PRESENTERS

Featured Presenters and Sessions

Daniel Sieradski

Daniel Sieradski is a cause media entrepreneur with a decade's experience in social innovation and cause marketing within the nonprofit sector. He is presently the sole proprietor of The Self Agency, Ltd., director of Jew It Yourself, and a co-organizer of Occupy Judaism. He is also a writer, photographer, and artist whose work explores themes of post-normative Jewish cultural expression. On the eve of Yom Kippur 5772, over 1,000 Jews descended on lower Manhattan to fast and pray in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests, giving birth to a movement known as Occupy Judaism. Hear from one of Occupy Judaism's core organizers about Jewish values, ethics, and activism in relation to Occupy Wall Street and their efforts to turn the movement's critiques of wealth and power back on the Jewish establishment. Performer/Composer/Producer Sam Glaser performs in over 50 cities annually and has been named one of the top ten Jewish artists in the US by Moment magazine. Sam has released 21 popular Jewish CDs, 4 musicals, and 2 award-winning children’s projects. In his cutting-edge recording studio he produces albums for and scores for film and TV. He lives in LA with his wife Shira and 3 kids. Join Jewish music luminary Sam Glaser for a rockin' songfest that will lift your heart and get you dancing in the aisles. This practical workshop will look at historical and present-day uses of the nigun (spiritual wordless melody) to reach states of ecstasy and connectedness. Examples of classic Chasidic melodies will be interwoven from Sam Glaser and RebbeSoul’s groundbreaking CD, The Nigun Project. Be prepared to sing, sway, and daven and experience oneness like never before. Marshal Klaven is Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life’s Director of Rabbinic Services, serving 100 congregations in 13 states. This position follows his Air Force service and ordination from Hebrew Union College, where he conducted a study on the historical Jewish engagement with tattooing. Rabbi Klaven shares a blessed partnership with artist/illustrator Christina Mattison. The topic of Jews and tattoos is certainly provocative. But before one goes and exposes their skin, come to this very lively, colorful, and visual presentation that exposes participants to the wide range of historical Jewish voices on this topic. As one will see and hear, this issue - like many others in the Jewish world - is not as black and white as we often try to make it. Rather, it is composed of various shades of gray. Mark Washofsky is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and chair of the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He is the author of Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice and of Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, the latest printed collection of Reform responsa. A look into some texts and sources that just might have something to teach us about the value of "personal privacy" and how to protect it in the face of rapidly developing digital technology. Navit graduated from Washington University in St. Louis. She studied and worked at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies before receiving the Dorot Fellowship in Israel. In Israel, she managed an African refugee shelter in Tel Aviv and produced a documentary on immigration. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Global Public Health and works at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This documentary explores Ethiopian and Russian immigration to Israel through the perspectives of politicians, young adults, and child immigrants. By comparing the immigration experiences of the two populations, differences and similarities between the populations' experiences arise and tensions between the two groups emerge. Following a screening of the film, the film's producer will lead a discussion on the immigration experience to Israel and possible tensions between immigrant groups. Mary Glickman is a writer, public relations professional, and fundraiser who has worked with Jewish charities and organizations. After living in Boston for twenty years, she and her husband traveled to South Carolina and discovered a love for all things Southern. Glickman wrote about the Southern-Jewish experience in her bestselling debut novel, Home in the Morning, as well as her latest book, One More River, the sweeping stories of a father and son in the turbulent twentieth century of the American South. An informative and humorous account of the South/North intellectual divide, the history of Jews in the South with particular emphasis on the 20th century, the challenges faced by Southern Jews during the Civil Rights Era, and the arc of change from Old South to New, this session examines how these elements of Southern Jewish Life inspired the writing of Glickman's two novels. In addition, the author provides a moving and intimate account of her personal journey in discovering her Jewish identity.

Occupying Judaism

Sam Glaser

Sam Glaser and Friends in Concert

Art of the Niggun: Using powerful melodies to profoundly connect

Marshal Klaven

Mark Them as a Sign: The Truth of Jews & Tattoos

Mark Washofsky

The "Right to Privacy" in the Internet Age: A Jewish Perspective

Navit Robkin

Neither Here Nor There: A Documentary on Immigration in Israel

Mary Glickman

Writing Southern and Jewish