We are thrilled to announce that No'a Gorlin, formerly of the Rashi Foundation, began work as our new Grants Manager on Monday, February 1. Her significant and diverse experience managing grants, cultivating donor relationships, and responding to the needs of funding partners makes her an ideal addition to the CLI office. Her work, which spans the business and philanthropic/nonprofit sectors will undoubtedly increase our capacity and get us back on track with our ROI grants. Her first act as grants manager will be to review the pending applications and dive-in coordinating the decision-making process, which we know you are all anxious for.
At the Rashi Foundation, No'a worked to develop new partnerships with private philanthropists, foundations and federations based in the U.S., which included cultivating partnerships through proposals, reporting and general investor relations. Before that, as the program officer at the Chais Foundation, she managed new funding requests and initiatives, and oversaw existing grants and relationships. She also served as the Associate Director of Kolot, a non-profit organization that runs a pluralistic Beit Midrash focused on increasing Jewish identity through text study, and before that was Marketing Manager at several for-profit companies. She has a B.A. in Psychology, and an Executive M.B.A., both from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and is fluent in Hebrew and English.
No'a looks forward to getting to know you and your projects in the months to come, and intends to provide advice, counsel and encouragement as you grow your innovative initiatives. You'll all be hearing from her soon! Welcome, No'a!
Two years ago, the Tikun Olam Committee of El Salvador received an ROI seed fund grant: $4,000.00 designated for "books and scholarships for students in the Instituto Estado de Israel in La Paz, El Salvador". Aside from the books and scholarships, there was enough money to buy more things: cloth for uniforms, sporting goods and the upgrade of the computer room of the institute. In December, the Tikun Olam Committee completed funding the upgrading of the computer lab of the Instituto Estado de Israel in Jerusalen, La Paz, which concluded the work paid for by the grant.
"The whole process of diagnosis, getting the parts and repairing the 15 computers and its mother system took almost a year," explained project director Aaron Sztarkman, noting that the institute lies pretty far away from San Salvador.
The work was finished last October, but due to personal reasons and uncontrollable external factors - like a hurricane that almost destroyed the area in November - the project couldn't be completed until this past December.
Sztarkman reports a bonus: "There was enough money left to buy new basketball hoops for their court." (See pictures of the upgraded computer lab, at left.) "With this donation we complete the grant that ROI gave us almost two years ago."
29 YOUNG INNOVATORS TO GATHER IN VILNIUS FEBRUARY 17-21, 2010
ROI Community/Paideia European Gathering Aims to Strengthen Jewish Culture and Innovation in Europe
February 4, 2010, Jerusalem, ISRAEL - With the aim of strengthening Jewish life and innovation in Europe, Paideia - The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden & the ROI Community have joined forces to create the 2010 ROI/Paideia European Regional Gathering, to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, February 17-21, 2010. The Gathering will offer 29 European leaders and activists the unique opportunity to meet, learn and create together, while developing and improving their professional skills for the benefit of innovative work in Europe.
"Dictionary-wise, ‘tradition’ and ‘innovation’ are contradictory," says Barbara Spectre, Founding Director of Paideia. "But ROI and Paideia have learned that when inventive entrepreneurs are put in the mix, then tradition and innovation can be combined into dynamic creative projects that can reinvent and reinvigorate a culture almost lost. At this four-day seminar in Vilnius, these entrepreneurs can strengthen their skills, ignite new ideas, and realize that they are at the forefront of a remarkable movement to reignite Jewish culture in Europe."
The selected representatives, hailing from 16 European countries, represent areas of interest ranging from Jewish Salons directors in Vienna and Amsterdam to building online community in Hungary, and organizations like Hillel-Ukraine, Bnai Brith in Luxembourg, and Blickwechsel, an organization focusing on post-Shoah life in Germany. At the conference, participants will gain new knowledge, share their expertise with other European activists, present their work and learn more about other initiatives that are being developed all over Europe. The Gathering was open only to ROI & Paideia alumni from Europe who are developing, implementing or planning a European-based project as individuals or as part of an organization. The selection committee made its decision based on the project's impact, what stage the project is in and considered geographical and gender balance factors.
Of the 31 participants representing 16 countries, 10 participated in a past ROI Summit or Regional Gathering. The faculty is made up of local community leaders with representation from the two sponsoring organizations: CLI Director of Israel Programs Justin Korda and the ROI Program Director Beto Maya are representing CLI on faculty for the Gathering, with Barbara Spectre, Brachi Lipshitz, Fabian Sborovsky and Erik Gribbe representing Paideia. Past ROIer Aharon Horwitz (Israel), co-founder and director of the PresenTense Group, will serve as one of the facilitators for the Gathering together with Nirit Roessler, director of the Pradler Program and Clive Lawton, one of the founders of Limmud UK .
Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Swedenis a non-denominational academic framework that was established in 2001 with funding from the Swedish government. Dedicated to the revival of Jewish culturein Europe, Paideia educates leaders for Europe - academicians, artists and community activists - towards fluency in the Jewish textual sources that have served as the wellspring of Jewish civilization. For more information, visit: http://www.paideia-eu.org/
The ROI Community is a growing global network of young Jewish innovators that was created by Lynn Schusterman in the summer of 2006 as a partnership between the Center for Leadership Initiatives and Taglit-Birthright Israel. With participants and alumni from more than 30 countries, ROI identifies outstanding young Jewish innovators, ages 22–34, and provides personal and career development and support. Equally encouraging of both projects carried out within local Jewish communities and universal initiatives based on Jewish values, ROI channels young innovators' activism by introducing them to like-minded innovators and activists from around the world, and inspires them to reach new levels of achievement. For more information, visit: http://roicommunity.org
[William Levin, left, with Michelle Citrin, on the set of "20 Things to Do With Matzah," 2007]
One year ago, the Limmud NY 2009 conference was, I've been told, a disaster. While I did not attend, I heard harrowing tales of woe from the hundreds of jilted Jews who had been stranded at a chilly hotel resort in upstate New York with no working heat or hot water. The frigid 2009 conference may have dissuaded some from attending in 2010, but I figured lightning was unlikely to strike twice in the same place, and this year was bound to be a redeeming success. I was right!
Call it a comeback. The Limmud NY 2010 conference was booked solid, with all 700 attendance slots filled. The climate this year was warm and inviting, with hundreds of Jews of all denominations and levels of observance converging in a family-like atmosphere for prayer, meditation, learning, and entertainment. I was fortunate to be invited to lead an animation workshop, which was mostly attended by extremely savvy kids and their parents, and presented a short movie I produced about Jewish heroes to the entire conference. And, as an added bonus, I joined friend and fellow ROI conference attendee, Michelle Citrin, onstage for a live performance of our Passover hit song, "20 Things To Do With Matzah."
Shabbat services were lively, concluded with a conference-wide havdalah musical celebration. Over the weekend I attended several workshops, including a peaceful shabbat yoga class, a comedy improv class with comedian Joel Chasnoff, and an illuminating Torah study with keynote speaker, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. Perhaps the most helpful class for me was a guide to Jewish book publishing with renowned author and publisher, Arthur Kurzweil. His advice will come in handy as I strive to publish a book of my Shabot comic strips this year.
The Limmud NY conference was a delightful experience, and I highly recommend attending. They even offer scholarships for students and individuals who might be turned off by the cost. If you regret having missed the New York conference this year, fear not, there's always Limmud NY 2011. Just be sure to sign up early. I won't need to, because I'm volunteering.
We are excited to present to you the list of participants and staff for the 2010 European Gathering for the Paideia and ROI Communities (bios to come)! We hope that you'll reach out to them to welcome them to the network and introduce them to your projects as they join our ROI/CLI family.
Marcus Freed, performer and Bibliyogi extraordinaire, competed with a raucous crowd of 400 Jews as he performed this original piece at the Night of Unity fundraiser for Jewlicious Festivals and JConnectLA (an LA-based group for Jewish professionals also run by Rabbi Yonah Bookstein).
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If you had to guess which ROIer was on the red carpet at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards in Hollywood, accosting celebrities and narrating their arrivals, there'd be no contest...it'd have to be Michelle Collins. Just press play to relive the magic as Michelle - covering the event for VH1's Best Week Ever -interrogates Stanley Tucci, high-fives Woody Harrelson, and misses Sandra Bullock and James Cameron's hair while gawking at Sir Paul McCartney.
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ROIers were out in force at the recent Limmud conference – Limmud Mothership, as several referred to it – in Coventry, UK, which was the biggest Limmud in its 29-year history, drawing 2,500 Jews for learning, networking, socializing, singing, dancing and enjoying. As Joel Stanley, performance and music track co-chair and theater performer, noted, “Limmud was, as ever, a fantastic festival of Jewish innovation, learning and collaboration.”
Here are some more reflections from Joel and others who represented the ROI network at Limmud.
Antithesis (Samuel Green), Zionist rapper and radio pioneer (ROI '09)
I presented to the main conference and Young Limmud about how I got involved in rapping, and performed my songs with explanations of the context and intention behind them. It was my 7thLimmud and I’ve enjoyed them all for the same reasons: the atmosphere of passion for learning; the lack of boundaries between presenters and participants; the ability to spend time with a broad spectrum (politically, religiously, geographically) of Jews.
I enjoyed all the sessions I attended but was particularly taken by that given by Kobi Oz, lead singer of Tipex, about his new project, Mizmorei Nevuchim. What most interested me was that he was talking about more and more secular Israelis returning to tradition and religion for creative inspiration, and seeking a connection with that past which had been severed. One of the things that saddens me a bit about the Zionist movement is that many chose to completely cut ties with traditions handed down for centuries, so it gave me some hope for the future.
Just returned from an amazing few days of performing and teaching at LimmudUK. Limmud has quickly become one of my favorite Jewish organizations... I love the fact that "everyone there is a learner." I really vibed with the attendees, and thought the shows and music seriously rocked. Their whole scene lacks the hierarchy that plagues similar gatherings, replacing it with a sense of community that's profound and powerful. We can learn a great deal from their continued success...
Limmud...ahhhh, Limmud. Everywhere I looked, something innovative, filled with Jewish expression was happening - there to inspire and ignite everyone - and especially ignite me. And more times than not, this amazing work was being done by one of the people from ROI! I had the deep pleasure of collaborating, conspiring and cracking up with Dan Berelowitz (staff, ROI '09), Michelle Citrin (ROI '06, '08) and Josh Nelson onstage, and calling out Samuel (Antithesis) from a session panel as a pro-rapper was great fun as well. Marcus Freed’s discussion at the talk show about the state of Jewish art was fascinating and got my blood boiling in a positive way! It was great to see each others work, to support each other's experiments and to know that this was all in the spirit of having people connect with a 5000 year old tradition in a very almost-2010 way!
Joel Stanley, Performance and Music track co-chair, Limmud; theater performer (ROI '08)
It was my 10th Limmud, but was without doubt one of my most productive, fulfilling and enjoyable. This year I was co-chairing the performance and music track, which meant I was responsible for curating much of the conference’s busy concert schedule and taking care of a number of musicians’ and performers’ needs on site. The cultural program was rich with ROI talent, including Naomi Less, Josh Nelson and Michelle Citrin, all of whom delivered excellent performances and bonded extremely well with their British audiences. I found it hugely satisfying to see their success, along with other acts I’d invited, such as New York kabbalistic rap duo Darshan (signed to ROIer Erez Safar’s Modular Moods record label) and theater director Jesse Freedman.
But I was also at Limmud to showcase key scenes from the play I’m directing. I worked with guest actors from Israel, America and the UK, to workshop and perform sections from ‘The Biblio Files,’ currently in the process of being written by Rebecca Nesvet. The play makes use of classical Jewish texts and the Jewish folklore village of Chelm to explore the topic of environmental sustainability. The play is still very much still in development, but that was a real benefit of bringing the project to Limmud: our writer observed all our rehearsals, the showcase and the Q&A that followed, receiving valuable feedback and a healthy host of ideas on how to move the script forward. We’ll now audition for our actors and get together at the start of February for a weekend ‘rehearsal retreat’ in the countryside.
Thanks to the ROI Speakers’ Bureau, I was able to attend and present at the Hazon Food Conference on December 24-27, 2009 in Asilomar, a retreat center located in Monterey Bay, California. The Hazon Food Conference is a gathering of the “New Jewish Food Movement” – bringing together “farmers and rabbis, nutritionists and chefs, vegans and omnivores, come together to explore the dynamic interplay of food, Jewish tradition and contemporary life.”
I am the director of Canfei Nesharim, an organization that teaches about the connection between Torah and the environment. Connecting traditional Jewish texts with contemporary scientific findings, Canfei Nesharim educates and empowers Jewish individuals, organizations and communities to take an active role in protecting the environment, in order to build a more sustainable world. Because of the relationship between food, Judaism, and the environment, I was given the opportunity to lead three sessions as part of the program:
How To: Tu b’Shevat (co-led with Jeff Levy): a session which modeled an actual Tu b’Shevat seder experience while providing tips and resources on how to run your own community Tu b’Shevat Seder. Consumerism and the Jewish Ethic of Restraint: a text study on consumerism which helps participants recognize how vastly different is the Jewish way of relating to possessions, compared to our weird and wildly unbalanced consumer culture. Greening Your Community Through Learning and Action (co-led with Rachel Jacoby Rosenfeld): sharing experiences and offering practical resources to help community members bring environmental change to their communities, using Jewish thoughts, Jewish programs, and environmental actions as access points to attitude and behavior change in a community.
In total, these three sessions reached over 100 participants. I was especially pleased by the enthusiasm for the Consumerism text study, slotted in an hour between Kiddush and Lunch on Shabbat morning, which had nearly fifty participants crowded into a room to learn Jewish perspectives on what our possessions are for, how we can dedicate them to holy use, and how modern consumer culture takes us away from what really matters. Most of these participants had never participated in a text study about consumerism before, and all of them were very concerned about the impacts of consumerism on our health and the environment.
As a participant in the Food Conference, of course, I also had the opportunity to meet with fabulous leaders and committed activists on a wide range of topics involving food. I made new friends and also deepened relationships with those I got to know better. And best of all, I had the opportunity to stand on the beach near sunset on Friday afternoon, December 25 with hundreds of Jews, getting ready to welcome Shabbat, experiencing the feeling that it was just another Friday afternoon.
Thanks, ROI, for your support!
[Check out this video from last year's conference, created by ROIer Sasha Perry:]
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Those of you who attended ROI 2009 or visited the PresenTense Institute over last summer may have met Manuela Zoninsein, who joined us from China - a native of Brazil, Manuela has been working as a journalist in China for the last year or so writing for various publications including Newsweek, and will be continuing her studies on China's agricultural policies in the pursuit of an MSc at Oxford University beginning October 2010.
Get to know Manuela, her perspective on China's role in fostering emerging markets, and particularly Israel's relationship with China in pursuit of innovative agricultural technologies, by viewing Leadel's profile piece below.
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Shalom to you all from the CLI-Jerusalem office, the home of ROI Summits, Regional Gatherings, the Speakers Fund, and many other Jewish leadership projects, where we're actively planning for 2010.
We've got a few updates for you...
ROI Grants: As you know, our grants manager recently left, and as a result, we've had some delays in announcing the next round of ROI Grants. We are close to hiring a grants manager, and should have that settled by the end of January. Grant applicants have already begun to receive letters informing them of their updated status. A few applicants will advance into the final round of consideration, and we should have final decisions in February. We apologize to everyone for this unforeseen and unfortunate delay - believe us, we'll keep you informed as we progress.
CLI Intern: In January, our CLI-Israel Intern, Michelle Weinberg, is coming to the end of her year with us - we will miss her contributions to our daily office life, her work on the newsletter and the website, and her many smiles. Our next Israel intern will hopefully begin in February.
Events: ROIers have been gathering wherever they go, even organizing an ROI reunion at LimmudUk this past weekend (report to come). There will also be two events involving ROI in February in Los Angeles - one at the Jewish Federation and the other at LimmudLA (contact Esther for details on those events). But the first major event for 2010 is February's Regional Gathering for Europe in Vilnius, co-produced with Paideia. We'll soon be posting the names and profiles of the Jewish innovators who will be participating in this program, and hope that you'll reach out to them to welcome them to the network and introduce them to your projects as they join our ROI/CLI family.
And of course, the ROI Summit is coming in July - details on participation, format and content to come soon.
Stay tuned to this site and the ROI Community Twitter account (and to #roicom, which is still being used from time to time) for the latest news and developments.
We are thrilled to announce that No'a Gorlin, formerly of the Rashi Foundation, began work as our new Grants Manager on Monday, February 1. Her significant and diverse experience managing grants, cultivating donor relationships, and responding to the needs of funding partners makes her an ideal addition to the CLI office. Her work, which spans the business and philanthropic/nonprofit sectors will undoubtedly increase our capacity and get us back on track with our ROI grants. Her first act as grants manager will be to review the pending applications and dive-in coordinating the decision-making process, which we know you are all anxious for.
Two years ago, the Tikun Olam Committee of El Salvador received an ROI 
29 YOUNG INNOVATORS TO GATHER IN VILNIUS FEBRUARY 17-21, 2010
[Limmud participants gather for the closing gala.] 
Thanks to the 
Shalom to you all from the CLI-Jerusalem office, the home of ROI Summits, Regional Gatherings, the Speakers Fund, and many other Jewish leadership projects, where we're actively planning for 2010.
