Abigail Carpenter-Winch: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abigail (she/hers) lives in Toronto where she teaches students in the bnei mitzvah program at the Danforth Jewish Circle. She previously worked at Ve'ahavta: A Jewish Response to Poverty where she engaged volunteers to make a difference in the lives of people marginalized by poverty. Abigail is also an alum of the Machon Kaplan program at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and spent time volunteering in Nepal through Tevel b’Tzedek, working on women’s empowerment programs and domestic violence prevention education.

Adam Trautenberg: Miami Beach, FL, USA

A Miami native, Adam (he/his) grew up in North Miami Beach. After graduating from the University of Central Florida, he moved to the Washington DC metro area where he ran a team building, outdoor education, and adventure summer camp company. Missing the warm winters and his family, Adam moved back to Miami permanently in early 2018 where he the director of The Tribe, an organization devoted to programming for young adult (22-40) professionals. Adam enjoys anything outdoors, especially kayaking, sailing, and snorkeling. He likes running, exploring Miami, and hanging out with his dogs Clifton and Boomer.

Adi Shifin: Kiryat Ono, Israel

Adi (she/hers) currently works in the youth department of the municipality of Kiryat Ono as a counselor for the youth council and volunteer groups. During high school she was a member and leader in the HaNoar Haoved VeHalomed youth movement, in charge of the summer 2015 activities 2015 in Kiryat Ono. Upon year completing high school, Adi did a year of pre-army service, living in Jerusalem and working in Modi'in. Her army service was as a fighter in the Karakal unit, and then in the town of Sderot, as a youth instructor.

Alexandra Nozik: Jena, Germany

Alexandra (she/hers) studied Geography and Geoinformatics. Her hobbies are spending time in nature, cinema, political engagement, and foreign languages. Since 2014, she has been participating in Tamar Germany events, and she has been serving on the board of the organization since 2019. In Tamar, she wants to continue offering an exchange platform, reaching out to new people who feel close to values of Reform Judaism, giving opportunity to members to develop their organizational skills while planning seminars or preparing workshop/discussion sessions, and building a network for diverse young Jewish people in Germany and abroad.

Ben Shapiro: London, England

Ben (he/his) grew up in London and studied philosophy at Cardiff University. He lives in Moishe House London and runs events there each month ranging from Shabbat dinners to book clubs and baking workshops. He works at the Faith and Belief Forum in London running the UN Award winning ParliaMentors programme at universities around the country. His favourite festival is Channukah.

Dor Eilon: Mevasseret Zion, Israel

Dor (she/hers) is currently studying for a BA, double majoring in social work and law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is an active member in BeKumech, the Reform group for social change, and she leads the activity against gender violence in Tlamim, the Reform Jewish community for young people in Israel. She grew up in the youth movement Noar Telem both as a member, a young counselor, and as the coordinator of the branch in Mevasseret Zion. After high school, she participated in the Israeli Reform Movement’s pre-army Mechina in Jaffa, volunteering with children and in the volunteer project Holot, raising awareness for asylum seekers in Israel. During her National Service she worked as a counselor at boarding schools for children and youth at risk in Jezreel Valley. Currently, Dor is a part of the education department in the Rape Crisis Center in Jerusalem, and a member of the steering committee of the Israel Religious Action Center.

Elias Rubin: New York, NY, USA

Elias (they/she) is a Brooklyn-based artist and educator. They are so excited to be a member of the Klal Yisrael's 6th Cohort! Elias is a graduate of NYU/Tisch, with a BFA in Drama. They have worked as one of the Theatre Arts Mentors at the URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy for the past two summers, and was a part of the Audacious Hospitality JewV'Nation LGBTQIA+ Cohort. Elias is teaching at multiple synagogues in NYC during the 2019-2020 school year, intertwining theatre and Judaism, as well as a group leader for Moving Tradition's Tzelem group, which works with transgender and non-binary Jewish teens. When not teaching, they can be found at any ramen shop with a vegetarian option, or writing Jewsicals (Jewish musicals) based off of the week's Torah portion.

Elizabeth Leff: Washington, DC, USA

Elizabeth (she/hers) is a leadership development associate at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington DC. Her work includes training clergy and lay leaders in Reform Jewish communities across North America to bring social justice to the center of congregational and communal life. She is a former RAC legislative assistant having spent a year working on issues relating to immigration, refugees, international religious freedom, Israel, anti-Semitism, global Jewry, and foreign policy. Elizabeth is a graduate of New York University where she studied Global Public Health/Media, Culture and Communication. There, she helped re-create and lead the Progressive Jewish community and was involved in strengthening multifaith communities on campus. Elizabeth is an involved member of the comedy community in Washington DC, where she writes and performs sketch comedy and performs improv comedy. She also enjoys playing soccer, camping, and photography.

Gilad Katzenstein: Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel

Gilad (he/his) grew up in Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel, where he is part of Bava-Ayin, the Reform congregation. He finished his army service as a commander almost two years ago. Last summer he was a counselor for NFTY in Israel, and in the summer of 2018 he was a JAFI shaliach at URJ Camp Coleman in the state of Georgia.

Jason Bourne: Cape Town, South Africa

Jason (he/his) just finished his first year of university studying for BA in social sciences at Stellenbosch University. In 2012 he joined Netzer South Africa and has attended every camp since. In 2017 Jason went on Shnat Netzer and has held various positions in the leadership body since his return, currently as Netzer South Africa’s executive director and treasurer. Apart from Netzer, Jason is also actively involved in the progressive Jewish community in Cape Town and he teaches in the Hebrew school by preparing children for their Bar/Bat - Mitzvahs. He is passionate about youth empowerment and education. By fostering a safe and inclusive space for young progressive Jewish youth to explore their Jewish identity while learning to engage with the world around them critically, we are not only creating the future leaders of tomorrow but the leaders of today. Whether it be in the Jewish community or various others such as the climate change movement, the LGBTQ+ movement or simply educating those around them on topics like these.

Maya Ron Levinger: Tel Aviv, Israel

Maya (she/hers) is 21 years old and has been identifying as a Reform Jew for two years. She graduated an arts high school and she served in the army as a guide in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Maya is a member of Hashomer Yatzair youth movement. She currently lives in a queer shared house in Tel Aviv.

Sarah Tucker: Jackson, Mississippi, USA

Sarah (she/hers) works full-time at the Union for Reform Judaism as NFTY Southern regional advisor, and as an assistant director at the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp (Utica, Mississippi), where she spent 11 summers as a camper and staff member. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in business administration, specializing in sports management. Sarah loves being able to serve as a mentor and bring Jewish joy to the teens of the Deep South.

Shai Lichtig: Kiryat Shmona, Israel

Shai (she/hers) is originally from Mevasseret Zion, outside of Jersualem. She currently lives in Kiryat Shmona where she is studying education in Tel Hai College. Shai grew up in the Reform youth movement Noar Telem, and after her army service she came back to Noar Telem as the youth director at her home congregation, Kehilat Mevasseret Zion (KaMaTz).

Ysabella-Rozetta (Yszi) Hawkings: London, England, UK

Yszi (she/hers) joined LJY-Netzer aged eight, and she has worked for LJY’s parent movement - Liberal Judaism - in various roles since 2010. In late 2015 she returned to the UK, after living in Canada for almost three years, to pursue a master’s degree in public health degree. She is currently the strategy & communications project manager at Liberal Judaism. In her spare time she is a member of Limmud's global trustee board; sits as a lay member of a NICE public health advisory committee; chairs the UJIA POD committee which provides professional development for youth movement professionals in the UK, and works with a public health consultancy assisting with the implementation of projects. She is also a graduate of the Jewish Leadership Council's Adam Science Foundation Leadership Programme. She is an avid listener of podcasts.