Cantor Ellen Dreskin (ellendreskin.com) is a communal prayer leader, educator, and professional mentor in the areas of liturgy, communal worship, and deepening prayer practice. Ellen has worked as a scholar-in-residence at dozens of congregations across the country, and serves as an educator and worship leader at numerous Institutes, Camps, and Conferences, including the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, HUC-JIR, SLBC, Hava Nashira, URJ Biennials, and the JCCA’s Sheva Center for Early Childhood Education.

Ellen was ordained by HUC-JIR in 1986, and has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University. She is married to Rabbi Billy Dreskin, and is extremely proud of their joint projects:  Katie, Jonah (z”l), and Aiden.

Rabbi Ed Feinstein is delighted to return to SLBC. He works as senior rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California and lecturer at the Ziegler Rabbinical School of the American Jewish University. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he earned his doctorate in education, he served as the founding director of the Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas and director of Camp Ramah in California. He teaches for the Wexner Heritage program, the Shalom Hartman Institute, and lectures across North America. Rabbi Feinstein is author of five (good) books, father to three (married & employed!) children and one small dog, and husband to Rabbi Nina Bieber Feinstein. Every Friday, he bakes brownies from a recipe revealed to his ancestors at Mount Sinai.

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 180-year history. Rabbi Buchdahl first joined Central Synagogue as Senior Cantor in 2006. In 2014, she was chosen by the congregation to be Senior Rabbi.

Rabbi Buchdahl was invested as a cantor in 1999 and also ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She earned a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Yale University in 1994. Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America.

Rabbi Buchdahl serves on the boards of the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, AJC, the New York Board of Rabbis, UJA-Federation of New York and Yale University Council.

Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband Jacob Buchdahl have three children.

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.

Educator, New York City, NY

A graduate of Jewish day school, the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and Mercy College, Orlee holds bachelors and masters degrees in Judaic Studies and Education. After 8 years teaching students with a wide range of special needs at elementary schools in Manhattan and the Bronx, Orlee joined Matan, a non-profit organization that educates Jewish leaders, educators and communities, empowering them to create learning environments supportive of children with special needs. As the Director of Education, Orlee supported children with special learning needs in Jewish educational settings by working with parents and teachers alike to differentiate instruction and ensure all students received the modifications necessary to achieve a successful Jewish education.

Orlee Krass currently works as the Director of Education at Matan, Education and Inclusion Specialist at the Jewish Journey Project and as the Tikvah Director at Camp Ramah in the Poconos.

Orlee lives in New City, New York with her husband Matt, and their children Micah, Raya and Gavi.

Program Director, The Institute for Jewish Spirituality

Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell is a Program Director and teacher of Jewish mindfulness for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Jordan was ordained in 2008, after which he served as a congregational rabbi and began interning with the Institute. Prior to pursuing his rabbinical studies, Jordan studied Conservation Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, spent several months at Zen centers in California and France, led spiritually engaged Jewish backpacking trips, worked at a number of Jewish summer camps and studied Jewish text at yeshivot in Jerusalem. Jordan is a founder of the Center for Jewish Mindfulness in Chicago, now a part of Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning.

He is a 2014 recipient of the Covenant Foundation’s Pomegranate Prize for emerging Jewish educators.

Jordan is a proud father of three and partner to Yael Bendat-Appell; they live outside of Chicago.

Director of PJ Goes to School, PJ Library

Lisa Litman is the Director of PJ Goes to School, PJ Library’s initiative to enhance the Jewish content of the early childhood classroom. Under Lisa’s directorship PJ Goes to school has more than doubled in size. She joined PJ Library after 10 years as co-creator and Director of An Ethical Start®, a values-based curriculum created for JCC Association. Before that Lisa was a Jewish super hero, Captain Tikkun – complete with suit and cape – teaching families about repairing the world. Lisa has skills ranging from curriculum writing and conference coordination to music composition and theatre directing. Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Jewish Education from Gratz College.

Jewish Educator & Technologist

Equally fluent in Yiddish and Javascript, Russel Neiss is a Jewish educator, technologist and activist who builds critically acclaimed educational apps and experiences used by thousands of people each day. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Atlantic, CNN, Teen Vogue, the Jewish Telegraph Agency, and other media outlets. Russel began his career as an itinerant Jewish educator traveling across the deep south and has worked in a variety of Jewish educational settings including day schools, supplemental schools, museums and archives. He currently serves as a Software Engineer at Sefaria. Russel lives in St. Louis with his wife Maharat Rori Picker Neiss and his kids Dan, Susanna & Shmaya.

Founder, The Advot Project, Los Angeles, CA

Naomi is the founder and executive director of The Advot (ripples )Project , a nonprofit organization that uses theater for transformation. She was born in the United States and then immigrated to Israel in her childhood. Naomi is an experienced educator and actor, who has trained extensively in varied settings and methods. Her credits include theater, musicals, films, television as well as being an accomplished street performer, stilt walker, and professional clown. Naomi’s acclaimed one woman show that she wrote directed and produces, “Flowers Aren’t Enough” has been presented over 1800 times globally, including at the United Nations.

Naomi is a creating member of “View Points” an Arab Jewish theater in Jaffa Tel-Aviv. She is also an organizer of the Jerusalem Municipality children’s clown school, as well as being one of the first clowns to integrate professional medical clowning into Israeli hospitals. Naomi travels globally as a consultant for organizations using drama techniques to deal with gender and educational issues, as well as exploring identity, promoting tolerance and dialogue between diverse participants

For the past three decades she has used art to promote peace, evolve change and encourage self-empowerment. Naomi is a social activist who produces events and gatherings that teach. engage and call to action communities and individuals to take a stand, and find their voice to fight injustice. But most important of all she is the mother of three beautiful girls Zohar, Ella and Hadar.

Naomi was an American Jewish Global Justice fellow, in the inaugural AJWS cohort 2014-15, a recipient of the KCET and Union Bank 2014 Local Heroes award for Jewish American Heritage month. and 2016 International woman achievers award (IWAA) for Community leadership. She has written/Blogged for forward thinking, and the good magazine.

Josh Goldberg is a touring artist, producer, and cantorial soloist in Los Angeles, California. Born and raised in Dallas, TX, Josh went on to pursue his Bachelor’s degree in Popular Music at USC’s renowned Thornton School of Music. Josh released a self-titled EP in 2012, and followed up with a full-length album of Jewish music called ONE, which Cantor Richard Cohn described as “an expertly produced album filled with creativity and spirit.” He has performed with Grammy-Award winning musicians Macy Gray, Lamont Dozier, and Melissa Manchester, and toured internationally with renowned Jewish musicians Craig Taubman, Rick Recht, and Mikey Pauker, we well as with his own band. Josh has been a featured performer and presenter at URJ Biennial, Limmud UK (London), BBYO International Convention and more. Josh’s compositions and arrangements have been performed at the (Obama) White House, major concert halls including the Grammy Museum, the Troubadour, Meyerson Symphony Center, UCLA Schoenberg Hall, and Winspear Opera House, as well at synagogues, summer camps, and youth conventions across the United States. Josh’s music is regularly played on Jewish Rock Radio, has been published by Berman House Publications and Transcontinental Music Publications. He has been mentioned in the New York Times, and featured on NBC, in the Jewish Journal, ReformJudaism.org, the Texas Jewish Post, and OC Jewish Life. In 2017, Josh created his own record label and production company, Kosher Style Records, specializing in producing music for contemporary Jewish songwriters from around the country. In addition to touring and producing, Josh is studying to be a cantor at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Andrea, and their pets, Frankie and Jazz.

For more info visit: www.joshgoldbergmusic.com www.kosherstylerecords.com

Director of Congregational Engagement, Central Synagogue, New York City

Rabbi Nicole Auerbach is the Director of Congregational Engagement at Central Synagogue in New York City. She joined Central in 2016 as the Reform Movement’s first-ever Rabbi for Small Groups, creating and supporting lay-led groups of congregants that come together on a regular basis to build relationships, explore shared passions, and connect with Jewish tradition. Ordained by HUC-JIR in New York, she is the author, with Dr. Ron Wolfson and Rabbi Lydia Medwin, of The Relational Judaism Handbook: How to Create a Relational Engagement Campaign to Build and Deepen Relationships in Your Community (Kripke Institute, 2018).

Director of Congregational Engagement and Outreach, The Temple, Atlanta, GA

Rabbi Lydia Medwin is the Director of Congregational Engagement and Outreach at The Temple in Atlanta, GA. She was ordained on the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College in May of 2010. While there, she received a Masters of Hebrew Letters and a Masters in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Lydia attended the University of Texas in Austin (hook ’em) and Hebrew University for undergraduate studies, earning degrees in Middle Eastern Studies and Honors Humanities. Between undergraduate and graduate studies, she worked as the education director for a synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, and traveled to places as varied as South Africa, Peru, and Greece.

While in rabbinic school, Lydia met her husband, Dan Medwin, and they and their three children, Zimra, Gavi and Jasmine, are thrilled to be a part of The Temple community. Lydia is a co-Author with Dr. Ron Wolfson and Rabbi Nicole Auerbach on the forthcoming The Relational Judaism Handbook: How to Create a Relational Engagement Campaign to Build and Deepen Relationships in Your Community (Kripke Institute). Purpose and people are at the center of what Rabbi Medwin believes a synagogue community should be about – she’s excited to learn and create with you.

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.

Community Singing Consultant of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, New York City

A transformative prayer leader and musician, Deborah Sacks Mintz has served innovative institutions around the country as a teacher of Torah and communal Jewish music. As the Community Singing Consultant of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, Deborah serves as a resource to those seeking to cultivate the grassroots musical and spiritual creativity of the Jewish people. As an experienced ba’al tefilah and leader of communal prayer, Deborah seeks to support communities in unlocking their own abilities to lead and empower their spiritual selves. Through composing and sharing new liturgical music, Deborah offers a fresh take on a deeply traditional sound. In addition to composing new Jewish music and teaching nation-wide, Deborah can be found regularly performing and recording with a myriad of musicians and ensembles. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Deborah is pursuing rabbinical ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Executive Director, Mainstages

Matt is the Executive Director of mainstages, an educational theater company working with Jewish Community Centers, Summer Camps, Synagogues and Day Schools nationwide. Matt’s “Perform Judaism” interactive programs and shows include the popular “PJ Library Storybook Theater” series, where PJ Library books are brought to life with professional performers and multimedia. Matt graduated New York University’s Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Theater and Applied Education and served as Company Manager of the New Acting Company in New York City. He has toured with the National Theater for Children and has written, directed, and produced over 150 shows for children. Matt is passionate about using creativity to inspire social action and foster Jewish identity in informal settings. (mainstages.com)

Director of Community Engagement, PJ Library

Judi Wisch has served as the Director of Community Engagement for PJ Library since 2007. Judi dedicates her energies to supporting more than 200 PJ Program Professionals in North America and beyond in reaching out and engaging families with young children, both within and outside of the organized Jewish community. Her past endeavors include serving as a supplementary school education director, Jewish film festival director, Judaic studies teacher, director of the Conference on Judaism in Rural New England, and conflict resolution facilitator at the Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salaam School for Peace in Israel. Judi earned a BA in Jewish History from Hebrew University and a MA in Intercultural Management from the School for International Training. She loves games, music and nurturing a playful spirit.

Director of Jewish Family Life, Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches

Amy Bergman has worked in both the business and the non-profit sectors for nearly twenty years. Originally from Miami, Florida, Amy received her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She is currently serving as the Director of Jewish Family Life at the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education in the Palm Beaches. In this role, she oversees her community’s PJ Library® program, in addition to her work as a concierge – connecting young families raising Jewish children to local synagogues and institutions. Amy has designed and created educational, traveling curriculum projects for her community, bringing PJ Library® main characters alive in interactive kits with rich curriculum enhancement materials and resources.

In her spare time, Amy also works in the PJ Library® Home Office Community Engagement Department as part of a team dedicated to building a cooperative network among a cadre of more than 200 PJ Library® Program Professionals around the world while designing relevant resources to support them. Previously, Amy worked as a Program Director at the JCC where she supervised the Cultural Arts, Special Events and Adult Departments. During her six-year tenure there, she planned the community’s Israel Fest 50 Celebration and the Annual Jewish Book Fair which included literary programs for all ages. Amy and her husband, along with their two daughters, live in Wellington, Florida.

Congregation Shaare Emeth, St. Louis

Rabbi Andrea Goldstein has served Congregation Shaare Emeth, the largest Reform synagogue in St. Louis, for the past 20 years. For over 10 years she has been weaving mindfulness practices such as meditation, tikkun middot study and yoga into her personal and professional life. She is a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Rabbinic Leadership Program and the Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teachers’ Training Program. Rabbi Goldstein finds that these practices bring Judaism alive for her and her community in new and meaningful ways. She is proud to be the founder and director of the Jewish Mindfulness Center of St. Louis, which officially opened in the spring of 2018. The Center offers classes, workshops and holiday celebrations to all, and she is excited and honored to be bringing two workshops to SLBC this year. Rabbi Goldstein is married to Brett Goldstein and is the mother of Macey, Eli, and Lila.

Coordinator of CommunityChaplaincy , The Jewish Family & Children’s Service of St. Louis

Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael serves as coordinator of community chaplaincy with the Jewish Family & Children’s Service in St. Louis, MO. He serves the Jewish needs of a wide and diverse population, and works as an advocate and educator on issues of LGBT justice. Originally from Washington DC, Micah earned a BA in Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies at Washington University. He graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York with Rabbinic Ordination, a MA in Talmud and Rabbinic Literature, and a Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling. He lives in University City with his wife Aviva and their children Naftali, Yeshara, Elior, and Leora.

Director of Congregational Learning, Temple Beth Sholom: Cherry Hill, NJ

A nationally recognized Jewish educator, Alex has presented his inspirational prayer leading style and innovative curricula at the national CAJE conference, the national Song Leader Boot Camp, Camp Ramah, JEA and USCJ, and at congregational schools across the country. He enjoys sharing, teaching, and learning with students, parents and Jewish educators of all types.

Alex is currently a doctoral candidate in the Gratz College EdD program. He has a master’s degree in Jewish Education from the Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and 2 Bachelors degrees from the List College Joint Program of JTS and Columbia University.

Alex started his career in Day School and has since moved his way through the congregational world from Youth Director to Informal Education Director to Education Director, and finally Director of Congregational Learning. His early childhood students think he lives in the chapel and his family knows that he eats, sleeps and breathes Jewish education!

Alex is constantly trying to raise the bar for Jewish education. He believes that through innovative curricula, original programming, and high energy community building efforts we can provide inspiration for communities across the country.

Touring Artist

Todd Herzog is an artist who takes the raw material of life experiences and creates soulful, spiritual, acoustic pop music that opens the hearts of his listeners and leaves them feeling inspired – as if the songs were written only for them. His voice comes from the center of his being, combining the grit and power of Bono with the clear falsetto of Jason Mraz and Five for Fighting.

After the loss of a girlfriend to Leukemia at the age of 28, Todd turned to music as a vehicle for healing himself and those around him. Through this process, he realized that despite the difficult external reality, there was still joy and love and things to look forward to in life. Some of the most rewarding feedback he has received on his work has come from people who have used his music to get to the other side of a dark place.

“I play music because it’s the thing that makes me feel whole. When I am fully immersed in my music, it is like a meditation and I am able to disappear into the sound. When I am in that space, it feels like I am praying and singing at the same time. It is then that I know I am doing what I am supposed to be doing with my life.”

Todd’s music is intended to transform his audience, to allow them to observe their own lives and to open them up to a sense of gratitude and appreciation. His music allows us to feel connected to one another and to something larger than ourselves.

Todd’s latest recording, Something to Believe In, is a very personal introspective project that chronicles his return to a sense of his authentic self and to his singer/songwriter roots. His plan is to continue to use his gifts to uplift and to heal his listeners for as long as he is able.

Rabbi Aaron Alexander served for ten years as Associate Dean and Lecturer in Rabbinic and Jewish Law at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, where he also received his ordination. He has long sat on the prestigious Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) for the Conservative movement, the governing body determining Jewish law and practice for our entire movement. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on Halacha (Jewish law), also certified as a mashgiach (kosher supervisor) by the Conservative movement’s Rav Hamachshir program. Rabbi Alexander was appointed as a Rabbi Samuel T. Lachs Fellow of LEAP, a joint program of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and Clal-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Rabbi Alexander serves on the Board of Jews United for Justice, the Leadership Circle of One America, the D.C. Attorney General’s Faith-Based Advisory Committee, and the City Council’s Interfaith Working Group. Among his achievements here at Adas, Rabbi Alexander has elevated our Social Action work to a high level of recognition throughout the Washington, DC community, and has reinvigorated our adult learning, bringing it to a level and quality that now serves as a model for synagogues across the country. Rabbi Alexander and his wife, Rabbi Penina Alexander, have three young sons, Ariel, Eliav and Amos.served for ten years as Associate Dean and Lecturer in Rabbinic and Jewish Law at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, where he also received his ordination. He has long sat on the prestigious Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) for the Conservative movement, the governing body determining Jewish law and practice for our entire movement. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on Halacha (Jewish law), also certified as a mashgiach (kosher supervisor) by the Conservative movement’s Rav Hamachshir program. Rabbi Alexander was appointed as a Rabbi Samuel T. Lachs Fellow of LEAP, a joint program of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and Clal-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Rabbi Alexander serves on the Board of Jews United for Justice, the Leadership Circle of One America, the D.C. Attorney General’s Faith-Based Advisory Committee, and the City Council’s Interfaith Working Group. Among his achievements here at Adas, Rabbi Alexander has elevated our Social Action work to a high level of recognition throughout the Washington, DC community, and has reinvigorated our adult learning, bringing it to a level and quality that now serves as a model for synagogues across the country. Rabbi Alexander and his wife, Rabbi Penina Alexander, have three young sons, Ariel, Eliav and Amos.

Engagement Officer, PJ Our Way

Jamie Light works for the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) as an Engagement Officer for PJ Our Way™, the newest chapter of PJ Library® for kids ages 9-11. In this role, she leads the PJ Our Way at Camp partnership and provides marketing and programming resources for over 90 partner communities. Prior to joining HGF, Jamie worked as a consultant specializing in program and leadership development, strategic storytelling, strategic planning, and alumni engagement. She previously worked in higher education in student affairs and enrollment management. Jamie has a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business from Washington University in St. Louis. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Jamie lives in Beachwood, Ohio with her husband and daughter. She is actively engaged as an alumnae volunteer for Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority and in the Cleveland Jewish community.

Jon has spent more than 20 years making art with communities around the country as an actor, playwright, and teaching artist. Jon has served as an artist in residence at Union Theological Seminary, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and many other religious and educational institutions. He was a Spielberg Fellow in Jewish Theater Education with the Foundation for Jewish Camp and received a Fellowship from the Covenant Foundation to create The In[HEIR]itance Project in 2015. As an actor, Jon has performed in over 90 cities around the globe. His stage credits include: a dog, a 2,000-year-old bird, an elderly orthodox Jew, a spurned housewife, a horse, a British naval officer in 1700s Jamaica, a goat, Jesus Christ, a lawyer, a wrestler, a hapless police chief, and a cyclops. Jon holds a BFA in Acting from NYU/Tisch.

Cantor Rachel Brook is the senior cantor of Anshe Emet Synagogue and serves as the first female senior cantor in the congregation’s 150-year history. Previously, Cantor Brook served as cantor at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City.

Cantor Brook’s first solo album, “L’chayim Ul’shalom: Songs of Life and Peace” was released in December 2020. She is a featured soloist on several Park Avenue Synagogue albums, most recently on “Havdalah: Live from Jerusalem” and “Be the Light”, to be released in the summer of 2021. Cantor Brook has a growing global audience as part of her vibrant online presence, and is a proud member of the Shul Sisters: A New Cantorial Trio, together with Cantors Rachel Goldman and Laurie Akers.

Author, Touring Artist

Saul Kaye is an internationally touring musician, artist, and entrepreneur. He has released ten albums of his own and produced for numerous other artists.

In Go!, He uses his life story to show how, at any moment, you can transform your brand, your identity—and your entire life.

In 2008, Joel entered an inpatient treatment center and then a wilderness therapy program for heroin addiction. It not only ended his drug use but fed his interest in working in the outdoor education and recovery fields. He worked at Camp Ramah of the Rockies for five years, helping them start a program for campers to learn about addiction and recovery. That sparked a chance for him to help start BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy in Colorado, a program for Jewish young adults struggling with mental health challenges. He currently manages HAMSA, Helping Atlantans Manage Substance Abuse, which provides support, treatment resources, and strategies for those seeking help and in recovery. He works to dispel myths about addiction and eliminate the shame so often felt by those struggling with addiction and their families. Joel is married to Rabbi Lauren Henderson of Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, GA

Koach Baruch (KB) Frazier, Au.D. is an transformer, heartbeat of movements, healer, musician, facilitator of the Black Trans Torah Club and co-founder of the Tzedek Lab, a network of practitioners working at the intersection of dismantling racism, antisemitism and white supremacy. A collaborative leader, rooted in tradition, curiosity and love, Koach strives to dismantle racism, actualize liberation and transform lives both sonically and spiritually. Koach lives and gardens with their wife, LaJuana in Philadelphia where he is a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Erica Goldman has been an engineering linguist, a high school English teacher, an Israel exchange program coordinator, and through it all, a joyful Israeli dance teacher. A two-time Brandeis University graduate, Erica holds an MBA and a Masters in Jewish Professional Leadership and is a grateful Wexner Fellow. Erica is an Educator for the Cornerstone Fellowship, a program of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and in May 2015, she launched Ma’agal, an initiative to improve Israeli dance education at schools and camps across the nation. Erica is currently the Chief Program Officer at JPro and is delighted to help support all those who work for the Jewish community in the US and Canada.

Cantor Rachel Goldman, a native of Los Angeles, began her vocal training as a coloratura soprano at a young age, spending a majority of her childhood in the highly-acclaimed Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. Before reaching college, she had received opportunities to sing on some of the largest stages in her home city, such as the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and in multiple operas with the Los Angeles Opera. After spending several years at University of California Santa Barbara studying both Vocal Performance and Italian Studies (and being selected for a prestigious summer residency in the Loire Valley, France), Cantor Goldman shifted her academic direction to Judaism and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the American Jewish University with a BA in Judaic Studies in 2010.

Ordained as a Cantor from the Academy for Jewish Religion, California in May 2014, Cantor Goldman holds a Masters of Jewish Sacred Music from the same institution. She is also set to receive a second ordination as Rabbi and a Masters of Rabbinic Studies upon the completion of her coursework and thesis. Cantor Goldman currently serves as Cantor at Congretion Ner Tamid of South Bay in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Rabbi James Goodman is a writer and musician playing with hybrid forms. He earned an MFA in creative writing from University of Missouri – St. Louis and has recorded 11 CDs of poetry, music, and story. He serves as a rabbi at Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis. 

Rabbi Lauren Henderson originally hails from Spartanburg, SC and serves as the rabbi of Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, GA.

She earned her BA from Rice University in 2009 in Religious Studies and History, and studied at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles before transferring to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She was ordained from JTS in 2016 with an MA in Midrash and a Certificate in Pastoral Care. Rabbi Lauren was part of the Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellowship at Mishkan Chicago from 2016-2018, and then served as Mishkan’s Associate Rabbi and Director of Family Learning and Spirituality from 2018-2020.