Paulina Koyfman

Interviews With a Fellow: Rachel LeWitt

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We asked all of our fellows to answer some creative interview questions. Photo credit to Yael Pachino Photography. Here is our interview with Rachel: 

My venture in under 5 words is… Stories where they happen

What is your favorite mitzvah (good deed)? Putting trash in the trash

My favorite thinking music genre is… Video game soundtracks

My day job is… Strategic communication consultant

Currently binging… water

How do you eat your fries? Doused in organic ketchup.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why? Banyan. Lots of roots in lots of places

What do you think of garden gnomes? Garden gnomes actually have a very interesting history. In the 18th century, some estate owners in England hired people to function and dress as hermits and live in OG tiny homes on their estate. Why? Melancholy, which was a big deal emotion back then, was prized in England at the time, and the wealthy estate owners essentially used their hermits to “feel” somber and introspective. The hermits exported their melancholy onto the estate owners; this is what they were paying for.

Rachel LeWitt’s mobile app, Somewhere, is a place for people to share and discover stories that matter where they actually happen. If you are interested in learning more about her venture, talk to Rachel at Launch Night!

Interviews with a Fellow: Brooke Bauer

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We asked our 2019 Fellows to answer some questions about themselves. Photo credit to Yael Pachino Photography. Here is our interview with Brooke! 

My venture in under 5 words is… Kids play space, Parents Haven

The person that inspires me most is… my daughter

What is your favorite mitzvah (good deed)?  Acts of Chesed (Author note: loving-kindness) 

The holiday that I could celebrate every day is…   Hanukkah

My favorite thinking music genre is…  Classical

My day job is…  Mommy!

Currently binging…  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

My friends call me…  Brooklyn

If I were a kitchen appliance I would be… The washing machine (mines in my kitchen so it counts)

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?  I’d either be a tree that you’d find on a farm because I’ve always wanted to live on a farm… Or I’d be an Olive tree living in Israel.

Brooke’s venture, The Village, is about her project to create a safe play space for kids of all ages and their parents in Lower Merion. Wanna know more about The Village? Chat with Brooke at Launch Night! 

Interviews with a Fellow: Doriane Feinstein

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We asked our 2019 Fellows to answer some questions about themselves. Photo credit to Yael Pachino Photography. Here is our interview with Dori:

My venture in under 5 words is… Sex, theatre, and many questions.

Who inspired you to do this venture? My initial venture was entirely different, but during our retreat, I was struggling deeply in all of my assignments. I talked a lot about the play I was writing and one of my other fellows asked: “why don’t you just use your play as the venture?” Since then everything has become a whole lot easier.

My favorite life hack is… Ok, this is ridiculous but if you’re having a lazy day or just don’t want to do dishes for whatever reason, I use tin foil and put it over my dishes so I can just throw it away when I’m done eating! Obviously, don’t do it if you need to microwave the food but putting a sandwich on tinfoil on top of your plate saves so much cleanup. Also, metal straws make great chopsticks.

My friends call me…  My friends call me Dori but I force them to add fish emojis when they save me on their phone (because my identity entirely revolves around Finding Nemo). But to clarify, no one is allowed to call me Dori Feinstein. It’s Doriane, Dori, OR Doriane Feinstein– those are the options.

What makes me nerdy is… I have 50 + digits of pi memorized and have a calculus tattoo.

If I were a kitchen appliance I would be… Most definitely a coffee maker, probably a stupidly fancy French press that takes forever to use, is a pain to clean, but makes such incredible liquid goodness.

How lucky are you and why? I have a pretty weird life so it can get blurry between whether I am the luckiest or unluckiest human out there. I’ve had 3 near-death experiences but managed to live through them– I also walked through a demolition site by mistake the other week, a car caught on fire in front of me, I had to evacuate a house I was at for work because the police said there was a fugitive on that street with a pertinent smell of gasoline… But hey I’m still here and a lot of weird stuff keeps life interesting.

You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant? His name is Eli the Elephant. He is my new best friend. He lives in my back yard and when it’s cold out we’ll cuddle together in my house. He will give me rides to work while he focuses on learning his way around Philly. I’ll probably sign him up to volunteer somewhere in South Philly or Old City because I think he’d appreciate the abundance of parks and artsy architecture.

Dori’s venture, Theater Listens, is a program that facilitates discussion and engagement on consent, mental health, and other sensitive topics through the use of original theatrical works. Ask her all about the venture at Launch Night! 

Interviews with a Fellow: Nuriya Neumann

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We asked our fellows to answer some questions about themselves. Thank you to Yael Pachino Photography for the photo of Nuriya (right). Here is our interview with Nuriya: 

My venture in under 5 words is… Queer café / sober community space

Who inspired you to do this venture? Clients that I was working with in an addiction recovery facility for transgender folks who experience ongoing struggles based on societal stigma and discrimination.

What is your favorite mitzvah (good deed)? I’m not sure this is a mitzvah… but it’s something that guides me “Give without expecting anything in return and do so in an intentional thoughtful way”

The holiday that I could celebrate every day is… Christmukkah – because I get to celebrate both my own traditions and my wife’s while the house is full of light.

Do you have a pet? If so, send picture/s! Yes!! I (technically) have an amazingly smart cat named Karla even though she lives in Tivon (Israel) with my parents. I found her as a kitten on my military base and gave her a bath before presenting her to my parents and requesting to adopt her. After the bath she was cold – hence the name Karla (in Hebrew it means she is cold)!

You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant? I would name them Ferdinand and take them on a walk along the Schuylkill river to show them some of my favorite parts of Philly!

Are you a hunter or a gatherer? My wife says I’m a gatherer but I think I’m a hunter, honestly, I could probably be in either role and convince myself that whichever role I’m in is the most important so I must give 100% of myself to complete the tasks at hand!

Nuriya’s venture is a queer Cafe and sober community space employing LGBTQ+ youth and hosting social and educational events. Ask her all about the venture at Pitch Night!

Interviews with a Fellow: Gail Rubinstein

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We asked our 2019 Fellows to answer some questions about themselves. Photo credit to Yael Pachino Photography. Here is our interview with Gail:

My venture in under 5 words is… The Truth Behind Closed Doors

Who inspired you to do this venture? Michael Adler & Ross

What is your favorite mitzvah (good deed)? Simcha, celebrating in someone else’s joy and happiness.

What was the last gift you gave someone? A HUG (Author note: OMG suuuuuper cute)

Do you have a pet? YES! Dog is Layla, cat is Winni (cat has no boundaries, haha!)

My favorite thinking music genre is… Christian Gospel

My favorite life hack is… googling words I do not understand

Currently binging… Sex Education on NETFLIX

My friends call me… Ruby

If I were a kitchen appliance I would be… The Coffee Maker

My favorite button on a microwave is… START

How do you eat your fries? With Gravy and Cheese like all the Canadians

How lucky are you and why? Super lucky, because everything can always be a Half Glass Full rather than half empty

Gail’s venture is workshops for those who have experienced trauma and abuse on how to heal. To talk to Gail about it at Pitch Night! 

Interviews with a Fellow: Michael Gotlib

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We asked our 2019 Fellows to answer some questions about themselves. Photo credit to Yael Pachino Photography. Here is our interview with Michael: 

My venture in under 5 words is… Teach people/organizations psychological flexibility

(We didn’t know what psychological flexibility was, so we asked the expert, Michael: “Psychological flexibility is our ability to recognize, adapt and shift perspective in various situations. It helps us shift both our mind and body towards the people and actions that are important to us rather than trying to avoid difficult thoughts and feelings. Psychological flexibility is a skill set and way of being that can be learned by anyone. People with greater psychological flexibility have increased well-being, resilience, work performance, improved focus, less burnout, reduced anxiety, and overall improved mental health.”)

What are you most excited to learn during the fellowship? How to briefly and easily share with organizations what I do and how I can help them. Also, to build my social and professional network because I am new to the area.

The person that inspires me most is… My wife Alexis

Weirdest thing on my desk… A stuffed owl wearing a graduation cap and ally pin

How do you eat your fries? Dipped in ranch dressing

You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant? Ask the elephant what it would like to do (Author’s note: we really appreciate this answer, it’s very diplomatic of you!)

Michael’s venture is My Mental Yoga: Psychological Flexibility taught in yoga studios. Chat with Michae about it at Pitch Night!