The Latest From The Foundation

Rabbi Audrey Marcus Berkman is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class XV.   She serves as Rabbi of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Havurah in Newton, MA, and as Jewish Chaplain at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She can be reached at audmar98@yahoo.com. I recently served on the beit din for the conversion to Judaism of a German man whose parents had been members of the Nazi party. During our conversation, I bore witness

Rabbi Kenneth Carr is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program (Class III).  Ken is in his tenth year as the rabbi of Congregation Or Ami in Lafayette Hill, PA.  He can be reached at rabbi.carr@or-ami.org. As I sat in my mentor’s office, feeling swamped by all of my rabbinical responsibilities, his office phone began to ring.  I expected him to answer the phone, but he just kept speaking

Dr. Erica Brown is a faculty member of The Wexner Foundation. She is a writer and educator who works as the scholar-in-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.  She is the author of several books, her latest being Confronting Scandal.  Erica is the recipient of the 2009 Covenant Award for her work in education. She can be reached at erica@leadingwithmeaning.com. My first class with the Wexner Heritage Baltimore group

Rebecca Joy Fletcher is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program and a scholar and performer of international Jewish cabaret. She is also a playwright, actress, and cantor. Rebecca lives in Brooklyn, NY and can be reached at rebecca.joy@earthlink.net or www.RebeccaJoyFletcher.com. Audiences sometimes ask me how I became so passionate about cabaret. They wonder why a nice Jewish woman, a cantor at that, became enamored with the satiric, fiery,

Alison Betts is a member of the Phoenix Wexner Heritage 2009 class and works in International Marketing for American Express. She is the Co-Founder of the “PJ Library” initiative in Phoenix and can be reached at alison.h.betts@gmail.com Jason Israel is a member of the Phoenix Wexner Heritage 2009 class. Jason is President of Hayden Properties, an investment and development firm focusing on healthcare for seniors. He is Co-Founder of the

Rabbi Joanna Samuels is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program.  Joanna serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community www.advancingwomen.org.  She can be reached at joanna@joannasamuels.com Recently, the small and busy staff of three at Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community participated in an online course organized by the Sloan School of Management at MIT.  One of the sessions was

Julie Monkarsh Gadinsky is an alumna of the Los Angeles Wexner Heritage Program.  She is the proud mom of two sons, an advocate for Jewish Education, an involved Lion of Judah and political activist for AIPAC. She is passionate about Israel and engaging new friends in community work.  Julie can be reached at juliegadinsky@mac.com. I must confess…. I have been known to obsess. As a psychologist, I can say with

Robin Axelrod is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program. She is the Undergraduate Coordinator at the University of Michigan’s Department of Classical Studies, and the founder of Axelrod Consulting. She can be reached at robin.axelrod@gmail.com It is remarkable how quickly my siblings and I fall into our familial “roles” whenever we are together.  In addition to being “the tall one,” as the eldest of five I am also

Rabbi Julie Pelc Adler is a Wexner Graduate Alumna living in Venice, California.  Julie is the Director of Jewish Student Life at Santa Monica College Hillel and the Executive Director of the Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism.  Julie can be reached at rabbipelc@gmail.com.  Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about a text I encountered from the Tikkunei Zohar. “Some speak with their eyes, some with their hands, some with

Aaron Dorfman is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship Alumnus and Vice President for Programs at American Jewish World Service.  He can be reached at ajdorf@gmail.com In the late 1990s, I was serving as youth director at a synagogue in Northern California. I had worked hard to build up the seriousness of the youth program, including re-instituting having the youth-group president serve on the synagogue’s board, a practice that some adult board