Kesher Fellows 2022

Ali Rice (she/her) is a grant-writer, community connector, volunteer organizer, and matchmaker. She is the Development & Grants Officer at JOIN for Justice, a volunteer member of the Greater Boston Childcare Collective’s planning team, and a union steward. She loves biking & hiking slowly, group singing, dreaming on behalf of others about the love/connection they seek, and reading the same novels as her great aunt. She is honored to participate in the Kesher Fellowship, and hopes to ground her work in Jewish ritual practice and community.

Arielle Opler (she/her) has been on what she describes as a journey of re-wilding her relationship to her Jewish identity and Jewish way of life. She began this reorientation process after completing her 200 yoga teacher training. Arielle’s yogic path opened her up not only to a path of spiritual liberation in a yogic context, but to a deepened connection to her Jewish roots, and a desire to heal the wounds associated with her Jewishness both in this lifetime and within her lineage. Arielle is an artist, ecstatic movement enthusiast, yogi, youth educator but prefers to identify with her true essence, which is highly sensitive, intrinsically empathetic and wondrously human. Arielle thrives when she in connection to others and deeply values creating space for and safety around people’s unique experiences. She is so excited for the opportunity to further her Jewish exploration and build meaningful community in this sacred container.

elliot moonstone (they/them) (Cherokee Land, Blue Ridge Mountains) is a queer fibers artist, dream weaver and fire tender. Through a growing courtship practice with Jewish magic and the Sacred Elementals, elliot creates crystal grids upon the Earth, sings songs to constellations of ancestor trees in the forests and offers rose petals to the ancient water ways. elliot studies with Kohenet and other earth based Jewish communities, remembering, awakening and amplifying intuitive wisdoms. elliot is excited to learn and grow along side Kesher Fellowship cohort.

Ian Sam Schiffer (he/him) is an organizer, resource mobilizer, and ritual leader born and raised in Tovaangar/LA. Through his role as Community Weaver with Nefesh, an open-hearted spiritual community, he supports bridge-building, and inner-outer multi-faith Tikkun. Ian works with boys and men in building nurturance culture and is honored to be connected to the Tongva Tahrahat Paxaavxa conservancy supporting. He’s interested in offering spiritual, radical real estate, and ancestral support to settlers interested in being good guests/kuuyam through land transfer/teshuvah. Ian is a life-long Dalai Lama Fellow, loves ritual walks at the beach, and spacious time with kin.

Kat Macías (they/them) is a fat queer and genderqueer Puerto Rican and Cuban Jew-by-Choice who has been involved in movements for liberation since 2011. Kat began organizing in college fighting for the safety of trans students and ultimately winning the addition of “gender identity” to the Non-Discrimination Anti-Harassment policy at the University of Georgia. They are an alumn of the Jewish Organizing Fellowship and have worked in the Jewish social justice field for the past 7 years at organizations like Keshet, Avodah, and Jewish Youth for Community Action. Kat believes that the core of liberation work is vulnerability, trust, radical hope, and ultimately spiritual transformation. They come from a long lineage of spiritual seekers and leaders who have moved through Taino, Afro-Caribbean, Catholic, Pentecostal, and Mormon religion, practice, and traditions. Following in this legacy, Kat converted to Judaism and has played an important part in shaping Jewish communities. Kat holds a M.Ed. in Social Justice Education and is trained as a Movement Chaplain and Spiritual Director. Kat’s heart sings when they dance while cooking in kitchens, have long porch talks with queer Southern Jews and when they are swept away in songs share through Let My People Sing.

Keely Angel (she/her) grew up without religion but has always searched for a greater meaning in life. She has spent the last decade teaching yoga and meditation and is committed to making the wellness industry equitable and accessible. Keely has found deep fulfillment while offering trauma sensitive mindfulness practices through organizations such as The Lineage Project, Connected Warriors, and in hospice. In addition to wellness offerings, Keely is a musician who leads community song circles in religious and secular contexts. She is a multidisciplinary artist in mediums ranging from fiber (naturally dyed textiles) to digital design, collage and painting. Keely is a mother to a 4-year old incredible human, Jaya, who inspires her to explore, play, face adversity and leave the world better than she found it. She cherishes the opportunity afforded by the ALEPH Kesher Fellowship to dive deeper into her own spiritual lineage and grow in community.

Kyla Sokoll-Ward (she/her) currently works as the new director of the community mikveh at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA, where she is grateful to facilitate and witness moments of transformation in the lives of those who immerse in sacred waters. Judaism and spiritual expression run deep in Kyla’s bones, and she finds holiness in the uncomfortable, the ugly, the delightful, and the ecstatic in all that life will inevitably offer us. You can usually find her in deep conversations, crying happy tears over a really cute dog or really juicy fig, or moving energy through her body through shaking and dancing.

Liz Jones (she/her) is the Senior Corporate Account Manager at Cara Chicago, a social enterprise that supports people experiencing poverty with finding quality employment and navigating capitalism. She is a proud Avodah alum and serves on Avodah’s Advisory Committee, as well as organizes with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) around immigration, housing, and economic justice. Liz is a current student in the Me’ah adult education program through Hebrew College and recently earned a Certificate in Jewish Ethics from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). Originally from Cleveland, Liz attended Yale University where she studied cognitive science with a focus on reward processing. After moving to Chicago, she became involved with an overlapping web of beautiful, justiceful, queer Jewish communities. She is overjoyed to be deepening her exploration of Jewishness and Jewish practice through the Kesher Fellowship. Liz lives with her partner and their two cats.

Mel Friedel (she/her) recently found herself unexpectedly falling in love with Jewish learning as the Experiential Education Fellow at the NYU Bronfman Center. Since discovering where Jewish tradition and her own unique spiritual identity align, she has been seeking out more platforms to connect Jewishly and taking every opportunity to find the Divine in the mundane and the holiness in time. Outside of her seeking and her work as a campus educator, Mel loves bringing new and radical Torah to her friends, writing and reading poetry, practicing permaculture, reflecting by the East River near her home in Williamsburg, maintaining her amateur ukulele player status, and engaging in her favorite hobby and spiritual practice: laughter. She is excited to have time for expansion of soul and community as she continues to discern what’s next in her Jewish journey on this scary, tiny, magical place called Earth.

rachel jerusha kinbar (any/all)
partner and parent
ceramic and conceptual artist
mutual aid/socialist organizer
gardener/food grower
collaborator/ally
ashkenazi/ukrainian/dutch