Arielle Doochin is an innovative pioneer in the field of  art and education. Having spent many years creating, teaching, and enjoying the benefits of art, she understands the importance that art can make in the lives of others. She has pursued various roles in the field of education, and has taught for the Ministry of Education in Madrid, Spain, written and designed on-line accredited curriculum for middle schools and high schools, and has created and implemented after school art enrichment programs for low income community centers. Arielle feels that art is a medium that affects all areas of life, including focus, well-being, and educational learning styles. She is passionate about helping others and feels that education and art exploration are one way to make a difference.

One-Liner: ARTurn is an innovative art education program that will offer hands-on creative opportunities for young students to create their own affordable masterpieces while learning about the fundamentals of art and the benefits of its influence on the world surrounding them.

A native of Portland, Oregon, Charlie Schwartz is a third year rabbinic student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.  In addition to his studies, Charlie has worked as a gabbai with Kehilat Hadar and as a teacher for an exceedingly cute class of first graders at Congregation Or Zarua.  Prior to JTS, Charlie served with distinction as a squad commander in the airborne battalion of the Nahal infantry brigade in the Israeli Defense Forces.  Charlie earned a B.A. in Religion and Jewish Studies from Oberlin College, and currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife Andrea Wershof Schwartz.

One Liner: In partnership with fellow Russel Neiss Charlie is developing MediaMidrash.org an online library of videos with compelling curricular content, providing Jewish Educators the platform to bring artists, animators, filmmakers and musicians directly into their classroom, harnessing 21st century technologies to enrich our historic traditions .

Elyssa Moss Rabinowitz constructs worlds of Jewish meaning and beauty. She draws on all media to create interactive, participatory events and programs of Jewish content. 

In her "Day Away" programs, Elyssa imagines, scripts and produces major events for institutions and families. She weaves together Jewish texts, music, food, art and drama to create all-encompassing experiences that are authentic, educational, inspirational and fun. She created and has run for ten years the "Zer Mitzvot," a year-long group study/experience for Bat Mitzvah-aged girls and their mothers. She is also the co-creator of the "Visions and Voices" and "Women and Wonder" websites. Elyssa has worked on creative content for television programming at Techelet Jewish Television, and has acted and produced in live theater.

After serving in the IDF, Elyssa graduated Bar Ilan University, where she majored in Psychology and Jewish History and attended the Metivta Institute for Higher Torah Studies. She was also selected as a scholar in the Advanced Talmud Studies Program in the Matan Women’s Institute of Torah Studies.

Elyssa lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Dovi, and their children Hallel, Yair, Yedidya and Shir.

One Liner: Kol Ha-Ot’s goal is to breathe new life into the Jewish world by presenting texts, ideas and history through an inspiring new synthesis of creativity, aesthetics and the arts.

Karra Greenberg is a graduate student in sociology whose research into capitalism and cultural change inspires her activism in the Jewish community. From 2004-2005 Karra volunteered in the Jewish community of Montevideo, Uruguay, developing English publicity / fundraising efforts and serving as a "cultural and educational emissary" to the Hillel House and Yavne Community Center. Karra marks this experience as formative in her intellectual and Jewish communal growth: "It was the first time I saw a Jewish community that previously thrived and now works to survive due to a debilitating economic crisis (in 2001). I came to understand the immense impact that economic forces can have on the social fabric of a community--and my research and activism focus on that now. Thankfully, the Uruguayan Jewish community also showed me how passion, wisdom, and innovation are used to overcome challenge." Later, in New York City, Karra organized cross-cultural and service-learning experiential programs with communities and students through Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future. Presently, she aims to launch "Kehillah Consulting", bringing the insights of academics and experts to Jewish communities facing socio-economic challenges such as rising costs of Jewish education, high divorce rates, etc. In her lay service, Karra enjoys serving on the Board of Trustees for her synagogue, has published in Ravsak's HaYidion magazine on insights for promoting Jewish education, and was awarded and attended the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for international Jewish communal strategizing.

One-Liner: Kehillah Consulting brings the research and insights of academics and experts to Jewish communities and institutions seeking to overcome socio-economic challenges through better understanding their complexities and creating innovative solutions to meet them.

Matthew L. Berkowitz is the Senior Rabbinic Fellow in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America's KOLLOT: Voices of Learning program. He completed his undergraduate work in International Relations and Middle East studies, summa cum laude, at Colgate University. While in Israel, he studied at Pardes and The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. He was ordained by JTS in 1999.

A Wexner fellow, Matt has had comprehensive schooling in many different areas of practical rabbinics and Jewish learning. He is an accomplished artist and sofer, and has been painting since childhood. Matt's artwork is focused in oil painting, pastel, and pencil drawings. He was formally trained in Jewish scribal art in Jerusalem and has completed the writing of Megillat Esther, the illumination of several ketubbot, and a limited edition artist portfolio entitled Passover Landscapes: Illuminations on the Exodus which was exhibited at Yeshiva University Museum (April, 2006) and is on permanent exhibit at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Matt created a curriculum entitled Rembrandt and the Rabbis, exploring the intersection of art and rabbinic commentary. He is deeply inspired by the artwork of David Moss. Matt is a member of the Wexner Heritage Program Faculty. 

Matt has organized two missions to Israel for the Jewish Theological Seminary (Summer, 2005 and 2007).  These experiences focused on “Journey Through Zion and Encircle Her,” a chronological journey through Jewish history, and “Prophets and Pioneers,” exploring the Rabbinic Period and Modern Zionism.

Matt is presently residing in Jerusalem where he is teaching, writing, painting, and working on a unique project with Yair Medina, David Moss, and Elyssa Moss Rabinowitz—exploring the nexus between Jewish learning and the visual arts.

Matt is married to Rabbi Miriam Berkowitz.  They have three children: Adir, 9, Rachel, 4, and Shira, 1.5.

One-Liner: Kol Ha-Ot’s goal is to breathe new life into the Jewish world by presenting texts, ideas and history through an inspiring new synthesis of creativity, aesthetics and the arts.

Rebecca Polivy was born and raised in Connecticut has lived in many places in the United States and in southeast Africa.  She currently resides in Jerusalem.  After completing a Master's degree in Conflict Transformation from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT, she moved to the region to work on various projects which focus on improving relationships between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.  While working for Search for Common Ground’s Jerusalem office, she coordinated the 2007 and 2008 annual Eliav-Sartawi awards for Middle Eastern Journalism.  While the 2007 awards ceremony was held at Columbia University in New York, the 2008 event took place, for the first time, in Jerusalem, and included a live musical performance by top Israeli and Palestinian musicians David Broza and Wala’at.  Rebecca has contributed to the design and implementation of a number of projects in the region that emphasize sports, social entrepreneurship, and print and television media as tools for conflict transformation.  Rebecca is an avid traveler, skier, Ultimate Frisbee player, music listener, and seeker of experiential education.  

One-Liner: FUN - A Follow-up Network -- intends to build an infrastructure to transform the impact of Jewish-Arab encounter programs from short-term to long-term sustainability and to cultivate a civic leadership for the next generation that is committed to social change, most ideally, Israeli/Palestinian reconciliation.

Romi Shamai was born in 1979 in Jerusalem, where he currently lives. Presently, Romi is completing an MSc. in Applied Physics at the Hebrew University in the field of optofluidics and electrowetting. He is interested in social web applications as tools for a better society. During his BSc. studies in Physics at Tel Aviv University, Romi founded a collaborative knowledge base for physics students that was embraced by the student union and spread to many departments at TAU. Romi served in the IDF for 5 years and 3 months, and was released as a lieutenant, after serving as the head of a 15-soldier IT team. He plays the clarinet at Harel Orchestra, loves magic tricks, and is the owner of Baabua Gigantic Bubbles.

One-Liner: Peula, meaning "action" in Hebrew, will be a web-tool empowering citizens to act in matters they care about in the public domain by collecting public support and networking in a simple, easy way.