Today, we’re so excited to introduce you to the inaugural cast of TC Jewfolk’s first storytelling show, MN Mammalehs: Stories from the tribe!
Congratulations to the cast of the 2024
MN Mammalehs: Stories from the tribe show!
Elisa Bernick
Erin Miller
Janessa Prawer
Jenna Zark
Judy Victor
Laura Taple
Laura Zimmermann
Marissa Bader
Rachel Orzoff
Robin Gale
Robyn Awend
Stacey Dinner-Levin
About the show
An event by TC Jewfolk, MN Mammalehs: Stories from the Tribe is a live on-the-bima show featuring 12 women telling their true Jewish stories that have a thread to being a Mammaleh — the good, the bad, the funny, the sad, the hilarious, and the golden moments.
This show will be in St.Louis Park, and the show date is Monday, June 24th, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
This talented inaugural cast will be emceed by the incredible Jordana Green, co-host of The Paul & Jordana Show on WCCO Radio and promises to be a stunning night of storytelling!
Meet the Emcee
Jordana Green
Jordana Green
Jordana Green is an award-winning journalist, content producer, speaker, cancer survivor, and mom. From politics, to parenting, to cancer and meditation, Jordana covers it all on her show for WCCO radio. Jordana has been on the air for almost three decades. She 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 2009 she joined Paul Douglas to help launch his new weather television network called “Weather Nation TV” as their VP of Programming. Then she was offered her own talk show at WCCO-Radio in the Twin Cities. Honesty, authenticity, personal improvement and fun are the tenets of her work and life. Learn more about Jordana on her website and her Instagram account, where she’s so grateful for the opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of listeners, readers and followers who share the same goals of being brave, more knowledgeable and becoming a better person, better parent, better child, better employee, and better citizen of the world.
Meet the Cast
Elisa Bernick (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Elisa Bernick
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.
Erin Miller
Erin Miller
Erin Miller likes to write poems and essays and email them to her colleagues. She lives in Oakdale with her husband, their two daughters, and their dog Winston. She is a biology teacher who appreciates the places where art and science intersect, and is fascinated by the ways that people learn. She loves to walk and play Mah Jong with her friends, and is going to try again this summer to enjoy gardening. She is hooked on, “The Great British Baking Show,” listens to “You’re Wrong About,” and bakes a consistently good banana bread from time to time.
Janessa Prawer (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Janessa Prawer
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.
Jenna Zark (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Jenna Zark
Jenna Zark is a writer and playwright. Her book, Crooked Lines: A Single Mom’s Jewish Journey received six awards in 2023—including First Prize for the Overcoming Adversity Memoir from Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Silver Religious/Spiritual award from Nautilus Books. Zark’s play A Body of Water, produced at Circle Repertory Company in New York, was cited by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture for breaking new ground. Her favorite activity? Telling and listening to Mammaleh stories. Visit jennazark.com to learn more.
Judy Victor (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Judy Victor
Judy Victor is the Senior Leadership Development Manager at Momentum where she gets to put her passion and skills to work on behalf of Jewish women around the world. In the 30 years of her professional life, from traveling the globe for Aveda to personal shopping, she’s always kept one thing in mind … bringing joy to others. When Judy’s not working, you’ll most likely find her cooking in her semi side hustle soup business, Marak, or dancing and singing to 90’s R & B. She lives in St Louis Park with her husband, two girls and dog.
Laura Taple (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Laura Taple
Laura Taple is a professional “life purpose seeker.” Former small business owner, she had the privilege of creating beautiful headstones for families dealing with loss and prior to that, philanthropy fundraiser for 15+ years. Laura currently enjoys consulting for businesses and non-profits while pondering what she wants to be when she grows up (please let her know if you know!). In addition to storytelling, Laura is passionate about red lipstick, coffee shops, sweets, and travel. When she’s not busy pondering, you’ll find Laura at home in Minneapolis binge-watching Netflix with her magical husband, spirited daughter, and naughty puppy.
Laura Zimmermann
Laura Zimmermann
Laura Zimmermann is the award-winning author of My Eyes Are Up Here and the Edgar-nominated Just Do This One Thing For Me. When she’s not squirreled away writing, you might find her telling stories onstage, biking to her favorite coffee shop, or looking for the perfect place to hang a hammock.
Marissa Bader (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Marissa Bader
Marissa Bader is a writer and children’s book author with a background in mental health. Her books, The Only Me, Stella’s Brave Voice, and Petunia the Perfectionist are inspired by her three daughters – an 11-year-old and 8-year-old twins. Her husband, Robb, hopes she’ll never write a book about him! Marissa also enjoys writing articles about mental health and parenthood, and her work has appeared in Psychology Today, HuffPost Parents, Time Out New York, and more. Marissa resides in Linden Hills with her family, and can often be found drinking coffee and having dance parties. Find Marissa online at MarissaBader.com
Rachel Orzoff (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Rachel Orzoff
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.
Robin Gale (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Robin Gale
Robin Gale is in Act 3 of her life. After working in many capacities while raising her three children – including but not limited to being a Blackjack Dealer, HR Trainer, and a 5-year stint in Development at JFCS – she owned and operated a Mainstream Boutique for 10 years. Being Mimah to her seven grandchildren fills her with nachas. When she’s not occupied with kids, she can be found in her garden, doing yoga, fishing, and painting. She began writing when her husband gave her a Storyworth gift and hasn’t stopped since. She believes writing is therapy and healthier than Häagen-Dazs.
Robyn Awend (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Robyn Awend
Robyn Awend (she/her) has made significant impact in the Jewish arts community where she curates, directs, and organizes exhibitions and programs that explore the intersection of creativity and connectivity. Robyn is a practicing artist using words and word fragments to inspire her work. An energetic champion of the arts, she has been working extensively with Minnesota Center for Book Arts newly commissioned Hebrew type creating limited edition letterpress prints. She lives in the burbs with her witty husband and three perfectly behaved children. Robyn is fueled by quality time with family and friends, staying active and her Total Wine rewards points.
Stacy Dinner-Levin (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Stacey Dinner-Levin
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.
Meet the Producer
Galit Breen (Photo by Ethan Roberts Photography)
Galit Breen
Galit Breen is the Operations and Development Manager for Jewfolk, Inc. Galit’s claim to 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. In the intervening years, Galit has been staying busy raising her three children and two puppies with her husband and co-producing and co-directing Listen to Your Mother Twin Cities.
