CEO of a social entrepreneurial enterprise working with and for expatriates accompanying children. The company, mjuka flytten, (translated as “the soft move”) focuses on cultural transitions and children’s needs for training in intercultural communication and coping with transition, and the importance of including children and children’s rights in expatriates’ global transitions.
Previously, Sara worked half-time at Ashoka Scandinavia’s head office in Stockholm as the Fellow and Venture Manager. The other half was carefully distributed across interesting organizational consultant jobs, teaching intercultural communication and sitting on several boards. A nature lover, Sara is a soccer player at heart, but because of a bad knee she now enjoys sailing instead.
Mjuka flytten, the company Sara founded, was recognized for its commitment to upholding the UN conventions relating to children’s rights. Sara taught innovation at the Copenhagen Business School from 2008-2010. The course, Instant Innovation, didn’t give exams but rather had its students participate in a 48-hour innovation camp, which was unusual at the time. Since then, Sara has initiated and led one of Sweden’s most innovative projects, Nacka Next Step (Nacka Nästa Steg) for the Nacka Municipality. This initiative was innovation in its truest form and not just a buzzword in its mission statement.
Sarah Kornhauser is a creative generalist with passions for helping people find and amplify their voice, group facilitation, cooking, yoga, and, most recently, interior design. The thread is finding a balance of function and beauty in all realms of work. Sarah’s story is inspired by family, travel and experiencing the world through many lenses. Her best ideas are about collaboration and working from the inside out. She strives to innovate, sometimes in a team to launch Jewish initiatives and other times as an inidivual pouring over design blogs, then she combines the mélange of thought streams into one fluid direction: forward. Sarah received an M.A. in international economic development from the University of Denver. Her work to understand how to increase written literacy landed her in the world of Jewish professionalism. She lives in Denver with her partner, Adam, and her pup, Mingus.
Sarah has been the Director of Hazon in Denver, Colorado, since 2012. Within this role she serves as a connector, facilitator, educator, innovator and collaborator. Along with the rest of the Hazon staff, she works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community and world for us all. Through transformative experiences – bike rides, Jewish CSA’s and ‘thought leadership’ – Hazon works with organizations to transform their practices around food and the environment. They also focus on capacity building – network weaving and supporting individuals and organizations with big ideas around the intersection of food, the environment and Jewish tradition. Every day, Sarah has the opportunity to learn of innovative work happening within the Colorado community. Her superpower is connecting the individuals who power this work; through the power of the collective, she maximizes the individual’s impact. Being Jewish can be a vibrant lens through which to view and transform the world. Through food and the environment, Sarah is exposing the Jewish community to that lens.
Sarah Lewitinn, also known by her nickname Ultragrrrl, is the former Music Marketing Director at NYLON magazine, a DJ and a writer. She began her career at Spin magazine, where she helped champion rock bands like My Chemical Romance and The Killers, which led to her starting her own record label. In 2006, New York Magazine said, “like it or not, she has more power than any print music critic.” Sarah has published two books.
Born in New York City to Egyptian Jewish parents, Sarah was raised and educated in Tenafly, New Jersey. She began her career as a teenager writing for the AOL-based ABCKidz site before interning at Spin Magazine. After briefly working at the defunct Kurt Andersen-run Inside.com in 1999, Lewitinn was hired as an assistant to Michael Hirschorn at VH1. In 2002, she was the first manager for both rock bands stellastarr* and My Chemical Romance. Her blog, Ultragrrrl.com (launched in July 2003), further established her as a tastemaker in the New York indie rock scene, as did her early championing of the rock band, The Killers, before they were signed to Island Def Jam. She returned to Spin several months later, this time as an assistant editor with her own column. In 2005, Sarah quit Spin to start her own record label, Stolen Transmission, in partnership with Island Def Jam and Rob Stevenson, the Island Def Jam A&R executive responsible for signing The Killers and Fall Out Boy. In 2010, Sarah expanded her portfolio to include CPG when she joined Edelman’s Digital department. In 2011, NYLON created the Music Marketing Director position for her. In 2013, she will be featured as a key catalyst in three books about NYC’s music scene.
Despite being the only Jewish girl at her big public school in the middle of the Bible Belt, Sarah Passe’s Jewish life growing up in Charlotte, NC, was rich and almost entirely community/culturally focused. After majoring in advertising and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sarah began working in digital media at a top New York advertising agency. Starting on the ground floor in that burgeoning industry allowed her to become an expert at a young age, helping top brands such as American Express establish themselves in digital marketing and entertainment. After six years at Digitas, Sarah moved to Hollywood to join top talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a Business Development Executive tasked with bringing top tier talent into the digital space in a strategic way. Sarah has become a leader in the rapidly growing digital entertainment industry. Nostalgic for her North Carolina Jewish roots and community, she is now actively involved with the Los Angeles and North American B’nai Brith Youth Organization chapters as an advisor.
Sarah’s role within CAA is specifically tasked with creating innovation – the impact of which is seen in four areas: buyers, talent acquisition, client growth and monetization. Buyers means identifying new buyers of web-based entertainment in the digital landscape and cultivating potential buyers as their audiences and platforms become more sophisticated. Talent acquisition means creating a strategy for the agency to determine which up-and-coming digital talent they should be working with while developing and managing relationships with those talents and building out a new suite of services that they would need from a Hollywood talent agency. (Sarah is the point agent for Michelle Phan, the most successful woman on YouTube.) Client growth means strategically building existing client businesses to include digital in their product mix. (For example, Tom Hanks launched a series on Yahoo in addition to his films this year.) Monetization means Sarah establishes the industry norms on how these services are valued and monetized. These are deals without precedent so each needs to be crafted in a way that all parties are incentivized to bring the project to life in the strongest way possible.
Despite being the only Jewish girl at her big public school in the middle of the Bible Belt, Sarah Passe’s Jewish life growing up in Charlotte, NC, was rich and almost entirely community/culturally focused. After majoring in advertising and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sarah began working in digital media at a top New York advertising agency. Starting on the ground floor in that burgeoning industry allowed her to become an expert at a young age, helping top brands such as American Express establish themselves in digital marketing and entertainment. After six years at Digitas, Sarah moved to Hollywood to join top talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a Business Development Executive tasked with bringing top tier talent into the digital space in a strategic way. Sarah has become a leader in the rapidly growing digital entertainment industry. Nostalgic for her North Carolina Jewish roots and community, she is now actively involved with the Los Angeles and North American B’nai Brith Youth Organization chapters as an advisor.
Sarah’s role within CAA is specifically tasked with creating innovation – the impact of which is seen in four areas: buyers, talent acquisition, client growth and monetization. Buyers means identifying new buyers of web-based entertainment in the digital landscape and cultivating potential buyers as their audiences and platforms become more sophisticated. Talent acquisition means creating a strategy for the agency to determine which up-and-coming digital talent they should be working with while developing and managing relationships with those talents and building out a new suite of services that they would need from a Hollywood talent agency. (Sarah is the point agent for Michelle Phan, the most successful woman on YouTube.) Client growth means strategically building existing client businesses to include digital in their product mix. (For example, Tom Hanks launched a series on Yahoo in addition to his films this year.) Monetization means Sarah establishes the industry norms on how these services are valued and monetized. These are deals without precedent so each needs to be crafted in a way that all parties are incentivized to bring the project to life in the strongest way possible.
Sasha Fisher grew up in New York City in the abstract art world. As a student she pursued both art and a commitment to global issues. In 2008, Sasha traveled to Sudan to help launch a specialized secondary school for girls. At that time, thousands of South Sudanese were repatriating from refugee camps after over two decades of civil war. Outside organizations were driving change in the region by building the schools, roads and farms. Sasha watched as South Sudanese, who knew best the region’s land, culture and needs, sat on the sidelines as outsiders controlled the future of their homeland – the very land for which they had just lost over a million lives. Sasha felt that this type of aid was deeply perverse and began seeking out ways to place the power back into the hands of the poor. Ever since that trip, Sasha has worked to help those facing poverty design and build their own future. In 2010, she moved to Rwanda and launched Spark MicroGrants to propel a new model of aid that catalyzes local, community-driven change.
Sasha is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Spark MicroGrants, a nonprofit that developed the first proactive, group-based microgranting model. Sasha launched Spark MicroGrants in 2010 and has since led the organization’s work in two countries for over 40 poor rural communities. Spark partner communities have built schools and electricity lines, started farms and more, reaching over 12,000 individuals. Each group donates 1,600 hours on average to plan their project and 100% have successfully implemented their project after receiving their microgrant. Communities have gone on to launch independent projects and take collective action after the Spark process, signifying that Spark’s impact goes beyond the project. For example, the Nyarutosho village in Rwanda built 60 latrines with their microgrant to improve sanitation and went on to launch an agriculture project to generate income.
Shauna Ruda is currently pursuing a master’s in migration studies at Tel Aviv University and is working with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) on global development projects. For the past two years, Shauna was the Awareness Building Program Specialist for JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps Fellowship, working with young activists in seven cities across the U.S. to develop ways to bring global Jewish issues and needs to local communities. Prior to that, Shauna served as a JDC Global Jewish Service Corps member in Turkey. Before joining JDC, Shauna studied abroad in Ghana where she created an afterschool program at an orphanage. She also interned at the Embassy of Israel and was International President of BBYO. She graduated from American University with a B.A. in anthropology. In her free time, she enjoys talking to strangers, exploring and running.
Shauna has always been interested in giving people the tools they need to express themselves wherever they are, despite their circumstances. Currently, Shauna is assisting JDC with the implementation of a program for blind musicians living in Turkey, with the help and support of the Jewish community in Turkey. In addition, Shauna is assisting JDC’s Center for International Migration and Integration in the development of new programs for African refugees in Israel. While both projects are completely different, they involve the empowerment of people who might otherwise never find a medium to express themselves and their ideas. Shauna knows that attaining her master’s in migration studies, combined with the skills she has gained from working for JDC, as well as her passion for connecting people through empowerment initiatives, will help her find ways to continue to be part of developing other innovative projects.
Shay Assor is a 30-year-old Israeli, a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Director of the Israel Education Department at StandWithUs International. Shay was born in Beer Sheva and spent most of his youth in Southern Israel. Upon finishing his army service, he began working with youth and young professionals, both in Israel and abroad. These experiences led him to join StandWithUs in 2006 as a student fellow on a leadership program in public diplomacy, after which he was selected to join the organization as the Fellowship Director. Three years later, Shay was promoted to become the Director of the Israel Education Department. Under his management, the department created strategic partnerships with leading companies, institutions and foundations, engaging thousands of Israelis in public diplomacy for Israel. Although quote proud of his professional achievements, Shay is equally proud of the fact that his friends would choose him as their “lifeline” on game shows based on the vast amount of information he knows about geography, nature, culture and politics.
During the fall of 2007, Shay interned for the newly established Taglit-Birthright Israel NEXT in New York where he was assigned to StandWithUs Israel. As an intern, he was able to witness the team’s inner-workings and was amazed by the amount of time and thought given to the creation of what he describes as one of the most important projects in the modern history of the Jewish People. Upon returning home, he realized that Israel, and Israelis, lack long-term thinking. The concept of “follow up” as a strategy was almost nonexistent in his society. Shay joined StandWithUs shortly thereafter, and developed the alumni network of the StandWithUs Fellowship, one of the most successful alumni programs in Israel and the Jewish world, which acts as a prototype for alumni communities. This network consists of over 700 graduates of the StandWithUs leadership program in public diplomacy. Shay created and facilitated breakthrough online platforms, events and conferences, helping Israeli young professionals to network, learn from each other and work together to better their own future and the future of Israel. Recently, Shay planned and executed the 2nd Annual Alumni Conference, attended by almost 300 alumni of the seven years of the Fellowship.
Shikma Sharon believes that one person can change the world. That is why it is so important for her that what she does in her everyday life matters. Shikma is an excellent strategic planner. She works at Y&R Israel and is known as a hardworking, but also fun loving, colleague. As a dynamic person, she does not limit herself to her job description. Before Y&R, she was Tnuva’s Corporate Social Responsibility Project Manager at McCann-Erickson where she was in charge of creating and managing collaborations with the Israel Association of Community Centers and with the municipal authorities involved in the project. She also worked on all operational levels of project management, from the contract and action plan to launching events. Shikma’s first love is the SPOT workshop she has co-led for the past three years at the College of Management. As its lecturer, Shikma guides students to develop communication strategy and campaigns for NGOs and NPOs. She loves to learn as much as she loves to teach.
As a lecturer at the SPOT workshop, Shikma works with NGOs and NPOs that need help with creating a breakthrough in terms of perception, donations, volunteer recruitment and more. The first semester is dedicated to providing the students with professional tools that will turn them into young professionals in various fields of communication: communication strategy, advertising strategy, creativity and more. The second semester is dedicated to creating campaigns for participating NGOs and NPOs. Shikma’s work influences society. She teaches students to channel their skills into creating social change. Together with her students, she gives NGOs and NPOs free services that would otherwise cost them a lot of money that they do not have. By doing so, she’s changing young students’ perceptions of their roles in the fast-paced world of professionalism. Her goal is to use the knowledge and experience she has gained in order to create a change for NGOs, NPOs and in people’s lives.
Shira Katz-Vinkler is a certified social worker and proud mother of three boys and a girl. Upon completing her IDF service in an intelligence unit, Shira left her hometown of Tel Aviv to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After graduating, she worked as a social worker in various positions and developed an expertise in working with at-risk children. In 2011, Shira began working for the Yerushalmit Movement as Young Families Coordinator, which aims to strengthen Jerusalem as a pluralistic and inclusive city. Run by a community of religious and secular volunteers, the movement believes that Jerusalem should not only be a vibrant capital city, but also a place where its residents can live, work and raise their families. The Yerushalmit Movement leads the struggle against religious extremism and gender segregation in public spaces, as well as offering a broad range of initiatives for young families to improve their quality of life. Today, Shira is the Vice President of the Yerushalmit Movement.
Shira develops and implements the Yerushalmit movement’s strategy and field operations. In the field, Yerushalmit builds communities through activism based on shared values, facilitates cultural and recreational activities on the Sabbath to enable all residents to enjoy their day of rest as they please, and more. Education is a personal passion for Shira and through her involvement in Yerushalmit she has led numerous educational initiatives. She founded an education forum, which brings together teachers, parents and educators to raise issues and increase resources. Working directly with parents, she leads projects and assists with any challenges. Some of Shira’s tasks have included opening new schools for underserved populations and renewing and improving infrastructure in schools around the city. Recently, she took part in the push for kindergarten teaching assistants to be given fair wages and better working conditions.
Sigalith Isaac Kurulkar is a 26-year-old woman, recently married and living in Mumbai, India. She works for the Gabriel Project Mumbai, which assists youth living in the slums of Kalwa. She chooses to do this because she feels it is important and valuable work. Sigalith follows a path that soothes her heart and makes her feel good about who she is. She is strongly Jewish, not too religious or Orthodox, but she tries every day to be a little more observant and to learn a little more about Judaism and about who she is. She connects to her Almighty Father through her Jewish life, be it keeping Shabbat or helping people in need or singing Hebrew songs with Jewish kids. That’s what she loves doing and wants to do all her life.
Sigalith works for an NGO called the Gabriel Project Mumbai (GPM) where she is the Program Coordinator. This project works with and for youth living in the slums of Kalwa. The youth are provided nutritious midday meals and also educational lessons. The work is done by volunteers who come from different parts of the world to help the GPM staff. This project aims to empower these youth to help them find a better life outside the slums. Sigalith is responsible for the ongoing operations of the project. This is done by making sure the volunteers are satisfied with their placements, that the food reaches the kids on a daily basis, that interesting lessons are created and executed for the kids and that the volunteers are given a good taste of the country and of Mumbai’s vibrant Jewish community. Sigalith considers her work to be innovative because Jewish people from around the world come to help people in need. She believes this is a very strong step towards tikkun olam.
Sivan Vardi moved to Jerusalem six years ago and fell in love with the city. Ever enthusiastic, she has been involved with innovative projects ever since. Sivan works as the TEDxJerusalem project manager, which took place for the first time in December 2012. Along with a group of friends, she initiated the project “Almost 30,” which builds and nurtures a community and network of young people who chose to live in Jerusalem. For the past few years, Sivan has worked with the activist group New Spirit as its Deputy Director, working with the young adult population in Jerusalem in the areas of housing, employment and culture. In addition, Sivan served as Chair of the steering committee for PresenTense’s entrepreneur’s program in Jerusalem, moderated a group on women’s empowerment in the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood and guided teenagers in leadership workshops. Sivan holds a master’s in political communication from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx, which is a local program of self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDxJerusalem brings together a diverse group of speakers and gives voice to the exceptional, creative visionaries who offer a day of thought provoking inspiration. TEDxJerusalem is intent on bringing the freshest ideas, the biggest challenges and the best entertainment to a diverse audience of more than 500 executives, social entrepreneurs and activists, students, decision-makers and influencers. Last year’s theme was PAST FORWARD. While acknowledging the unique history of Jerusalem, TEDxJerusalem embraces a forward thinking perspective that focuses on the future of our city, our region and our world.
After serving in the IDF’s special intelligence unit, Stav Erez worked for three organizations where she oversaw and managed educational programs, lobbied for students’ rights and co-founded SifTech, a center aimed to strengthen young adults entrepreneurial skills. Before running SifTech, Stav was the head of the academic department of the Israeli Student Union for two years. In this role, she represented the students’ interests to the education committee of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), the Council for Higher Education and the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation, among others, and promoted student rights’ legislation, accessibility to higher education, and more. Prior to this position, Stav worked as the Head of the Social Welfare Department at the Hebrew University Students’ Association, where she supervised transportation issues, scholarships, housing and more for students in Jerusalem.
In March 2012, Stav Erez and her partner Inbar Ziv, established SifTech, the Jerusalem Entrepreneurship Center, a nonprofit body sponsored by Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Asper Center and its students union. The Center was established in cooperation with various organizations and professionals, such as Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), the Yigal Arnon & Co. Law Firm and the Jerusalem Development Authority. Despite its educated and high achieving population, as well as the presence of many academic institutions, Jerusalem has yet to become a center for industry and entrepreneurship. Stav’s and Inbar’s vision is to develop Jerusalem’s economy by elevating the young, educated, creative and diverse population of the city. SifTech, the first center of its kind in greater Jerusalem, provides young entrepreneurs in Jerusalem with the professional and personal tools they need to successfully develop their own business initiatives, such as mentorship and guidance, a strong network in the business industry, preparation for fundraising and more.
Stephanie Volftsun is the CTO and Co-founder of Knotch. She has focused her life on two of her greatest passions: philanthropy and technology. An undercover nerd, she built her first computer at age 11 and went on to become the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at only 13 years old. Meanwhile, she was participating in youth giving circles, serving on the board of the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Institute. Her fervor for technology led her to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis with her B.S. in computer science. After spending a year working as the only female engineer at a financial software startup in Silicon Valley, Stephanie Co-founded Knotch, the first social network focused on connecting people based on their opinions. Knotch has raised one round of seed financing to date and launched their iPhone app publicly in December 2012. When Stephanie isn’t hacking, she focuses on philanthropy. She participated in the 2012 Slingshot Fund and sits on the Jewish Federation’s Impact Grants Initiative committee, where she helps to fund innovative Jewish organizations in the Bay Area.
Knotch is the first social network to place a person’s opinions at the core of their identity. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, where opinions go downstream in less than an hour, and Yelp, where the focus is on building the identities of the restaurants in review, Knotch focuses on letting users capture their opinions in a simple and exciting way: in color. By giving users a heat map on which to express how they feel – hot or cold – sharing opinions becomes exciting, engaging and emotional. Stephanie is the CTO and Co-founder of Knotch. In early 2012, she and her partner left their comfy Silicon Valley jobs to begin this opinion-sharing revolution. They were able to raise a round of seed financing from angel investors, and have hired two additional employees. Stephanie’s expertise is in programming large and complex applications. She was solely responsible for building the prototype technology and also manages the team. Knotch aims to revolutionize the way we connect with others online, and the way our opinions are received by political campaigns, brands, restaurants and more.
Tal Grunspan was born and raised in Tel Aviv. He grew up in a secular family and became interested in his Jewish identity after his bar mitzvah at a Reform synagogue. Later, he became a board member of the Reform Movement in Israel. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination catapulted his journey towards social change and political involvement in Israel. Throughout his 17 years of activism, Tal has taken part in many organizations working in the areas of community organizing, environmental issues, human rights and separation of religion and state in Israel. Tal studied political science, philosophy and the history of the Israeli State at Ben-Gurion University. He took part in several leadership courses, including a two-year leadership course based on Jewish Sephardi leaders at Mizrach Shemesh and Hillel. Tal worked in the Knesset as a spokesperson and an advisor to an MK. Following that, he was among the leaders of the “Tent Protest” in the summer of 2011. He recently finished a bicycle expedition in Europe, biking from Berlin to Barcelona. Tal is also a trained yoga teacher, dancer and a Vipassana practitioner.
For many years Tal has been involved in community organizing. Through his work, Tal encouraged more people to get involved in the political processes and to take more personal responsibly for creating social change. In the summer of 2011, Tal was one of the field leaders of the social protest movement. He was among the founders of the National Assembly of the Tent Movement. His current project is establishing a Think-Do-Tank for participatory democracy. This project is in collaboration with The Institute for Democratic Education. The Think Tank is a continuation of the attempts to create a more horizontal and democratic political system that began with the tent protest and aspires to change the political system in Israel. It will also develop the concept of an “activist-expert” that was created by Tal during the social protests. It is probably a first-of-a-kind Think-Do-Tank initiated by social activists, following the wave of protest the world has seen over the past two years. But it is also the result of many years of field research that will be combined with academic research. Tal believes that starting from the community and municipality levels is the key to creating a more “connected to the people” type of politics in Israel, a political structure that is more equal, transparent and self-governing.
In 2006, after three years as a soldier and commander in a special infantry unit of the IDF, Tal Shmueli went in search of meaningful ways to engage in challenging educational adventures. This led him to work as an instructor for a pre-military educational center, a year-long period as a cultural emissary on the east coast of Australia and soon after, two years as the head of the counseling staff of a mechina – a year-long educational program for leadership development and social change. Five continuous years of working in informal education made Tal want to try something newHe returned to school and studied sports psychology and communication and interned at an international advertising agency, Leo Burnett Worldwide. In parallel, and with a feeling of longing for the educational world, Tal started a blog called Beytzim, which chronicles the male experience and also took on a training position for the IDF’s running team where he trains high-ranking officers to help them stay in shape and live up to their role model reputation. Tal harnessed Beytzim’s success to launch the Israeli Mo’vember campaign to fight prostate cancer. Over the past two years, he has raised thousands of dollars and created unprecedented awareness for the cause.
The Mo’vember campaign encourages men to grow moustaches during the month of November to help change the face of men’s health and increase awareness around different diseases that particularly target men, such as prostate and testicular cancer, as well as male depression. The campaign was launched in Australia and, with the help of a friend, Tal brought it to Israel. For the first time in Israel’s short history, they brought men’s health issues to the public’s awareness. They channeled all their efforts to raise funds for the Israeli NPO Living With Prostate Cancer and engaged in numerous activities throughout the month of November. The month of heightened activities included two major events. The first was an inspirational lecture delivered by Tal at a popular pub in Tel Aviv and the other was the gala party. Already in its second year, the party was a great success that had satellite activities in Haifa, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva. The main event in Tel Aviv drew over 400 participants. Tal served as the producer and spokesperson to the media.
Talia Gorodess is currently an Atkin Fellow at King’s College, London, where she is writing a paper about the 2011 Israeli social justice protests. She is the Director of Socio-Economic Development at the Reut Institute, where she oversees R&D and the implementation of projects to help develop of Israel’s periphery. Formerly, Talia worked as a Research Associate at the Hudson Institute and as a Campaign Coordinator on environmental issues at U.S. PIRG (both in Washington, DC). Talia serves on the board of the social guard in the Knesset and maintains a Hebrew blog alongside an English blog in the Times of Israel. Between 2010-2012, Talia was a regular contributor to Doron Nesher’s radio show Toshav Hozer on Galey Tzahal. She holds an M.A. in security policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (2010) and a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago (with honors) in 2006. Tapping into her sense of adventure, Talia competed in the Israeli version of the high-powered reality series The Amazing Race, airing in Spring 2013.
Talia’s job is to come up with new visions for addressing existing social problems in Israel and then developing strategies for implementation. On the macro level, her work impacts the way the Israeli government, philanthropic foundations and NGOs think of socioeconomic development in Israel. On the micro level, her work impacts residents of Israel’s periphery, most notably in the city of Safed, whose residents are well on their way towards experiencing an improvement in their quality of life based on a new and exciting model developed by Talia and her team.
Tamir Elterman is a journalist and documentary filmmaker currently working in Israel. Originally from Berkeley, California, he graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in 2011 with a Masters of Science in broadcast journalism. Over the past three years, he has worked as a documentary director in Mexico, Argentina, France, Israel, the West Bank and the U.S. Tamir’s filmmaking career started after graduating from the University of Oregon in 2006 (B.A. psychology), when he moved to Israel to direct and produce a feature documentary about three non-Israeli born combat soldiers in the Israeli Army. Upon completion of the three-year production, he returned to the U.S. where he directed a feature documentary on the crippling effect of monopolies on Mexico’s economy and society. In Israel, he is currently developing several independent projects including a film on the challenges of integrating Israeli-Arabs into Israeli society, as well as developing an educational curriculum to help advance this integration. Since returning to Israel in late 2012, he has covered the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan, the recent Israeli elections, the Palestinian UN bid for statehood, the latest Israel-Gaza conflict, Palestinian municipal elections and other stories for The New York Times.
Tobia Zevi has a Ph.D. in linguistics from the Third University of Rome. Over the past five years, he has worked for the province of Rome as Head of International Cooperation and Solidarity and as a member of the President’s staff. Beyond his work in politics, Tobia has always been active in the Jewish world, first as President of Ugei (Italian young Jews), between 2005-2006, then as member of the board of the Rome Jewish Community (2008-2010) and, finally, as President of the Hans Jonas Association of Jewish culture (2009 – Present). Tobia writes for several newspapers and magazines, such as l’Unità, Il Foglio, Left, Linkiesta.it and Moked.it. In 2006, he hosted the TV show, Era la Rai 21.15. In 2013, he published his first book, “Il discorso di Giorgio,” which examines the speeches of Italian President of Republic Giorgio Napolitano. 
Tobia Co-founded the Hans Jonas Association of Jewish culture, which organizes leadership programs for Jewish young adults throughout Italy’s Jewish communities. It also conducts social research on Italian society and Italian Jewry and holds important cultural events that engage major Italian political leaders and opinion makers. The most important feature of this small but active organization is that it was created to be a link between Italy’s Jewish communities and the rest of society, including relevant players of civil society. Programs and projects are always based on a three questions: 1) How do Italian Jews behave and think within the rest of society? 2) How do other Italians view the Jewish community and other minorities? 3) In what ways Italian Jews contribute to society? Current programs include a survey and a conference about Jewish identity.
Tomer Dror was born and raised in Jerusalem. Before being drafted into the army, he attended the Ein Prat Pre-Army Academy of Social Leadership. During the disengagement from the Gaza strip, he founded Lev Echad, a nonprofit to assist those who lost their homes, which today boasts over 10,000 volunteers. During his military service, Tomer served in the elite combat unit Orev, part of the Golani division, and was a sergeant during the oferet yetzuka operation. Tomer joined the young activist organization, Hitorerut Beyerushalaim, and is now a board member. He established their student body at the Hebrew University and soon became its Chairman. Tomer played an important role in the national social struggle in the summer of 2011. For three years, he served as the Executive Producer of the BalaBasta events at the Machne Yehuda market for the Jerusalem Season of Culture. At that time, he developed a student project called, A Wall in its Midst, which was meant to build a bridge between the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and non-Haredi communities and to help and encourage Haredi people who have chosen to pursue an academic education. Tomer joined JICC (Jerusalem Intercultural Center) as the head of the Haredi desk, using his skills and connections with the Haredi community in Jerusalem.
Tomer works a lot with the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem. He is a young leader in his city who influences many students. Tomer is a board member of Hitorerut Beyerushalaim and tries to do what he can to keep the young adult community in the city and to develop its cultural life. He believes that the future of Jerusalem will be majorly influenced by changes within the ultra-Orthodox community. He also believes that Jerusalem is a microcosm of the country and, therefore, needs to be invested in. Tomer is the CEO of a program called, A Wall in its Midst, a project initiated and run by students that aims to build a bridge between the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and non-Haredi populations and to help and encourage ultra-Orthodox people who have chosen to pursue an academic education. The idea is simple: weekly meetings on a one-on-one basis (men and women separately) between a Haredi student who’s having difficulties at school and a non-Haredi student who serves as the tutor. Beyond the academic side, the meetings focus on mutual enrichment between the two worlds, familiarizing the general public with the Haredi world and establishing a common language based on Jewish identity.
Uriel Erlich holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Buenos Aires, and is set to receive a Masters of Arts in development management and policy from Georgetown University and the National University of San Martin. His professional experience includes working for a wide range of nonprofit organizations where he focused on planning, development and evaluating social projects, programs and policies. Recently, Uriel worked as a Technical Assistant for a network of interfaith organizations called Argentine Dialogue and as a Researcher for the Argentinean Department of Justice. He also served as a Coordinator for an international colloquium on social rights, a joint project of the AMIA, the Catholic University of Argentina and AECID. He also worked as the Assistant Director of Vaad Hakehilot – AMIA. Currently, Uriel is an Advisor to a National Deputy in Argentina’s parliament. He is also a sociology teacher at a well-known public high school.
Uriel is currently encouraging Argentina’s National Congress to pass more innovative laws. Among the mix is one that promotes coexistence in schools as an antidote to violence. He also coordinates an innovative international program at the University of Buenos Aires that focuses on democracy, society and new economies. The program encourages dialogue and consensus building among social, economic and political sectors.
Born and raised in the Soviet Union, Victoria Anesh grew up unaware of her Jewish identity. She knew she was Jewish because it said so on her parents’ passports, yet ‘Jewish’ only meant being different and not always in a positive way. In 1992, Victoria and her family immigrated to the U.S. where she looked to connect to the American Jewish community. However, this was not always easy to do since many RSJ’s (Russian-speaking Jews) identify as secular Jews, whereas in the U.S. ‘Jewishness’ can often be expressed through a religious affiliation. After a few years in the fashion and advertising industry, Victoria decided to join the Jewish communal world. In 2002, a new umbrella organization, COJECO, specifically targeting the RSJ community was forming and Victoria was invited to serve as their Director of Development. After a short leave to raise her two young daughters, Victoria returned to COJECO as Director of Programming, where she oversaw the Center Without Walls project. In 2009, Victoria developed the Blueprint Fellowship at COJECO, a social entrepreneurship fellowship for Russian-speaking Jewish young adults. Presently, Victoria works in the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) community in NY.
Working in the RSJ community is all about innovation and creativity. Every project has to be tailored to the unique cultural nuances of the community: the programming, the approach and the outreach. It is a community that has been detached from its Jewish narrative for three generations. One of the most innovative projects that Victoria has created and continues to be involved in is the Blue Print Fellowship (BP). It was designed with five key components in mind: knowledge, inspiration, Jewish education, skill building and mentorship. BP attracts completely unaffiliated RSJ young adults, allows them to go through a learning process, specially tailored to their views, and encourages them to create innovative community projects. Currently, Victoria works for the largest Russian-speaking Philanthropic Foundation: Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG). The foundation was established by successful RSJ businessmen in 2007. It is the first philanthropic organization in the history of the RSJ community.
Yehuda Raff is an urbanist with one eye on how our cities could be made to function better and the other eye on what it means to make space more human. If the word makom means God (and there are so many reasons why this is the case), then surely we should also pay close attention to the spaces we create. For Yehuda, life is very much about the balance between personal development and growth – what some might call ‘inner work,’ and the need to constantly increase the quality and level of professional competence and delivery; so that the ‘outer work’ he does contributes meaningfully to society at large and creates positive change in the world he inhabits. The biggest advantage Yehuda has in this quest for a balance between the inner and outer selves is the fact that he lives in a remarkable, nature abundant city and that his job requires that he contribute to that city in a creative and developmental manner. Having grown up in a frum family, Torah remains an important yardstick by which Yehuda engages with his world, but it is his exposure to other cultures and practices that gives him a little more breadth; requiring him to meet people and situations as they are. Yehuda’s strongest qualities are possibly his simultaneous acceptance of people and self-assured rootedness in his own ancestry.
Yehuda runs a project called The Fringe, which aims to develop an innovation district in the Cape Town CBD. The purpose of The Fringe is to establish an area that engenders collaboration between creative entrepreneurs. Yehuda is responsible for the development of this project that includes urban upgrade aspects, as well as enterprise development, skills and economic growth as core outcomes. The project is funded by the provincial government and project managed by the Cape Town Partnership, which is a very well regarded NGO that has championed partnership-leadership as its key ethos for 13 years. In the complex politics of the New South Africa, the ability to speak to all stakeholders and work with all parties in an open and amicable way is challenging, but very rewarding. It is this kind of project based diplomacy that really draws out the best in Yehuda and he relishes each challenge as an opportunity to effect real and meaningful change. Building a precinct with a distinct function and vibe is something that one cannot really project manage into being, but rather needs to be dreamed into existence, slowly, from the bottom up. The magic is in getting other people to help dream it into being and that’s that toughest, most fun part.
Yevgeniya Baras is an artist, curator and active member of her artistic community, as well as the Jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She emigrated from Russia to Philadelphia in 1993 to escape anti-Semitism and has been living in the U.S. ever since. Yevgeniya has a B.A. in psychology and fine arts, an M.S. in education from University of Pennsylvania and an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2007). She exhibits her work all over the world. Some of her latest projects include an exhibition in Barbur Gallery in Jerusalem and the Zurcher Studio in New York. Three years ago, Yevgeniya established a gallery in Brooklyn with some fellow artists. The gallery’s focus is to reach out to underrepresented artists in the Brooklyn artistic community. Yevgeniya with ROIer Rebecca Guber on the ROI Connection Point Asylum: an International Jewish Artist Retreat in Garrison, NY. She worked with Rebecca on recruiting participants and on developing the educational element of Asylum. Yevgeniya finds it exciting when her artistic and Jewish interests combine; planning Asylum has enabled that. Yevgeniya’s innovative role is curating exhibitions at her gallery and other galleries that bring into focus artistic achievements of those who are underrepresented in New York. Her role is to reach out to creative individuals. She finds work, whether painting, performance photography or installation, that she believes needs to be exhibited and she presents it to the artistic community in a new and innovative context. In turn, this creates dialogue between individuals who would otherwise possibly not encounter each other. Her curatorial projects connect people and shed light onto artistic visions that are often not a part of the mainstream art world. Yevgeniya travels to Israel once a year and spends her time researching Israeli artists, visiting their studios and then incorporating their work into her projects in New York. She sees it as a critical part of her Jewish artistic identity to create bridges between her immediate community in Brooklyn and the Israeli artistic community.
Yoel Zilberman, 28, was born on Moshav Tzippori in the Lower Galilee and is a third generation Israeli rancher. He graduated from the Nahalal agricultural high school and was an active member and counselor of the B’nei Moshavim Youth Movement. Yoel did an 18-month pre-army preparatory program at the Ma’ayan Baruch Mechina, followed by an additional mechina program. During his army service, Yoel served in the Navy’s elite commando unit (Shayetet). In 2007, his father’s ranch was on the verge of bankruptcy because of thieves and marauders. He took leave from the army and set up an outpost on his father’s property to guard the land. His friends joined him. Other farmers asked Yoel if he could also patrol their land. In April 2008, HaShomer HaChadash was born. In February 2009, Yoel was discharged from the army. Today, Yoel heads the organization with Educational Director and Co-founder On Rhifman from the Negev. They are dedicated to creating a more just, caring and mutually responsible society. Yoel is studying for his B.A. in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Open University. He is also one of 19 young social leaders chosen by President Shimon Peres to form a social entrepreneurship think tank. Yoel is married to Tal, who is currently in medical school. They have a daughter, Reshit.
HaShomer HaChadash, officially established in 2007, is a grassroots organization that is vital to helping farmers and ranchers in the Negev and the Galilee safeguard their land. Like the original guardsmen who protected remote Jewish settlements 100 years ago, HaShomer HaChadash works to ensure a stronger Jewish presence in the Galilee and the Negev, inspire a sense of mutual responsibility among the Jewish people and create a stronger, more just society. What started out as a volunteer organization to protect the land, has expanded to include programs that are reconnecting Israelis to the Zionist values on which the State of Israel was founded, and instilling a sense of pride, civic courage and ownership among Jewish young people. HaShomer HaChadash works with the Friends of IDF’s IMPACT program to recruit volunteers, Ayalim Association, Keren Or, local municipalities in the Negev and the Galilee, the Matanel Foundation and KKL to strengthen the Negev and the Galilee and inspire young people to make meaningful change. The organization was the 2011 recipient of the Menachem Begin Prize for outstanding contribution to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Yoel Zilberman, 28, was born on Moshav Tzippori in the Lower Galilee and is a third generation Israeli rancher. He graduated from the Nahalal agricultural high school and was an active member and counselor of the B’nei Moshavim Youth Movement. Yoel did an 18-month pre-army preparatory program at the Ma’ayan Baruch Mechina, followed by an additional mechina program. During his army service, Yoel served in the Navy’s elite commando unit (Shayetet). In 2007, his father’s ranch was on the verge of bankruptcy because of thieves and marauders. He took leave from the army and set up an outpost on his father’s property to guard the land. His friends joined him. Other farmers asked Yoel if he could also patrol their land. In April 2008, HaShomer HaChadash was born. In February 2009, Yoel was discharged from the army. Today, Yoel heads the organization with Educational Director and Co-founder On Rhifman from the Negev. They are dedicated to creating a more just, caring and mutually responsible society. Yoel is studying for his B.A. in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Open University. He is also one of 19 young social leaders chosen by President Shimon Peres to form a social entrepreneurship think tank. Yoel is married to Tal, who is currently in medical school. They have a daughter, Reshit.
HaShomer HaChadash, officially established in 2007, is a grassroots organization that is vital to helping farmers and ranchers in the Negev and the Galilee safeguard their land. Like the original guardsmen who protected remote Jewish settlements 100 years ago, HaShomer HaChadash works to ensure a stronger Jewish presence in the Galilee and the Negev, inspire a sense of mutual responsibility among the Jewish people and create a stronger, more just society. What started out as a volunteer organization to protect the land, has expanded to include programs that are reconnecting Israelis to the Zionist values on which the State of Israel was founded, and instilling a sense of pride, civic courage and ownership among Jewish young people. HaShomer HaChadash works with the Friends of IDF’s IMPACT program to recruit volunteers, Ayalim Association, Keren Or, local municipalities in the Negev and the Galilee, the Matanel Foundation and KKL to strengthen the Negev and the Galilee and inspire young people to make meaningful change. The organization was the 2011 recipient of the Menachem Begin Prize for outstanding contribution to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Youness Abeddour is a young Moroccan from the imperial city of Fez. He holds a master’s degree in cultural studies from the University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah in Fez. He wrote a thesis on the representation of Moroccan Jews in Moroccan cinema. He is a researcher on the history of Moroccan Jewry and a documentary filmmaker. Youness produced two films: Moroccan Judaism: A Culture in Danger (2011) and My Neighbor: The Jew (2012). Both were shown at various universities, schools and centers in Morocco and abroad. Youness is the President of the Mimouna Club in Fez, as well as the President of the Media and Communication Committee of the Mimouna Club Foundation in Tangier. He is active in cultural and interfaith dialogues in Morocco and Israel. His cultural tours of the Mellah, the Jewish Quarter in Fez, includes visiting the Jewish cemetery, museum and synagogues.
Through the documentaries that Youness produces and the discussions that they elicit, audiences are given an accurate depiction of the Jewish people and their history in Morocco – which is in direct contrast to the misconceptions and distortions about Jews disseminated by the mainstream media. Showing real images of Jews going about their daily lives, interacting with their Muslim neighbors and speaking the same language, is an essential step towards building positive relations between Jews and Muslims in Morocco. As President of the Mimouna Club, Youness organizes cultural activities such as: tours of the Jewish quarter and the Jewish museum of Casablanca, movie screenings, panels of filmmakers, conferences, and last year, a trip to Israel and Palestine – all of these directly link the Moroccan population with Moroccan Jewish culture and history, and with Jews from different communities. Such activities counter stereotypes and dismantle prejudices.
Zev Moses is the Founder and Director of the Interactive Museum of Jewish Montreal. He believes that cities are museums, filled with stories that are increasingly accessible through technology. He believes communities can build museums through crowdsourcing and network building. He also believes in inspiring young people to take ownership of their family and community histories. Zev studied city planning at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2010, Zev created the Interactive Museum of Jewish Montreal as a platform for sharing and discovering Montreal’s extensive, yet increasingly forgotten, Jewish heritage and history. What began as a mapping project has since morphed into an organization that collects lost stories, leads walking tours, organizes diverse members of the Jewish community to preserve their history and empowers young Jews to take ownership of their past. IMJM is emerging as a hub for scholars and artists who want to share their work about Montreal’s Jewish heritage and aims to educate the public about the role Jews played and continue to play in Montreal, Quebec and Canadian society. Zev spends his time fundraising, expanding IMJM’s organizational capacity, planning strategically and thinking about new opportunities for IMJM to innovate. He works with the IMJM research team to create new exhibits and curate mobile tours, promotes IMJM through traditional and social media, lectures and runs events and is constantly trying to make the IMJM website more user-friendly. Zev hopes to create a physical space for the museum in the near future.
Zvika Klein is a journalist who lives in Jerusalem and works for Maariv and Makor Rishon daily national newspapers. A native of the U.S., Zvika is fluent in both Hebrew and English. He is the Judaism Editor for Maariv’s website NRG and covers Jewish and Jewish Diaspora affairs for both newspapers. Zvika was born in Chicago and made aliyah with his family in 1985 to a settlement called Ginot Shomron. He served as an IDF spokesperson during his army service, dealing with ultra-Orthodox and religious Zionist media. After his army service, Zvika served as World Bnei Akiva and Jewish Agency emissary to South Florida. After returning to Israel, he worked for many Jewish organizations, such as World Bnei Akiva, World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency. Zvika worked in the PR field for five years, representing Jewish organizations and companies to the media, such as the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He sees his work covering Jewish Diapora Affairs as a mission: there are barley any journalists in the national Israeli media who deal with the subject and Zvika would like to promote connections between the Jewish Jewry and Israel. 
Zvika edits the Judaism channel for Maariv’s website NRG. The channel was recently re-established and is one of the most popular sections of the news site. His goal is to publish stories and op-eds that can either make a change in Israeli society or provoke discussion. Another one of Zvika’s goals it to write about the Jewish Diaspora. During his work as a journalist, Zvika has written hundreds of magazine articles and interviews with or about Jews from around the world to broaden the horizons of Israeli readers. Zvika also has a regular slot on the popular Israeli TV show Tzinor Laila on channel 10. There he speaks about cool, new online trends in the Jewish Diaspora communities. His believes that his work connects between the two worlds that are slowly separating: Jews around the world and Israel.

The Word Cloud looks as you might excpect. The words “Jewish, “Israel,” “Young” and “Community” stand out – and that does warm the heart. But does the Word Cloud tell the whole story? So Wendy and I went back and forth arguing about the relevance of certain issues vs. others. Neither of us is scientific or mathematically inclined, but some things did stand out. For instance the word “Network” was mentioned 44 times. “Innovative” appeared 43 times, “Entrepreneur” 36 times, “Startup” 17 times, “Tikkun” 9 times and “LGBT” only once. Make of that what you will.

As for this cohort, 13 currently study or studied Law, and 12 are enrolled in or graduated from advanced business programs – ie an MBA. There are 21 self-described CEOs which we found remarkable for such a young group. Also there are 7 Rabbis or Rabbinical students representing different denominations. The most noteworthy thing we found, one that we argued about a lot, was that nearly half of this year’s crop of ROIers were involved in, or employed by, a collection of 34 large, established Jewish organizations. These include Hillel, the Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee, Local Federations, the Jewish Federations of North America, AIPAC, Birthright Israel, the Bnai Brith Youth Organization, the Anti-Defamation League etc.

What does this mean? Is it a reflection of a belief that posits the hope for a new and more relevant Jewish community that will come from its young leadership rather than from unaffiliated grass roots elements? Or is it just a statistical blip, reflecting the notion that a young Jew interested in Jewish issues will naturally gravitate toward employment with established Jewish organizations, even as said organizations continue to fail to significantly engage youn Jews? I don’t know. Like I said, I’m not a statistician and, as Wendy often reminds me, what the heck do I know anyway? But these are questions worthy of further exploration and discussion.

Past ROI cohorts have been pretty awesome. I spent the better part of this year working on both the newly minted Jewrotica, headed by Ayo Oppenheimer and JewTube, founded by Jeremy Kossen, an alum of the very first ROI. The Muslim Jewish Conference that I will be staffing next month in Sarajevo is headed and staffed by a whole gang of ROI alums. I look forward to seeing what this year’s cohort is going to produce. They will be meeting in Jerusalem this year from June 9-13. Good luck!

David Abitbol is the creator of Jewlicious.com where this is cross-posted.

ROI 2013: Who Are You?

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