Alexis Gewertz is a former "professional Jew" who now coordinates all educational programming at an interreligious center at Harvard Divinity School. You can often find her trying to reconcile her deep commitment her religious studies nerdiness with her undying love for all things pop-culture.

Dana has been writing poetry since she was a teenager in Buffalo, NY. She studied poetry under Allen Grossman’s tutelage at Brandeis University, graduating with a bachelor’s in English and American Literature. She also took Master’s classes in Creative Writing and Poetry at New York University, and studied Torah and Kabbalah at Bais Chana of California Woman’s Yeshiva. Her poems have been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. Dana considers herself a Modern Orthodox Fun Feminist, if she had to put a label to it. She has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as a writer and producer, and currently writes for non-profit organizations. But, her most favorite role is as single mom to her beautiful daughter. You can find more of Dana’s poetry at her blog, www.thejewishpoetess.wordpress.com

Janie Grackin uses the art of storytelling to inspire and educate. Janie creates programs for intergenerational populations in synagogues and schools in the United States, Europe and Israel, including “Being Torah Alive!”, the most cutting edge approach to teaching Torah. In 1997 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame for her commitment to AIDS education and was awarded the Solomon Schechter Gold Award for Family Education, as well as numerous other educational awards. She is a contributing author to “Mitzvah Stories: Seeds for Inspiration and Learning” which won a National Jewish Book Council Award, and recently led the Passover Seder, “Walking the Exodus”, at the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany. She can be contacted at www.janiegrackin.com.

Hannah Pearlman is a creative-type who loves writing, nail art, and everything DIY. She is an alumna of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership program at Brandeis University and holds an MA in Jewish Leadership and an MBA in nonprofit management.

Shirah lives in Brookline, MA with her husband and daughter Dara. She holds an MA and MPP from Brandeis University. Shirah is currently a full-time ethnographer closely studying, living amongst, and documenting the life and development of her infant. While navigating the new road of parenthood, Shirah also enjoys a good game of Scrabble, dinner parties with friends and a good dose of witty humor.

Amanda Koppelman-Milstein lives in Washington, DC where she helps organize progressive Jewish prayer services, chases after a small child, and knows many wonderful people with excellent names that begin with L.

Shannon Sarna is a Project Manager at UJA-Federation of NY. She is also an avid tweeter and food blogger, writing "The Nosher," part of MyJewishLearning.com. Shannon has also served as the Communications Manager at The Samuel Bronfman Foundation in New York, NY and as special assistant to former President Avraham Infeld at Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, DC. She studied Comparative Government and Spanish Language and Literature at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. When she isn't tweeting, eating, or tweeting what she's eating, Shannon spends her time in Jersey City, NJ with her daughter, adopted dog Otis, and husband.

Ellen Steinbaum's third poetry collection, "Brightness Falls," will be published in September, 2013. Her work has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and is included in Garrison Keillor’s anthology, “Good Poems, American Places.” She is the author of a one-person play, “CenterPiece,” which she has performed. A former literary columnist for The Boston Globe, she now writes a blog, “Reading and Writing and the Occasional Recipe,” which can be found at her web site, ellensteinbaum.com.

Alana Kayfetz serves as the director of strategic development for J.U.M.P. (The Jewish Urban Meeting Place). Follow Alana on twitter @alanakayfetz or check JUMP out online.