Our Team

Rabbi Olya Weinstein

Olya currently serves as Project Kesher Israel’s CEO. She has a B.A. in English linguistics from Bar Ilan University and  completed an M.A. in Talmud, Halacha and The History of the Jewish People from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies and received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College in Israel in November of 2019. She has worked as the Student Department Director and Congregational Coordinator for the Masorti movement, as Deputy Director of the Yuri Shtern Foundation, as head of the Russian-speaking department at ITIM-Navigating Religious Bureaucracy in Israel and as associate director of Kashouvot. She created the first Russian language brochure on Marriage Freedom. Olya was born in Ivanovo, Russia. She is fluent in Russian, Hebrew, and English. Olya has been working with PKI since 2011. She began as a facilitator and lecturer on State and Religion in Israel as well as Jewish sources learning on the status of women in halacha and female images in the sources.

CEO

Michal Natalie Kireeva is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and serves as both a Rabbinical Student Intern and Development Coordinator with Project Kesher Israel. Mentored by Rabbi Olya Weinstein, Michal is deeply engaged in PKI’s work, contributing to the Bat Mitzvah program and nationwide holiday celebrations rooted in a rich egalitarian Jewish tradition.

Michal made aliyah from Russia two years ago and brings a lifelong passion for Jewish history and heritage to her work. She explored these interests during her Ph.D. studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities and continues her academic and spiritual journey in Israel as a second-year rabbinical student at HUC. In addition to her studies and work with PKI, Michal is part of the team at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem, where she further connects scholarship with lived Jewish experience.

Development Coordinator & Rabbinical Intern

Michal Natalie Kireeva

Our Board

  • Rabbi Naamah Kelman Ezrachi (Board Chair) is a descendent of 10 generations of rabbis, becoming the first woman to be ordained by the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem in 1992, where she is currently the Dean. Born and raised in New York, she has lived in Israel since 1976, where she has worked in community organizing, Jewish education, and the promotion and establishment of Progressive and Pluralistic Judaism for Israelis. Naamah Kelman has been intensely involved in the emerging education system of the Israeli Movement for Progressive (Reform) Judaism. Among the founders of the first Progressive Day school, she has overseen the development of curricular materials, teacher training programs, and family education. She has been involved in teacher training and enrichment, the professional development of the Israeli Rabbinic students, and the establishment of «Mazorim» Spiritual Care/Israeli Chaplaincy. She was the Director of the Year in Israel Program for HUC’s North American students. She is a board member of Rabbis for Human Rights, MELITZ, and the Tali Education Fund. Naamah Kelman is deeply engaged in inter-faith dialogue and feminist causes. She is married to Dr. Elan Ezrachi and they have three children.

  • Margarita Slavkin made aliyah from Ukraine in 1995 and has been living in Petach Tikva for 15 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and serves as the head of the engineering department at Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel’s leading aerospace and aviation manufacturer. Motivated by the desire to see more women in leadership positions within her industry, Rita developed a program in 2016 to support the advancement of women engineers.

    Rita credits Project Kesher Israel (PKI) with helping her develop leadership skills and deepen her understanding of issues like religion and state. Since graduating from PKI’s leadership program, she has volunteered for various civic causes important to the Russian-speaking community, including advocating for better pensions and legal rights related to religion and state. She founded several Facebook pages, including "Petach Tikva Is Our Home," which now serves as a platform for thousands of Russian speakers to engage in discussions and promote social activism.

    Rita has played a key role in building networks and advocating for the Russian-speaking community at both the local and national levels. About a year ago, she was appointed as Deputy of the Municipality of Petach Tikva, where she oversees the Aliyah and Integration Committee. A graduate of the first leadership training program funded by the Mazer Family Fund, Rita became actively involved in her local women’s group, learned more about Israel’s political system, and began visiting the Knesset with PKI delegations to address issues important to Russian-speaking women. Rita is 46, married, and has three children.

  • Ksenia Svetlova is an expert on the Middle East and a dedicated advocate for religious freedom. Born in Moscow, she served as a member of the Israeli Knesset, where she participated in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as well as the Aliyah and Absorption Committee. During her tenure, she authored numerous bills related to religious freedoms. Currently, she is a senior research analyst at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center (Herzliya) and a senior policy researcher at the Mitvim Institute for Regional Foreign Policy.

    Ms. Svetlova has published extensively, contributing scholarly articles, editorials, and features to international and national media outlets. She has reported from Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and the Palestinian Territories for the Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Report, BBC Russian, Channel 9, and other global media platforms. A specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, Arab politics, and Russia’s influence in the region, she holds both a BA and MA in Middle Eastern studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating magna cum laude. Fluent in English, Russian, Hebrew, and Arabic, she authored her first book, Through the Middle East on Heels, published by Pardes Publishing House in 2019.

  • Rabbi Alona Lisitsa was the first female rabbi to join religious council in Israel. Rabbi Lisitsa has her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in English Linguistics and Spanish and Latin American Literature, Masters degree in Talmud and the Jewish Law from the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies (JTS) and her Ph.D in Talmud and ancient texts from Tel Aviv University. She was ordained as a Rabbi 16 years ago by HUC. Rabbi Lisitsa teaches rabbinic texts and liturgy at Hebrew Union College, she is in charge of Rabbinic internship and mentoring.

  • Karyn Grossman Gershon is the CEO of Project Kesher (PK) in the US and architect of the PK international network of feminist Jewish leaders. Project Kesher’s programs build intergenerational Jewish life, advance gender equality, and promote public health and wellness.  Karyn has helped raise over $50 million for Jewish women and girls in this region of the world. Most recently, she has been instrumental in helping to create a gendered response to the war in Ukraine.  Karyn is a graduate of Cornell University and Northwestern University School of Law. Project Kesher’s archives and Karyn’s body of work have been included in Brandeis University’s Archives and Special Collections on Jewish Feminism. She has spoken extensively about women's rights and Jewish life in post-Soviet countries on public radio and at universities including Stanford, Northwestern, Columbia and Wash U.

  • Barbara Glickstein is a public health nurse, health reporter and media strategist. In 2019 she founded Barbara Glickstein Strategies, a training and development company that provides innovative approaches to training in media, leadership  and advocacy skills. Glickstein produces & hosts HealthCetera, a podcast that provides evidence-based health news, analysis and commentary. She is the Nursing Consultant and Advisor for Carolyn Jones Productions. She worked on the documentaries The American Nurse, Defining Hope and the multimedia project Dying in America. Glickstein is one of 50 women selected for Take The Lead’s 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism. She is currently serving as Project Kesher’s Board Chair.

  • Sheila Friedland has devoted her life to the betterment of the Jewish People through her professional career, volunteer activities  and philanthropy. Sheila has served on the board of Project Kesher, is a past chair of the board and has been honored by PK for her work. In 1997, Sheila was invited by Project Kesher to facilitate Jewish learning at a leadership training seminar in Chernigov, Ukraine. She soon joined the PK board and returned to the region 8 more times visiting Jewish communities throughout Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia. Sheila was instrumental to the establishment of Project Kesher in Israel. Sheila is the past Executive Director of the Westchester Jewish Council and prior to that worked in the Education Department of the Jewish Museum of New York. She is passionate about Jewish continuity, and seeing to it that the needs of women and girls are highlighted and met. More recently, Sheila has partially enjoyed advising and mentoring younger Jewish professionals and volunteers and serving as a resource to them.

  • Lena Shtern is the Founder of the Yuri Shtern Holistic Center at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Israel.