Alyssa is the Director of North American Houses and Pods. She is driven by Moishe House’s mission of helping young adults grow closer to their Judaism every day. It would make for a strange Marvel movie, but Alyssa’s superpower is cooking excellent mac ‘n’ cheese! Alyssa started at Moishe House in 2018 as an MHWOW Coordinator, and has since been promoted to Program Manager, Associate Director, and Director.

Prior to Moishe House, Alyssa worked at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit in their NEXTGen Detroit division programming for young adults. She executed a plethora of new programs, including large-scale fundraisers and interfaith couples initiatives, and was named a Detroit Jewish News 36 Under 36.

She holds a degree in mathematical sciences from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. Alyssa is a graduate of the Glass Leadership Institute through the Anti-Defamation League, a religious & Hebrew school teacher at Temple Beth Israel in Skokie, IL, and a board member of Delta Phi Epsilon’s National Development Corporation.

Dr. Arielle Levites is the Managing Director of CASJE. Her research focuses on contemporary American Jewish education. She has conducted a number of applied studies on behalf of American Jewish educational enterprises, with a focus on young adults and teens. Her work has been recognized with awards from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Network for Research in Jewish Education.

Dr. Levites has served as the Golda Och Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a visiting assistant professor at Hebrew College in the Shoolman Graduate School, and an affiliated scholar at Brandeis University’s Mandel Center.

She holds a BA from Brown University in Religious Studies, a MSEd in Religious Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD from NYU in Education and Jewish Studies. She is leading a study in partnership with OneTable on Shabbat dinner and social connectedness.

Christina Comenos, LCSW, is the Director of the Counseling Program at JFCS of Greater Philadelphia. She graduated with her MSW from Simmons School of Social Work in 1998 and combined with her B.S. in Human Development, has spent the past 25+ years supporting individuals and families across the life span navigate the complexities of trauma, grief, loss, anxiety, depression, poverty, chronic stress and broken systems.

She enjoys working on both macro and micro levels in hopes to facilitate impactful change for society’s most vulnerable. Prior to JFCS, Christina was the Outpatient and Community Services Program Supervisor for Spurwink in Portland, ME. She also held positions as a Staff Assistant for Senator Susan Collins, Community Builder for Community Partners for Protecting Children and Police Liaison Social Worker with the Biddeford Police Department.

Rabbi Dena Shaffer is a passionate and experienced Jewish leader. She currently serves as the Director or Learning and Engagement for the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative at the Jewish Federations of North America.  The Funder Collaborative is a national network of stakeholders driven to innovate, nurture, sustain and scale new ideas that help strengthen Jewish identity and cultivate a sense of belonging for young people. 

Ever curious about the mutual interplay between secular and Jewish wisdom, Dena received her bachelor's degree in in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and East Asian history from Brandeis University, Rabbinic ordination (HUC '10) and a Certificate in Jewish Education for Adolescents and Emerging Adults, and has expertise in relationship building, communal change management, lean innovation, and scaling methodology. 

Jon Kleiman, M.A., is the School and District Partnership Manager for Challenge Success. Jon’s chief mission is helping organizations and individuals challenge the status quo.

In his role as a School & District Partnership Manager with Challenge Success, Jon’s worked with dozens of schools over the past several years in reimagining how schools might better support the needs and growth of its students.

Previously, Jon worked at a university helping students to engage in “vocational wayfinding.” Jon lives in Portland, Maine with his wife and three kids. Jon also hates writing bios.

Kim Slaton, CPCC, CPRW – JVS Careers Managing Director, is an Executive Career Coach with more than 20+ years of experience advising people in transition about how to prepare a successful marketing strategy for today’s competitive job market. As a career catalyst, Kim is known for her consistent successes, adaptability, and resourcefulness while staying current with the most important career search trends.

Kim partners with clients from all backgrounds and industries to provide focused and effective methods for navigating various life transitions. This includes college graduates, young professionals, mid-career professionals, executive-level clients, and retirees seeking encore careers. 

Kim holds a BS degree in Human Services with a concentration in counseling from Plattsburgh, SUNY. She holds a Certificate in Jewish Leadership from Northwestern University/Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning, and is also a graduate of The Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati. 

Michelle received her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from Franklin and Marshall College, a Master’s in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum from Drexel University and most recently, a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Michelle is passionate about providing her clients a space that is warm, empathetic, and person-centered. 

She has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings. As a former high school teacher, she especially loves working with young adults and college-aged students. Michelle’s therapeutic approach is relational, drawing from psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral theories as well.

She works at the University of Pennsylvania Hillel through a partnership with JFCS Philly, where she supports students through life transitions, grief/loss, depression, and anxiety. Michelle strives to help others find more joy and purpose in life.

Robin Friedman, an attorney, community volunteer, and community organizer, is a co-founder of TribeTalk and VP of Content and Education. As a dedicated community volunteer, Robin works with national and local Jewish communal organizations and schools.  She is a member of multiple antisemitism committees, board member of a Jewish day school, and trustee of her synagogue.  

Robin concentrated her legal practice in employment law, dealing with civil rights issues such age, gender, race, religious and national origin discrimination.  She frequently facilitated workshops on these topics, which inspired her to expand her skills into the antisemitism, anti-Israel arena.  She currently engages solely in pro bono work as an attorney, most recently representing victims of domestic violence seeking restraining orders.  She is a recipient of the Volunteer Lawyers Project Award.

Robin is the mother of three sons, all in college.  She understands how much high school students and young adults need more tools and education to navigate the proliferation of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.  A skilled and sought-out trainer and antisemitism expert, Robin has been a guest on the podcast, On Mic with Jordan Rich and was recently the author of an op-ed for eJewish Philanthropy.