Our Team
Lisa Colton is the Co-Executive Producer of the Festival focused on operations. A serial entrepreneur who enjoys finding opportunities and bringing ideas to life, she is the founder and president of Darim Online and Darim Consulting and in these capacities works with Jewish organizations, nonprofits and social causes on business strategy and communications. She is an avid home cook, co-founder of The Urgency of Now: Seattle’s Jewish Climate Festival.
Jeffrey Yoskowitz is the Co-Executive Producer of the Festival focused on program. A food entrepreneur and a thought leader in the Jewish food world, he is co-author of the critically acclaimedThe Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods and co-owner of The Gefilteria, a food venture that’s been reimagining Old World Jewish Foods since 2012. Jeffrey has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, among others. Jeffrey teaches Jewish culinary anthropology at The City College of New York. Follow him on instagram @jeffyosko and @gefilteria.
Liz Alpern is a festival producer focused on programming. She is co-author of the critically acclaimed The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods and co-owner of The Gefilteria, a food venture that’s been reimagining Old World Jewish Foods since 2012. She is also the creator of Queer Soup Night, a global event series highlighting the talent of queer chefs and raising funds for locally-based social justice organizations.
Devra Ferst is a festival producer focused on programming. She is a food and travel writer. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Vogue, NPR, Eater, and numerous other publications. Follow her on Instagram @dferst.
Jesse Lauter is the Technical Director for the Festival. Jesse is a music producer, film director, and a curator of enjoyable experiences. His credits include artists such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ben Harper, Lola Kirke, Stephen Stills & Judy Collins, Ingrid Michaelson, among others. He also oversees production for Manhattan's Central Synagogue and its widely viewed live-stream and cable broadcast.
Dalit Shalom is responsible for the festival’s visual identity. A designer at The New York Times, Dalit is evolving new formats for storytelling in the newsroom and on the R&D team. In addition to her work at The Times, she teaches design and innovation courses at Columbia University and at NYU. Any free moment she has is spent poking around the kitchen, thinking about what to bake next.
SARAH-KAY leads the Jewish and family programming for the festival. She is a raised (though not born) New Yorker who has lived in 3/5 boroughs and worked in all 5 of them. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in Urban Studies & Religion, she went on to work for City Government and received an MPA from the Wagner School at NYU in Non-Profit Management. A voracious reader, hostess and maker of puns, she has worked for the past 16 years at JCC Manhattan, currently as Senior Director of Institutional Programs, building community throughout their 11 story vertical neighborhood. Skay, as she is known to all, splits her shabbats between Shabbanging at the JCC once a month, R&R-ing weekly and hosting dinners in her own dining room with family, friends, nomads and assorted gypsies. Sarah-Kay's favorite kind of Jewish programs are surprising, magical and free. Sarah-Kay lives in Brooklyn with her husband, their 3 kids, dog and cat.
Zoe Plotsky leads our marketing team. She is a community builder, experience designer, and food + beverage enthusiast. A marketing consultant, she thrives by creating high impact brand experiences, both online and off. She’s worked with OneTable, Tablet, Unorthodox Podcast, Rent the Runway and more. She holds a BA in Political Science + Psychology from Barnard College and a Certificate in Social Impact Strategy from University of Pennsylvania. Raised between Los Angeles and New York City, she is fascinated by cities as well as the food, people, and ideas that fill them.Follow her on Instagram @zoepsky.
Jessica Siskin is on our social media team. She is the creator of @mister_krisp, a popular Instagram account displaying her edible Rice Krispies Treat creations resembling everything from pizzas to pop-culture icons. She sells bespoke treats to customers in New York City, works with producers and brands to create engaging photo and video content for their social media channels. Her cookbook, Treat Yourself! (Workman Publishing) was released in August, 2017 and is available wherever books are sold.
Marissa Freeman is on our marketing team. She’s a gatherer, host-with-the-most, and Manager of Special Projects at OneTable, where she has worked for the last four years. Originally from Kailua, Hawai’i, Marissa studied Digital Communication at The University of Washington. Additionally, Marissa is an instructor at The Bar Method and holds a Certification as a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Consultant from Spiritual Intelligence and UPEACE, the UN General Assembly’s innovate effort to educate leaders on human and global wellbeing. When she’s not sipping an almond milk latte, she’s re-watching The West Wing and cuddling up with her pup, Wookie. Follow Marissa’s journey on Instagram @mfreealoha.
Sarit Wishnevski leads the white label of OneTable’s platform for the festival. She is a chef, hospitality obsessed, and the Associate Director for Community Partnerships at OneTable. When she’s not building collaborative relationships around Jewish 20's and 30's and all things Friday night Shabbat dinner, she can be found living out her NYC Ashkenazi Grandparent’s dream while she splits her time between Riverdale in the Bronx and Kingston in the Catskills.
Amalia KRUSZEL leads the technical implementation of the white label of OneTable’s platform for the festival. She joined OneTable in December 2019 after 7.5 years at Americans for the Arts, where she was the administrator of multiple databases and website, as well as for developing and executing membership acquisition and renewal campaigns, including direct mail and online communication campaigns of the Arts Action Fund. Amalia has found a new community through the Shabbat ritual, by connecting with other young Jewish professionals through participation in and being a coordinator for DC’s Shabbat Cluster program. Amalia has a passion for technology and innovative solutions to better serve users. Amalia has her MBA from George Mason University.
Pammie Shapiro works on the white label of OneTable’s platform for the festival. She is a Jewish educator and tech wiz working on the OneTable team as the Senior Manager of Immersive Experiences. She is a Florida native and currently lives in Washington DC where it is her goal to try all the best brunches in the city.
Elie Lauter leads our community events team. She is a seasoned Jewish nonprofit professional who has worked at innovative, community-based organizations in both the Bay Area and NYC. She recently worked as the Interim ED at The Kitchen in San Francisco, and currently serves as the ED of KIVUNIM. She is an avid challah baker and lover, and she got her start in the hospitality industry at Saul's Jewish Deli in Berkeley.
Randy Esulto is on our event production team. He is a multi-platform event and media production professional and photographer with a particular focus on live-streaming workflows, aerial imaging & 360º immersive photography & video. Recently, Randy has been helping clients translate their in-person events and productions to the virtual space by designing and building live streaming studios, developing production workflows, and directing, managing, and supporting their productions.
Jess Gill is the Production Assistant for the Festival. She is a freelance production coordinator, stage manager, and IATSE stagehand based in New York City. She can often be found at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Barclays Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, and other various venues throughout the city.
Sarah Nathan is a community builder and food/bev consultant in Brooklyn, NY. She is proud to have had the unique opportunity to mentor start-up packaged food and beverage entrepreneurs that share the mission of bringing better food to more people through the Chobani Incubator. She now helps BFY companies grow in all aspects of their business through Olam Katan Consulting. She is on the board of the newly formed Naturally NYC, a SOFI judge for the Specialty Food Association, a mentor for New Hope’s Expo West Pitch Slam and SXSW, and founder of the industry list-serve “CPGers.” Her favorite thing is to host meals and bring different communities together, including a monthly women in food cookbook club and OneTable Shabbats for Jewish Food Professionals in New York.
David Ostroff is an Emmy nominated Creative Director focused on fresh, clean and functional design. He has more than 20 years experience in film, print and web design for many high profile clients, as well as a variety of smaller corporate and non-profit organizations. When not trying to eat as much challah as humanly possible, David leads multiple teams working on national campaigns focused on behavior change. davidostroff.com
Stephanie Belsky is a fundraising strategist for the festival. She is a social entrepreneur who has made an art of activating fanbases to achieve fundraising goals. While working at CollegeHumor, a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010. In response, the content platform launched their first charitable initiative, a donate-per-view fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders. Stephanie went on to work in the entertainment industry, with nonprofits on fundraising initiatives, and for Fortune 500 companies to develop branded content campaigns.
Jordan Korn is a leading member of our PR team. Jorda is a food + beverage marketing consultant in NYC. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Jordan joined the team at Becca – a creative marketing agency specializing in chefs and restaurants – to pursue her lifelong passion for the hospitality industry. She's worked with a variety of chefs, restaurants and brands, including Michael Symon, Marco Canora, Masa Takayama, John Fraser, The Smile, west~bourne and The Grey. As a marketing and digital consultant, she has collaborated with a number of F&B brands, including The Culinistas, inHouse, Breads Bakery and goodhang.
Michael Charizopoulos is an award-winning director and owner of Mike C Media a full-service production company based in Chicago. With an emphasis on live events, culinary, and sports, his recent work includes content at the Sundance Film Festival, the Chicago Auto Show, and the NBA All-Star Weekend. Michael also currently operates a 700 sq ft production studio based in Ravenswood. Follow Michael on Instagram at @mikeycmikey_do.
Kyle Goldhoff is a visual storyteller, strategist and culinary connoisseur. She recently was the Lead Producer at Intersport on all TV and digital content for the James Beard Foundation and her work on an original culinary TV show was even nominated for a James Beard Media Award. Currently working as a freelancer, she produces all sorts of content and consults regularly with Politan Row, a food hall group based in New Orleans, and Jewish Women International. Follow Kyle on instgram @kygoldhoff to see her passion for food, travel, jewish culture, and meaningful experiences.