Nationally acclaimed artist and activist featured in JTEN Teen Conference

JFGO's Jewish Teen Education Network continues its launch this November with the inaugural communitywide Teen Education Day. On Nov. 9, teens will gather at the Maitland Jewish Community Campus for "Justice: What will you do today?"

The program, open to all 8th through 12th graders will feature Naomi Ackerman, who is a nationally acclaimed Jewish artist and activist. Ackerman is an experienced actress whose credits include theater, musicals, films and television. She was born in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in her childhood. Ackerman received a BA from Hebrew University and teaching credentials from the David Yellin Teachers Seminar. She has participated in various multinational theater productions with Arab and Jewish actors from the region. She was one of the founding members of "View Points," an Arab-Jewish theater group promoting tolerance and dialogue, sponsored and produced by the Peres Center for Peace. Ackerman, a stilt-walker and professional clown, created the children's clown school for the Jerusalem municipality and was part of the first groups of clowns in Israel to engage in medical clowning. She has consulted with Dream Doctors, a project that integrates professional clowning into the medical services provided at Israeli hospitals. Ackerman is founder and director of the Advot Project, a registered 501(c) 3 that uses theater to facilitate social change. Her educational curriculum, "Relationships 101," is currently being implemented in public and private high schools as well as in juvenile detention camps in Southern California. She is a social activist, mediator and conflict-resolution specialist. Naomi has worked for the past two decades using art to promote peace, change, and encourage self-empowerment. Ackerman will bring her incredible passion for social justice to the teen program, using her knowledge of Jewish sources, her relationship with numerous national and international social justice organizations, and her extensive experience helping others recognize their own ability to create a just world for their families, their local community and the global community in which we all live.

The Jewish Federation looks forward to hosting Ackerman and encouraging the growth of the Jewish teens in our community. This program is being sponsored by Edward and Marion Bromberg.

For more information about this event and JTEN, contact Lisa Sholk at 407-645-5933 or lsholk@jfgo.org.