| |
Storahtelling - Board of Directors
Administration || Storahtellers
|| Collaborating Artists
Advisory Board || Board of Directors
|| Supporters & Partners
AMICHAI LAU-LAVIE is the founder, Artistic and Executive
Director of Storahtelling: Jewish Ritual Theatre Revived. An
Israeli-born mythologist, storyteller and teacher of Judaic
Literature, he studied at various Yeshivot, including the Shalom
Hartman Institute and the Elul Center in Jerusalem. Between
1992 and 1996 he directed the summer programs at Melitz: the
Jewish Zionist Centers in Jerusalem, focusing on the integration
of Jewish education via the arts. His theatrical experience
as a writer and performer includes the Theatre Company Jerusalem,
The Acco Theatre Group in Israel and the Avodah Dance Ensemble
in the U.S. Between 1997-2000 he served as Artist-in-Residence
at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in NYC. He is a Synagogue 2000
Fellow, and a recipient of the Joshua Venture Fellowship for
2002-2004. Amichai is the theatrical representative for Rebbetzin
Hadassah Gross.
JANE BAUM is vice-chairman and principal of a family-owned company.
She serves on the board of WJA, and she and her husband Robert have
been active members of Congregation B'nai Jershurun for 15 years. They have
two daughters and three grandchildren.
PAMELA RUBIN CARTER was trained as an architect and lawyer. She holds degrees from M.I.T. and Columbia Law School. She worked on exhibit design for Charles and Ray Eames, worked in documentary film and practiced law at several New York City law firms in the land use department where she worked on a number of large scale urban projects involving zoning, landmarks and urban planning issues. Currently, she is of counsel to the law firm Mirkin & Gordon, working as a developer in the Bronx and is starting her own design business. Among her past activities include serving on the Community Board, on the Board of Directors of the Maternity Center Association and The Actor's Temple. She is currently a Director of the New York Landmarks Conservancy where she serves as the President of The Real Property Fund. She is also on the advisory board of Rocking the Boat. She lives on the Upper West Side, is the mother of three children Jake, Harrison and Sophia and is married to Jon.
ELIZABETH FISHER is the Director of Operations for Planned Giving & Endowments at UJA-Federation of New York. Prior to her work at UJA-Federation of New York, Elizabeth worked in Planning and Allocations at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, with a focus on senior services and Israel programs. Elizabeth began her career in community development, consulting for grassroots non-profits and has worked with groups as diverse as rural firefighters, public school teachers, philanthropists, and mental health workers. Elizabeth has significant background and expertise in management, strategic planning and grant making. Elizabeth received an MSW in Social and Economic Development with a specialization in Management from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and a BA from Mills College. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, violinist Jeremy Brown, and their two children.
MARINA PINTO-KAUFMAN (Co-Chair) was born in Casablanca, Morocco. She went to the Universite de Geneve, Interpreter's school and graduated in 1964. She worked for 28 years as a free-lance conference interpreter, for the United Nations in Geneva and then in New York. She serves on the Board of Human Rights Watch and is one of the founders of the Human Rights Watch film festival. She has also served on the Board of B'nai Jeshurun since 1997. She is married with twin adult sons, both lawyers, and four lovely grandchildren.
ALEX KLEINMAN (Treasurer) is a consultant with McKinsey & Company's
New Jersey and Tel Aviv offices. He works with clients
in the health care, travel and media & entertainment
sectors, primarily on strategy, organization and marketing
issues. He has an MBA from the Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Music Composition
and English Literature from Haverford College.
PETER PITZELE, Ph.D, is a certified psychodrama trainer,
educator and practitioner (TEP). Until recently, and for many years, Peter served an adjunct faculty member of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary. He is a senior faculty member of Storahtelling's training programs, a workshop director for the intergenerational theater company Roots and Branches, and Faculty Member at Large: Institute for Contemporary Midrash. He continues to write and study, and he travels widely as a scholar/artist in the United States, Europe, and Israel.
Peter has his Ph.D. in literature from Harvard. He has taught literature at Harvard and Brooklyn College. He was trained in the methods of therapeutic theater and directed the Psychodrama Service at Four Winds Hospital for seventeen years. At that time and since he developed Bibliodrama, now recognized as a a principal methodology in the field of contemporary midrash.
Peter has written many articles and two books: Our Fathers' Wells: A Personal Encounter with the Myths of Genesis, published by Harper SanFransisco and Scripture Windows: Towards a Practice of Bibliodrama, runner-up for the best book in Jewish Education, l998, published by Torah Aura. He lives in Bayshore, Long Island with his wife Susan
.
ORA RAMAT (Co-Chair) is a private fine arts photography dealer representing the work of Rodney Smith. She had previously worked at various New York City galleries specializing in modern art and modern furnishings. She majored in Art History and graduated with honors from the CUNY BA program. Ora is a certified yoga instructor teaching private classes, at the Ramaz and Heschel High Schools in New York City, and hat her studio called Wagging Tail Farms in Bethel, New York. Ora has served on the Board of the American Jewish Committee's Women's Campaign since 1986 and joined the Board of Storahtelling in 2006. She lives in Manhattan and Bethel, New York with her husband of 33 years, Charles together with their three children, Hana, Abraham and Emma.
MAGGIE MONROE RICHTER is Director of Major Gifts and Foundation Relations at Union Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Adjunct Lecturer. Prior to this, Maggie has held development positions at non-profits including the American Society for Muslim Advancement, the Cordoba Initiative and Storahtelling, where she served as Director of Development. A lifelong student of hermeneutics and the arts, Maggie has ministered to interfaith young adults in NYC congregations and served as TA in biblical studies courses for Union and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Maggie holds an M.Div. from Union and a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, where she was honored to study under philosopher Elfie Raymond. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, David, and their two sons.
JOYCE ZINBARG ROSENTHAL received her Masters
in Social Work from Columbia University in 1988. Professionally, she has worked
with chronically mentally ill adults, managed an HMO for mental health and
chemical dependency, and raised funds and organized special events for Schneider
Children's Medical Center in Israel. Joyce was a founding member of the New
Generations division at the New Israel Fund and served on its steering committee
for many years. Presently, she works full time raising her three daughters,
three-year-old twins and an eight-month-old baby.
RABBI JOANNA SAMUELS is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community. Previously, she served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Habonim on the Upper West Side. A graduate of Barnard College and the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she was a Wexner Gradute Fellow, Joanna has been active in women's leadership for two decades. She and her husband Jeremy Hockenstein are the parents of Orli, age 4 and Natan, 1 ½.
SARAH SOKOLIC joined the Storahtelling Company of Artists in 2004 as a performer and educator and currently oversees all aspects of Storahtelling's organizational operations. Sarah began her professional career in the corporate world, spending a decade working in the field of Organizational Development and designing and delivering professional development programs for both Fortune 500 companies and professional service firms including Viacom, Inc., MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Credit Suisse First Boston. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University and a B.A. in Sociology and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. In 1999, Sarah shifted her professional focus to pursue her life-long passion for the performing arts. After three years of training, Sarah pursued an professional acting career and earned credits both Off and Off-Off Broadway and has appeared in numerous independent films and TV commercials, and on television in Law & Order: SVU, and Sesame Street. Sarah was the recipient of the Best Actress Award for her performance in the short film "Seder" at the 2004 Arlene's Grocery Picture Show.
In addition to her work as a performer and trainer, Sarah has spent many years working with synagogues and unaffiliated families to develop B'nai Mitzvah study programs and facilitate rituals events that incorporate the performing arts in Torah study, prayer, and Jewish ritual. She has brought more than 50 families through the B'nai Mitzvah process.
Sarah is a long-time Ramahnik and also serves as a board member for Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. She lives with her husband and two sons in New York City.
JEREMY SOKOLIC (Secretary) is the Vice President
of Product Management at CashEdge Inc, a software company
that develops financial services applications. Prior
to joining CashEdge, he was a consultant with McKinsey
& Company. Mr. Sokolic received an MBA from Columbia
Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate
of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union,
New Jersey and also studied at the Pardes Institute
in Jerusalem. Mr. Sokolic also serves on the Board of
Directors of the Ramah Berkshires Alumni Association.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Sarah, and sons
Isaiah and Coby.
MIM WARDEN came to New York City from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1994, to study Arts and Theology at Union Theological Seminary, where she received two Masters' degrees. Prior to moving to New York, Mim served in numerous community positions, including: teaching elementary school, serving as a non- profit radio announcer/interviewer/programmer/station manager, and as the founding director of MetroArts, a community arts agency. MetroArts developed a regional cultural plan, a united arts fundraising organization, and was responsible for creating an initiative which resulted in the building of the Whitaker Center for Arts and Science - a theater and science museum complex in the heart of Pennsylvania's Capital City. Mim's present volunteer activities include: Chair of the Friends of the Burke Library at Union Seminary, leading a weekly Vesper service in Gregorian Chant by a small choir of women, and serving on the Interfaith Committee and the Board of Trustees of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun. Mim's family includes five children and eight grandchildren.
Administration ||
Storahtellers || Collaborating
Artists
Advisory Board || Board of Directors || Supporters & Partners
|
|
