The Latest From The Foundation

Margaret Jelinek Lewis is an alumna of the Wexner Heritage Program from Houston and a professor of psychology and human sexuality at Lonestar College – Tomball in Tomball, Texas. She can be reached at msjlewis@me.com  Last night at Open House in my child’s Jewish day school, parents listened intently as the teachers talked about math and social studies, but when they mentioned that this was the year the kids would

Deena Aranoff is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program and an assistant professor of medieval Jewish studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  Deena is also a community educator and teaches Bible, Rabbinics and Jewish mysticism in a variety of adult education programs. She can be reached at daranoff@gmail.com.  Over the past few months I have begun to work on a book manuscript: an introduction to Judaism.

Felicia Herman is Executive Director of The Natan Fund, a foundation supported by young philanthropists that funds innovative Jewish and Israeli nonprofits with budgets under $1.5 million. She can be reached at felicia@natan.org. Here’s something every Jewish professional and layperson knows: the Jewish community desperately needs new sources of philanthropic capital. But here’s something most people are just learning: starting a giving circle is a great way to bring new

Born in Israel to immigrants from Yemen, and currently living in New York City, Zion Ozeri is one of the world’s leading photographers exploring the Jewish experience. Zion is the founder and Artistic Director of The Jewish Lens (www.JewishLens.org).  Zion can be reached at Zion@ZionOzeri.com I never imagined how my long association with The Wexner Foundation would affect the work I do. As some of you may know I am

Howard Lichtman is an Alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program in Toronto.  Howard is President of The Lightning Group, which provides two primary services:  “Paths to New Revenue” strategies and “Virtual Chief Marketing Officer” services.  The number of volunteer organizations that Howard has worked for and with are numerous.  He is currently President of The Harold Green Jewish Theatre.  Howard can be reached at howard@lightning-group.com Three years ago we formed

Rabbi David Rosen is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship Alumnus and the founding Executive Director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps – www.avodah.net.  He can be reached at davidrosenn@gmail.com Ever since I began to work in the field of Jewish service programs, I’ve been encouraging the establishment of my own competition. I’ve spent countless hours advising people who are thinking of starting new service ventures. I’ve asked my staff to turn

Harry Nelson is a Wexner Heritage alumnus from Los Angeles and an attorney at Fenton Nelson, a healthcare law firm, in Los Angeles. Harry can be reached at harry@fentonnelson.com.  “Vayeishev Yaakov B’Eretz Megurei Aviv …”  “Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojourning….”  (Gen. 37:1)  Buried in the opening verse of this week’s parsha are two competing ideas of how we, as children of Abraham, live. First:  “Vayeishev” –

Jason Guberman-Pfeffer is the project coordinator of Diarna and executive director of Digital Heritage Mapping, Inc., its parent 501(c)(3) non-profit. To begin your free trip — no passport or airfare required — explore Diarna’s website (http://www.diarna.org). Email inquiries may be sent to Jason at:  info@diarna.org.   “Why is a nice Ashkenazi boy leading a Mizrahi heritage project?” I have often fielded this question since August 2008 when I helped launch Diarna,

Matthew Bronfman is an alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program from NY and Chairman of the International Steering Committee of Limmud FSU. Our most recent Limmud was July 1-3 in Jerusalem, for Russian speaking Israelis. In all, we will have 5 Limmuds this year for Russian speaking Jews in the US, Israel, Ukraine and Russia. I became involved in this project 4 years ago when I was in Cordoba, Spain

We at the Foundation have long known that Wexner constituents thrive on innovation. Whether it’s the leadership aspect, the confidence that comes with a strong Jewish identity, the exposure to other innovators, or all of the above, Wexner alumni are often at the forefront of new ideas to impact the Jewish world. We are pleased to profile below 3 Wexner alumni, representing each of the Wexner leadership initiatives, who have