Announcing the ASF’s 2022 Sephardi House Fellows
The American Sephardi Federation is delighted to announce the second cohort of the Sephardi House Fellowship, comprising 18 talented Jewish students on campuses coast-to-coast, from Yale to Stanford. Hailed as “life-changing” and “a source of strength,” Sephardi House is the only national fellowship program dedicated to deepening a sense of Jewish belonging through an immersion in classic Sephardic Jewish history, values, and vision.
The Fellowship empowers exceptional students to act as leaders in their communities and ambassadors upon graduation. Sephardi House Fellows engage in a wide-ranging exploration of often overlooked Jewish experiences—including the poetry and philosophy of medieval Spain, Ladino music of the Balkans, Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Arabic literature, the wisdom of Sephardic sages in the Land of Israel, and the experiences of Sephardic/Mizrahi refugees in the 20th century—as well as one-on-one leadership development and mentorship sessions, and a capstone community-building project that invites the Fellows to infuse Sephardic soul and their own voices into Jewish student life.
Sephardi House’s mission is especially critical as the living repositories of Jewish memory pass on and COVID continues to upend the link between the generations as well as the role of synagogues and other communal institutions in the transmission of Jewish traditions. Combined with the proliferation of antisemitism, BDS, and divisive ideologies on campus, this moment could be a perfect storm. We are pushing back with a program to cultivate Jewish unity and continuity.
“The students are thirsty for knowledge and authentic Jewish connection. These are the superpowers that have kept the Jewish people strong for millennia. We are overwhelmed by the demand for the Sephardi House Fellowship and we need help scaling this exciting program that is already generating impressive results,” said Joshua Benaim, an American real estate entrepreneur and opera singer of Sephardic Moroccan, Persian, & Ashkenazic origin, who has dreamt of this program since his undergrad days at Harvard. “If we don’t keep the flame alive by immersing ourselves in this treasure trove of wisdom and history and culture, the direct connection to a parents’ and grandparents’ generation that lived it, we risk losing it forever as a living tradition.”
The Fellowship is led by Joshua Benaim and Ruben Shimonov, a noted educational leader, calligrapher, and linguist (Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Russian, Spanish) of Bukharian Jewish origin, who was recently appointed the ASF’s National Director of Sephardi House and Young Leadership. Motivated by a love of Jewish heritage and the rise in reductive narratives and antisemitic tropes that are sadly too common on campus today, Benaim joined with Jason Guberman of the American Sephardi Federation and Shimonov to craft a program that would fortify students with the warmth and wisdom of the Jewish tradition, inspire them, and cultivate the next generation of young Jewish leadership.
This year’s cohort of 18 college and university students is an impressive bunch. They are determined to connect with their Jewish history and identity and change the narrative on campus. Representing Jewish communities of Ashkenazi, Bukharian, Caribbean (Spanish & Portuguese), Greek, Iraqi, Latin American, Lebanese, Mizrahi, Moroccan, Persian, Syrian, Turkish, Yemenite, and Yerushalmi descent, they are also an exceptionally diverse group bound to make their mark.
Below, we share their stories:
“Despite losing records of some of this history along the way, in rediscovering it, we learned how through these hardships, our Sephardic traditions had endured… I believe this is a particular aspect of the history of the Jewish people that not only warrants study and appreciation, but has enduring lessons to teach us today in an ever-diversifying world.” —M. Romer, Harvard ‘21/University of Edinburgh
“…Every time I walk through Georgetown University on my way to classes, I can’t help but feel all my ancestors beside me, goading me on. They didn’t make the sacrifices they made, and survive through multiple persecutions, for me to give up.” —E. Danon, Georgetown University
“Sephardi culture often seems to be pushed aside and disregarded. I hope to learn as a Sephardi House fellow how to change that attitude in my community.” —Y. Canaan, Carnegie Mellon University
“I have often felt alone in the fight for greater representation of Sephardic Jews on U.S. college campuses. It would be incredible to have a community of students to rely on for support and learning. —S. Boxer, George Washington University
“As an Ashkenazi Jew from Mexico, I have grown up immersed in Jewish culture and history, but would love to learn more about Sephardic Jewish culture and history…I believe this will enrich my knowledge of Judaism as well as strengthen my Jewish identity.” —M. Woldenberg Mischne, Cornell University
With great enthusiasm, please welcome our cohort of 18 college students who serve as the ASF Sephardi House Fellows for the 2021-2022 academic year!
We invite all concerned with Jewish wisdom and continuity to join us in their endeavor and help us kindle a renaissance of Sephardic Jewish life on campus!
Adam Abergel is a sophomore at Cornell University’s Charles H. Dyson School, pursuing a major in Applied Economics & Management and minoring in French. He is from Los Angeles where he was raised by his French Moroccan parents. Adam is currently the Chair of Cultural Programming for Cornell Hillel. Recently, he organized a Sephardic / Mizrahi Shabbat with the help of Hillel and Sephardi House. He is also involved with some other groups on Cornell’s campus such as TAMID Group, Cornell Finance Club, and Phi Chi Theta (a professional business fraternity). I enjoy playing soccer and following F.C. Barcelona, surfing Los Angeles’ coast, listening to EDM/House Music, exploring my Jewish Sephardic heritage, and international travel. He is very excited to be part of Sephardi House and dive into the depths of the Sephardic culture.
In his own words: [At Cornell], Wanting to stay close to my roots, I make efforts to spread the limited Sephardic knowledge that I have whether it’s singing Sephardic piyyutim at Shabbat dinner or leading services with Sephardic-inspired melodies…However, I know that my knowledge is limited and that I need resources and support to help me continue spreading the invaluable Sephardic culture… This is exactly why I want to become a Sephardi House Fellow. By doing so, I will be able to immerse myself in a program that will deepen my knowledge of the Sephardic world …I want to be surrounded and motivated by like-minded individuals and leaders from an overarching similar background yet all uniquely different.”
Asia Esther Akperov is currently pursuing a B.A. in Human Biology at Hunter College on the pre-medical track. She engages in extracurricular activities such as volunteering for various organizations like the Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. She is passionate about the intersections between medicine and public health as well as public policy. She hopes to carry her previous experiences as well as what she gains from this Fellowship to continue to advocate on behalf of Sephardic and Mizrahi communities. She is a strong promoter of interfaith relationships and community building. This past year, she worked closely with Civic Spirit and Muslim Community Network and co-founded an interfaith environmental advocacy group called ‘The EverGreen Alliance’. With over 30 members and counting, they have created a community where we can simultaneously learn about each other while working towards a common goal.
In her own words: “As a Bukharian Jew, growing up I faced difficulties understanding my identity. [Attending] Jewish day school surrounded by my Jewish peers, there was a sense of isolation…since my experiences were so different compared to my peers who were Ashkenazi Jewish Americans…As a Sephardi House Fellow, I would like to immerse myself deeper in understanding Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish cultures. Through art, music and other areas of interest, I am hoping to broaden not only my knowledge but also my connection to [Jewish] peoplehood.”
Yedida Bentolila is a sophomore at the University of Maryland majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice and minoring in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She grew up in a Modern Orthodox home in South Florida and attended Jewish day school all her life. Judaism has always been a big part of her identity, as well as her extensive and diverse Sephardic background. She is proud of her Sephardic heritage which has shaped her into the person she is today. After Graduation, she plans to attend law school and pursue a career in the legal field. She is currently a member of the Jewish Student Union on campus, as well as a general body member of the Empowering Women in Law Club. She has a great passion for Judaism and learning about her Sephardic heritage. She is beyond grateful to be given the opportunity to explore her Sephardic heritage further and learn about the history that shaped her ancestry.
In her own words: “I have a diverse Sephardic background that includes Moroccan, Greek, Syrian, Balkan and Persian roots. I am extremely proud of my Sephardic heritage, and it is an intrinsic part of my daily life. I would thoroughly enjoy exploring and learning more in depth the history and cultures that paint the canvas of my Sephardic roots.”
Sarah Boxer comes from Iraqi, Yemenite, and Syrian ancestry on her mother’s side. She is proud of her Israeli-Jewish, Sephardic and Mizrahi identities. Sarah was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and is a senior at George Washington University planning to attend law school after graduation. She loves to learn and teach about her family’s history and culture. Sarah is the co-director of Student Experience for Hillel at the George Washington University, where she spearheaded a cohort called “Myth of the Monolith” focused on dismantling stereotyped understandings of Jewish identity.
In her own words: “I have made Sephardic and Mizrahi representation my primary focus as a Jewish student leader at my university. I have often felt alone in the fight for greater representation of Sephardic Jews on U.S. college campuses. It would be incredible to have a community of students to rely on for support and learning. I have spearheaded programming focused on education about the Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish experience as a student leader in GW Hillel and would love to expand my initiatives with the help of the Sephardi House Fellowship.”
Yael Canaan is a 4th year double major in Architecture and Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. At CMU, she is very active in the Jewish community. As a student leader at Hillel, she has hosted a variety of events from Bukera making to shabbat and holiday dinners. She also helped found a group for students in conversation with Jewish womanhood. She is currently the president of this group, called Achayot shel Carnegie Mellon–through which she has been teaching her peers about Sephardi culture and history. In the future, Yael hopes to study abroad in Spain or Portugal and take the time to learn Ladino. In her spare time, she loves taking care of her plants and teaching people her traditional recipes.
In her own words: “My great uncle was able to follow my family’s history back to the 15th century where he found that both my grandmother and my grandfather’s families lived in Spain…I want to be a Sephardi house fellow so that I can connect with other Sephardi Jews my age and learn about their families’ cultures and traditions…My grandparents speak to each other in Ladino. I recently expressed my interest in learning Ladino to a Jewish friend at my school and I was told to learn Spanish instead. I was hurt by this comment as the weight of learning a dying language didn’t seem to register with my friend. In my experience, Sephardi culture often seems to be pushed aside and disregarded. I hope to learn as a Sephardi house fellow how to change that attitude in people in my community.”
Elizabeth Danon studies in the Environmental Metrology & Policy Program at Georgetown University. She is an aspiring environmental scientist and policy expert, author, Jewish advocate, wife to an amazing desi man, decent biryani chef, and pet mom, among other things in the tapestry of her life. She draws passion from her Sephardic ancestors who have taught her how to fight against all odds.
In her own words: “Breathing in slowly, I watched the waves knock onto the side of the ferry as we made our way from Grenada, Spain to Tangier, Morocco. Fire coursed through my veins, the sudden realization sending tears down my cheeks: I was in a pivotal place for my people – the Sephardim. Not only was I taking the same path that some of my ancestors took when expelled from Spain by the Catholic monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, but I was also crossing the immigrant’s gateway. Both my grandparents crossed that very same threshold when leaving Izmir for the states, and so did countless other families…The gravity of what my people had survived was not lost on me, which is why I broke down crying on the ferry ride to Tangier. I am the evidence of their perseverance…I am, and always have been, a strong Sephardic woman…Which is why every time I walk through Georgetown University on my way to classes, I can’t help but feel all my ancestors besides me – goading me on. They didn’t make the sacrifices they made, and survive through multiple persecutions, for me to give up.”
Lauren Hakimi is a senior at CUNY Hunter College, where she studies history and English literature, edits the student-run news website The Envoy, and runs cross country and track. She is also a writer and journalist with bylines in CNN, WNYC/Gothamist, New York Jewish Week, Alma, Lilith magazine, and more. She has written personal essays and book reviews for Alma and Lilith magazine, as well as reported pieces for New York Jewish Week that have been reposted in JTA, the Jerusalem Post, the Forward, and many others. She is currently working on an independent study in Jewish Studies about the experiences of Mashhadi Jews at the University of Missouri in the 1970s. She looks forward to learning more about her heritage and meeting other students who share her interests.
In her own words: “As I’ve written for the Jewish media, I’ve learned that the vast majority of people involved in it are Ashkenazi. As a New Yorker, though, I know that the Jewish community is much, much more diverse than you would ever know from reading the mastheads of these publications. I am really passionate about telling stories for the Jewish community and thinking about how Jewish media can better serve readers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. I believe that being a Sephardi House Fellow would be a great opportunity to further enrich my knowledge of history and develop a network of Jewish students who share my interests so that I can better serve the Jewish community as a writer and journalist.”
Sierra Hellman is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Supply Chain Management with a certificate in Business Analytics. She grew up in a small town outside of Philadelphia and has both Ashkenazi and Sephardic ancestry. She only recently found out about her Sephardic roots and has been trying to learn more about this part of her ancestry. At Pitt, Sierra is involved in the Women in Business Club, the Outdoors Club, and frequently attends Hillel and Chabad events. She loves outdoor activities, especially backpacking, hiking, and climbing.
In her own words: “I’ve known I was Sephardic for a few years now…This past summer I participated in an internship program in Israel called Onward where the word “Sephardic” kept coming up over and over again. My roommate [who was a Sephardi House Fellow last year] was telling me about her experience being part Sephardic…She told me what that meant in terms of our shared heritage and the culture that I was missing out on…Now that I know where I come from, I feel responsible for finding out what it means to be Sephardic and recover the lost customs in order to teach my children and my children’s children. Ever since I got back from Israel, I have been researching and asking as many questions as possible to reconnect with our lost traditions.”
Noah Kron is currently a sophomore at Binghamton University. He grew up in Great Neck, NY, where there is a large Sephardic community and went to Great Neck North High School. He comes from a Sephardic and Ashkenazi background with roots located in Baghdad, Basra, and Ireland. In 2017, he traveled to Israel with the Sephardic Educational Center. On that trip he got to know many people from different Sephardic backgrounds. He participated in Young Judaea, Year Course, a gap year program in Israel this past year.
In his own words: “I want to become a Sephardi House Fellow to learn more about my Sephardic past and the Sephardic backgrounds of my peers. ..My knowledge of my Iraqi heritage begins with my grandfather, Salim Mahlab, who was born in Kuwait and grew up in Baghdad, Iraq. My grandfather was involved with both the American Sephardic Federation where he was honored in 2006 as one of the pillars in the Sephardic community. He was also a supporter of the Sephardic Educational Center. My mother followed in his footsteps and was one of the founders and president of the New York chapter of the Sephardic Educational Center.”
Samantha Kron is currently a Senior at Binghamton University majoring in Human Development with a minor in Spanish and education.I grew up in Great Neck, New York, where there is a large Sephardic community. In 2018-2019, she had the amazing opportunity of attending Young Judaea Year Course, a gap year program in Israel, which shaped a large portion of who she is today. I come from a half Ashkenazi, half Sephardic background with roots located in Bagdad, Basra, and Ireland.
In her own words: “I want to become a Sephardi House Fellow to learn about others’ backgrounds as well as to share my own Sephardic heritage and upbringing. My mother’s family originated in Iraq, my grandfather was raised in Baghdad and my grandmother in Basra. My grandfather migrated to the United States in 1938 and after fighting in the American army during the Second World War, he became a citizen and raised his family in New Jersey. In the 1980s, my grandfather, Salim Mahlab z”l, started the first Iraqi synagogue, B’nei Naharayim, in Jamaica Estates, Queens. Today it continues to stand and is a place where my family and I feel close to his memory. In 2006, he was honored along with a few others, who were pillars in the Sephardic community, by the ASF for his tireless work in helping to build the Iraqi community. My mother followed in her father’s footsteps and was a founder and president of the NY chapter of the Sephardic Educational Center in the 1990’s and currently serves as a board member of the SEC.”
Stella Lessler is a sophomore at Columbia University studying Electrical Engineering. She grew up in the Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn. She loves to snowboard and design jewelry.
In her own words: “My mom immigrated to America from Lebanon at 12 years old and has since then adjusted to American life while still maintaining her Sephardic Syrian/Lebanese Jewish traditions. Growing up, I always was inspired and interested in the Lebanese Sephardic culture, and tried my best to learn as many traditions and tunes as possible. Now, as I reside in the Columbia University Jewish community I want to share my love and knowledge of Sephardic Jewish culture with my campus and fellow peers!”
Yosef Malka is a sophomore at Yale University, where he studies political thought and Jewish history. He grew up in Washington, DC and Rockville, Maryland, attending Magen David Sephardic Congregation, and his family comes from Morocco, Turkey, Ukraine, and Poland. At Yale, Yosef is involved with the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, an organization which advocates for criminal justice reform, the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective, and the Yale Political Union. He is the Jewish Culture Chair on Yale’s Hillel Student Board and has interned with Congressman Lloyd Doggett. As a Sephardi House Fellow, he looks forward to introducing the culture of the Sepharadim to his peers at Yale and beyond. He also hopes to honor his diverse background by learning more about the broader Sephardi community and bringing these intellectual, cultural, and religious treasures to his peers in the Yale Jewish community
In his own words: “I want the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities to learn from another and grow together. This can be accomplished at the ground level, with mutual study of our traditions and challenging but joyful conversations about our collective futures. I come from a family that blends Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions in beautiful ways…My hope is that through the Sephardi House Fellowship, by engaging with mentors and my peers, I could learn how to lead my community towards a more creative fusion between the Ashkenazic and Sephardi traditions…As a Sephardi House Fellow at Yale, I would create spaces for the Yale Jewish community that highlight Sephardi Jewry, bringing [all Jewish students] together in new ways for events such as Sephardi Kabbalat Shabbat, lectures and Sephardi history, literature, and languages by American Sephardi leaders, Jewish learning sessions based on Sephardi scholarship, and other creative cultural experiences that reflect the warmth of our culture, the seriousness of our tradition of learning, and the beauty of our culture. Too many of my Ashkenazi peers think of Sephardi Judaism simply in terms of tasty food and fun music, without understanding the depths and beauty of our tradition. I hope to help change that and build something that could outlast my time as a Sephardi House Fellow: a movement of empowered Sephardi students on campus who enliven our broader Jewish community with Sephardi Judaism.”
Mckynzie Romer is currently a Master’s student at the University of Edinburgh studying Public Health. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Harvard earlier this year with a degree in Romance Languages and Literatures, as well as minors in Psychology and Integrative Biology while on the pre-med track. During her time at Harvard, Mckynzie worked in domestic and international public health ventures, including interning in the Connecticut Medicaid office and working on the executive board of the student-run non-profit Refresh Bolivia performing public health work in Bolivia. In her free time, Mckynzie enjoys learning languages, sketching, playing rock and Latin music, and watching old Star Trek episodes. Being of mixed Portuguese, Spanish, and Caribbean Sephardic Jewish descent, Mckynzie is exploring her ancestry through her love of language and history. She hopes to engage in the conversation surrounding what defines Jewish identity by researching the history of Caribbean Jews and exploring the gifts that being of a mixed background have given to her own sense of identity.
In her own words: “One of the most important things I learned through [discovering my Sephardi heritage] was how we had endured hardships…how family on both my mother’s and father’s side had migrated continuously throughout Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia and the Caribbean just to preserve their identity and traditions. Despite losing records of some of this history along the way, in rediscovering it, we learned how, through these hardships, our Sephardic traditions had endured. To me, continuing to unearth and celebrate this history is crucial. Strongly embedded within Judaism is an understanding and reverence for the history of its people. I believe this is a particular aspect of the history of the Jewish people that not only warrants study and appreciation, but has enduring lessons to teach us today in an ever-diversifying world.”
Layla Rudy was born in Montreal and raised in the Deal, New Jersey Syrian community, attending Hillel Yeshiva for all twelve years of her primary education. She is currently a student at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, and is part of the Honors Judaic Studies program under the Department of Religions and Cultures. As someone with a Syrian-Jewish background, her educational and research interests concentrate on Sephardic and Mizrahi history and cultures, with a focus on women in Judaism.
In her own words: “As a student in Concordia University’s Honors Judaic Studies program, I am part of a small, wonderful group of Jewish academics that have a love and appreciation for Jewish history, culture, and identity. But as the only Syrian Jew in the program — and one of the only Sephardic Jews, as well — my academic pursuits are largely my own…I love learning and researching Sephardic/Mizrahi history, and my goal in academia is to cultivate the knowledge I already have from my own experiences and my twelve years of Hebrew day school, and make it so that this field of knowledge is accessible…While my school has plenty of resources to help me build up my expertise, I believe that the best thing for me to do is to surround myself with like-minded individuals who are just as eager as I am to dive into the world of Sephardic history, identity, and traditions.”
After graduating as valedictorian of the Buckley School’s Class of 2021, Daniel Stauber is currently a freshman at Stanford University studying Bioengineering and Computer Science. Given his family’s longstanding involvement in the American Sephardi community, as founders and leaders of the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America and Sephardic Home for the Aged, he is honored to continue that legacy through Sephardi House and the American Sephardi Federation. In pursuit of continuing his family’s tradition of American Sephardi leadership, Daniel received the ASF Broome & Allen Scholarship and saw the Sephardi House fellowship as another incredible opportunity. He aspires to be like his great-great-grandmother one day, making an impact on the world around him, both locally and globally. He has already begun his local service, as he created a community project to feed the young children at a shelter in East LA. For more than five years, He has continued to lead this tzedakah, growing it to include over 10 volunteers, serving full meals, and even personally tutoring the children.
In his own words: “Since I can remember, I have been invested in Sephardic culture. My first school was a Sephardic Jewish school, where I learned Hebrew and prayers the Sephardic way. As I grew older, I became interested in my family’s history, wondering what Sephardic really meant, and how it aligns with my heritage. My parents would tell me stories of my great-great-grandmother, Leah Cohen (Mrs. Marco Cohen), who helped found the Sephardic Home for the Aged many years ago in New York City. Her initiative to start such a project as a woman in that era could only be attributed to her genuine love of and desire to care for her community, the Sephardic community…Educationally speaking, ever since I heard about biomedical engineering—a profession where you research cures and build life-changing medical devices—I knew I wanted to do it. And I know exactly what I want to do: make the world void of genetic disease. Following in the footsteps of my great-great-grandmother, I will continue to embody and study the teachings of the Torah and the Talmud as I dedicate myself to positively impacting the world around me, and eventually, cure all genetic diseases.”
Mauricio Woldenberg Mischne is a sophomore at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. He is originally from Monterrey, Mexico but now lives in Miami, FL. He has learned a lot about Judaism as a whole over the years, but is very excited to learn more about Sephardi culture and history in greater depth.
In his own words: “As an Ashkenazi Jew from Mexico, I have grown up immersed in jewish culture and history, but would love to learn more about Sephardic Jewish culture and history…I believe this will enrich my knowledge of Judaism as well as strengthen my Jewish identity.”
Jessica Yeroshalmi is currently a junior at Macaulay Honors College at Baruch CUNY studying economics and political science. Outside of class, she is a Hillel International student cabinet member, president of WINGS at Baruch, VP of programming of Hillel at Baruch, and secretary of Pre-Law Society. Jessica’s parents fled Iran after the Iranian Revolution and her Persian-Jewish heritage has shaped her upbringing and passion for family and Judaism. Jessica works to bring a Sephardic voice to Jewish spaces on campus and empower students to find their unique voice in the larger community. She is looking forward to working with this amazing cohort and bringing about change and learning.
In his own words: “As a daughter of Iranian-American immigrants, my Jewish identity has been shaped by my Persian heritage. Growing up, Shabbat dinners at my grandmother’s house would be incomplete without various Persian choreshts (stews) and rices. My Persian and Jewish identities are inextricably intertwined, from celebrating Nowruz (Persian New Year) with a siddur on our sofreh (table set up to celebrate the holiday) to putting Persian coins in water on the last night of Passover for good luck. I’ve gained a unique appreciation for these experiences as I’ve witnessed and been a part of other Jewish communities. As a college student I am an active member and officer of the Hillel at Baruch and a student cabinet member at Hillel international where I focus on bringing a Sephardic voice to an often ashko-normative space. As a fellow, I hope to strengthen this voice while learning from other Sephardic experiences around me.”
Benjamin (Avi) Zatz is a sophomore at the University of Vermont majoring in Agroecology. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey in a family of mixed Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Scottish heritage. He has been active in Jewish life on campus as a member of the UVM Hillel student board, co-leader of a Jewish dance group called JewDA, and an active member of the Israel Committee at UVM Hillel. He is also active at the national level through his work as part of the University Outreach Team of Jewish on Campus. Beyond the Jewish world, Zatz has conducted agricultural research on the algae Dunaliella salina to increase its yield of β-carotene through the use of sonication. This research has won multiple awards including the In Vitro Biology Award and first place at the New Jersey FFA State Agriscience Fair. During the pandemic, he became involved in activism for the Jewish community through social media and has since begun to manage and create content for the Instagram of the American Sephardi Federation.
In his own words: “I want to bring more Sephardic representation and culture to my campus and transform existing Jewish life at UVM…UVM students could learn a lot about Sephardic history and culture, including myself. I would really appreciate the opportunity to learn more about my background and the customs of other, diverse Sephardic communities…I believe this fellowship could help me learn how to best work towards creating an inclusive space for students from any background to find community and have fun while learning about Sephardic Jewry.”