Meet The Team

Rabbi Mark Wildes was ordained from Yeshiva University, but before becoming a rabbi, he received a JD from the Cardozo School of Law and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University. Since founding MJE 20 years ago, Rabbi Wildes has become one of America’s most inspirational and dynamic Jewish educators. He lives with his wife Jill and their children Yosef, Ezra, Judah and Avigayil on the Upper West Side where they maintain a warm and welcoming home for all. He is a hard core Beatles and John Lennon fan, and enjoys rocking out on the drums whenever possible. 

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More about Rabbi Wildes at www.markwildes.com

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Email: rmwildes@jewishexperience.org

Michal was originally born in Israel, but at a young age moved to America. After growing up in Atlanta, Georgia and Gilroy, California she attended the University of Nevada Reno where she studied Communications & Human Science. She decided to spend a year reconnecting to her roots by moving to Israel and teaching English at a Holon Middle School. She has spent a lot of time working with Jewish organizations and wanted to continue working with to bring the Jewish community together and growing the love for Israel abroad. Positive and eager to help, Michal is super excited to work for a Jewish-Zionist organization. She can't wait to meet you!

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Email: michals@jewishexperience.org

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Originally from Denver, Colorado, Rabbi Avi Heller has served as the COO of CharityChoice, the NJ Regional Director of Synagogues for the Orthodox Union’s, MJE’s Director of Education and the co-director of the OU’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Boston University. He is also an English and History teacher at Heichal ha-Torah in Teaneck and has been the Director of the Boca Raton Community Kollel, the Rabbi of the BRS West Synagogue and a Bronfman Fellow at Hillel International.

He received his BA from Boston University, rabbinic ordination (semicha) from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and an MA in Bible from the Bernard Revel School of Graduate Studies. He, his wife Shira and their three children live in Teaneck, NJ, and he enjoys word play, learning weird things, gardening, good coffee and running and biking while listening to alternative rock. 

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Email: ravavimje@gmail.com 

Shana Davis, nee Fohrman, received her undergraduate degree in psychology at Touro College, and completed graduate studies in Occupational Therapy at Touro School of Health Sciences. She has lived in many different places including Baltimore, Long Island, Israel and she now calls the Upper West Side home. Shana loves nature, drawing, sharing Torah, and scouting out adorable new coffee shops. Shana and Moshe got married to one another in March 2021 in sunny Florida, and now live in the Upper West Side. They love to host huge Shabbat meals and share their love of Shabbat.

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Email: Shana@jewishexperience.org

After a 10 year absence, Josh was delighted to return to MJE in 2010. After serving as MJE’s original Administrator, Josh left to join Birthright Israel. Later on Josh served as CFO (acting) at the FJMC and Director of Budget and Finance at CUNY’s MacCauley Honors College Josh is delighted to see the growth that has occurred at MJE and is delighted to be able to help MJE – and its participants – continue to grow and thrive. A life-long East Sider, Josh is the father of three young children.​

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Email: Joshua@jewishexperience.org

Kevin is originally from Bergenfield, NJ and left an indelible mark on his community after delivering a legendary bar mitzvah speech. From there, he continued to give over Divrei Torah, but truly made strides in his Torah knowledge when he spent two years learning at Yeshivat Orayta. Afterwards, he made the natural progression to study Computer Science at the University of Michigan, where he was able to garner a following of dedicated spiritual seekers who attended his weekly Shiur with Beer. After graduating, he married Allison and they moved to Israel where he studied at Yeshivat Torah V’Avodah and received rabbinic ordination. When Kevin is not teaching, he works as Product Manager for an Israeli real estate tech company, Cherre. Lastly, Kevin is also a passionate snowboarder, avid Citi biker, relentless audiobook listener, and competitive ping-pong player (challengers welcome). Kevin and his wife Allison now made Aliyah to Israel where they are directing our new brand new program "Tribe TLV".

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Email: kevin@jewishexperience.org

Hailing from Great Neck, Long Island, Jill started to become more involved in her Judaism after finishing college at the University of Wisconsin where she studied International Relations. Shortly after graduating from Rabbi Buchwald’s Beginner Services at Lincoln Square Synagogue, she went on to study at the Shearim and Nishmat seminaries in Israel and the Drisha Institute back in NY.  Jill completed her Masters in Social Work at Yeshiva University and went on to co-found MJE with Rabbi Mark (who she met in MJE’s “blue room”) three years after they married. She is the proud mother of Yosef, Ezra, Yehuda and Avigayil and is best know for her warmth and hospitality, having cooked for and hosted over 10,000 MJEers at her expanding Shabbat table.

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Email: jillwildes@gmail.com

Jack Hartstein hails from Scarsdale, NY. He holds a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University and is soon to receive his semicha (Rabbinic Ordination), from Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Issac Elchanon Theological Seminary. At RIETS he has undergone extensive training in public speaking and pastoral counseling. In conjunction with his studies at RIETS, Rabbi Jack served Congregation Beth Abraham Jacob in Albany, NY where he worked closely with Jews of all ages and backgrounds as a youth director, Rabbinic intern and Albany NCSY city coordinator. Rabbi Jack has spent his summers teaching Torah at the highly popular Camp Morasha. He completed a joint RIETS-Ferkauf advanced certificate program in Mental Health counseling and hopes to continue on to further his schooling. Rabbi Jack is most concerned with the questions of what it means to be human and what it means to live a good life. He is consistently dazzled by the Jewish approach to these questions. He loves geography, skyscrapers, singing, acting, and running. He is passionate about building a sense of family, responsibility, and destiny within the Jewish community.​

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Email: rabbijack@jewishexperience.org

Moshe Davis counts Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah in Queens as his Alma Mater; he studied, as well, at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Israel, and received rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem. Moshe holds a bachelor in Liberal Arts from UAGM. He grew up in Brooklyn, always a city boy- loving the hustle of city life and relating to people of all walks of life. Moshe is a tech enthusiast, enjoys hiking, talking about Jewish Law, and can’t wait to have an argument about any hot topic. Together, Moshe and Shana love to meet new people and create lasting friendships.

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Email: Moshe@jewishexperience.org

After spending 6 years producing content in the sports media industry, including stints with Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report, Andrew discovered his true calling when he found Hashem hiding in plain sight in the text of the Torah. Andrew’s unique method of Torah education involves examining the objective and quantifiable properties of the Torah system, the shapes, numbers, sounds, and words that the Torah is composed of known as the Hebrew Aleph Bet, to reach a conclusion that it is impossible that a finite human being could’ve created a system so deep and interconnected. Andrew’s new passion is creating content to share this message with others; that anyone who takes an objective look at the Torah will reach the same conclusion that Hashem is real and good, thus enriching their lives, and allowing them to walk through the confusion and distorting reality that is the human experience with everlasting inner happiness and assurance that everything will be okay. He looks forward to integrating this message into MJE’s already stellar content including Rabbi Wildes’ podcast, Instagram videos, and more.

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Email: andrew@jewishexperience.org

Chani studied for two years at Midreshet Moriah in Jerusalem, and then completed her B.A. in Judaic Studies from Stern College. She earned a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from the Azrieli Graduate School and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish Education and Administration from Yeshiva University. Chani taught in the local Jewish Day School system for the past 10 years.Chani now lives in Bergenfield, NJ with her husband Alan, and their five children Donny, Margalit, Akiva, Rivka and Eli.

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Email: Chani@jewishexperience.org

Hailing from Atlanta, Rabbi Cohen received a BA in Speech & Marketing from Yeshiva University, an MA in Education from the Azreili School of Jewish Education, and his Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University. Rabbi Cohen served as Educational Director and Rabbi at the Hillel of Rutgers and also worked at the Beth Din of America. Ezra also worked as a licensed Real Estate salesperson with Douglas Elliman. He is a frequent speaker and enjoys tennis, playing the guitar, and snowboarding. Rabbi Ezra, his wife Stephanie and son Shayne Isaac live in WestChester and hosts Shabbat meals, holiday events and classes in Downtown NYC.

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Email: ecohen@jewishexperience.org

Rivkie Siderson was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. During college, after attending seminary in Jerusalem, she found her passion for Jewish communal work while working for NCSY. Rivkie and her husband, Dovi, have been the NCSY couple in Stamford, CT for the last 2 years; during this time, they co-ran Israel summer experiences for teens. Rivkie loves meeting and working with people, and is currently halfway through her Master's of Social Work; MJE is the perfect storm for Rivkie, as her favorite things are connecting with people, learning more about Judaism, and having meaningful conversations about Judaism. She is very excited to meet everyone who comes to MJE, host fun meals in her home, and introduce them to her lovable dog (who doesn’t have to make an appearance if someone isn’t a fan of dogs)!

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Email: Rivkie@jewishexperience.org

Originally from Seattle, Washington, Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal received a BS in Finance from Touro College, an MA in Education Administration from Columbia University and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva B’nei Torah in Far Rockaway, NY. Over 750 of his classes are available on YUTorah.org. He also was the lead guitarist for Shlock Rock for many years. He currently enjoys teaching the MJE Lamm Fellowship, which has provided a year of intense Jewish education for MJE’ers who were denied Jewish education in their youth. Rabbi Pinny lives in West Hempstead with his wife Marie and their six children.

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Email: rabbipin@jewishexperience.org

Born and raised in the Bronx, Deborah has worked with an administrative background for many years and is skilled in Event/Party Planning. Deborah has worked for Rabbi Wildes for over 18 years and is proud to be his assistant and part of the MJE Team. When she is not busy keeping Rabbi Wildes organized and on the go, coordinating room rentals or planning parties, she enjoys spending quality time with her beautiful daughter, JoAnna, a graduate of FIT.​

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Email: driker@jewishexperience.org

Allison, originally from Queens, graduated as salutatorian from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. Her passion for Torah study grew during her time abroad in Israel, learning at Midreshet Harova, Hebrew University, and the OU/JLIC program at Yeshivat Orayta. Allison was also a fellow on The Nachshon Project, a Jewish leadership program that focuses on creating and strengthening Jewish communities in North America. Together at MJE, Allison, along with her husband Rabbi Kevin Wolf, enjoy teaching classes, learning with community members, helping out every other Shabbos at Friday Night Lights and AM services, and welcoming guests to their shabbos table! When Allison is not grabbing a cup of coffee with a community member, she can be found playing tennis with Kevin or shouting out the answers to Jeopardy! Allison and her husband Kevin now made Aliyah to Israel where they are directing our new brand new program "Tribe TLV".

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Email: Allison@jewishexperience.org