Rabbi Melissa Buyer-Witman is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Temple Israel of the City of New York. She received her BA in Judaic Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, her Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters, Masters of Arts in Jewish Education, and Rabbinic Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Rabbi Buyer-Witman began her journey in Jewish education as a Dean of Students at Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, California. From 2006-2011 Rabbi Buyer-Witman served as the Director of Religious School, Youth, and Camp Programs for Stephen S. Wise Temple where she was responsible for a number of innovations including a revolutionary new post b'nai mitvah program entitled "The Academy," and her nationally recognized program, “TiLearn,” which blends on-site learning with distance learning. Since 2011 she has continued to innovate and reinvigorate learning for students of all ages at Temple Israel of the City of New York. . Rabbi Buyer-Witman has served in various leadership positions in the field of Jewish Education. She is the Editor for the CCAR’s Mishkan HaNefesh for Youth: A Machzor for Youth and Families. She is a faculty member for the URJ’s Crane Lake and Eisner Camps. She has served as the Chair of the Limmud Taskforce to reimagine Jewish Education for URJ’s Camps Eisner and Crane Lake. She also served on the Board of Overseers for Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, the Board of the ARJE, and Hebrew Union College's National Advisory Committee for the Certificate Program in Jewish Education, specializing in adolescents and emerging adults. In January of 2011 she co-chaired the National Association of Temple Educators National Conference in Seattle Washington, the topic of which was her true passion- Jewish Education and Technology. Rabbi Buyer-Witman and her husband Michael Witman are the proud and boastful parents of three girls--Lily, Josie, and Nessa.
Mark Podwal, perhaps initially best known for his drawings in The New York Times Op-Ed, is the author and illustrator of numerous books (with a typical focus on Jewish legend, history, and tradition). His work appears in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Fogg Art Museum, and the Library of Congress. He is represented by the Forum Gallery in New York and has exhibited there since 1977. Podwal's artistry has been employed in an array of diverse projects, including the design of a series of decorative plates for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work has been engraved on a Congressional Gold Medal and woven into an Aubusson tapestry for the ark in the main sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El in New York. He also designed sixteen kiln cast glass panels for the United Jewish Appeal Federation Headquarters. In 2011, Podwal received commissions to design new embroidered textiles for Prague's seven hundred year old Altneuschul; to create a limited edition print for The Metropolitan Opera's production of Nabucco; to design Hanukkah cards for The Metropolitan Museum and The Metropolitan Opera; and to illustrate Sharing The Journey: The Haggadah for the Contemporary Family, published by CCAR Press in 2012. His illustrations also appear in Mishkan T’filah for Youth, published by CCAR Press in 2014. Among Podwal’s many accomplishments are a National Jewish Book Award, a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and a Jewish Cultural Achievement Award from the Foundation for Jewish Culture. He has been named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government and was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa by Hebrew College (Newton Centre, MA) in 2003.
