Ovdim Leadership Cohort

A lifelong Chicagoan, Jackie (she/her) joined the JCUA staff in 2019. She is a co-founder of the Kol Or Jews of Color Caucus. She previously led JCUA’s Fair Tax campaign before taking on the work of the Community Safety Committee and its campaigns for Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) and Treatment Not Trauma. In 2022, she became JCUA’s first-ever Director of Antiracism & Equity. She enjoys gardening and spending time with her daughter, Racquel.

Jon is a national community builder with a commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. His work organizing diverse communities through an intersectional Jewish lens is inspired by the wisdom and experiences he has gained as a Gay, Mexican, Jew. As Keshet’s Director of Community Mobilization, Jon has mobilized Jewish institutions in all 50 states to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. After graduating from Florida State University, Jon applied his passions for the Jewish community and service as a Repair the World Fellow in Brooklyn, where he engaged young professionals in hands-on service and Jewish learning. Following the Fellowship, Jon served as the Interim Director of the Jewish Volunteer Center at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, implementing community-wide service events and organizing a young professional volunteer movement. He then returned to Repair the World where he launched Repair the World Miami. As the Program Manager, Jon spearheaded new initiatives and partnerships on both local and national levels to solidify the organization’s presence to become its sixth Fellowship site in the country. Jon has been fortunate to participate in a number of fellowships—Uri L’Tzedek Torah In Action, Bend The Arc Selah Leadership Program, Joyous Justice Ko’ach Fellowship, Jewtina y Co. PUENTES Leadership and Resiliency—which have been instrumental to his professional development. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Repair the World, as the Pride Chair for the Young Leadership Board at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, and is a member of the Jews of Color Initiative’s Grant Advisory Committee. A South Florida native, Jon lives in Miami with his husband, Kevin. Outside of work, Jon can be found riding on his Peloton with Team #Kesheton, relaxing at the beach, reading queer fiction novels, and using online menus to plan the meal before getting to the restaurant.

Kimberly Ariella Dueñas (she/ella) is a California native with a global spirit. Born into a multicultural home, she discovered that the best way to explore her dynamic Jewish identity was to immerse and involve herself in the world - beginning with tracing her roots to rural El Salvador and across Europe. An international Jewish educator, Kimberly Ariella is passionate about providing a safe space for people to develop deeper connections to their Latin and Jewish identities. Her passion for community healing, led her to join the Jewtina y Co. team as a founding member and the Director of Learning in charge of innovative identity, community and wellbeing programming. Prior to working with Jewtina y Co. she was an experiential Jewish educator in Los Angeles, CA and volunteer educator at the Jewish Community Center in Mumbai, India. Kimberly Ariella is a graduate of the American Jewish University, where she was selected to be the valedictorian of her graduating class. She is a former JDC Entwine Jewish Service Corps Fellow and community representative, a Selah Fellowship (Bend the Arc) and Kollel Fellowship (Mitsui Collective) alumna and is a member of the Schusterman Foundation's ROI community. Her work also extends to the wellness community in El Salvador as she hosts experiences for people to connect with their own bodies, their spirit and the earth. She calls on ancestral rituals, western psychology, Jewish wisdom and yoga to guide people through personal and collective growth, specifically with the diaspora generations. Kimberly Ariella feels blessed that she can infuse Jewish philosophy and sustainable community building practices into this healing work in her land of origin.

Rachel is an organizer, facilitator, and strategist who supports groups to dream bold visions, ask tough questions, and play together so we can move to the future we all want to live in. She has assisted dozens of organizations to create effective strategies, move through conflict, and implement equitable governance practices. Rachel currently works at the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable and is helping start a base-building organization for Jews in the Bay area. Rachel loves a debate, listening to brilliant friends, freaky Jewish stories, and the ocean.

Jake Green, Chief of Staff for National Council of Jewish Women, combines more than a decade of experience driving communications campaigns, developing organizational strategy and crafting user-centric messaging to galvanize communities around social causes, nonprofit organizations and consumer brands. In his work for NCJW, Jake drives special projects and strategic initiatives for the 130-year old movement of Jewish feminists, including helping the organization rearticulate its brand identity, launching its Jews for Abortion Access campaign, and coordinating multimodal activations to advance issues of equity and justice for women, children, and families in the United States and Israel. Jake joined NCJW after two years of consulting with ignite agency, leading organizations through brand discovery projects, digital campaigns and communications programs. Prior to his time at ignite, Jake managed the daily workflow operations for a 19-person creative team at Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations firm. Jake started his career at Hillel International — first in a social media management role and then as special projects manager for the Office of the President, where he led the creative project and communication objectives of the CEO. While at Hillel, Jake directed MitzVote, an unprecedented civic engagement campaign on 116 campuses ahead of the 2018 Midterm elections, and designed materials and experiences for high-level donors and community partners. Jake earned his B.S. in Public Relations from Kent State University and is now on the Board of Directors of the Hillel in Kent. He is also a regular volunteer with the Hunger Network, helping divert thousands of pounds of food from landfills to local hunger pantries. Jake lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his husband Tyler and their cat, Miri.

Bryant Heinzelman is the Director of the JOCOF (Jews of Color Organizing Fellowship) at JOIN For Justice, and carries 20 years of experience working in Jewish education, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) consulting, synagogue diversity engagement, teen mentorship, and US Army military intelligence. He is as proud of his Black Southern heritage as he is of his German-Polish background; and quotes the wisdom of his Christian grandmothers along with Heschel, Torah, and Hillel. Bryant is a graduate of NTTC Corry Station (Naval Defense College), studied African American Literature and History at the University of Maryland UC, and is currently pursuing Genocide and Holocaust studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington. Bryant is a 2018 URJ Jew V’ Nation Fellow, 2021 Ko’ach Fellow, and prior to his work with JOIN worked as a Boulder area Director of Teen Engagement with The North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), focusing on civil rights and interfaith alliances.

Everlyn Hunter, Psy.D., M.S., immigrated to the US from Jamaica at age 14. Her educational training includes Masters and Doctoral degrees in Psychology with specializations in Clinical Child and School Psychology and a diploma from Vancouver Film School in Writing for Television and Film. She has published essays and poetry in local publications as well as several academic articles in psychology journals. Concurrent with her professional work, Dr. Hunter has held numerous leadership roles as a board member of non-profit human rights, Jewish and LGBTQ organizations including fellowships with the URJ Jew'V Nation, Bend the Arc's Selah, and Dimensions Consulting Jewish Women of Color (JWOC) cohorts. Dr. Hunter currently lives in Los Angeles where she works as a Psychologist. And in her spare time, she is a student pilot who loves flying and an aspiring jazz vocalist and performer who is working on her first full length fictional novel.

SooJi Min-Maranda believes in the power of personal stories. Whether providing direct services, advocating for policy change, or fundraising for nonprofit organizations, Min-Maranda begins with personal narratives that illustrate the need for programs, policies, and resources that raise the voices of those underserved and underrepresented in mainstream society. A seasoned nonprofit executive with 19 years of senior management experience, Min-Maranda brings a social entrepreneurial mindset to the nonprofit arena. She advocates for strategic partnerships, racial justice and efficient, effective resource allocation. Min-Maranda currently is the executive director of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. A national nonprofit, ALEPH brings spiritual vitality and passion into the daily lives of Jews through programs that train clergy, empower leadership, build communities, and generate powerful experiences and practical resources. Previously, she was the executive director of Temple Beth Emeth, a 600+ member reform Jewish synagogue in Ann Arbor, MI; the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH), a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization that focuses on adolescent sexual health and parenting; and Korean American Community Services, a comprehensive social service agency in Chicago. The Asian Health Coalition of Illinois presented her with its Outstanding Community Health Advocate Award in 2008. She is currently in Cohort 7 of the Schusterman Fellowship that empowers Jewish leaders to deepen their work as changemakers inside and outside the Jewish community and Cohort 4 of elluminate’s (formerly the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York) Collective of female entrepreneurs and leaders. Previously, Min-Maranda was in Cohort 3 of Leading Edge’s CEO Onboarding Program for high-level organizational leaders in the American Jewish community. Min-Maranda served on Governor Quinn’s Illinois Human Services Commission from 2010-2012 and is a member of the Selah Leadership Program's National Executive Cohort 9. She was a 2010 Chicago Community Trust Fellow and a 2010 Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Awardee. She also was a 2007 Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Delegate and a 2006 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. A graduate of Barnard College, Min-Maranda holds master’s degrees from Northwestern University and The University of Chicago. She also completed a Jewish Mindfulness teacher training program and is certified in yoga.

Allie Zeff assumed the role of DJJ’s Executive Director in early 2022 after three years in the role of Organizer for Campaigns and Education. She started her career in Detroit in 2014 as a Music Teacher. Her transition into community organizing was catalyzed by the local and regional political climate, especially in the ways it affects Detroit’s education system. Allie served as a volunteer leader with Detroit Jews for Justice for 4 years, serving in multiple roles including chair of the Grassroots Fundraising Committee, Steering Committee Member, chair of several cultural events, including Festival of Rights and Purim, and contributing artist for several campaigns. Allie established both a political and spiritual home in the Detroit Jews for Justice community. The shift from volunteer role to staff was a natural progression and a testament to the organization’s commitment to creating organizers and leaders out of their members. As Executive Director, Allie is committed to stewarding DJJ’s growth into a new era of work. She is passionate about cementing DJJ as a major player in the Detroit organizing community that is truly progressive, trustworthy, and effective.

Learn more about our second Ovdim Cohort community.

Learn more about our inaugural Ovdim Cohort community.