Education and Inspiration, Grounded in Strategic Planning
Education and Inspiration, Grounded in Strategic Planning
Songleader Boot Camp (SLBC) provides powerful Jewish leadership training for clergy, Jewish educators, religious and day school teachers, family engagement and early childhood specialists, teen leaders, Jewish camping staff, and veteran and new songleaders. Led by nationally renowned Jewish thought leaders, educators, and music artists, SLBC teaches participants specific skills and strategies to inspire transformative change in their Jewish communities. At SLBC, education and inspiration are grounded in strategic planning.
SLBC programs include SLBC national and regional conferences, individual coaching, and leadership training seminars for synagogues, synagogue board of directors, and Jewish conferences.
The SLBC National Conference, held every February, features a wide range of dynamic courses that explore a holistic approach to powerful and effective leadership in the Jewish world. The SLBC National Conference experience is soaked in inspirational Jewish music and communal singing. Participants do not need to sing or play an instrument to fully experience ALL that SLBC has to offer. Music is just one of many vehicles for connection and inspiration that is explored at SLBC conferences.
SLBC is a national signature initiative of the St. Louis Jewish Community Center.
Cantor Laurie Akers is celebrated cantor and Jewish Rock Radio artist whose compositions have received national acclaim. Her songs are published in seven liturgical anthologies. Cantor Akers is the founder of the Jewish Rock Radio Chicago Sings concert series and the Cantors Assembly program, Shir Chadash. In addition, Cantor Akers hosts her own Jewish Rock Radio program, Pathways to Prayer.
Cantor Akers is a member of the cantorial trio, Shul Sisters, whose performances include headlining the 2020 and 2021 International Lion of Judah Conferences, the JUF of Chicago Women’s Gala with Diane Von Furstenberg, the Neranenah/Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, the Jews4Joe Inauguration Party featuring Mayim Bialik, the Illinois Holocaust Museum’s Humanitarian Awards with President George Bush, and the JDCA Path to Victory program featuring Nancy Pelosi. Cantor Akers was among the four cantors who participated in the historical 2021 Hampton Synagogue’s Thanksgiving weekend concert in which female cantors were invited to sing on their bima for the first time
Liessa Demba Alperin is the Director of Congregational Life and Engagement at Congregation B’nai Amoona in St. Louis Mo..(Say that 3 times fast!) Her many positions in the Jewish community have allowed her to do what she loves and love what she does! She has extensive experience in creating inclusive environments wherever she has worked. She is proud to be at B’nai Amoona as they have always been a congregation on the forefront of creating inclusive environments. They were awarded the Ruderman Prize, the Rosh Pinah Certification for Inclusion, as well as the Solomon Schechter Award for Inclusion. Liessa was a Matan fellow and has consulted with synagogues and other Jewish institutions as they strive to become more inclusive in all aspects of their mission. Congregation Shaare Emeth received the Exemplary Congregation Award in Inclusion during her tenure and was recognized for their inclusive Religious School of 500 students and families. Liessa believes strongly that inclusion is not a program; rather it is part of the greater mission and identity of the organization. With an undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies and Education and extensive training and work in special education and a Masters in Social Work, Liessa enjoys creating positive Jewish memories for everyone. She continues to strive to build a sense of community, kehillah, and inclusiveness, in her professional work. She and her husband Mark are parents to 2 young adults who have provided many opportunities for Liessa to experience the blessings and challenges of “exceptional children” in her own home. They are her favorite people in the world! liessa@bnaiamoona.com
Rob Aronson is a Jewish singer/songwriter who loves to share his passion for Judaism through his music. Rob’s original songs are inspiring, foster congregational participation and provide a deep spiritual connection to Judaism. Annual song leading workshops, Hava Nashira and Songleader Boot Camp, fueled Rob’s musical drive, enhanced his song leading skills and techniques, and gave him the opportunity to network with numerous talented friends in the Jewish music community. Rob grew up at Congregation Temple Israel and for the past 12 years has been actively involved in bringing the joy of Jewish music to worship services.
Rob is a co-emcee of “SLBC Late Night” alongside Joe Buchanan.
Shira Berkowitz is an artist and social impact designer, policy strategist, and entrepreneur with an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. They have over a decade of experience leading civic and political strategy, from working within arts institutions, issues-based campaigns, and advocacy organizations. Currently, Shira is the Sr. Director of Policy and Advocacy for PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBTQ+ policy and advocacy organization. They are a co-founder of MaTovu, a Jewish cooperative neighborhood center in the City of St. Louis, serves on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, and founded Camp Indigo Point – a residential summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth rooted in the Midwest.
Rabbi Cece is a singer, dancer, educator, and purveyor of Joyful Judaism. Rabbi Cece is a “spiritual cheerleader,” supporting and encouraging people of all ages to nourish and uplift their minds, bodies, and souls, through inspiring prayer, thoughtful teachings, and engaging programming.
Rabbi Cecelia Beyer serves the community of Temple Sholom of Bridgewater as rabbi and prayer leader. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Cece studied the Cantorial Arts as part of her rabbinic degree and continues to use music to connect and uplift in her rabbinate. She serves on the Conservative Movement’s Social Justice Commission and teaches as adjunct faculty at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School.
A life-long summer camper, Rabbi Cece is part of the founding family of Camp Zeke, a Jewish camp dedicated to fitness and culinary arts, and to the connection of mind, body, and soul in Judaism, serving as its rabbi-in-residence for the past ten years.
Rabbi Cece also loves all things Irish: she is a competitive Irish step dancer, an Irish speaker, and Irish sean-nós “old style” singer. She is the current Mid-Atlantic regional champion in Ladies Over 18 Singing in both Irish and English.
Joseph Black has served as Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Denver, CO since July, 2010 – previously serving as Rabbi of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1996-2010. He served as Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1987-1996. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northwestern University in 1982 and his Master’s degree and Rabbinic Ordination from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1987. In 2012 he received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Black serves as a Chaplain in the Colorado House of Representatives and is Past President of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council. A Nationally recognized musician, he has recorded 5 albums of original Jewish music and published two songbooks. He also is an accomplished writer and poet. Rabbi Black has published several poems and articles in leading national literary and academic journals. He is a frequent contributor to anthologies and collections of Jewish writing. He has recorded five critically-acclaimed albums of Jewish music, a songbook and two videos. Two of his songs, Boker Tov and The Afikoman Mambo have been made into Children’s books and distributed by the PJ Library. His most recent book, There Once Was A Man From Canaan: The Five Books of Limerick, is a collection of Limericks based on each torah portion. He has performed his original music in many communities in the United States and Canada and has received numerous honors for his performance and composition. Rabbi Black is a pioneer of Jewish Contemporary music. He has performed for congregations and communities around the world. His recordings and books have received accolades from sources as diverse as The New York Times, Haddasah Magazine, Parent’s Choice, The American Library Journal and Kids First: The Coalition for Quality Children’s Video. As a musician, Rabbi Black is known for his guitar virtuosity, soaring voice and lyrics that are at the same time, funny, inspirational and thought provoking. His music is an extension of his Rabbinate.
Rabbi Sharon Brous, spiritual leader of IKAR in Los Angeles, was recognized in 2013 as the most influential Rabbi in the United States by Newsweek and the Daily Beast, and as one of the Forward’s 50 most influential American Jews. Rabbi Brous has been on the list of America’s 50 Top Rabbis every year since 2008. In 2012, she became the first female rabbi to break into the top 10. In 2013, she blessed the President and Vice President at the Inaugural National Prayer Service. Rabbi Brous is co-founder of IKAR in Los Angeles – one of the fastest growing Jewish communities in the country.
Texas-born and southern raised, Joe Buchanan makes country music that is steeped in Torah and the trials of the human spirit. He grew up struggling with religion and his place in the world until one day outside of the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., and 13 years into their marriage, his wife revealed that she was Jewish. An exploration of faith led the way home for the whole family and ultimately led to Joe’s debut album, Unbroken. Since his conversion, he’s toured the country leading prayer, concerts, and workshops. Joe’s goal is to help drive connection to what connects us all and to hold the door for other seekers. A blend of Southern soul and country charm, his music is grounded in the belief that there is always more room at the table. His latest release is Back From Babylon and his website is www.joebuchananmusic.com.
Matthew Check is a nationally recognized singer-songwriter, pianist, banjo player and guitarist. For two decades Matt lived in New York City, where he recorded seven studio albums and performed regularly in secular spaces as well as synagogues. He has been featured in such outlets as Billboard, PopMatters, Wide Open Country and more. He now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he is Director of Lifelong Learning at Isaac M. Wise Temple.
Rabbi Noah Diamondstein joined the Temple Sinai, Washington D.C. clergy team in the summer of 2020. He has had wide ranging experiences as a scholar of Judaism — from handling primary source documents from early 20th Century rabbis who wrote about the Mourners’ Kaddish, to teaching the leadership of Jerusalem’s Women of the Wall movement to blow shofar, to serving as a rabbinic intern at a Jewish Social Justice non-profit organization. His rabbinic thesis is entitled “A Tale of Two Liturgies: Placing Liturgical Development in the Reform and Conservative Movements in Conversation,” and focused on the differences and similarities between the ways these two Liberal Jewish movements approach the work of creating new prayer books. This project was meaningful for him, given that he was raised simultaneously in both the Conservative and Reform Movements.
Noah is also a published Jewish musician. His first album, entitled “Ashira L’Adonai,” was released in January 2019 and produced by none other than Dan Nichols. His second album, “My Whole Heart,” was released in four “chambers” in 2022, again with engineering by Mark Niemec. He is a Featured Artist on Jewish Rock Radio, and spent much of his final year before coming to Temple Sinai as a guest service leader or artist-in-residence in Jewish communities across the country. His musical work has helped him to fine-tune his skills as a service leader, and has taught him the power of leaving your ego at the door for the sake of holding space for the group.
Noah is a multi-instrumentalist who plays almost every instrument on his records, from guitar, to bass, to drums, to mandolin, to trumpet to vocals and more! His music crosses genres from folk to pop to hard rock, and his textual influences span liturgy, TaNaKh, and rabbinic texts. He works to create intentional prayer practice with communities he gets to serve and with whom he gets to sing, and is constantly searching for new ways to inspire people to think and feel deeply about life and how Jewish tradition, stories and thought can imbue it with meaning.
Hazzan Joanna Dulkin is committed to innovative musical and spiritual leadership that inspires joy, connection and meaning at all ages and stages. She has taught and performed internationally as a Cantor-, Musician- and Scholar-in residence, and her music is sung in congregations and kehilot all over the world. Her background as a Jewish camp songleader, musician and educator led her to the Cantorate. She currently serves Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka, MN and is a proud mentor and teacher both within the walls of the congregation and beyond. She is a Vice President of the Cantors Assembly, was on the editorial committee for the Conservative movement’s Siddur Lev Shalem,
Joanna grew up in the Reform movement in Northern California, and was the first Head Songleader in the history of URJ Camp Newman. While studying at JTS’s H.L. Miller Cantorial School, Joanna spent four summers as the Rosh Shira of Ramah Darom. She has worked with Institute for Jewish Spirituality as a student and faculty member, and recently completed her Yoga teacher training.
Carla Friend is the Founder & Executive Director of Tkiya, an organization with the mission of creating joyful Jewish connection through participatory music experiences. Her team of 16 help thousands of families across the country find their unique connection with Jewish culture and community through Carla’s methodology. This year, Carla and Tkiya are opening up a training program which will allow educators everywhere to be trained in this unique approach. Carla is a 2018 recipient of the Young Pioneers Award from the Jewish Education Project, a 2019 recipient of 36 Under 36 from the Jewish Week, is on the board of JPro, and hosts a JKids Radio show called “Tkiya Town”. Check out her album of family-friendly Jewish music called “Challalalah”.
Rabbi Yosef Goldman weaves together ancient devotional music from both his Ashkenazi and Mizrahi heritage alongside contemporary American and Israeli Jewish sacred music, to foster healing, connection, and social change. Yosef has served on faculty for organizations such as the Institute of Jewish Spirituality, Hillel International, The Rabbinical Assembly, and Hadar, where he serves as Senior Advisor to the Rising Song Institute. Yosef is a spirited ba’al tefillah (prayer facilitator) who has served some of the most spiritually vibrant and creative prayer communities in the United States and Israel. As an educator, Yosef facilitates communities and individuals finding authentic and meaningful experience in Jewish prayer and practice, including singing as an embodied spiritual practice. As a vocalist and musical collaborator, Yosef performs and records with a wide range of Jewish artists. He is a longtime singer with the Hadar Ensemble and a founding member of the Middle Eastern Jewish music ensemble the Epichorus. Along with trombonist Dan Blacksberg, Yosef was selected by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for its 2018–19 Jazz Residency. He has two albums of original music out on Rising Song Records: Open My Heart (2019) and Abitah (2023.) Together with Yoni Battat, Yosef leads Piyyut Rising, a project that connects American Jews with the spiritual vibrancy of Mizrahi liturgical and musical traditions. Their debut album, Simu Lev, will be out in the spring of 2024. He lives in the DC suburbs of Maryland, where he serves as the spiritual leader of Shaare Torah synagogue alongside his spouse and co-rabbi, Annie Lewis.
Hannah is a songleader, Jewish educator, and composer based in Manhattan. She holds a BFA in Music Theatre from The Hartt School, and has ten years of songleading experience across a wide variety of synagogues, youth groups, Jewish preschools, community centers, and summer camps. Hannah is thrilled to currently serve as the Education Director of Tkiya Music, integrating her skills and experience with Tkiya’s award-winning methodology to help build curriculum, support the teaching team, and maintain relationships with 80+ partner organizations. Her role allows her to bring Jewish music and education into the lives of so many young people while also empowering others to do the same! In her free time, you can find Hannah spending time with friends and writing original music. You can listen to her indie-pop music on all streaming platforms, and she hopes to one day record an album focused on Jewish compositions as well.
Director of Jewish Engagement & Adult Programs at the Ruth & Harold Sher Center of Jewish Life
Rabbi Brad Horwitz began his current position at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center in 2005 where he directs the JCC Ruth & Harold Sher Center of Jewish Life and supervises all JCC Jewish adult, cultural, senior services, community and family education programming. He graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York) in 2000 but is originally from Los Angeles, CA. In addition to his rabbinic ordination, he earned a Master’s in Jewish Education (MJE) and has leadership experience at many Jewish camps and day schools. As a graduate of the Day School Leadership Training Institute, Rabbi Brad is well versed in Jewish educational leadership both in formal and informal settings. He has particular expertise in prayer education and is the author of With All Your Heart: A Weekday Siddur that is currently in use at over fifty Jewish schools and religious institutions worldwide. Brad is a loving husband and proud father of three boys who has a penchant for cycling.
Founder/Spiritual Leader, Romenu
Rabbi Ingber was named by Newsweek as one of 2013’s top 50 most influential rabbis in the United States as well as by The Forward as one of the 50 most newsworthy and notable Jews in America, Rabbi David promotes a renewed Jewish mysticism that integrates meditative mindfulness and physical awareness into mainstream, post-modern Judaism. A major 21st Century Jewish thinker and educator, his rich perspective, open heart and mind, and full-bodied approach to Jewish learning has brought him to speak throughout the United States and worldwide throughout Canada, Europe and Israel.
Rabbi David’s distinct approach to Torah, rabbinical teaching, and ritualistic practice is informed by his own personal seeking and learning from a wide cross-section of sacred traditions and faiths. He is enlightened by Jewish mysticism and Chassidut, fusing these beliefs with those of other ancient philosophies and world views. Particular influences include 18th Century Kabbalist and Founder of Chassidut, Rabbi Yisrael Ba’al Shem Tov; the great 19th Century Ishbitzer Rebbe, R. Mordechai Leiner; and leading 20th Century thinkers from Kabbalist, Rav Abraham Isaac Kook to psychologist, Carl Jung and integral philosopher, Ken Wilber.
Rabbi David has taught at such eminent institutions as the Academy for Jewish Religion, Columbia University, CUNY, Jewish Theological Seminary, Limmud LA, New York University, the 92nd Street Y, Pardes, The Skirball Center at Temple Emmanuel, and Yeshivat HADAR. He sits on the Board of Directors of Aleph and Synagogue 3000 Next Dor’s Working Group of Sacred Emergent Communities where he continues to teach.
Raised Modern Orthodox in New York, Rabbi David studied at several distinguished yeshivot in Jerusalem and New York including Yeshiva University, Beit Midrash L’Torah, Yeshivat Chaim Berlin, and Yeshivat Chovovei Torah Rabbinical School. He also studied philosophy, psychology and religion at New York University. Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of Renewal Judaism, ordained Rabbi David in 2004. Prior to founding Romemu, Rabbi David was Rabbi-in-Residence at Elat Chayyim Retreat Center.
Touring Artist/Educator, Asheville, NC
Billy Jonas is “Bridging Divides,” through rhythm and song, to heal divisions within ourselves, families, communities, and the world. Ask him about “Songs for Bridging Divides 2020 and Beyond!” Billy has captivated audiences worldwide since 1987, using voice, guitar and “industrial re-percussion” (instruments made from found objects). He currently tours with “The Billy Jonas Band,” and with the Muslim/Christian/Jewish super-trio, “Abraham Jam.” When home, Billy is a cantorial soloist at Congregation Beth HaTephila in Asheville NC. From the White House to the Middle East and beyond, each concert is a soul-spelunking, heart healing, joy-filled journey.
Shira Kline (she, her) is a queer performance and ritual artist, recognized as a revolutionary educator and named one of the new re-engineers of Jewish life today. Co-founder and Spiritual Leader of Lab/Shul, Shira works in the field of sacred play. She is known in the sanctuary as a spiritual adventurist and to the under-five set as colorful kiddie-rocker ShirLaLa. In a synagogue or international conference near you, Shira tours extensively locally and globally with a vibrant invitation to connect, for a new and realized conscious world. At home in Brooklyn, unceded Lenape lands, she lives to dance, cook, and play with her beloved and their daughter.
Legally blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa, Charlie Kramer unites, magnetizes and elevates those around him. Recently featured in USA Today, Charlie is a life coach for the Disabled, helping his clients gain vital self advocacy skills, independence, acceptance, and guides them in effectively accomplishing their relationship and career goals.
An international touring speaker, performer and musical artist, Charlie has traveled across North America, Israel and Australia sharing his talent and powerful message. He utilizes his blindness as a tool to educate people on the importance of inclusion, equality and radical self-acceptance.
To learn more about Charlie, his offerings and to work with him, visit www.charliekramervision.com.
Boston based Jacob ‘Spike’ Kraus is a 32 year old singer-songwriter, producer, and educator. His music has been included in the cantorial curriculum of H.U.C. – J.I.R., and is featured on Jewish Rock Radio and PJ Library. His music is inspired by prominent pop, rock, and folk artists of the last 60 years, but also heavily influenced by jazz and classical traditions. Al shlosha d’varim…the three things that Spike stands on: deep understanding of Jewish content, musicianship of the highest caliber, and an infectious energy and joy for his work. Throughout the year, Spike tours Jewish communities across the country as a performer, teacher, composer, consultant, and energetically joyful individual. Find out more at www.jacobspikekraus.com.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson is a native of St. Louis and serves as the campus rabbi for Elon University, She is an opinion writer for the Jewish publication The Forward and a public speaker on diversity in the Jewish community. Rabbi Sandra’s vision as a Rabbi is to help build a more inclusive Jewish community where all who want to come are welcomed, diversity is embraced and we can come together to learn and to pray. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from Clark Atlanta University and is an Army Veteran In her free time you can either find her at the gym, biking or hiking.
Eliana is working towards a world of One-ness, guided and inspired by Jewish heritage. She is the founder and head T’fillahsopher at the Light Lab and the co-host of the Light Lab podcast. She is also a sought-after songwriter and performer of catchy, content-rich tunes for all ages and has put out three albums of original music, with two new ones on the way. Eliana offers artist-in-residence weekends, learning, and professional development centered on making Jewish liturgy and prayer practice accessible and meaningful to all seekers. Eliana received her Masters in Jewish Experiential Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2016, and is based in Durham, North Carolina.
Rabbi Jackson is the Rabbi of Base BSTN – a community run out of his home in Cambridge with his partner Rachel. Jackson was Ordained at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, MA with a Specialization in Spirituality and Social Justice and a Masters in Jewish Education with a concentration in Israel Education in conjunction with the iCenter. He has worked to build singing prayer communities across the country in California (Congregation Rodef Sholom, URJ Camp Newman, University Synagogue, and NFTY), in New York (at Kehillat Romemu as the Joseph S. Ingber Rabbinic Fellow) as well as here in Boston (Asiyah Jewish Community, Temple Beth Sholom of Framingham, Temple Beth Zion, and Mishkan Tefilah). When not recording his own music, like his most recent album – “Notnim B’ahavah Reshut”, Jackson sings with the Chaverai Nevarech Band featured on R’ Josh Warshawsky’s albums.
Rabbi Myra Meskin is the Director of the Ziering BCI Program at AJU, a once-in-a-lifetime summer program for Jews in their 20’s from around the world, who come together to build intentional community and explore identity through Jewish learning and the arts. A graduate of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University, she holds a Masters in Experiential Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and studied in the Pardes Experiential Educators Program. Rabbi Myra loves yoga, hiking, and singing – whether alone in the car (preferably with country radio turned up and the windows down) or with friends around a shabbat table, though her singing highlight of the year is in the BCI rotunda (ask her how to apply!). She recently moved back to Los Angeles, her favorite blended landscape of ocean and mountains, with her husband Rabbi Ben Gurin and their daughter Eleanor (2 yrs).
Chava Mirel is a unique being in the world of music and spirit, defying classifications of style or genre. A multi-award winning musician and composer whose voice was recently featured on a Grammy award-winning album, Chava is highly sought-after for collaborations and recordings.
Celebrated for her rich, luxurious vocals, lush harmonies, and rhythmic phrasing, Chava is also known for her loving and compassionate presence. Regardless of setting – spiritual gathering, concert hall, classroom or jazz club – she imbues her music and teachings with the universal themes of hope, caring, connection and inclusion.
In October 2021, Chava released her fifth full-length album, “Chava Mirel: The Quarantine Sessions,” an album recorded in an electrifying live session with her jazz sextet. Chava is also proud to be the Cantorial Soloist and Musician In Residence at the historic Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, WA.
Craig Parks has been a Jewish educator and musician for 30 years. He has created and directed Jewish summer camps, created engaging curriculum for teens, led parent groups for parents of both teens and those with special needs kids. Craig also leads weekly Jewish meditation groups both in person and online. He recently was hired at Congregation Beth El in San Diego to create a robust musical culture as well as inspire educators and create curriculum for the K-12 graders. Craig is honored to have his bar mitzvah year of being a core educator for SLBC this year and celebrate with our SLBC mishpocha!
As a voting recording academy member he teamed up with Grammy nominated Joanie Leeds to propose the first Jewish Music Category and is currently working on making this possible. Mikey is the founder of Beautiful Way Records, a label that releases devotional interfaith music. As the founder of Thriving Artist Consultancy he works with up and coming artists and producers supporting them with music business strategy and artist development. He has shared the stage with artists including: Matisyahu, Stephen Marley, Trevor Hall, Rebelution, Donovan Frankenreiter, Cas Haley, Toots & The Maytals, Idan Raichel, Krishna Das, Equanimous and more. Performance highlights include: Red Rocks, Envision, Bhakti Fest, ARISE and Chant For Change on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He is currently serving as the cantorial soloist of Temple Beth El Of South Orange County in Aliso Viejo, CA.
Informal Education Expert, SLBC Program Director
Elisa Heiligman Recht is a Jewish community leader and educator with extensive experience in Jewish youth programming, camping, and teaching. Elisa regularly serves as a consultant for Jewish organizations throughout the US helping to develop powerful and effective strategies for creating exciting youth engagement experiences in Jewish settings. Elisa creates Jewish educational curricula and sprearheads the educational programming of the Songleader Boot Camp. Elisa holds undergraduate degrees in social work, Hebrew and Jewish studies, as well as a masters degree in social work from Washington University. Elisa is the founder of Soul Sparkler Jewelry and presents interactive, educational programs in Jewish communities throughout the US, inspiring audiences to achieve life balance through intention, gratitude, and wellness strategies.
Touring Artist/Educator, SLBC Founder & Executive Director
Rick Recht is the executive director of SLBC and the top-touring musician in Jewish music playing over 150 concerts a year in the United States and abroad. Recht is widely recognized for his appeal to youth and family audiences not only as an exceptional musician, singer/songwriter, and entertainer, but also as a role model for involvement in Jewish life. He has become an icon for Jewish youth in the United States, elevating the medium of Jewish music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity among the masses. Recht is the national music spokesman for The PJ Library and the founder and executive director of Jewish Rock Radio (501c3), the first high-caliber, 24/7, Jewish rock internet radio station.
Rabbi Sammy Rosenbaum works as the Assistant Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is the part-time rabbi at Temple Ner Shalom in San Luis Obispo. Prior to living in Los Angeles, he lived in Atlanta, Georgia working as a professional touring musician and Jewish community builder. Rabbi Rosenbaum was the co-founder of The Well – Atlanta, a monthly musical Kabbalat Shabbat gathering. He was a founding resident of Moishe House Atlanta- Virginia Highlands.
Founding Rabbi, Central Reform Synagogue: St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Susan Talve is the founding rabbi of the only Jewish congregation located within the City limits of St. Louis, Central Reform Congregation. When other congregations were leaving the city for the suburbs, Rabbi Talve joined with a small group to keep a vibrant presence in the city to be on the front line of fighting the racism and poverty plaguing the urban center. Today she performs life cycle events, leads worship services for the seven hundred fifty plus households that comprise the congregation, and is actively involved in the teaching of young and adult members. She also teaches courses on Jewish life and thought and in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.
Rabbi Talve has led her congregation in promoting radical inclusivity by developing ongoing relationships with African-American and Muslim congregations, and by fostering civil liberties for the LGBTQ community. Rabbi Talve attributes her success to the relationships she has built by showing up, from street corners where violent crime has taken lives to rallies for worker’s rights, gun control and access to health care to the bedside of the suffering regardless of religion or membership in her community.
Rabbi Talve was ordained by Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1981, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Hebrew Letters and a Doctor of Divinity. She was honored with the college’s Stephen Levinson Award for Community Service after founding the Jewish Early Learning Cooperative, Ohio’s first licensed infant childcare program in the workplace. She was the first non-Christian to receive an honorary Doctorate from Eden Theological Seminary in 2011 for a career of visionary and bold leadership and supporting interfaith relations in the St. Louis community. She has received many awards for her efforts on behalf of the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.
Rabbi Talve and husband, Rabbi James Stone Goodman of Neve Shalom Congregation, are proud parents of three wonderful adults.
Zoey Fleisher (they/them) engages in work that spans across disciplines emphasizing education, non-profit development, and social justice facilitation. In addition to directing the Day School Chavurah at SLBC since 2018, they are a program designer and strategist with Tiny Windows Consulting where they are able to work with clients such as JGirls+, NCJW, USCJ, & JFNA . Other notable professional roles include assistant director of Camp Indigo Point, hebrew tutor for local congregation Temple Emmanuel, songleader/relgious school teacher at Temple Beth Shalom in COMO, facilitator and middle school camp director at Cultural Leadership, board member of CHARIS, and youth specialist at Flourish. Zoey is a recent graduate of Webster University where they completed a bachelor’s degree in Choral/General Music Education with a minor in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Cantor Natalie Young is an award-winning composer whose music is being used by communities all over the world. Her gift for writing beautiful and memorable melodies has made prayer experiences accessible for worshippers young and old. The power of music is something she takes seriously not just in her music writing, but how she connects with people and crafts services as a cantor. Natalie proudly serves as the cantor at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue in Evanston, IL. She is also privileged to be able to share her musical gifts and teachings with communities as a cantor/composer-in-residence throughout the year.
Natalie’s musical and written work can be found in various publications including: Music, Carrier of Intention in 49 Jewish Prayers. Shirei Ha-T’fillot by the Movement for Reform Judaism, the Ruach Songbook, the Shalshelet Festival Songbook, and the Shirei Mishkan HaNefesh Anthology. Her songs have been featured at URJ Biennials, the Shalshelet Music Festival, Hava Nashira, American Conference of Cantors conventions, North American Jewish Choral Festival, HUC-DFSSM, and various concerts around the country. Many of her songs have been recorded by other artists. Her recording projects include the WRJ Centennial CD, Stacey Beyer’s Candle Blessing Project, Noam Katz’s Mirembe, The Soul Within, and Kol HaLev V’Kol HaNeshama. Natalie has released four albums of original music; Carry Me, Natalie Young: Standing on the Shoulders, Soul Spark, and A Light In the Dark: Songs of Hope and Healing . Natalie has composed music for a number of commissions for communities and organizations around the country, and in the summer of 2015, The Natalie Young Anthology was published, bringing her sheet music to musicians and prayer leaders around the globe.
At the SLBC National Conference, participants are encouraged to choose their own adventure by selecting courses in the Worship Leader, Jewish Educator, Early Childhood, Day School or Songleader Tracks. Participants are welcome to attend electives from any of the SLBC Tracks throughout the conference.
The SLBC Chavurot (Ramah Chavurah, Day School Chavurah, and Staenberg Teen Chavurah) are cohorts that have their own independent team programming during SLBC National Conference. Chavurot participants apply for these cohorts separately from SLBC general registration.
The Worship Leader Track was created to support the spiritual, educational, and professional goals of worship leaders including rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, teens, songleaders, and lay leaders. Topics for worship leader sessions include theology, prayer expansion and interpretation, diversity in text study, Shabbat repertoire, leadership in prayer, building a singing community and more.
All SLBC attendees are Jewish educators – some teach on the bima, at synagogue, in classrooms, at camp, in song, or other areas of Jewish life. SLBC Jewish Educator Track features courses that teach skills, cover topics, and explore strategies that touch on a broad range of Jewish settings.
Jewish songleaders are some of the most powerful educators and leaders in Jewish life. From its inception, SLBC National Conference has featured a diverse offering of courses for both new and veteran songleaders including general leadership, songleading skills, repertoire, the business of songleading, the equipment of songleading, songession planning, songleading resources, and personal care.
The SLBC Day School track shares a variety of courses for geared toward Jewish day school teachers including curricular planning, presentation skills, mindfulness, planning and leading engaging tefilot, utilization of music in the classroom, honoring students with special needs, and more.
The SLBC Family Engagement/ Early Childhood Track offers a variety of courses for individuals who work with young children and their families. Courses in the track focus on leadership skills, strategies, and resources that are particularly unique to this demographic. There are also courses in this track that focus on early childhood repertoire and the utilization of music for young children and their families.
With gracious support from the Staenberg Family Foundation, SLBC is excited to expand the Teen Chavurah at SLBC. Led by Jacob Spike Kraus, the goal of the Teen Chavurah program is to build strong, vibrant, future leaders of the Jewish world.
For the last 10 years, Ramah constituents have gathered annually in the SLBC Ramah Chavurah for 3 days of immersive learning, t’fillah (prayer), strategic road-mapping, song leadership, and spiritual exploration at the SLBC National Conference.
In 2018, SLBC launched the SLBC Day School Chavurah for day school students in grades six through eight. Classes from St. Louis and Greensboro joined together for this inaugural SLBC pilot program exploring roles and leadership skills necessary for students to effectively lead tefilah (prayer) and shira (song), as well as a variety of programs in a day school setting.
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