I’m a writer, communications professional, Jewish communal professional and mom of two middle schoolers (plus one ridiculously cute Pomeranian).
My background is in journalism and communications, and most recently I worked for the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, where I spent four years building relationships with young adults and helping connect them with meaningful opportunities for Jewish involvement and leadership.
I live right in the heart of Houston’s “Jewish Bubble” in Bellaire and remain actively involved in Jewish communal life through volunteer service, board and committee work and, like so many parents, my children’s activities.
But the idea for The Spiel Specialist started at my own kitchen table.
While helping my son develop his D’var Torah, I discovered how much I loved the process. We read and reread his Torah portion, which, let’s just say, was not necessarily destined for the bestseller list, and searched for something in it that genuinely connected to his life.
We brainstormed. We wrote. We rewrote. And rewrote again.
My goal was never to make him sound like an adult. It was to keep the speech unmistakably his while helping him dig a little deeper, organize his thoughts and tell a story people would want to hear.
By the time we finally looked at the latest revision and said Dayenu, I realized something:
I didn't want to wait two years for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah to do this again.
And so, The Spiel Specialist was born.
