Marie Krulewitch-BrowneA Cincinnati transplant with local roots, Marie was born and raised in Indianapolis by interfaith parents (Italian Catholic and Ashkenazi/Sephardi Jewish) with her younger brother and sister. Extroverted and extracurricularly-inclined, Marie participated in various Jewish programs while balancing other school & community-based clubs, performing arts, and sports activities. Marie attended Ohio Wesleyan University graduating with a dual degree BFA in Painting, BA in Psychology, and a minor in Music. Marie met her husband while at OWU and followed him to Cincinnati after graduation... and has been in love with Cincinnati ever since.
Professionally, Marie brings a proven track record of success in the arts and community engagement. She began her career at ArtWorks, building an expertise in cross-departmental organizational management, marketing & development, administration and programming. With her feet firmly planted in the Cincinnati arts and Jewish communities, Marie was looking for opportunities to bring these two worlds together. After connecting with local artists, mentors, and long-time friend and then ArtWorks colleague, Rachel Rothstein, who was also deeply interested in creating a platform for local Jewish artists to sell their wares (Rachel took a concept for a Jewish marketplace called Ish through ArtWorks' creative business development course!), ideas were exchanged, concepts were married, and ish Festival was born in 2016. Marie has lent expertise and creativity across a variety of Cincinnati-based organizations and programs including serving on the founding cohort of BLINK, and has held leadership positions in other community organizations including the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Congregation Beth Adam, MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir, and the University of Cincinnati’s Alpha Tau Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. Marie is Mom to two sons, a dog, two cats, and two snakes. |
AlliJo LesterAlliJo is an educator, designer, and researcher with a decade of experience in educational programming and community engagement design. Drawing on all three roles, AlliJo collaborates with community stakeholders to cultivate vibrant spaces where one’s rich historical and cultural narrative can be fostered, preserved, and sustained through socially just, transformative paradigms and place-based pedagogies. With a decade of teaching and coaching experience, and over five years in collaborative program design, AlliJo is on a mission to create playful and vibrant spaces that enhance our joy of learning. She is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Cincinnati in Educational and Community-based Action Research, current Doctoral Fellow at Brandeis University’s The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center and holds an M.A. in Educational Studies for Social Change from the University of Cincinnati. AlliJo brings an extensive background in serving a range of educational settings and needs; she has taught K-5 special education, preschool in a Reggio Emilia inspired setting, and teacher education. She is an instructor for DAAP, lead program designer and teacher for DeLet’s Master’s in Teaching at Hebrew Union College - LA and graduate researcher for the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute, a national professional development program for Jewish teachers and educators.
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Christine Chait |
Lauren Goldberg
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Becky Mason |