We are an artist-driven community, led by a diverse team of artists, rabbis, poets, performers, and award-winning musicians.
Founding Leadership
Rabbi Amichai has been hailed as “an iconoclastic mystic” by Time Out New York, a “rock star” by the New York Times, a “Judaic Pied Piper” by the Denver Westword, a “maverick spiritual leader” by The Times of Israel and “one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world” by the Jewish Week. In June 2017 Rabbi Amichai published the JOY Proposal, offering a new response to the reality of Intermarriage and taking on a personal position on this issue, including his resignation from the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement.
In 2022 Rabbi Amichai began publishing Below the Bible Belt, a daily digital project extended over 42 months, critically queering and re-reading all 929 chapters of the Hebrew Bible.
Amichai is Abba to Alice, Ezra and Charlotte.
Team Members
This is how he found his way to Lab/Shul, as a Storahtelling Maven. He has done two photo essays for Saturday Soul Spas and co-created a Jews of Color centered Passover Seder for our community in 5782. In 2022, NY Jewish Week named him one of the “36 to Watch.” (Formerly 36 under 36) That same year, he debuted his first photobook, Moses of the City, which received a stellar review from The Forward. This was the centerpiece of the previously mentioned seder.
At Lab/Shul, Luis interfaces with our vendors and freelancers to ensure smooth operations. He manages the office so the rest of the team is able to focus on the Spirit of the work at hand. Working alongside our Executive Director, Sarah Sokolic, he helps manage the financial health of our organization. He is honored to work with Lab/Shul, both operationally and as an artist.
Prior to her work in communications, Jackie specialized in literary analysis of the Bible, serving as an adjunct professor at the Academy for Jewish Religion, teaching assistant at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Student Fieldworker for Marom in the UK. Jackie has completed her BA, MA, and PhD coursework in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary and holds a BS in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University. She also spent a year of learning as a Beit Midrash fellow at Drisha Institute for Jewish studies. Jackie lives in New York City with her husband, Zach, and 3 very energetic children.
During the time he doesn’t spend at Lab/Shul, Aaron also works as a Stage Manager and Lights Technician at the Riverdale YM-YWHA and at Hastings High School. During his free time, Aaron loves listening to and playing music, or sadly watching the Mets disappoint him. Aaron lives with his two extremely supportive mothers, his little brother, and his dog/soulmate, Duckie.
Now, bringing the wisdom and experiences from both his professional and spiritual worlds, he is excited to join the team at Lab/Shul providing administrative and programming support for Pass/Age & GENerate, our adult & elder B Mitzvah programs, as well as coordinating our annual retreats and ritual volunteers.
Stephen earned his MS. Ed. in Community-Based Learning from Bank Street College of Education and his BA in French & Spanish Secondary Education from St. John’s University. For fun, he loves running, yoga, cooking, and learning to play the bass viola da gamba, a Renaissance instrument.
Creativity, collaboration and communication are at the heart of everything Lauren does and she is excited to bring her spirit to Lab/Shul’s communications department. Being part of an established community driven by justice and love is important to Lauren as she raises her daughter to be a confident, kind and creative person.
A native-born New Yorker, Lauren earned her B.A. in Fine Arts from Wagner College and currently lives on Long Island with her miracle daughter and supportive husband. Together, they continue to build an accepting, warm and welcoming home that provides a meaningful connection with modern Judaism. As a proud mom-trepreneur, Lauren can be found across the island supporting fellow female-owned businesses, enjoying live music, ceLEBrating Jewish culture and living a beach-lover’s life all year long.
“I offer a bow to Rabbi Amichai and his whole team at Lab/Shul for having the courage and heart to proactively and profoundly make this world a more loving and accepting place.”
– Angel Grant / Death Over Dinner
Board of Directors
I have played many roles and held a variety of titles in my 25+ year career–corporate strategist & lawyer, nonprofit Board member, consultant, and executive–but in essence my job has been to be a “professional problem-solver”. I have served as trusted advisor to senior executives in all these environments, bringing my blend of creative but practical thinking to help solve problems and unlock and act on opportunities. More often than not, the resulting strategy has involved collaboration and partnership, whether among different parts of one organization, or with multiple parties. I am highly skilled at convening groups, working through issues and finding and implementing mutually beneficial solutions.
I have also been responsible for the implementation of the resulting strategies, and have successfully brought to conclusion over $40B in mergers and acquisitions, multiple complex joint ventures, new product launches and other projects in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. My passion for change has led me to transition my focus exclusively to mission driven organizations and I am blessed to be able to do my part to assist wonderful and visionary leaders in making our world just a bit better.
Michael Dorf (Chair) has become one of the most prolific independent promoters in New York and main presenter of music in “downtown” New York. Michael Dorf Presents has produced hundreds of concerts including the Music Downtown Series, Music of Series at Carnegie Hall, The Annual New York Jewish Music & Heritage Festival, Jewzapalooza, the “Downtown Seder”, as well as several significant private corporate events. Dorf has also gotten very involved in several philanthropic ventures including the creation of a Tribeca Hebrew, an after-school program in Lower Manhattan, where he served as the founding Chairman and developed the school to 150 children before it merged with JCP in 2009. He serves on the board of Jewish Week, American Symphony Orchestra, Lab/Shul and Downtown Arts Development and the created of the “Downtown Seder” which brings 25 artists, musicians, comedians, and political figures to each take a section of the classic Passover story and present to sold-out audiences over the past 10 years. Michael is married with three children and lives in Tribeca, New York.
For more than thirty years Larry has consulted to and managed for-profit and not-for-profit organizations interested in growth by developing new initiatives and improving existing operations. These initiatives have covered international expansion, strategic alliances, acquisitions and ventures, emerging technologies, new customer segments, and brand extensions. His work has touched three sectors of the economy – higher education, media, and entertainment. Larry and his wife, son and recalcitrant Golden Retriever split their time between NYC and the Berkshires. However, if it was up to the dog they’d be upstate 110% of the time.
Andrew Kassoy is the Co-Founder of B Lab, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a global movement to redefine success in business so that all companies compete not just to be best in the world, but best for the world, creating a shared and durable prosperity for all. Before leaving the private sector to form B Lab, Andrew spent 16 years in the private equity industry. Andrew is a Board Member of Echoing Green, a member of the U.S. working group of the G8 Social Impact Task Force, and on the Forbes Impact 30 list of leading social entrepreneurs. Andrew lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.
Jennifer Pehr (she/her) is an urban planning and design strategist. With degrees in urban planning and public health, she brings her background and experience to work that addresses critical issues that impact people and find ways to make them better. Jennifer works with a diverse group of collaborators to identify, create, and implement solutions for the urban challenges that need to be addressed today and help people live healthier, more equitable, and dignified lives. Jennifer has worked across the globe, from sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia to the America, and has sat on juries and lectured in graduate planning and architecture programs across the United States. She spent many years volunteering for Right Rides for Women’s Safety and has served three years on the steering committee for Opening Act, an afterschool theater program in NYC’s public schools. Jennifer lives in Harlem with her husband Jon, a founding company member of Storahtelling and Lab/Shul, and their son.
Jon Silvan is a Founding Partner and CEO of Global Strategy Group, one of the nation’s top public affairs firms. Jon lives with his family in Tribeca, and has been an active leader in the downtown Jewish community for many years. He also serves as an advisory board member of Camp Kinderland and on the Steering Committee for the Association for a Better NY (ABNY).
Franny Silverman (she/her) accompanies people along journeys of growth, healing, and transformation. An active antiracist practice and dedication to the health and wellness of Jewish diasporic communities drive her work. She was a founding company member of Storahtelling and served as Associate Artistic Director from followed by work at Kolot Chayeinu as Director of Learning and Action. Franny facilitates conversations across differences with Resetting the Table, officiates tailor-made life-cycle rituals, and, as an actor, has appeared on stages across the country. Franny lives in the Mahicantuck Valley (Hudson Valley) with her spouse, kiddo, and puppy.