We couldn’t be more excited to introduce the amazing cast of our second annual storytelling show, Stories from the Tribe! These storytellers are bringing their real-life experiences—funny, heartfelt, and unforgettable—to the bima for one special night of storytelling. Get to know the voices behind the stories, and get your tickets now to be part of this magical evening!
Meet the Emcee
Jordana Green is an award-winning journalist, speaker, cancer survivor, and mom. Jordana started her career as a beat news reporter, then medical reporter, and over a couple of decades and many markets worked to become an Emmy award-winning television news anchor. In 2012 she joined WCCO radio and is the co-host of the Adam and Jordana Show. You can hear her Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Meet the Producer
Galit Breen is the Communications, Engagement, and Development Manager for Jewfolk, Inc. Galit’s claim to (Jewfolk) fame is that she is the original Minnesota Mammaleh, having been a regular contributor and writer for TC Jewfolk when it was first launched over a dozen years ago. Since then, Galit has been staying busy raising her three children and two puppies with her husband, Jason, and co-producing and co-directing Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Meet the Cast
Elisa Bernick is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter and producer for MPR, PBS, WCCO-TV, and TPT. Her travel and parenting articles have been published by Parents Magazine, Minnesota Parent, and Transitions Abroad, among others. She is the author of The Family Sabbatical Handbook: The Budget Guide to Living Abroad with Your Family (Intrepid Traveler 2007), and Departure Stories: Betty Crocker Made Matzoh Balls (and other lies) (Indiana University Press, 2022), which won the 2022 GOLD Forward INDIES Award for Autobiography & Memoir. She is an avid gardener and lives in St. Paul. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Robin Gale is in the third Act of her life. Act 1: Surviving childhood and adolescence. Act 2: Surviving marriage, children, and work. After the successful survival of Acts 1 and 2, Robin is now happily in her 3rd Act: focusing on simply flourishing. Being a Mimah to her seven grandchildren fills her with nachas. When she’s not busy with the family, she can be found writing, doing yoga, or in her garden. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Adina Lebowitz, MA is a family mediator/coach – a career she pursued after her own high-conflict divorce. Her goal is to help families find less stress and more peace in their co-parenting. She supports families facing day-to-day co-parenting challenges and mediates bigger issues related to school, medical decisions, job change, or new relationships. She’s a contributing author to the 2024 international best-selling book “Building Bridges of Hope: Overcoming Trauma in Family Law Cases.” Adina’s greatest delight is being a Minnesota Mammaleh of three wonderful, creative, young adults. She loves cooking, dance, music, theater, and travel. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Stacey Dinner-Levin is the mother of four boys — now adults — the eldest of whom has autism. For over 25 years she’s worked with children with disabilities including PACER Center’s “Count Me In” program where she wrote several scripts. Her play Autistic License was named one of 2007’s Ten Best Plays by St. Paul Pioneer Press and was featured in American Theater Magazine. Autistic License was remounted for film and won “Best Educational” at the IFFF in 2010. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband Michael, her son Geordy, and the world’s strangest dog, her Chinese Crested, Birdie. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Jessica Lipschultz is an education researcher and practitioner, currently working at The Blake School and adjuncting in the sociology department at various colleges and universities. After having lived in New York for almost 18 years, she now lives in SW Minneapolis with her husband, Jeremy, and daughters, Sylvie and Sabina. She loves gathering at her parents’ house (her childhood home) on Sundays for dinner with family. When she is not working or actively being a parent, Jessica loves working out, cooking, practicing yoga, walking around the lakes with friends, looking at art, listening to live music, and visiting New York. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Ann Miller is a self-described insomniac, lucky wife to C-PAP mask-wearing Todd, and proud mom to Josh and Eve. A fourth-generation leader in her family’s 107-year-old business, she embraces storytelling to preserve values and legacy. At 2 a.m., Ann loves to write about life, geek out on leadership development (her day job for nearly 30 years), and eat a sleeve of Thin Mint cookies — which count for one serving. Her writing inspiration comes from daily three-mile nature walks, a sense of humor she inherited from her mother, and the abundance of stories which accompany this journey called life. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Rachel Orzoff is an eccentric creative. She spends much of her time as a Peer Supporter for disabled adults through Sha’arim+Gateways, and the rest enjoying her amazing kid, Elle, fantastic partner, Nick, and glorious cat, Sven. She relishes good food, good music, and good company. As a survivor of severe traumatic brain injuries, she is proud to be enabling a renewed life for herself. And be forewarned – Rachel is known to randomly burst into song. Thankfully, she’s a well-trained singer, so it should be in tune. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Janessa Prawer is an artist, advocate, and owner of Tiny Art With Heart, which aims to create more caring communities through channels of artistic kindness. She spent the majority of her career as a mental healthcare executive and uses her experience to advocate for mental health in the community and on the youth boards she serves on. Janessa grew up in northern Minnesota doing a plethora of manual labor in her parents’ little resort and cafe and credits all that hard work and boredom with building her solid work ethic and creativity muscles. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Naomi Rose is a social worker and therapist who feels lucky to be able to take a break from clinical practice to care for her twin toddlers, Ruby and Vivian. The three of them enjoy playing dress up, having dance parties, and eating Nutella. When Naomi isn’t with her daughters, she enjoys swimming, reading fiction, and singing with her Accapella group, “Prairie Fire Choir.” Naomi lives with her husband, their twins, and a very lazy and cuddly cat named Buttermilk. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Renee Segal owns Evolve Therapy, a group therapy practice focused on helping couples reconnect, reduce conflict and recover from affairs. Before becoming a therapist, she worked as an accountant—an unconventional path that ultimately led to her passion. Outside of work, Renee can be found at the gym, swimming, doing HIIT or Pilates classes. She also enjoys biking, running, and walking outdoors. Her favorite subject in school? Gym, of course. She loves coffee, dark chocolate, and binge-watching the latest show. Spend enough time with her, and she’ll proudly show off photos of her grandson. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Emily Simon is a writer, mother, and lifelong interrogator of Jewish identity. She is originally from Buffalo, N.Y., and landed in Saint Paul in 2019 after spending 20-plus years in Los Angeles working in television. She has worked with Carol Burnett a lot (most recently this past March) and is always thrilled to report that Carol is as great as you hope she is. Emily is currently a copywriter at Playwrights’ Center and is usually busy with freelance projects. She has made herself largely un-Googleable, but you can find out more about her at: www.emilyhsimon.com (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Debbie Spencer is living her best life, recently retired after 37 years as a Vice President at U.S.Bank. When she is not working on her various fiber arts projects or honing her baking skills, she considers herself an eating and drinking enthusiast! Debbie’s late father inspired her to begin writing short stories. Debbie and her siblings recently read his stories. They were not only a gift from the grave, but a sign to begin writing her own stories. Debbie and her husband of 43 years have two grown daughters and live in Downtown Minneapolis. (Photo by Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Get your tickets today
Tickets are available right now! Get your tickets today by clicking right here.
About the show
An event by TC Jewfolk produced by Galit Breen, the original Minnesota Mammaleh and co-producer of Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities for the last decade+.
Stories from the Tribe features 12 women on the bima telling their true Jewish stories that have a thread to being a Mammaleh – whether that’s about their own Mammaleh or about being a Mammaleh – and includes all of the ups and downs, highs and lows, laughs and tears that come with the real-life experience of mammalehs in the Twin Cities.
During this time it’s even more important for us Jews to gather + tell our stories, loud and proud!
So this, is that!
The second annual show will once again be emceed by the incredible Jordana Green, co-host of The Adam & Jordana Show on WCCO Radio and promises to be a stunning night of storytelling!
This show will be at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, and the show date is Monday, June 23, at 7 p.m., seating is General Admission, and the doors will open at 6 p.m.
Thank you to our show sponsors
We are so grateful to our show sponsors for investing in women + storytelling in the Jewish Twin Cities community. We’d love for you to support these local businesses the way that they support this show. With so much gratitude, thank you to:
Adam Garen, Bluestem Remodeling, Emissary App, Heilicher Jewish Day School, Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapels, Jersey Girl Bagels, Kickernick Gallery, Mint Orthodontics, Rosebud Consulting HR, Sheri Fine Realty, Shira Tabbouche Photography, Suburban Landscape Service & SLS Design, The Legal Mama
