Ilana Chester is a semi retired psychiatrist, a life long reader and diarist, with strong Jewish values, and a love for learning and communication.
Bambi Rakhel Ward is a Melbourne based author and senior medical education consultant with a PhD in creative writing and a background in general practice and oral history. She wrote a memoir of her spiritual journey as part of her PhD, which focused on breaking the silence of identity based family secrets. Rakhel gives regular drashot at Kedem’s Service for the Soul, and has taught Torah and Kabbalah at various organisations, including the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia and Melbourne’s Jewish Museum.
Anita Jawary is a Melbourne writer, poet and artist. She has worked as a freelance journalist, teacher and academic and is now retired. Her passions are good writing, good art, and exploring the fork in the tree where the two meet, nest and gestate.
Alex Kats is a content writer for a public sector consultancy with experience in all three tiers of the Australian public service. Over the year he has written many articles, reports and speeches. He has also had many years of involvement in the Jewish community and is currently a long-term volunteer at Jewish Care and Chair of the Council of Christians and Jews.
Frances Prince is a Jewish educator, Holocaust educator and Jewish communal representative within Victoria’s interfaith community. She is a co-founder of March of the Living, Australia. Since 2014, she has been an executive member of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) where she holds the multicultural and interfaith portfolio. She serves on the committee of the annual Lodz ghetto commemoration. Frances was a member of the Australian Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) Victoria Committee and a founding Board member of JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance) Australia. In 2021 she published her first book, “Gift of Time- Discoveries from the Daily Ritual of Reading with my Father”, published by Real Film and Publishing. Currently, she divides her time between Melbourne and Jerusalem.
Di Erlichman is a Boon Wurrung/Woi Wurrung-based (Melbourne) writer, editor, mixed-media, and performance artist; currently studying Fine Arts at Monash University.
Di has a strong interest in exploring social issues and belief systems through personal stories, memory, and trace.
She experiments in diverse mediums including video, photography, collage, acrylic, pigment and shellac, encaustic, photo transfer, and assemblage.
Shayna Sharim is currently a Hospitality & Real Estate attorney and a member of the California State Bar.
Mihaal Danziger is a documentary maker with a love for people-centred stories. She has produced and directed short documentaries, interviews and animations, while also facilitating film workshops with vulnerable communities. Her work includes creating content for NGOs, collaborating with asylum seekers, and locally producing for Emmy Award nominated documentary series Say What.
Chavah Goldman moved to Massachusetts while attending Brandeis University and then never left. A longtime educator, Chavah is currently the Director of Learning and Teaching at a Jewish Day School in the Boston area. She enjoys writing in her free time and has previously published articles through The Jewish Magazine.