“My vision is to create those tools to have discussions with high schoolers so when they get to universities or jobs they already know, and are not surprised to see, that there is diversity in the Jewish community,” Michal Avera Samuel said.
Inside classrooms and student assemblies, the workshops invite teens to examine how bias operates in their everyday environments. Through storytelling, roleplay, and facilitated discussion, students explore how racism, antisemitism, and other forms of hate intersect—and, most importantly, how they can respond.
At a time when many Jewish communities are grappling with how to foster deeper engagement and participation, Asher sees an opportunity to reimagine not just what happens in communal spaces, but how it feels to be part of them. For her, leadership is rooted in creating moments of connection—where music, ritual, and presence come together to make Jewish life felt as much as it is practiced.
Joining JoCI’s LA Professional Network only strengthened Valdez’s newfound learning experiences and community. Unlike some professional networking groups, the JoCI Pro Network welcomes participants across the spectrum of professional experience—from those who have worked in Jewish communal spaces for decades, like Valdez, to those who are brand new to the field. For Valdez, it is a space to both grow professionally and find deeper community as they build their own Jewish adult life in Southern California.
At a moment when Jewish teens are navigating rising antisemitism alongside broader conversations about race and justice, Moving Traditions, a JoCI grantee, is asking a deeper question: What could it look like to address antisemitism in ways that reflect the multiracial reality of the Jewish community?
For Mitsui Collective, this work is part of a broader vision of communal healing that is rooted in the human capacity to attune to our bodies and inner worlds. “We already have so much of what we actually need to better navigate and heal from and transform how we relate to these oppressive ideologies and ultimately to ourselves and each other,” Silverstein said.
“I’m not sure that we fully appreciate the impact of someone just seeing us and saying ‘you belong, you can do this, you can lead.’” For Rabbi Buchdahl, such affirmation was especially powerful because leadership felt distant without visible role models.
