Advisory Board - Consejo Asesor

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Ely Benhamo (she/her) is the National Director of Major Gifts  for OneTable. Since moving to San Francisco, Ely launched the Nob Hill Moishe House, where she lives and plans programs for young Jewish professionals in the community. Ely also serves on the SF board of Jewish Women International's Young Women's Impact Network and is a proud member of Jewtina y Co. Originally from Miami, Ely is a first-generation graduate. She graduated cum laude from the University of Florida where she received her B.S. in public relations and minored in Jewish Studies.

From the trenches to the coasts and everywhere in between, Eddie Chávez-Calderón (he/el) fights for a progressive movement that works towards a more inclusive, diverse America via his role as a community organizer at Uri L'Tzedek. As a DACA recipient and someone who has immersed with Jewish tradition, Eddie finds his passion for justice through his latent Jewish values of continuous education and repairing the world, as well as his personal struggles with systemic oppression. Originally from Michoacán, México, Eddie now calls Phoenix, Arizona home. 

Leili Herlinda Davari  (she/ella), a Mexican and Iranian heritage Jewish Woman of Color, joined Bend the Arc as the Bay Area Regional Organizer in March 2016. During that time, she supported leaders to organize on issues including CA Statewide immigration protections, the DREAM Act, Money Bail Reform, congressional electoral campaigning, and co-organized monthly Shabbats with and for Jewish People of Color. As of July 2019, Leili is the Selah Leadership Program Director which is currently aimed at developing Jewish Leaders of Color. Through Selah, Leili looks forward to utilizing her passion and experience to help strengthen, support, and sustain the leadership of Jewish People of Color.

Julia Hernandez Nierenberg  (she/ella) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and recently relocated to Los Angeles. Julia grew up celebrating both Catholic and Jewish holidays, speaking both English and Spanish, and learning to cook delicious Mexican, Sicilian, and Turkish family recipes. When she is not working or studying, she loves telling stories, cooking for others, dancing, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, roaming her local farmer's market, and rock-climbing. Julia is a first-year dual degree Masters of Social Welfare and Masters of Public Policy student at University of California, Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs where she serves as the Communications Liaison on the Luskin Latinx Caucus.

Jennifer Olissa Leshnower (she/ella) was born in Bogotá, Colombia, raised in New York, and is a proud, Jewish Afro-Latina.  A skilled facilitator and trainer, Jen has spent her career working with communities to harness their most powerful asset: their voices. Jennifer holds a Master of Public Administration and Master of Social Work from Columbia University and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer that served in the Eastern Caribbean.

Aurora Levins Morales (she/ella) is a Puerto Rican Ashkenazi Jewish activist, historian, teacher, writer and poet who is significant within Latin feminism and Third World feminism social justice movements. Her writing and activism persistently imagine a world in which the personal is understood as political and vice versa, the complexities of identity and heritage are explored rather than erased, and structures of oppression (racism, classism, sexism, imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, etc.) are recognized as interlocking, such that they must be simultaneously challenged to be dismantled. Her contributions have been critical to third wave feminism and its evolution, Puerto Rican and Latinx feminism, disability justice, radical Judaism, climate change activism, and grassroots organizing.

Dr. David McCarty-Caplan (he/el) was  born in Bogotá, Colombia and adopted and raised by American parents in the United States. He received his Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Illinois, Chicago and his M.A. in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.  Dr. McCarty-Caplan specializes in research and teaching related to intersections of macro and micro-level social work education and practice, with a special focus on the health of at-risk youth, support of LGBT populations, social policy, and HIV/AIDS prevention.  His clinical experience includes training youth activists to be sexual health educators, counseling HIV+ incarcerated adults and their families, and mentoring emotionally disturbed adolescents.  Dr. McCarty-Caplan has also recently presented at local and national conferences, and published refereed journal articles on drug use and sexual risk among men who have sex with men, and the impact of school-based sex education on LGBT families.

Ariela Ronay-Jinich (she/ella) grew up in Mexico City, where her family is from. She has been serving Bay Area youth and families since 2005, focusing her work on innovative Jewish educational programs that center nature connection and community-building. Programs she has founded and directed include Urban Adamah’s youth and family programs, B'Hootz (Wilderness Torah), and Edah Berkeley. She is particularly excited about her recent launch of "Olamim," a family engagement program for Latinx Jewish families that blends her current equity work with her extensive background in nature connection, early childhood education, and community-building. Ariela holds a B.A in Education Policy and History from Brown University, and is in the process of completing her M.A. in Educational Leadership from Mills College in Oakland. She is a Helen Diller Family Award recipient for Excellence in Jewish Education, a Kevah Teaching Fellow, and a Rockwood Alum. She loves dancing and eating papaya at all times of day. Ariela lives in Berkeley with her husband David Doostan (Octopretzel!), and together they are raising their daughter, Alma (2), to delight in speaking Spanish and feel nourished by her Jewish, Mexican, and Persian cultural roots.

Dr. Ramona Tenorio (she/ella) is a Jewish Latina (Jewtina) with Mexican/Indigenous and Dutch ancestry from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has a background in research and evaluation as a trained anthropologist and geographer. She is the Founder and President of Broader Impact, LLC, a professional consulting firm that assists clients in achieving the broader impacts of their mission through research and evaluation, strategic planning, data analysis, and grant services. Ramona is also Co-Founder of Tiyuv Initiative, a hub for Jews of Color (JOC)-led, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) of Jewish community racial justice programs. Her passion for justice draws inspiration, guidance, and direction from the Jewish ethos of Tikkun Olam. Dr. Tenorio currently serves as a member of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council (JCRP) and Board of Trustee for Congregation Sinai, a Reform Congregation in Fox Point, Wisconsin. She is a 2021-2022 Union of Reform Judaism, JewV’Nation Fellow, part of Audacious Hospitality's focused effort on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (REDI) work.