Nomi Kaltmann is a lawyer and the Australian correspondent at Tablet Magazine. She is also the inaugural president and founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Australia (JOFA).
Tanya Rodolitz was born in Eastern Europe. She had no idea that she would someday not only become an American but also convert to Judaism.
Nicolas has extensive experience in the industry as an award-winning author, teacher of professional and creative writing at Swinburne University, RMIT and other institutions; past Chair of Writers Victoria; workshop facilitator; owner of a corporate writing business; and many other positions and endeavours. He is currently undertaking a PhD in creative writing.
Hannah is currently finishing her BA in History and Politics at the University of Melbourne. She was a madricha in Habonim Dror and her passions include animal rights, roller skating and deep diving the submerged terrains of the human condition.
Writing is my passion. Life is short. An author said to me, “Just start writing.” So, I did just that. My first memoir was published in 2017. The book is called, Love and Luck—A Young Woman’s Journey from Berlin to Shanghai to San Francisco. The “young woman” is my mother, and the story contrasts my life with hers. With this work completed, I caught the writing bug—a good virus--and wrote my first novel, A Glass Shattered. During the pandemic years which have not ended, I devoted my efforts to producing my father’s family’s story, my second memoir, A Smile That Lasts Forever. My professional background is in speech/language disorders. I was a Speech Pathologist for Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) for 36 years. Reading is my joy. I value both classic and modern styles in literature and nonfiction. I am studying piano as well. Reading has guided my writing, which is straightforward and descriptive. I have completed numerous online and in-person classes and workshops through Montgomery College, The Writer’s Center Bethesda, and Politics and Prose Bookstore.
Stacey Pfeffer is a freelance writer who often writes on Jewish themes. She has been published in The Forward and Kveller. A native New Yorker she has also written for many regional publications including New York Family and Westchester Magazine.
Lior Albeck-Ripka is the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Hear Them Holler. Hear Them Holler works with a range of clients curating, promoting, and producing music and arts events. In 2018, Hear Them Holler rebranded Shir Madness Jewish Music Festival as Festival of Jewish Arts and Music (FOJAM) and she has been the FOJAM Artistic Director since 2019. After completing a Master’s Degree in Publishing and Communications and Honours in Creative Arts at Melbourne University, Lior worked in Marketing and Communications across some of Melbourne’s most reputable arts and culture organisations and festivals including ACMI, Melbourne Festival, MIFF, JIFF, Jewish Museum of Australia and Classic, Lido and, Cameo Cinemas. She founded Hear Them Holler with her partner Jesse Lubitz in 2015 and in addition to the curation of over ten FOJAM online and live events since 2019, she has also curated and produced events including West Set Festival, Bendigo Autumn Music (BAM) and most recently Burning Love Bendigo. In all Lior’s work, she is dedicated to promoting the voices and artistic integrity of the artists she is working with and aspires to create meaningful and unique events.
Zee Abrams grew up in America and now lives with her family in Melbourne. She is the author of ‘LEAVING the BRONX,’ a fictionalized memoir.
Lindsay Soberano Wilson is a teacher and author. She is a Pushcart Nominee for Hoods of Motherhood: A Collection of Poems (Prolific Pulse Press, 2023). Her chapbook Casa de mi Corazon: A Travel Journal of Poetry and Memoir explores how her sense of community, Canadian Jewish identity, and home was shaped by travel. Soberano Wilson graduated from Concordia University's Creative Writing program and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto. "Breaking Up With the Cobalt Blues: Poems for Healing" (Prolific Pulse Press, 2024) is about being a third-generation Holocaust survivor.