Shamayim V'Aretz Leadership
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Leadership
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
Founder & CEO
[email protected]
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder & CEO of Shamayim V’Aretz and the author of 10 books on Jewish ethics. Currently Rav Shmuly serves as the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash and serves as the Founder and President of Uri L’Tzedek. He completed a Masters at Harvard University in Leadership and Psychology, a second Masters degree in Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University, and has completed a Doctorate at Columbia University in Moral Development and Epistemology. Shmuly was ordained as a Rabbi by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT Rabbinical School) in New York as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Yanklowitz was awarded a Rothschild Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. As a global social justice educator, Shmuly has volunteered, taught, and staffed missions on five continents including Israel, Ghana, India, France, Thailand, El Salvador, Britain, Senegal, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa and Haiti. In 2012, Newsweek rated Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and in 2013! In 2016, the Forward named Rabbi Shmuly one of "The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America." Also in 2016, the Forward acknowledged Rav Shmuly as one of the 50 most influential Jews. In 2008, the Jewish Week recognized Shmuly as one of “36 under 36” (one of 36 of the most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36). Shmuly, his wife Shoshana, and baby Amiella live in Scottsdale, Arizona where he serves as President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash.
Mayim Bialik, Ph.D.
Founding Member & Senior Leadership Consultant
Mayim Hoya Bialik is best known for her lead role in the 1990's NBC sitcom Blossom, as well as for her portrayal of the young Bette Midler in "Beaches." She has also appeared in Woody Allen's "Don't Drink the Water" and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Bialik was born to first-generation American teachers and documentary filmmakers and was raised in Los Angeles, attending both public and religious school. Bialik has guest starred on some of the most beloved TV shows of the 1980s and 1990s including MacGyver, The Facts of Life, and Webster. She has appeared numerous times on The Tonight Show, the Arsenio Hall Show, and on Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart's early forays into late-night.
Bialik received her B.S. in Neuroscience and Hebrew and Jewish Studies from UCLA in 2000 and earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2007 from UCLA, specializing in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. She is the celebrity spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting holistic and green parenting and living.
Matisyahu
Board Member
When Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with his debut album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise, his musical persona seemed to some a novelty. Here was a Hasidic Jew -- dressed in a black suit with a broad-brimmed black hat worn over a yarmulke, and sporting a full, untrimmed beard -- who nevertheless performed toasting raps about the glories of traditional Judaism over reggae beats in a dancehall style directly from Jamaica. Moreover, he punctuated his performances with stage diving. It may have seemed like a joke at first, but Matisyahu was serious about his craft, and his diverse style soon garnered Grammy nominations, gold record certifications, and a broad audience.
Known for blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States. In 2006 he was named as Top Reggae Artist by Billboard.
Professor Aaron Gross
Board Member
Aaron S. Gross founded the nonprofit advocacy and consulting organization Farm Forward in 2006 and serves as a professor of Jewish studies in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of San Diego. He holds graduate degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of California, Santa Barbara's Department of Religious Studies. Gross co-chairs the Steering Committee of the American Academy of Religion's Animals and Religion Consultation, serves on the Humane Society of the United States's Faith Advisory Council, and collaborated heavily with Jonathan Safran Foer on Foer’s book Eating Animals. Gross’s new edited volume, Animals and the Human Imagination: A Companion to Animal Studies (Columbia University Press, 2012), provides what Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee calls "a richly intelligent mapping of the field" of animal studies and proves "accessible—even engrossing—to the ordinary educated reader."
Don Goldman
Board Member & CFO
Don Goldman is Executive Director and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City. He spent much of his career in the business world first as a telecom executive and later an Internet entrepreneur. He switched to the non-profit sector about 7 years ago following a 5-year stint as a stay-at-home dad. He has a BA from the Johns Hopkins University in Political Economy and an MBA from the University of Chicago. His interest in veganism started when in the same week his vegetarian son bought him a copy of Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer and he saw Forks over Knives, a movie that emphasizes the health benefits of veganism, but also deals with the underlying moral issues of the death of the family farm. He became a vegan the following week and began to learn more about the sources of food in modern society.
Yossi Quint
Board Member & Secretary
Yossi Quint is currently a student at Princeton University. At Princeton, Yossi served as co-president of the Religious Life Council and as a student fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination. Prior to attending Princeton, Yossi spent two years in the Old City of Jerusalem studying Jewish texts.
Tani Demain
Board Member
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
Founder & CEO
[email protected]
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder & CEO of Shamayim V’Aretz and the author of 10 books on Jewish ethics. Currently Rav Shmuly serves as the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash and serves as the Founder and President of Uri L’Tzedek. He completed a Masters at Harvard University in Leadership and Psychology, a second Masters degree in Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University, and has completed a Doctorate at Columbia University in Moral Development and Epistemology. Shmuly was ordained as a Rabbi by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT Rabbinical School) in New York as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Yanklowitz was awarded a Rothschild Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. As a global social justice educator, Shmuly has volunteered, taught, and staffed missions on five continents including Israel, Ghana, India, France, Thailand, El Salvador, Britain, Senegal, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa and Haiti. In 2012, Newsweek rated Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and in 2013! In 2016, the Forward named Rabbi Shmuly one of "The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America." Also in 2016, the Forward acknowledged Rav Shmuly as one of the 50 most influential Jews. In 2008, the Jewish Week recognized Shmuly as one of “36 under 36” (one of 36 of the most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36). Shmuly, his wife Shoshana, and baby Amiella live in Scottsdale, Arizona where he serves as President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash.
Mayim Bialik, Ph.D.
Founding Member & Senior Leadership Consultant
Mayim Hoya Bialik is best known for her lead role in the 1990's NBC sitcom Blossom, as well as for her portrayal of the young Bette Midler in "Beaches." She has also appeared in Woody Allen's "Don't Drink the Water" and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Bialik was born to first-generation American teachers and documentary filmmakers and was raised in Los Angeles, attending both public and religious school. Bialik has guest starred on some of the most beloved TV shows of the 1980s and 1990s including MacGyver, The Facts of Life, and Webster. She has appeared numerous times on The Tonight Show, the Arsenio Hall Show, and on Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart's early forays into late-night.
Bialik received her B.S. in Neuroscience and Hebrew and Jewish Studies from UCLA in 2000 and earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2007 from UCLA, specializing in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. She is the celebrity spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting holistic and green parenting and living.
Matisyahu
Board Member
When Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with his debut album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise, his musical persona seemed to some a novelty. Here was a Hasidic Jew -- dressed in a black suit with a broad-brimmed black hat worn over a yarmulke, and sporting a full, untrimmed beard -- who nevertheless performed toasting raps about the glories of traditional Judaism over reggae beats in a dancehall style directly from Jamaica. Moreover, he punctuated his performances with stage diving. It may have seemed like a joke at first, but Matisyahu was serious about his craft, and his diverse style soon garnered Grammy nominations, gold record certifications, and a broad audience.
Known for blending traditional Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States. In 2006 he was named as Top Reggae Artist by Billboard.
Professor Aaron Gross
Board Member
Aaron S. Gross founded the nonprofit advocacy and consulting organization Farm Forward in 2006 and serves as a professor of Jewish studies in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of San Diego. He holds graduate degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of California, Santa Barbara's Department of Religious Studies. Gross co-chairs the Steering Committee of the American Academy of Religion's Animals and Religion Consultation, serves on the Humane Society of the United States's Faith Advisory Council, and collaborated heavily with Jonathan Safran Foer on Foer’s book Eating Animals. Gross’s new edited volume, Animals and the Human Imagination: A Companion to Animal Studies (Columbia University Press, 2012), provides what Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee calls "a richly intelligent mapping of the field" of animal studies and proves "accessible—even engrossing—to the ordinary educated reader."
Don Goldman
Board Member & CFO
Don Goldman is Executive Director and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City. He spent much of his career in the business world first as a telecom executive and later an Internet entrepreneur. He switched to the non-profit sector about 7 years ago following a 5-year stint as a stay-at-home dad. He has a BA from the Johns Hopkins University in Political Economy and an MBA from the University of Chicago. His interest in veganism started when in the same week his vegetarian son bought him a copy of Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer and he saw Forks over Knives, a movie that emphasizes the health benefits of veganism, but also deals with the underlying moral issues of the death of the family farm. He became a vegan the following week and began to learn more about the sources of food in modern society.
Yossi Quint
Board Member & Secretary
Yossi Quint is currently a student at Princeton University. At Princeton, Yossi served as co-president of the Religious Life Council and as a student fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination. Prior to attending Princeton, Yossi spent two years in the Old City of Jerusalem studying Jewish texts.
Tani Demain
Board Member
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Staff
Ilana Braverman
Program Associate
Ilana Braverman is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University. Earlier this year, she graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Environmental Science and spent the summer working as an intern with the Farm Animal Protection campaign at The Humane Society of the United States. During her undergraduate years, Ilana became aware of the issues surrounding our food choices, and ever since then she has been determined to do her part in advocating for animals and the environment.
[email protected]
Program Associate
Ilana Braverman is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University. Earlier this year, she graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in Environmental Science and spent the summer working as an intern with the Farm Animal Protection campaign at The Humane Society of the United States. During her undergraduate years, Ilana became aware of the issues surrounding our food choices, and ever since then she has been determined to do her part in advocating for animals and the environment.
[email protected]
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Rabbis & Community Leaders
Rabbi Alison Abrams
Rabbi Penina Alexander, New Jewish Community High School
Rabbi Will Berkovitz
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, Chabad, Concordia University
Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin, Israel Center of Conservative Judaism
Joshua Boydstun, Student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Rick Brody
Rabbi Sharon Brous
Rabbi Nadav Caine
Rabbi Mychal Copeland
Rabbi Boris Dolin, Rabbi at Congregation Dorshei Emet in Montreal, Quebec
Rabbi Adam Frank, Rabbi of Congregation Moreshet Yisrael in Jerusalem
Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs, World Union for Progressive Judaism, President
Reb Yonassan Gershom
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
Rabbi Andy Kastner
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director, CLUE-LA
Sandra Lawson, Rabbinical student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Aaron Levy
Rabbi Robin Nafshi, Rabbi of Temple Beth Jacob, Concord, NH
Rabbi Hillel Norry
Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner
Rabbi Daniel Sperber
Rabbi Michelle Robinson
Rabbi David Rosen, Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Director of the AJC's Department of Interreligious Affairs
Rabbi Adam Stein
Rabbi David Wolpe
Rabbi Lina Zerbarin
Rabbi Alison Abrams
Rabbi Penina Alexander, New Jewish Community High School
Rabbi Will Berkovitz
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, Chabad, Concordia University
Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin, Israel Center of Conservative Judaism
Joshua Boydstun, Student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Rick Brody
Rabbi Sharon Brous
Rabbi Nadav Caine
Rabbi Mychal Copeland
Rabbi Boris Dolin, Rabbi at Congregation Dorshei Emet in Montreal, Quebec
Rabbi Adam Frank, Rabbi of Congregation Moreshet Yisrael in Jerusalem
Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs, World Union for Progressive Judaism, President
Reb Yonassan Gershom
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
Rabbi Andy Kastner
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director, CLUE-LA
Sandra Lawson, Rabbinical student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Aaron Levy
Rabbi Robin Nafshi, Rabbi of Temple Beth Jacob, Concord, NH
Rabbi Hillel Norry
Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner
Rabbi Daniel Sperber
Rabbi Michelle Robinson
Rabbi David Rosen, Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Director of the AJC's Department of Interreligious Affairs
Rabbi Adam Stein
Rabbi David Wolpe
Rabbi Lina Zerbarin
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Committee Members
Jamie Arfin “Oy Vegan!”
Dr. Roy Artal
Joshua Avedon
Suzanne Barnard, Director, Jewish Vegetarian Society
Daniel Bloom
Rich Bloom
Sarah Brammer-Shlay
Linda Bronfman
Professor Geoffrey Claussen
Jeffrey Cohan, The Beet-Eating Heeb
Beth Cousens
William Daroff
Beth DeRicco
Sara Fredman
Lori Goldman
Dr. Aaron Gross
Miriam Gross
Daniel Inlender
Dr. Roberta Kalechofsky
Lisa Karlan
Robin Kellner-Friedman
Aviva Kraus
Jacob Labendz
Abby Lodmer
Isaac Mamaysky
Karen Meppen
Noam Mohr, Vice President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America
Nina Natelson
Esther Oakley, ABC Vegan
Sasha Perry
Matthue Roth, co-founder, G-dcast.com
Matthew Readdick, Orange County Hillel, UC Irvine
Aaron Relyea
Philip Schein, PETA
Roberta Schiff
Richard H.Schwartz, Ph.D, President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America
Paul Shapiro, The Humane Society of the United States
Rachel Shapiro
Dr. Heather Shenkman
Alexandra Sipos-Kocsis
Katharine Skupsky
Lisa Stein
Lauren Trexler
Aharon Varady
Wilhelmina Waldman, ASPCA
Eli Winkelman, Founder, Challah for Hunger
Yossi Wolfson, Ginger - the Vegetarian Community Center, Israel
Jamie Arfin “Oy Vegan!”
Dr. Roy Artal
Joshua Avedon
Suzanne Barnard, Director, Jewish Vegetarian Society
Daniel Bloom
Rich Bloom
Sarah Brammer-Shlay
Linda Bronfman
Professor Geoffrey Claussen
Jeffrey Cohan, The Beet-Eating Heeb
Beth Cousens
William Daroff
Beth DeRicco
Sara Fredman
Lori Goldman
Dr. Aaron Gross
Miriam Gross
Daniel Inlender
Dr. Roberta Kalechofsky
Lisa Karlan
Robin Kellner-Friedman
Aviva Kraus
Jacob Labendz
Abby Lodmer
Isaac Mamaysky
Karen Meppen
Noam Mohr, Vice President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America
Nina Natelson
Esther Oakley, ABC Vegan
Sasha Perry
Matthue Roth, co-founder, G-dcast.com
Matthew Readdick, Orange County Hillel, UC Irvine
Aaron Relyea
Philip Schein, PETA
Roberta Schiff
Richard H.Schwartz, Ph.D, President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America
Paul Shapiro, The Humane Society of the United States
Rachel Shapiro
Dr. Heather Shenkman
Alexandra Sipos-Kocsis
Katharine Skupsky
Lisa Stein
Lauren Trexler
Aharon Varady
Wilhelmina Waldman, ASPCA
Eli Winkelman, Founder, Challah for Hunger
Yossi Wolfson, Ginger - the Vegetarian Community Center, Israel
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