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Lauren Balter
Board Chair
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Lauren is excited to be back in her beautiful hometown after graduating from the University of British Columbia in May 2011. In college, she was the Vice President of the UBC Jewish Students Association for two years and hopes that this background will help her to give you the best Jewish community experience possible. Besides being Jewish, Lauren loves to exercise, play and watch sports, read, write, dance, cook (without gluten or dairy), learn new things, feed her addictions to volunteering and Sudoku, and, last but not least, MEET NEW PEOPLE-so please introduce yourself to her at the next Jconnect event! |
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Michael Cohen |
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Alex Gamoran
Development Co-Chair |
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Zulka Gavlovski
Marketing & Outreach Co-Chair
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My name is Zulka Ramirez, now I am Zulka R Gavlovski because I got married almost a year ago :). I am 26 years old and from Caracas, Venezuela. I graduated in the Universidad Simon Bolivar as a Chemical Engineer. I moved to Seattle almost 3 years ago. Since I moved to Seattle, my life has made a complete spin of 180 degrees. I love it! I knew that I was Jewish when my grandma told me (when I was 20... a little late huh? it is never late to discover who you are! :) ) "Oh, that is nice that you are dating a Jewish guy, cause you are also Jewish”... Eureka! I knew that something inside of me was calling my real roots... now comes the romantic side of the story... Since then, I started looking for my real roots and my personal road of transformation... Here I am ... I made it... well kind of... I am still growing and I want to give and help the community as much as I can.. |
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Ben Gilbert
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Ben is a tech enthusiast and entrepreneur from Ohio. He moved to Seattle in March of 2012 and couldn't be more excited to serve on the JConnect Board. He's currently a Program Manager at Microsoft, and runs a software company that makes iPhone apps. He's an organizer and Facilitator for Startup Weekend, and a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he was extremely active in AEPi and Hillel. He's passionate about hiking, running, frisbee, and design. |
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Tal Lev
Social Chair
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Shalom! My name is Tal Lev. I was born in Jerusalem and have been living in Seattle now for about 11 years, so I know my way around. I am in the middle of obtaining my Masters degree from Western Washington University in Student Affairs Administration. What that basically means is that I love working with and helping students. I am known to be a little quirky, honest, very outgoing, and I consider myself spontaneous, oh and did I mention hilarious. I love going: dancing, seeing movies, attending stage performances, and eating good food. I am multilingual and sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversation so no making fun of me. I have lived in 4 different countries before settling in the townhouse my boyfriend Nick and I own in Ballard (speaking of which if you have never been to Ballard, we need to change that!).
I am excited to meet and get to know as many Jconnectors as possible!
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Hillary Janison
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Hillary is a born-and-raised Seattleite, and graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in Communications. She is currently in business development and grant management for Cisco Systems. Through past experience with SpringBoard, Hillary is looking forward to contributing to the board and working to build the young adult Jewish community in Seattle. Hillary enjoys traveling, cooking, skiing, exploring the city, and spending time with her friends and family! |
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Sara Lukas |
Sara grew up in rural Maryland where she and her mother were the only Jewish residents! However, she was shipped off every summer to attend summer camp in Simi Valley at Camp Alonim. She attributes her passion for Judaism to these summers, full of traditions and Israeli dancing. Sara first moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, majoring in International Relations with a minor in Jewish Studies. She has six years of experience working in the Jewish community, and most recently was the Director of Undergraduate Engagement at Hillel UW. Sara is passionate about Jewish traditions, animals (especially her cat and three adorable dogs), family and travel. She also met her husband at Hillel UW and they have been involved in Hillel and Jconnect programming ever since!
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Julia Mizrahi
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Julia moved to Seattle in August 2011 and works at University of Washington's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS). She graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD in May 2011 where she studied Peace Studies, Political Science and Art. Juia was actively involved in the Jewish community while at Coucher. Julia's hometown is San Diego, CA She misses the sun, but not the heat. While in high school, she was an active memeber of USY and enjoyed summers at Camp Ramah in California. She loves Israel, and before attending college, participated in United Synagogue's Native Leadership program for a year in Israel. Julia enjoys matzah ball soup, Groupon, flameless candles, and travelling. But mostly, Julia enjoys spending time with friends and meeting new people here in Seattle. |
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Corinne Pascale
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Corinne Pascale is a third generation New Jersey native who moved to Seattle for work. She currently combines her love of technology and healthcare as a Program Manager for Caradigm. Passionate about the young Jewish adult experience, she’s been on the board since 2010 and focuses on Israeli society, JPro and inter-cultural outreach. You can find her at any 2nd Friday Shabbat, Jews and Shoes (monthly walk around Greenlake), or cultural event. Drop her a note if you live/work on the Eastside and want to meet for coffee.
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Mindy Rappaport
Social Media Chair
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Hi there! My name is Mindy Rappoport and this is my first year on the Jconnect Board. I recently graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Certification in Digital Media before returning home to Bellevue, Washington. By day, I'm a Web Builder at Cobalt. By night, I create, edit, optimize content, add photos, and post blog updates for New Planet Beer, a gluten-free beer company. From USY to Chabad at CU Boulder, Judaism has always played an active role in my life, and I'm excited to become reacquainted with the Seattle Jewish community. I love meeting new people, so if you see me (I'm the red head), come say hello! :) |
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Hayley Rosen
Tzedek Chair |
Hayley Rosen is newly married and has had a great introduction to Seattle through Jconnect. Hayley is from Toronto, Ontario and moved to Seattle in June with her husband who works for Amazon. Hayley graduated from the University of Waterloo in Therapeutic Recreation and during her time at Waterloo she was very actively involved with Hillel. Hayley was the president of Hillel for several years. Hayley has always played an active role in her Jewish community for many years and is excited to be a part of the Jconnect Board! |
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Joanne Rossignol |
Joanne (Zhanna) was born in the beautiful New England State of Connecticut, but grew up in Issaquah. After high school she studied Russian Area Studies and Global Politics at WSU. Through the international studies program she studied abroad at Far Eastern National University (DVGU) in Vladivostok, Russia. Afterwards, she continued her Russian Studies at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. (IE. She learned Russian in Korean and vice versa. Take that Mr. Dos Equis!) After college, she worked as a Russian Interpreter at a local non-profit helping Soviet Jews with their Energy Bills and Medical Transportation. She is dedicated to helping out the Jewish community as much as she can, particularly with the Russian speaking community. |
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Deb Jacoby
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Deborah Jacoby is excited to be on the Jconnect Board for another year! She grew up in a suburb of Seattle and has also lived in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and New York most recently before moving back home last year! She graduated with her BA from USC in Theatre and Musical Theatre and her MA in Educational Theatre from NYU. Deborah is currently the Take Steps Walk Manager for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation managing benefit walks in Seattle, Spokane and Boise! When she has free time she loves teaching theatre in the community and finding new gluten-free restaurants/desserts. She is obsessed with tea, so she is happy that winter makes it semi-normal to drink tea constantly. Deborah is excited to work with Jconnect and find new opportunities to build the Jewish community in Seattle! |
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Bryan Leeds
J-Pro Chair |
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Ari Schorr
Development Co-Chair |
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Jodi Schwartz
Religious Life Chair |
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Adam Truesdell |
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Olivia Zieve
Marketing & Outreach Co-Chair
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Olivia is thrilled to be back in her hometown of Seattle, after spending a year working in a Latino health clinic in Washington, DC. This is her second year on the Jconnect Board and she’s excited about getting more people involved and looking at ways that everyone can find community through Jconnect. When she’s not participating in, thinking about, planning, organizing or recruiting for Jconnect events, she likes baking, reading, traveling, learning languages and volunteering. She’s also very active and enjoys any activity that does not involve hand-eye coordination: biking, running, yoga, swimming and snowboarding. She loves meeting new people so please say hello at your next event!
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