2015 Fellow Bios (PDF)

2015 JCC PresenTense Chicago Fellows
Rabbi Heather Altman, The Healing Room
The Healing Room provides wellness services for women, including yoga
and massage, to support healing in times of survival and strength. We draw
awareness and openness to issues that affect many women, such as
domestic abuse and prenatal mood and anxiety disorders, and provide
trauma sensitive services to all clients on a sliding scale. Women in various
places of healing and financial means support one another professionally
and personally.
Our mission is to 1) provide direct services to women in order to strengthen
their physical, mental and spiritual well being, including referrals to partner organizations
2) provide trainings to providers and others interested in learning about trauma and women's
wellness 3) provide a safe space where women can enjoy quiet or engage in meaningful
conversation and community.
Dashiell Bark-Huss, Advanced Play Labs™
Advanced Play Labs™ is a radical movement that strives to bring play
beyond childhood and into the adult world. By combining scientific
research surrounding play with the practical applications of improv, zen,
games, artistic mediums, and other activities, Advanced Play Labs creates
specially designed programs and events that promote social unity and
self-improvement through play.
Advanced Play Labs' signature pilot program is Danceprov! Fitness™, a dance-fitness class where
students create unique impromptu dances through dance improvisation games, lip-syncing, and
more. Students work to create unexpected synchronicity in the moment. For this to work, students
must hone in on their fellow dancers’ choices, supporting each other by leading, following, and
complementing other dancers’ movements. The class is often taught outside in public space
providing an unconventional surprise spectacle for passers-by. The result is a pure form of play
where students lose their inhibitions to focus on the present moment.
Rabbi Barry Cohen, Concierge Rabbi
My venture is to become a “concierge rabbi.” I will reach out to the
unaffiliated who want Judaism to be relevant in their lives, strive for spiritual
fulfillment and desire to be part of a Jewish community. I want to develop
lasting relationships with individuals, couples and families in order for them
to say, “I know my rabbi. My rabbi is there for me and my family.” This
venture could include education, social action, limited life cycles, and equally
as important, attending to pastoral needs. My goal is not to lure people away
from synagogues or form a new synagogue. In fact, this venture will not be
tied to a building or to a currently recognizable dues structure. I want to
create a viable alternative for those who want to experience Judaism in a community but have not
been able to find their niche in the established synagogue setting.
Rebecca Crystal, Interfaith in Motion
My venture is to bring together Jewish and Muslim youth (ages 10-18) through
the artistic medium of dance. I aim to do this through a weekly after-school or
Sunday class, focusing on bridging the gap between cultures through the
language of dance. We will focus on modern dance, creative movement,
improvisation, and social dance of different cultures/faiths. We will also focus
on the many overlapping aspects of our cultures, including music, folk dance
aspects, and cuisine.
Amy Gorelow, Rainbow Productions
I want to create a YouTube channel that families can watch together and
(regardless of age) be entertained and educated. The videos will consist of
songs and stories, covering literacy, math, Jewish culture, and the importance
of community and cooperation. This project will expose the viewer to many
cultures all over the world, both within Judaism and outside of it; to foster an
acceptance of differences; and an eagerness to expand the viewers’ community
to the larger world.
Metuka Hechtman, Social Hub of Chicago (SHOK)
With a growing population of young Jewish professionals comes a need for
an expanded community center. SHOK seeks to provide a hub for cultural
classes, activities and events geared to strengthen the bonds of the Jewish
community. SHOK is a place for young adults to come together and explore
the art of painting, cooking, dancing, acting, photography and more. It also
includes organized trips for groups of individuals looking for an out-of-theclassroom cultural experience. SHOK aims to become part of the
JCC 20s & 30s programming, focusing on young adults at JCC Horwich.
Naomi Konikoff, Speech Language Literacy Lab (SL3)
Speech Language Literacy Lab (SL3) provides a link between educational
research and practical application for diverse public schools. At SL3, we have
developed and researched quick assessment tools to measure student
language abilities and growth for preschool and kindergarten. Early language
skills predict later reading comprehension. Along with language assessment
tools, SL3 provides professional development nationwide on how to
systematically monitor language growth and provide interventions in order
to ensure that children have the best possible start in school. SL3 also helps
linguistically and socioeconomically diverse schools use research-based best
practices in the areas of reading and language.
Becky Levinson, Imagine Peace
Imagine Peace would be a program that would bring together adolescents
from across the city, transcending barriers that often keep today’s youth
apart. Despite the diversity that is easily noted in Chicago, the city is incredibly
segregated restricting teenagers connecting with each other. The program
would involve biweekly two-hour events over of a period of 8 weeks. There
would be a myriad of topics employing the arts, teambuilding, and leadership
skills. Workshops could include assertiveness training, dealing with diversity,
exploring the six pillars of character, creating a supportive community, and
cultural exploration (through the arts, cooking, sports, etc). Locals who are
important and valued leaders in their communities would come to facilitate workshops and act as a
positive mentor to the youth involved. The program would also empower the youth, by encouraging
them work conjunctively to create rewarding programs for the participants.
Michelle Mantel, Early Tikkun Olam
Early Tikkun Olam is an effort to bring together young children and a sense of
Tikkun Olam. The JCC's Early Childhood Education Program promotes learning
experiences fostered around core Jewish values like respect. Children learn
these values and traditions and then take them back into their larger
respective communities.
The goal is for them to understand that they can help "repair the world" at a
very young age. Early Tikkun Olam will aim to be a pilot program at the Mayer
Kaplan JCC. My proposal includes an effort to bring back the classroom or
community garden at the Skokie sight. The children will help plant, pick, and
deliver the produce from the garden to a food shelter. It would also include
visits to retirement homes, soup kitchens, among other ways to start actively teaching Tikkun Olam
at an early age.
Joseph Prosnitz, Prosnitz Solutions
Prosnitz Solutions is a new product development firm. The first product is a
conversion kit that changes a normal double diamond frame bicycle into a
mobile elliptical bicycle. The idea was developed by Joseph to allow other
people with arthritis to enjoy the running experience without the traditional
heavy impact on joints associated with running, since he personally struggles
with Ankylosing Spondylitis and the limitations in physical activity it poses. He
is preparing for product launch, working on the second iteration of the
prototype, the patent application 3-D modeling, and he is in the early stages of
Request For Quote (RFQ) process with suppliers. The product will aid everyone
from the competitive athlete in training to the stay at home mom or even
bubby. This product can be set-up and used in either the traditional context of indoor elliptical or the
new experience of riding elliptically outside.
Yoni Pruzansky, The Israel Immersion Program
The Israel Immersion Program focuses on exposing students (both Jewish and
non-Jewish) to the vivid start-up scene in Israel.
Through our partnership with Tel Aviv University we are able to provide the
right students with an opportunity to intern with the top start ups in Tel Aviv.
We take them through an elaborate immersion program where they learn
more about Israel's leading industry sectors, and travel the country with our
Israeli team. Our trips focus on highlighting the way that secular Israelis (the
majority of Israel) spend their free time and what they do for fun - connecting
students to Israel's history and the Jewish religion in a causal manner while providing our students
with a chance to not only learn about Israel's history but also about the difficulties, the diverse
melting pot we call home and how we make the most out of our unique reality.
Rena Rosen, Emunot shel Chemlah (Art of Compassion)
Differences are what make us unique, however we don't always know how to
address people who look different or have a special need. It is jarring to a
child when they are introduced to someone who does not look or behave like
them and many times in pure innocence they blurt out a question that makes
the parent feel embarrassed. In our community, we teach kindness and
respect for others, we have services that work toward inclusion for all
children. What I would like to do is create a program within the day schools
and JCC's for children and families using artistic expression to appreciate and
embrace differences in our peers. I would like for all children to develop a
high self-esteem and self-worth. It's perfectly okay to ask questions and show
curiosity, this is being human, however all children no matter what should feel special and loved.
Rabbi Dan Rosenberg, 24StoryBuilding
This venture will build a core curriculum of top Jewish folktales into a
model for Jewish-education-through-arts and values or leadershipeducation-through-arts. From my experience as a performer and scholar of
Jewish stories, and as a Jewish educator, I understand the design of these
stories as conduits for cultural education, for values negotiation and for
raising challenging questions. I will use the venture to build two models:
one of them will be for Jewish education through an arts interface, where
core Jewish content is contained within the stories, and internalized
through activities, further study and participants' own storytelling. The
second model will be to structure an effective interface for engaging
organizations in the Jewish community to access a core of stories as a
forum for discussing a defined set of organizational questions, and probing solutions based on storymodeled choices.
Elena Valentine, Skill Scout
Skill Scout improves the hiring practices of companies hiring entry-level
talent. We forego resumes and job postings and embrace video and inperson skill demonstration. We portray the skills a job requires and the
skills a candidate has. We increase the quality of candidates a company
sees and decrease their time to make a hire.

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