Our People

Working together to educate, facilitate and change-make.

Meet the Team

  • Nicole Nevarez (she/her) knows that when we take the time to reflect, we have the power to create deep systemic change. As the inaugural director of Ta’amod: Stand Up!, Nicole brings expertise, wisdom, and passion from a diverse background of work in the Jewish non-profit realm.

    Nicole also provides independent coaching and consultation to support both individuals and organizations in their efforts to steward accountability. Nicole lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and two children.

  • Dr. Andrea Jacobs (she/her) is an educator, researcher, and organizational consultant with over 25 years of experience working for change in Jewish and wider-world communities. She has developed resources and training programs to address gender equity, LGBTQ inclusion and racial justice for a wide range of educational and communal organizations. Andrea is co-founder and partner at Rally Point for Collaborative Change, a consulting practice that focuses on working across difference to facilitate transformative change. Andrea is trained in Theater of the Oppressed and Playback Theater and draws on her training to infuse her work with artistic and improvisational approaches to addressing social justice issues. She is a member of the advisory board of jGirls Magazine and managing director of Yes…AND Playback Theatre company. She lives in Philadelphia.

  • Debbie Nehmad (she/her) is a program creator, educator, and public speaker from Brooklyn, NY. After receiving her master’s from Bank Street College of Education, Debbie spent 7 years as a classroom teacher guiding young minds to think critically and lead empathically in hopes of shaping a more just future. In addition to her work on the Ta’amod team, Debbie creates and manages original anti-bullying programming initiatives for students, teachers, and parents of Jewish day schools in the New York area both independently and through her partnership with The SAFE Foundation. When not at work, Debbie can be found picking up a new hobby, watching Shark Tank reruns, or befriending the local dogs in the area. She and her husband live in South Orange, NJ.

  • Kalkidan Gezahegn (They/She/He) is an educator, facilitator, and writer from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Kalkidan studied American Studies at Tufts University where they learned critical race pedagogy and facilitation. They spent 10 years as an instructor and tutor inside and outside the classroom teaching a wide variety of subjects including environmental education, stewardship, and K-12 curriculum. Kalkidan has also provided operational support and management for several organizations and enjoys creating efficient, scalable systems wherever she is. When not at work, Kalkidan enjoys reading, hiking, creating art, and traveling to new destinations. They live in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

  • Rebecca Ottinger (she/her) is an educator, organizer, and world traveler. Rebecca studied Hispanic Studies and Education Studies at Brandeis University and has worked for over 10 years in a variety of non-profit and Jewish organizations as a teacher, project manager, researcher, and general manager. She most recently was a resident at Moishe House San Diego. Rebecca loves building community within Jewish spaces as well as across multiple communities to come together. She enjoys working in spaces that strive to create a kinder world, where people can be themselves while having challenging yet uplifting conversations. When not at work, Rebecca enjoys playing cello and going to art events, traveling the world, and meeting new people. She lives in San Diego, CA.

Trainers

  • Scout Bratt (they/them) teaches body-positive sexual health education in Chicago Public Schools and community-based organizations, in addition to teaching Intergroup Dialogue at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Originally raised in Kansas City, Scout attended Jewish day school from kindergarten through 12th Grade and brings experience in Jewish summer camp, youth group leadership, and Jewish community organizing training to their work as an educator. Intersectional feminism remains a key part of not only Scout’s educational approach but also Scout’s Judaism. In addition to serving as a board member of Tzedek Chicago, Scout focuses on popular education and dialogue facilitation as key to building healthy, engaged communities. Scout majored in Peace Studies and Philosophy at Goucher College and holds a Master of Education in Youth Development from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

  • Sarah Chandler (she/her) aka Kohenet Shamirah is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, artist, activist, healer, and poet. She has been training Jewish non-profit teams on safety and respect in the workplace since 2018. She holds an M.A. in Jewish Education and an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a certificate in Non-Profit Management and Jewish Communal Leadership from Columbia University. She teaches, writes and consults on a national level on issues related to Judaism, earth-based spiritual practice, mindfulness, dreamwork, and farming. An advanced student of Kabbalistic dream work at The School of Images, Sarah is the founder and lead trainer for "Soft as a Rock: Public Speaking for Sensitive Souls."

  • Zachary Schaffer (he/him) is a facilitator, educator, and organizer based in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. He is a Co-Founder of Project Shema, a training and support organization built by progressives to help our Jewish community challenge anti-Jewish ideas and nurture compassion for Jews on the progressive left, especially within Israel-Palestine discourse. His activism is motivated by the Jewish idea of B’tzelem Elohim - the belief that each of us is sacred and must be treated as such. He brings a depolarization framework and a lens of unbearable compassion to all of his work. Zach spends most of his time learning and teaching about antisemitism, civil rights, Black-Jewish relations, interfaith relations, healthy masculinity & male allyship, equity & respect in the workplace, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is proud of his collaboration with organizations such as Jewish Women International, Ta'amod, Resetting the Table, Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, Spill the Honey, and others. He is the President of Friends of Roots, a grassroots coexistence movement of Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. He also serves on the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Commission on Social Action. He advocates for religious pluralism and Palestinian land rights through Just Zionism as an elected representative to the World Zionist Congress and its Executive Committee. When he's not working he can be found riding his motorcycle, enjoying live music, and eating dried mango.

  • A frequent presence on New York’s television shows, Simon Feil (he/him) brings his 20+ years of experience in the entertainment industry, his love of story-telling and his passions for justice and connection together to create powerful and life-changing opportunities for his clients. In addition to his work at Ta’amod, Simon holds space for conversations across difference through Resetting The Table. Simon is also a Presence and Public Speaking coach, working with speakers of all stripes, from TED to C-suite, to craft a compelling narrative and deliver their idea with maximum impact and humanity. When not acting or coaching, Simon is a novice aerialist, a culinary personality and a spiritual adventurist. He lives in Brooklyn with his awesome wife Tehilah and their extra awesome 12 year old.

  • McKenzie Wren (she/her) is a facilitator and consultant who works in multiple arenas to support connection and growth. As Wren Consulting, she works with businesses and nonprofits to support inclusion and belonging. Her particular areas of focus are helping businesses and nonprofits create cultures of collaboration and belonging. As Ma’ayan Spiritual Arts, she facilitates art, ritual and connection through Earth-based, embodied Jewish practices uplifting the Divine Feminine. She is also the part-time program manager for the Southern Jewish Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity (SOJOURN) working to expand LGBTQ+ inclusion across the South. At the heart of everything she does is the belief in the power of relationship, community and connection to nature. Whether facilitating art experiences, ritual or ceremony, workshops or classes, McKenzie creates a space where each person is seen, heard and valued and has an authentic experience. McKenzie holds a BA from American University and an MPH from Rollins School of Public Health. She is a lay leader at Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta where she lives with her partner and small menagerie.

  • Kiyomi Kowalski (she/her) is a Afro-Latin, queer, Jewish woman who works at the intersections of race and antisemitism. Kiyomi began her career in public service as an active duty United States Marine in 1997. She has a degree in political science and a Juris Doctorate with an emphasis in public service. Kiyomi’s social justice work is centered on creating more inclusive spaces for Jewish people of all backgrounds as well as eradicating racism and antisemitism. To that end, she develops, produces, and facilitates panels, workshops, and discussions on the topics of race, racism, and antisemitism. She utilizes non-violent communication approaches to coach people through tough conversations and promote productive dialogues. In 2020, Kiyomi co-founded Jewbian Princess, a Black, Jewish women-led organization to deliver corporate-level diversity and inclusion education to Jewish organizations with a Jewish lens. Kiyomi joined the Project Shema team as a coach and facilitator to help educate people on antisemitism and its root causes in 2021. In her role as the Director of Partnerships at Project Shema, Kiyomi works with local Jewish activists to create a training and support strategy with the goal of slowing the tide of antisemitism in progressive spaces. In 2021, Kiyomi was a Uri L’Tzedek Torah In Action Summer Fellow and a Bend The Arc Selah Leadership Program Fellow. Additionally, she is a 2022 Jewtina y Co. PUENTES Leadership and Resiliency Fellow. She lives with her partner and two kids in the suburbs of Los Angeles where she can be found watercolor painting, embroidering, and sewing pieces of flare to inspire a more just world. Find out more about her current projects at KiyomiKowalski.com.

Advisory Board

  • Jamie Allen Black

    Gender Equity Expert
    and Consultant

  • Rahel Bayar

    Chief Executive Officer
, The Bayar Group

  • Reuben Rotman

    Chief Executive Officer, Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

  • Rabbi David Teutsch

    Professor Emeritus & Senior Consultant
, Center for Jewish Ethics at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

However you aspire to improve your organization’s culture, we’re here to help.