Storytelling Israel 2020

Sarah Crawford

In 2010, Sarah Crawford (formerly Fennel), a homesick college student who missed her mother’s cooking, started Broma Bakery as a creative outlet for chronicling tried-and-true family recipes. Ten years later, Sarah continues to provide a place for home cooks and bakers alike to get their daily fix of delicious recipes, business advice in the age of social media, and a dash of humor. Sarah’s latest venture, Foodtography School, is an amalgamation of the learnings she has gathered over the past (nearly) decade, parlayed into easily digestible morsels of content for aspiring food bloggers, restaurant photographers, and amateur creators of all kinds. Sarah wanted to share her wealth of knowledge in a way that supported those around her, providing clear, actionable paths to success in a seemingly murky industry. Beyond food, Sarah lets her followers and readers in on her daily life, including her beauty routine, personal style, fitness and health journeys, buying a home, being a (crazy) dog and cat mom, and (most recently) her life as a newlywed!

Lipaz Ela

Lipaz Ela is the Vibe Israel Academy Manager. She is responsible for developing our training, workshops and lectures. In her previous positions, Lipaz served as the Jewish Agency Israel Fellow at UCLA and was in charge of all Israel engagement, programming and experiences at Hillel. She also supported students at Stanford University and the University of Cape Town through their Israel programming on campus, and created various seminars for engaging the young generation with Israel in the U.K and Mexico. Lipaz holds a BA in Political Science and currently studying for her Master’s Degree in Pluralistic Jewish Education.

Sergio Galdamez, Yeyush and Renzo

Sergio Galdamez, born and raised in Guatemala.  Currently living in New York and works as Director of Endowments and Special Projects at Hadassah supporting Hadassah's hospitals in Jerusalem and other projects in Israel. His love for dogs and pets are his passion. His two rescued Chihuahuas Yeyush and Renzo were invited by Vibe Israel in 2017 to visit Israel and participate in the Doggie Vacay Tour.  

Yeyush came from a puppy mill in Indiana.  He was kept on a cage the first years of his life. They gave him a tattoo with the number 13 on his left ear. He was rescued and transferred to New York where he was adopted. He barely could walk as he was kept on a cage at all times.

Renzo was rescued in Tennessee where his abusive owner broke his skull in two, then left him bleeding tied to a tree under a snowstorm. When he was rescued, he was barely alive and had frostbites all over his body.  His strong soul kept him alive. His story has inspired people to adopt other pets in need.

Yeyush and Renzo have been star models in many celebrity catwalk fashion shows in New York City.  They also have participated in the New York Pet Fashion Show and the famous New York Fashion Week.  Their photos have been in newspapers around the world with media reach of over 50 million viewers. From New York, to Guatemala, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Colombia and so many other countries their names are recognized and becoming dog fashion icons. They have appeared on live TV shows in USA, Israel, Guatemala and Colombia and programs and their faces have been shared by celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and Paris Hilton among others.

Becca Hurowitz

Becca Hurowitz is the President & CEO of Vibe Israel USA, an organization that works with the North American Jewish community to share Israel’s story with the world. Our mission is to energize and inspire young people around the world about Israel by harnessing the power of social media and country branding methodologies.

Becca was previously the Associate Director for Campaign and Missions for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, where she oversaw the Federation’s $13.7 million Annual Campaign Becca crated a strategic missions program for the Federation, leading missions to Israel, Argentina, Cuba, Prague, Budapest, Morocco and more.  She is passionate in advocating for the importance of Jewish travel experiences.

Becca is a Wexner Heritage Program participant, and received the Ira and Nanette Gordon Professional Achievement Award in 2019.  She is on the Advisory Committee of Repair the World in Pittsburgh and an active parent liaison for Emma Kaufmann Camp and the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. Becca lives in the Regent Square neighborhood of Pittsburgh with her husband and 3 children, who attend an environmentally-focused charter school and are second generation JCC overnight campers. She and her family can be found hiking in Frick Park or hosting neighborhood parties. Becca is a passionate music fan who has been to hundreds of concerts.

Sharonna Karni Cohen

Sharonna was born in Tel Aviv, grew up in London & returned to Tel Aviv in 2010. She has a Bsc in Sociology & Politics. She is the founder of Dreame: A platform for commissioning art with 500 artists around the world. She is the creator of The Big Dream: An art installation and event with artworks puzzled out of yoga mats envisioning the future of countries and cities around the world.  In 2017, I co-founded & opened Moment Salon ; a pop up cultural salon in Tel Aviv with food, jazz and gallery. She is passionate about the imagination, art, storytelling and manifesting dreams around the world.

Joanna Landau
Founder & CEO, Vibe Israel

Joanna Landau was born in London and moved to Israel with her family when she was 5 years old. After serving in the IDF as a paramedic, she read law at Cambridge University where she gained BA and MA degrees. Joanna also holds an MBA, cum laude, from the Herzlia Interdisciplinary Center in Israel. Joanna worked as a lawyer in the high-tech industry and established two Internet start-ups based in Tel Aviv.

In 2009, Joanna founded Vibe Israel (formerly Kinetis), to change the way people think and feel about Israel. She is also on the Board of Directors of Vibe Israel USA, Vibe Israel’s 501(c)(3) partner in the U.S. In 2016 Vibe Israel was a finalist in a prestigious international competition by City Nation Place, the global forum of place branding experts, for the Best Use of Social Media in Place Branding Award.

Joanna is a governor of Tel Aviv University, a member of the International Education Committee of Taglit-Birthright and the Advisory Committee of Innovation Without Boarders, and a Director of Tel Aviv Global & Tourism. In 2015 she was shortlisted for the Rappaport Prize for a Change Making Woman, and in 2017, Joanna was chosen by Forbes Israel as one of the fifty most influential women in Israel.

She lives in Tel-Aviv with her husband and three children.

Ryan Peña 

Ryan Peña is an Innovator and Strategist with over 10 years experience in the marketing and social media field. He’s known for implementing highly innovative solutions into rapidly changing environments. Currently, Ryan works at Be The Match to elevate their social media strategy and help save the lives of patients battling blood cancers or blood diseases. As a global speaker, he loves to share his learnings along the way while meeting and learning from others. Most recently, Ryan spoke in Egypt at the World Youth Forum alongside the President!

Whenever he breaks away from the internets, you can expect to see him with his 2 girls and wife, at a coffee shop or commuting on his bike.

Melanie Shreffler 

Melanie Shreffler has been studying the mindset and motivations of Millennials and Gen Z for more than a decade. As VP, Insights at Cassandra, Melanie has become an authority on youth culture and the ever-changing habits of young consumers through extensive research, trend-spotting, and thought leadership. Melanie regularly shares her findings about young people at industry conferences and consults with executive teams of Fortune 500 companies including Sony Music, Microsoft, and HP. She has been featured in national press, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and Fast Company, and she frequently contributes insights to trade publications. Melanie’s passion and craft for developing youth insights has helped marketers across all industries better engage with today’s youth.

Meesha and Bruce Wayne

Meesha and Bruce Wayne live in Baltimore, MD. When we're not out and about taking photos, you can find us traveling to find the most dog-friendly places.

Alon Zaibert
 
Alon is a relationship driven sales executive who has been taking advantage of his energetic personality and interpersonal psychology throughout his career. Along with a track record of bottom line results and management experience Alon has been able to achieve the reputation of an impact-full and motivational leader.

Today Alon works for Travel Leaders Group (TLG), a $20 Billion organization, as the Vice President of Sales for TLG's corporate travel division (TLC).

Alon's true passion is to give through mentoring, motivational speaking engagement and training around utilizing the power of Emotional Relevance throughout different means of communication.