Leadership
Makom is organized by Rabbi Aaron Levy and a seven-member Leadership Team (the founding Board), working together to plan and run programs while also engaging in a strategic planning process to make Makom a more viable and sustainable community and organization. A number of other community members are involved in guiding our planning process and initiating creative programs. If you are interested in contributing to these processes, please let us know. We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and concerns on Makom; feel free to be in touch.
Rabbi Aaron Levy
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Rabbi Aaron Levy is the founder and director of Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism, named one of North America’s 50 most innovative Jewish nonprofits in Slingshot ’10-’11. He inspires diverse Jews and non-Jews by fusing ritual and ethical practice, by teaching in an open-minded and intellectually serious style, and by making Judaism’s joy and playfulness apparent through musical, participatory prayer. Aaron is a leader in the revival of downtown Jewish life in Toronto, where he also teaches percussion and is a sought-out educator on a wide variety of Jewish topics, especially ethical eating, environmentalism, spirituality, pluralism, and social justice.Aaron brings experience living and working in a variety of cities and Jewish communities; he previously founded an independent minyan, served as campus rabbi at three Hillels, and led wilderness backpacking trips. Aaron is a board member of Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs and sits on the Downtown Jewish Community Council and Toronto Board of Rabbis. He is a member of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s Jewish Social Entrepreneurship Pilot Project and was a Legacy Heritage Rabbinic Fellow for continuing professional education. Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Aaron was ordained in 2004 in the first graduating class of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah – The Open Orthodox Rabbinical School in New York City. An avid drummer, hiker, vegan, and urban gardener, he is married to Miriam Kramer and they live downtown with their three-year-old son, Elior.
Visit Aaron on Facebook |
Andrea Toole
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Andrea Toole is a writer, food blogger, and new media expert with experience in marketing, communications, grant proposal writing, strategic planning, board management, and event planning. She has worked for not-for-profit organizations and government. Andrea holds a BA in Mass Communications from Carleton University and an Arts Administration-Cultural Management Postgraduate Diploma from Humber College. She has been a volunteer with Out of the Cold, and MAZON Canada. Andrea comes from a family with a rich history in downtown Toronto. Her maternal grandfather, a mohel to three generations, grew up near Kensington Market. Andrea is delighted to go back to her roots and carry on her family’s legacy by building traditional and progressive Jewish life in downtown Toronto through Makom. You can also find her on Twitter, LinkedIn & Sprouter. |
Felicia Brooker
…Bio coming soon.
Miriam Kramer
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Miriam Kramer has more than a decade of experience in research, policy analysis, media relations and community organizing. Currently the Canadian Education Project’s Director, she conducts focus groups and interviews, spearheads the development of mixed methods for quantitative and qualitative research and manages projects for a number of different clients, including governments and post-secondary institutions. She has written and published dozens of articles and papers and appears regularly in the media. Miriam has a Masters in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in English Literature from the City University of New York. Miriam previously lived and worked in New York City, Jerusalem and London, England. She currently lives in Toronto, and is involved in building downtown Jewish life, serving on the coordinating team for the first-ever Jewish Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Toronto (linking Everdale Farm and the First Narayever Congregation) and the Launch Team of Makom, a new grassroots, downtown Jewish community. |
Ruth Matthews
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Ruth Matthews is dynamic Human Resources professional with more than ten years of experience in both the public and private sectors. She has extensive experience in all facets of HR including employee relations, facilitation, change management, recruitment, and performance management. A graduate of the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Ruth continued her Jewish education by spending her third year of university studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She holds a BA from McGill University and a Master’s in Adult Education from the University of Toronto. In 2002, she led a Birthright Israel trip. Ruth is excited to build a meaningful, inclusive, progressive downtown Jewish community. |
Louise Smith
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Bio coming soon. |
Tema Smith
…Bio coming.
1 Comment.
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Freezing Jews in the Great White North | Jewschool says:
October 20, 2010 at 11:22 am
Comments[...] Congratulations to them (and, really, I mean it – many of us at Jewschool are friends with some of their organisers). [...]