Ran Goel, Board Chair
Ran is the CEO of Mama Earth, Ontario’s largest independent online grocer. Ran has spoken on food issues before hundreds of audiences. He proudly leads a team of over 125 staff as they collectively create a better life through food. Previously, Ran practiced investment law in New York City for several years.
Alexandra Kuperman
Alexandra has led multiple initiatives in Ontario’s Jewish community including Temple Shalom Religious School in Kitchener, the launch of Torat HaTeva (the nonprofit which later became Shoresh), and the creation of UJA Genesis. She has taught extensively in the Jewish environmental education including Teva Learning Centre’s Assistant Director.
Alexandra holds a Bachelors in Environment and Resource Studies from the University of Waterloo and completed graduate school in nonprofit management and Jewish studies at New York University. She is currently is the President of Macro Properties, a private company which holds and manages commercial and multi-family properties across Canada.
Ms. Kuperman is a 2012/13 Action Canada Fellow, an avid urban cyclist, a lover of board games and local food. She is also a devoted mother and served as the Shoresh Board Chair for three years.
Ariel Freiman
Ariel is a media professional with over 20 years experience working in press, digital, radio and TV. Today Ariel is building a company dedicated to local news reporting in small communities. Community and media is Ariel‘s expertise and area of focus. Before starting this business Ariel worked for Financial Times (UK), Telegraph Media Group (UK), Toronto Star (Canada) and ZoomerMedia (Canada).
Karen Chisvin
Karen brings her curiosity, as well as the research, design, and planning experience developed in her years as an architect and community volunteer to service on the Shoresh Board. She is a textile artist and crafter. She makes things both beautiful and useful, with an emphasis on reducing textile waste. You may find Karen on a karate dojo. But more often you will find her hiking, paddling, or swimming outdoors where she gets her best ideas. Her long-term project is
coaxing the gingko seeds she collected in the wild to grow to maturity.
Jonathan Moneta
Jonathan cares about financial sustainability and literacy for artists. He is the founder and creative director at MakeLab Studio, a marketing and communications agency for the smart home and advanced manufacturing industries. Jonathan has taught the b’nai mitzvah class at Beth Sholom in Toronto, and currently teaches The Business of Art, an undergraduate entrepreneurship strategy course at Toronto Metropolitan University. Jonathan studied Theatre and Business at York University, and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Jackie Brown
Jackie is a researcher, journalist, and aspiring playwright with degrees in law and urban planning. Her work on the political economy of care work and long-term care homes during the COVID-19 crisis led her to testify before a provincial commission on long-term care and a federal parliamentary committee on housing as a human right. Most recently, she served as a researcher and consultant for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate at the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Jackie also cares deeply about her Jewish roots, her relationship to food, and community-based governance and environmental stewardship.
Lauren Cappell
Lauren is the CEO of Duckpins, a new company changing the way people create and manage life’s most important documents. She started her career in corporate law before moving into enterprise and consumer tech. Before starting Duckpins, she worked at BlackBerry, Thomson Reuters, CaaStle and Amazon. She holds a B.A. in Canadian History (McGill), an M.St. in Modern History and a B.A. in Jurisprudence (Oxford), and an M.B.A. (INSEAD).
Patricia Feeheley
Patricia is a mission-driven fundraiser with over a decade of experience helping nonprofits achieve their funding goals. She has extensive expertise in major gift fundraising, annual giving, corporate partnerships, foundation grant writing and impact reporting. Patricia brings a strategic and passionate voice to the table, with a deep understanding of the complexities of fundraising in a competitive landscape. She is committed to equity-informed practices, adopting a holistic and community-centric approach that prioritizes inclusivity and sustainable impact.
Past Board Members
Seymour Epstein
Rabbi Ilyse Glickman
Zeke Kaplan
Len Kofman
Rabbi Aaron Levy
Andrea Most
Sam Mizrahi
Danny Richmond
Ellen Rosenbluth
Carolyn Lefebvre Ruby
Michael Schecter (Chair)
Shai Spetgang (Chair)
Mark Weinstock
Jessica Gilbert
Jillian Rodak
Shari Golberg
Jonathan Richardson
Adam Beder
Leemor Valin
Shimona Petroff