Rebecca Katz, Teen Programs Coordinator
A Brooklyn native, Rebecca moved to Chicago just in time for her first Midwestern winter. In May 2010, Rebecca graduated from Vassar College with a BA in American Culture, concentrating in Studio Art and History. For her junior year abroad, she studied post-conflict transformation in the Balkans. During college, Rebecca co-facilitated a children’s weekly radio program on WVKR 91.3 FM. Working with students ranging from 10 to 18 years of age,Rebecca taught them to brainstorm, write, record, and edit their own podcasts about their lives and neighborhood for their very own weekly live show. After graduating, she worked as the head hiking counselor for an international girls leadership camp. At Camp Rising Sun Rebecca planned and led backpacking trips in the Catskill Mountains that provided an environment for the teens to test their leadership skills. Through these experiences, Rebecca discovered her passion for empowering teens to develop their voices and enact change in their communities. She truly believes teens have ability to create concrete change and inspire mobilization.
Summer 2011 Program Staff
During the summer program we draw upon highly accomplished and dedicated leaders from the Jewish community. All staff have extensive experience working with youth, the Jewish community, and are all committed to social justice, Jewish values and education. We maintain at least a staff-to-participant ratio of 1:5, which enables quality supervision as well as opportunities for personal attention. Here are the summer 2011 staff...
Miriam Grossman
2011 Summer Program Leader
Miriam is a community organizer and coordinator of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative at JCUA. Before this position she was the educational programs coordinator at JCUA. She is deeply passionate about JCUA’s mission of empowering communities from within. She is a recipient of the Jewish Educators Assembly's 20/20 Award for Jewish leaders in their twenties. In 2008, Miriam interned with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Historic Preservation Agency on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. There she worked with community leaders to protect sacred Native lands from development projects. In 2009, Miriam graduated from Oberlin College where she organized a symposium of novelists and poets on issues of national and international displacement, including speakers from Standing Rock Reservation, Tibet, South Africa, and Sierra Leone. After graduating, Miriam worked in Washington D.C. as an AVODAH Fellow at the So Others Might Eat Center for Employment Training coordinating a basic education, creative writing, and tutoring program for homeless and low-income adults in the district. Miriam has a long history teaching creative writing to underserved youth and teaching Hebrew School.
Miriam is a community organizer and coordinator of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative at JCUA. Before this position she was the educational programs coordinator at JCUA. She is deeply passionate about JCUA’s mission of empowering communities from within. She is a recipient of the Jewish Educators Assembly's 20/20 Award for Jewish leaders in their twenties. In 2008, Miriam interned with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Historic Preservation Agency on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. There she worked with community leaders to protect sacred Native lands from development projects. In 2009, Miriam graduated from Oberlin College where she organized a symposium of novelists and poets on issues of national and international displacement, including speakers from Standing Rock Reservation, Tibet, South Africa, and Sierra Leone. After graduating, Miriam worked in Washington D.C. as an AVODAH Fellow at the So Others Might Eat Center for Employment Training coordinating a basic education, creative writing, and tutoring program for homeless and low-income adults in the district. Miriam has a long history teaching creative writing to underserved youth and teaching Hebrew School.
Gadi Capela
Or Tzedek Rabbinical Fellow, 2011
Gadi is currently a third year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in Manhattan. He was born and raised in Israel and moved to New York in 1995 after completing a four-year army service in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as a Lieutenant in a search-and-rescue unit. In 2001 he graduated from Yeshiva University (YU), where he studied Business Management and Jewish Studies. While working as a business analyst, Gadi also pursued a Masters degree in Jewish Philosophy from YU. In 2008 Gadi decided to “take his passion and make it happen” and become a full time rabbinical student. For the past three years Gadi served as a rabbinical assistant at Temple Beth Sholom in Sarasota, Florida, taught Judaism at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, volunteered as a chaplain at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Last year Gadi was a fellow of CLAL’s Rabbis Without Borders (RWB) and for over four years he has been teaching Project Genesis--a Jewish-Catholic monthly class at Our Lady of the Island shrine in Eastport, NY. (Gadi will be staffing all summer sessions in 2011).
Gadi is currently a third year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in Manhattan. He was born and raised in Israel and moved to New York in 1995 after completing a four-year army service in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as a Lieutenant in a search-and-rescue unit. In 2001 he graduated from Yeshiva University (YU), where he studied Business Management and Jewish Studies. While working as a business analyst, Gadi also pursued a Masters degree in Jewish Philosophy from YU. In 2008 Gadi decided to “take his passion and make it happen” and become a full time rabbinical student. For the past three years Gadi served as a rabbinical assistant at Temple Beth Sholom in Sarasota, Florida, taught Judaism at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, volunteered as a chaplain at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Last year Gadi was a fellow of CLAL’s Rabbis Without Borders (RWB) and for over four years he has been teaching Project Genesis--a Jewish-Catholic monthly class at Our Lady of the Island shrine in Eastport, NY. (Gadi will be staffing all summer sessions in 2011).
Uri Pachter
Summer Program Staff 2009-2011
Uri is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he is focusing on alternative transportation and equitable development. Originally from Highland Park, Uri attended Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Upon graduation, he joined AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, where he worked as a pedestrian safety and transit organizer for Metro Seniors in Action. Later, Uri worked at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Lakeview and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger coordinating youth development and social justice programming. He was a counselor at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and has led Jewish teens on a 3-week journey through Costa Rica. Uri wishes he could have participated in Or Tzedek as a teenager and is always amazed how much he learns from each Or Tzedek participant. (Uri will be staffing the following sessions in 2011: June 19-16 ["Advanced"] and July 10-17).
Uri is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he is focusing on alternative transportation and equitable development. Originally from Highland Park, Uri attended Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Upon graduation, he joined AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, where he worked as a pedestrian safety and transit organizer for Metro Seniors in Action. Later, Uri worked at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Lakeview and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger coordinating youth development and social justice programming. He was a counselor at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and has led Jewish teens on a 3-week journey through Costa Rica. Uri wishes he could have participated in Or Tzedek as a teenager and is always amazed how much he learns from each Or Tzedek participant. (Uri will be staffing the following sessions in 2011: June 19-16 ["Advanced"] and July 10-17).
Danny Obeler
Summer Program Staff 2010-2011
Danny is currently serving in the AmeriCorps program at Humboldt Park Social Services, where he is assisting the low-income and homeless population of Chicago’s west side through employment and financial services. Originally from Buffalo Grove, Danny graduated in 2010 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with degrees in International Studies and Political Science. He spent part of 2009 studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina and traveling throughout the Patagonia region. In September, Danny will be joining AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, working at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center as the Behrend Builders and Community Service Coordinator. He looks forward to exploring social justice issues with the DC community while repairing, renovating, and rebuilding low-income family housing, public schools, and other vital community spaces. Danny is excited for another eye-opening and fun-filled Or Tzedek summer. (Danny will be staffing all three sessions in 2011).
Danny is currently serving in the AmeriCorps program at Humboldt Park Social Services, where he is assisting the low-income and homeless population of Chicago’s west side through employment and financial services. Originally from Buffalo Grove, Danny graduated in 2010 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with degrees in International Studies and Political Science. He spent part of 2009 studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina and traveling throughout the Patagonia region. In September, Danny will be joining AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, working at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center as the Behrend Builders and Community Service Coordinator. He looks forward to exploring social justice issues with the DC community while repairing, renovating, and rebuilding low-income family housing, public schools, and other vital community spaces. Danny is excited for another eye-opening and fun-filled Or Tzedek summer. (Danny will be staffing all three sessions in 2011).
Rachel Patterson
Summer Program Staff 2011
An alumna of the Or Tzedek summer program, and now back as a staff person, Rachel finished her first year at New York University. A proud Chicagoan, she is thrilled to announce that she will be transferring to Loyola University Chicago this fall. She is a pre-med student with a particular interest in addressing issues that arise in the medical field that directly effect underserved populations. She has a love and passion for the arts and sports, and enjoys the challenge of incorporating both in her life. Other important information about Rachel: Go Bulls. Go Sox. Go Bears.(Rachel will be staffing the "Advanced" program in 2011).
An alumna of the Or Tzedek summer program, and now back as a staff person, Rachel finished her first year at New York University. A proud Chicagoan, she is thrilled to announce that she will be transferring to Loyola University Chicago this fall. She is a pre-med student with a particular interest in addressing issues that arise in the medical field that directly effect underserved populations. She has a love and passion for the arts and sports, and enjoys the challenge of incorporating both in her life. Other important information about Rachel: Go Bulls. Go Sox. Go Bears.(Rachel will be staffing the "Advanced" program in 2011).
Jill Zenoff
Summer Program Staff 2011
A Chicago native, Jill is a Jewish environmental educator, farmer, and Chef, and has a rich experience as a volunteer leader in JCUA's social justice work. Jill was an 2007 Nadiv Fellow, served two terms on JCUA's Associate Division Leadership Team and Executive Board, and has taught three terms of JCUA's Judaism and Urban Poverty curriculum. Her passion is Food and Environmental Justice, which led her to be a 2008 Adamah Fellow at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, and a 2009 intern on Henry's Farm in Congerville IL. Jill is a graduate from DePaul Univeristy and Kendall College. (In 2011 Jill will be staffing the July 31-August 7 session).
A Chicago native, Jill is a Jewish environmental educator, farmer, and Chef, and has a rich experience as a volunteer leader in JCUA's social justice work. Jill was an 2007 Nadiv Fellow, served two terms on JCUA's Associate Division Leadership Team and Executive Board, and has taught three terms of JCUA's Judaism and Urban Poverty curriculum. Her passion is Food and Environmental Justice, which led her to be a 2008 Adamah Fellow at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, and a 2009 intern on Henry's Farm in Congerville IL. Jill is a graduate from DePaul Univeristy and Kendall College. (In 2011 Jill will be staffing the July 31-August 7 session).
Past Program Staff
Asaf Bar-Tura, Director of Teen Programs
Asaf was born and for the most part raised in Israel, spending three years in New York city as a child. His passion for social justice developed early on, when as a high school student he volunteered to spend two months in a caravan site in Jerusalem, working with new immigrants. After high school, he volunteered for a year, living in a boarding school and working with youth at risk; and then served four years in the Israeli Defense Forces, finishing as a lieutenant. After a long trip to South America with his wife, he completed a joint bachelor’s degree in philosophy and politics & government at Ben-Gurion University. After graduating he moved to New York where he directed an educational program for an underserved community. He holds a Masters degree in Political Philosophy and is working on his Ph.D. in the same field at Loyola University Chicago. Asaf currently works as JCUA's associate director of programs.
Leah Roth-Howe, Or Tzedek Director
Or Tzedek Director, 2010-2011. Summer Program Counselor, 2007, 2008, 2009. A graduate of Macalester College, Leah studied Urban Social Geography and American Studies. Leah has been a staff member of Or Tzedek since its inception and continues to pursue social justice initiatives on local and international scales. In 2008, Leah lived in Cambodia and led participatory educational and art workshops with survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide and their descendants through the “100 Projects for Peace” grant. In collaboration with local communities, the workshops explored issues of peace building, youth leadership, healing, and intergenerational dialogue. Leah’s experiences in Cambodia influenced her desire to explore her own family’s Holocaust history, prompting a series of speaking engagements and intergenerational memorialization projects with teens and adults throughout Germany.
| Tom Samuels, Or Tzedek Director
Tom is originally from Toronto, Canada, and worked there as a community organizer around transportation justice issues. He was recruited by the City of Chicago in 1997 to develop city-wide programs such as Safe Routes to Schools/Walking School Bus, traffic calming, and car-sharing. He has also served as an assistant to a Chicago Alderman, dealing with issues ranging from affordable housing to commercial streetscape development. Tom is a co-founder of two national pedestrian advocacy organizations: America Walks, and the Partnership for a Walkable America. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and the Talmud from Yeshiva University, and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph, Canada.
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Ruth Balinsky, Rabbinical Fellow and Senior Summer CounselorOr Tzedek Summer Counselor and Rabbinical Fellow: Summers, 2007, 2008, 2009. A graduate of Barnard College, she now lives in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and is spending her second year studying at Drisha, a Jewish learning institute for women. Always invested in social justice, Ruth believes that one of her roles as a religious Jew is to aid communities in need, regardless of their religious affiliation. Ultimately, Ruth hopes to pursue a career exploring the ways she can impact underserved communities. In March, 2008 Ruth traveled to New Orleans on a multicultural trip with 40 of her peers, where they spent a week gutting homes in the Lower Ninth Ward, the most devastated and least rehabilitated area of the city. During the summers of 2007, 2008 and 2009 Ruth worked as a counselor at the Or Tzedek summer program and would like to thank the participants of Or Tzedek for a really meaningful and fun experience.
| Nick Liebman, Or Tzedek Community Initiatives OrganizerTeens Programs Coordinator, 2008-2009. Summer Program Counselor, 2007, 2008. Nick grew up in Evanston, IL and attended religious school at Beth Emet Synagogue. While pursuing a degree in music, Nick also studied religion at Grinnell College and was actively involved in Chalutzim, the Jewish student organization. He has taught music and prayer at Beth Emet's Sunday School and was a staff member for the Or Tzedek summer program since its inception in 2007.
Nick holds a master’s degree from Butler University. Nick is currently director of Hillels for the Universities of De Paul and Northeastern Illinois and for Oakton College. Ari Hart, Or Tzedek Director
Or Tzedek Director, 2007. Ari is a co-founder of Uri L'Tzedek and rabbinical student at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. A leader of several initiatives that bring together Orthodoxy, the Jewish community, and the world at large to make positive change, Ari launched Or Tzedek, the Teen Institute for Social Justice, served on multiple community boards and social justice organizations, and has taught at schools, synagogues, and summer camps around the country. He also served as a Nadiv Social Justice Fellow for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and as Court Appointed Special Advocate for neglected and abused children in Cook County. Ari was recently selected by the Jewish Week as one of the 36 under 36, a list of "forward-thinking young people who are helping to remake the Jewish community," and his work bringing the Hispanic and Jewish communities of Northern Manhattan together was profiled by the Jerusalem Post. Ari learned at Yeshivat HaKotel, Machon Pardes, and graduated from Grinnell College in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in music theory and composition.
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