Values in action

Abby is a relationally-driven leader who has designed her career around roles that allow her to help others bridge the gap between who they are and who they wish to be. She joined M² in 2022 as Program Director for the Values in Action Initiative and spent her career prior to that working in a variety of settings including: Jewish camping, academia, and as a clinical therapist. She spends her unstructured time thinking (often about human values and development), learning (she loves documentaries & interior design) and enthusiastically keeping up with pop culture!

Abby is a graduate of M²’s Camp Educator’s Cohort, SEC 6 and served as the community coordinator for M²’s Chicago Educator’s Cohort. Abby lives in Evanston with her partner, their three children, as well as her mini shih-tzu Badger.

Debbi Cooper is the Senior Director of M²’s Values in Action initiative, a JCRIF-funded initiative that aims to equip educators with training and resources to navigate contemporary challenges through a lens of Jewish values. Previously Debbi served as the Director of Engagement for PJ Library and Associate Vice President, Community Outreach & Engagement of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. She is the immediate past Chair of the Board for Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, a pluralistic Jewish Day School in Chicago. She is a graduate of M²’s Senior Educators Cohort and a current 18×18 fellow.

Shira is an educational entrepreneur, attorney, and writer. She brings with her over fifteen years of experience teaching Jewish Studies and designing interdisciplinary curricula in the classroom and immersive learning environments. Prior to her career in Jewish education she practiced corporate law at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. She is the author, together with Hanoch Piven, of Dream Big, Laugh Often: And More Great Advice from the Bible (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2023). Her wrienwork appears in both scholarly and popular publications and she lectures widely on topics of creativity, family life and Jewish texts. She holds a JD from Cardozo School of Law, and is a graduate of the Advanced Talmud program at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She is an avid tennis fan and loves exploring the world with her partner and their four children. Shira is a graduate of SEC 2.

Shuki is the founder and CEO of M². Previously, Shuki served as director of Service Learning and Experiential Education at Yeshiva University, where he founded the Certificate Program in Experiential Jewish Education and a range of programs mobilizing college students to serve underprivileged communities worldwide. Shuki has lived in Israel, New York, and South Africa. A Schusterman Fellow, Shuki studied Jewish philosophy, education, and scriptwriting and currently lives in Jerusalem with his wife and their four children

Kiva has worked extensively in Jewish summer camps, day schools, teen programs and service-learning initiatives. Since 2010, he has been

training educators in various roles in experiential Jewish education. As Chief Program Officer at M², Kiva brings a creative lens to develop and deliver engaging experiences and dynamic resources to educators across the  field. And as Deputy CEO, he offers a systems approach to ensure that M² as an organization is thriving. Kiva holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management, and an undergraduate degree in Education and Archeology. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, and their three children.

Tamara is the Founder & Chief Experience Officer of Coriphery Holistic Consulting Solutions. A strategic thought-partner and facilitator to Jewish organizations, she advises senior leadership on project optimization, reimagining priorities and designing transformative experiences. Tamara is most passionate about developing strategic learning spaces, bringing them to life and assessing their impact for scale. Engaging thousands in exploring Jewish identity, Tamara trains leaders to be peer-educators and consults on strategy and engagement. Serving in formal, experiential and informal settings for over 20 years, Tamara has worked closely with Jewish day and supplemental schools, youth movements, synagogues, summer camps, Hillels, federations and foundations