Who We Are
JYCM is a youth-led movement centered in Jewish communities and institutions all across the country. JYCM is composed of a National Leadership Board of around 30 Jewish-identifying, middle and high school-aged climate activists and a national network of kvutzot (chapters).
Kvutzot
The core of our movement are kvutzot (chapters/groups) at local Jewish institutions across the country. Our network of over 50 JYCM kvutzot operates in Jewish institutions and communities all around the country, including synagogues, schools, JCCs, federations, organizations, and local geographic areas. Led by youth, kvutzot engage all members of their institution or area to take action for climate justice. Through kvutzot, JYCM empowers all youth to take action around climate change and provides them with a platform for their own ideas and projects. Kvutzot work in partnership with the National Leadership Board to plan campaigns and work on local and national projects and climate activism.
In several cities across the country, kvutzot are organized into regional and citywide cohorts. Kvutzah Cohorts engage in regional in-person gatherings and events and work together to take political action and mobilize at a regional level. Cohorts currently exist in New York, Boston, and Denver-Boulder, and more cohorts will continue to form in the near future.
Leadership Board
JYCMβs National Leadership Board supports the success and day-to-day functioning of our national network of kvutzot, facilitates the development and inner-workings of the movement, runs national campaigns, and serves as the connection between JYCM and staff, mentors, and the wider Adamah organization. A subset of the Leadership Board serves on the Executive Board, which consists of the directors of each working group and two co-directors of the national Leadership Board.
The Leadership Board is divided into eight working groups, each of which performs unique and essential function for JYCM:
- Kvutzah development: supports our bases around the country.
- Jewish Ritual & Culture: grounds our movement in Jewish tradition.
- Communications: broadcasts all of our activities to the public.
- Actions: organizes actions to build momentum and secure wins for our movement.
- Education & Writing: implements trainings and publishes written pieces.
- Fundraising: implements fundraisers and supports the acquisition of foundation grants.
- Policy: organizes advocacy projects for public policies that advance climate justice.
- Equity & Inclusion: holds our movement accountable to centering equity and inclusion.
Upon graduation, many Leadership Board members join our Amitim (fellows) College Fellowship. Amitim support National Leadership Board projects and recruit college students into our work.
Amber Marcus Blank
Co-Director
Sharon, MA
Rivka Schafer
Co-Director
Teaneck, NJ
Ava Trachtenberg
Actions Director
Houston, TX
Daniel Vilker
Actions
East Greenwich, RI
Beila Kraus
Actions
Chappaqua, NY
Ellah Varano
Actions
Carmichael, CA
Sarah Mautner-Mazlen
Actions
Brookline, MA
Sophia Rich
Communications Director
Ann Arbor, MI
Abigail Kushman
Communications
Tenafly, NJ
Julia Dubey
Communications
New York, NY
Liora Pelavin
Communications
Teaneck, NJ
Sofi Maranda
E&I Director
Ann Arbor, MI
Lexie Miller
E&I
Boulder, CO
Hannah Stoll
E&I
West Roxbury, MA
Yosef Lopez
E&I
Ann Arbor, MI
Lila Horberg Decter
Kvutzah Development Director
Brookline, MA
Alex Kamras
Kvutzah Development
Los Angeles, CA
Ilana Zahavy
Kvutzah Development
Merion, PA
Asher Sochaczewski
Kvutzah Development
Miami Beach, FL
Ria Lowenschuss
Education & Writing Director
Ann Arbor, MI
Sonja Lippmann
Education & Writing
San Jose, CA
Michelle Mesnick
Education & Writing
New York, NY
Isabelle Kanefsky
Education & Writing
Stamford, CT
Shayne Cyrtrynbaum
Policy Director
Livingston, NJ
Noah Shurz
Policy
Denver, CO
Ella Mosca
Policy
New York, NY
Sara Pearl Adler
Policy
Hollywood, FL
Abby Berman
Fundraising & Development Director
New York, NY
Noa Shimshi
Fundraising & Development
Upper St. Clair, PA
Shifra Kabakov
Fundraising & Development
Northampton, MA
Lucy Waldorf
JRC Director
Newton, MA
Julia Levin
JRC
Baltimore, MD
Tova Weiss
JRC
Ann Arbor, MI
Amitim College Cohort
Emily Renetzy
Los Angeles, CA
Sophie Raskin
Tulsa, OK
Yonah Sadeh
Falls Village, CT
Isadora Weiner
Teaneck, NJ
Sophie Berman
Westlake Village, CA
Isaac Ostrow
Lexington, MA
Joel Swirnoff
Lexington, MA
Rachel Berman
New York, NY
Sarah Gorbatov
Tenafly, NJ
Elijah Harris
West Hartford, CT
Anna Dubey
New York, NY
Bella Weksler
Boulder, CO
Eli Anderson
Tulsa, OK
Raphi Gold
New York, NY
Tali Deaner
Grand Rapids, MI
Michael Pincus
West Palm Beach, FL
Aliza Cotton
Delmar, NY
Naomi Parr
West Bloomfield, MI
Penelope Kopp
Brooklyn, NY
JYCM Staff
Madeline Canfield
JYCM Organizing Coordinator
Madeline Canfield joined Adamah after organizing with the Sunrise Movement, Houston Youth Climate Strike, the Youth Working Group for the City of Houston Climate Action Plan, and Zero Hour. She is currently an undergraduate at Brown University.
Providence, Rhode Island
Liana Rothman
Youth Empowerment Director
Liana is the director of Youth Empowerment at Adamah and co-founder of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM). Liana oversees JYCM and Adamah on Campus, supporting Jewish teens and college students with taking climate action, and promoting climate justice within institutions. She is pursuing a MPA in nonprofit management and public service from NYU.
212.908.2526
New York, NY
Marissa Fink
Adamah LA Youth Empowerment Coordinator
Marissa is a Southern California native and UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources graduate. She loves running by the ocean at sunset. She believes empowering Jewish youth is key to a sustainable future and thrilled to help grow JYCM LA Kvutzot!
323.275.9020
Newport Beach, CA
Miriam Ehrlich
JYCM NY Kvutzah Cohort Coordinator
Miriam is passionate about Tikkun Olam, and has over five years of experience working with non-profits and on political campaigns. She earned her Master of Social Work at Columbia University and was born and raised in New York City.
212.908.2514
New York, NY
Shaina Morrel
Adamah on Campus Student Organizer
Shaina comes to Adamah with a background in Jewish college engagement, having previously worked as a Hillel social justice Springboard Fellow. She is a graduate of George Washington University and enjoys traveling and cooking in her free time.
212.908.2505
Hartford, CT
Samm Kaiser
National Kvutzah Organizer
Samm’s background ranges from software engineering to college campus engagement to goat milking. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis who enjoys reading, walking, and looking at bugs in her free time.
917.268.7124
New York, NY
Publications & In the News
- Environmental Justice Through a Jewish Lens, Hadassah Magazine, January 2022
- Jewish Youth Climate Movement Fellows Attend U.N. Climate Change Conference in Egypt, JMore Baltimore Jewish Living, November 2022
- Synagogues Aflame: Our Omissions in Transmitting LβDor VaDor, The Peoplehood Papers 28
- Jewish Youth Climate Movement: Organizing the Jewish Community Toward Climate Justice, October 2021
- On Jewish Earth Day, more Jewish groups take climate action, AP News, January 2022
- Activists call out Chase Bank for their role in the climate crisis, UpriseRI, November 2022
- Rabbis arrested demanding climate action by Wall Street giantβs Jewish CEO, NY Jewish Week, October 2021
- JYCM Day of Climate Education and Action: Day in Review, Jewish Boston, November 2022
- Video: Coming of Age in the time of Climate Crisis: Stories of Climate Grief and Resilience, The Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest, January 2022
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