ABOUT DIA

Dia Morgan is a magnet for adventure and creates content to bring us along for the ride. The multi-hyphenate creative is known for her “exuberance personified” personality and jack of all trade skillset. Through pop songwriting, comedy, video editing, music production, graphic design, and more, Dia brings energizing, captivating content to life. Dia’s rose-colored glasses perspective on life and ability to see each of her “flaws” as a gift instills confidence in her audience by giving them permission to be beautiful, powerful, and imperfect.

PROJECT

As someone who’s reconnecting with her Jewish roots, Dia wants to make videos showing how Jewish people are literally just like everyone else. Catch her yapping on everyday life as a Jewish person in 2024 by telling stories about the Orthodox Jew who opened up his home for Shabbat and told her about his interest in psychedelics, talking about encounters with antisemitism, as well as diving into more ways to make Judaism more accessible to other secular Jews looking for more like her.

ABOUT WILLIAM

William Cohen is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in a reform Jewish household with three older sisters. After graduating from Amherst College in 2019, he wanted to unleash his creative side and reconnect to his Jewish identity in a new way. In 2021, Tokin’ Jew was born and has grown into a bustling tribe of 45,000 strong over the past three years. Outside of Tokin’ Jew, he works as a growth strategist at a tech company based in Denver but hopes to make the leap full-time to Tokin’ Jew soon.

PROJECT

William is looking to share his Tokin’ Jew story through a few lenses:

1. Its origin story and how it was able to connect with so many people.
2. How he plans to grow it by educating and making people proud to be Jewish.
3. His bread and butter: comedy.

ABOUT ELYSE

Elyse considers herself an “accidental” poet. Like many in the diaspora, she felt awakened to her Judaism with the atrocities and aftermath of 10/7; an identity she had wandered from over the years. She began writing to process her emotions and discovered a passion for poetry. With so many silent, she started @poetrymission in her spare time to share her words in support of Israel, the Jewish community, and humanity more broadly. She hopes to inspire connection and critical thinking as we navigate chaotic times. Elyse has a Master’s in Organization Psychology and works full-time in Corporate Strategy. She lives outside Philadelphia with her family.

PROJECT

On 10/7/23, any perceived historical boundaries to antisemitism were abruptly shattered. The Jewish community is still deeply mourning these atrocities while attempting to make sense of the world’s harsh reaction to our pain. Elyse started @poetrymission in the hopes of cultivating space for introspection and connection through this shared experience. For this project, she will be collaborating with talented Jewish artists and musicians to bring her poetry to life. The intent is to create an inspiring series that reflects the resilience of the Jewish people. Through darkness, we will always bring light.

ABOUT NUMOON

Numoon is a Philadelphia rapper, published author and Tribe 12 fellowship alumni. He also holds a master’s degree in education and has led and served diverse students nationwide. Born to an Israeli Buddhist woman and a rock musician father from a Catholic family, Numoon’s inspiration comes from the challenges of growing up in a low-income environment as the only Jewish family and the privilege of taking summer trips to Israel as a dual citizen. His musical inspirations include MF DOOM, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, and more. His music displays the creativity of abstract rap, as well as the stories of his unique Jewish upbringing and coming to terms with and finding pride in his identity.

PROJECT

“Rapper on the Nile” is a series of posts inspired by the concept of a Jewish person taken out of a Jewish world who is spiritually guided back to his roots. Numoon will rap as he was made to with the confidence, cleverness, and “bragadocious” nature of someone in a competitive genre. However, these raps will all be written using Jewish cultural references in a clever manner that ties together Jewish culture and American hip-hop so he can show the world that Jews are relatable, fun, and a strong force in American music. The posts will also address Numoon’s full-length songs which address topics, such as uniting Jews and (non-Jewish) Black Americans.

ABOUT SARAH

Sarah is an avid tea drinker who finds relaxation through rhinestoning. She lives in New Jersey with her kids, husband, four cats, two dogs, and a snake. She makes her living working with local drag queens.

PROJECT

Sarah’s Grammy was raised until the age of six by her grandmother who only spoke Yiddish. Grammy cannot speak Yiddish fluently anymore, but she was surprised with the amount of words she remembered when she and Sarah paged through a Yiddish dictionary. Her face lit up as she remembered stories and delighted in telling them. Combined with her love of rhinestoning anything that is stationary, Sarah will be expanding her Yiddish vocabulary through the words that sparked joy in Grammy by physically making Yiddish words sparkle!

ABOUT EREZ

Erez Shek is an unapologetically Jewish American content creator producing a range of multimedia content. His life and work span the realms of music, theatre, and mental health advocacy. He is the creative force behind The Shek Check, a platform dedicated to promoting mental wellness through candid discussions, insightful content, and community engagement. By sharing his journey with honesty and vulnerability, Erez has created supportive spaces where others can feel connected and seen. Beyond professional pursuits, he is a passionate artist who often breaks out into song at the drop of a hat, infusing creative projects with the same authenticity that characterizes his advocacy work. Whether he is writing, singing, creating visual art, or performing, Erez’s endeavors reflect commitment to exploring the human experience and finding connection through that.

PROJECT

Jewsical 101 is a journey honoring the Jewish contribution to music. In good times and bad, music has the power to connect us beyond borders, cultures, and religions. Celebrating Jewish singers, songwriters, performers, and music can remind ourselves and others of our humanity.

ABOUT ODELLYA

Odellya Sohnis, an Israeli American producer from Brooklyn, is making waves in Philadelphia and beyond. Driven by her commitment to Tikkun Olam and responding to the surge in antisemitism since October 7^th, she has recently founded a nonprofit, Upside Down Crab Bucket, Inc. Its mission is to support Jews and their allies and community through education, health and wellness services, and special events. She is currently expanding her inaugural series, Israel & Palestine: Arming Ourselves with Clarity/Advocacy with Empathy, a hands-on approach to instilling the ability in our next generation of leaders (including college students and young professionals) to have authentic, insightful, and productive conversations instead of disruptive demonstrations.

PROJECT

This project’s mission is to show the diversity of the Jewish identity to answer the “white colonizer” accusation by fostering positive first impressions and educating honestly on where we come from and how we got here through individual stories.