SLBC Core Educators and Presenters Ellen Allard Ellen Allard, an award-winning performer, music educator, composer, and confidence coach, is one of the most sought after musicians on today’s Jewish music scene. Committed to building community through music, Ellen has a unique, charming, and heartwarming way of engaging audiences in playful singing, whether performing a concert, presenting a workshop, conducting a choir, or leading Tot Shabbat, religious school Wow Worship, or adult worship. Ellen is a certified holistic health coach, baby/toddler yoga teacher, Kidding Around Yoga/Yoga Yeladim teacher, and a certified Rhythm ‘n’ Ruach teacher. She has been performing and teaching music to young children, adults and families for over 40 years. Her repertoire of 300+ songs is featured across 14 recordings and 7 songbooks; her music has been published by singer-songwriters on 32 recordings and 11 books. Ellen lives in Boston, MA and has two daughters and sons-in-law who have blessed her with six grandchildren and two rather large dogs. If asked, she will extoll the virtues of eating dark chocolate daily. Rob Aronson Rob Aronson has been coming to SLBC since 2011. Outside of his career as a Financial Advisor, Rob has been a part-time Cantorial Soloist/Songleader at Congregation Temple Israel in St. Louis since 2007. Rob has been enjoying his role as host of SLBC Live for the past few years and loves to see all of the talent that is showcased at SLBC! Rabbi Cecelia Beyer Rabbi Cece is a rabbi at Temple Sholom in Bridgewater, New Jersey. She was ordained from the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2010, where she pursued a concentration in sacred music as part of her studies. While in rabbinical school, she served first as the youth service director and then as the cantor at Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, New Jersey and as both a Cooperberg- Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern and a Social Justice Rabbinical Intern at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City. A Cherry Hill native, she is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the George Washington University Law School. She is a graduate of Young Judaea, attended Camp Tel Yehudah as a teen, and has spent summers at many camps including Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake and Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. Most recently, she joined the "founding family" of Camp Zeke, a new Jewish camp dedicated to fitness and culinary arts, and to the connection of mind, body, and soul in Judaism. Rabbi Cece is a classically trained vocalist, a musical theater buff, and a competitive Irish step dancer. She and her husband Gabe have two kitties, Minerva and Albus, and a rescue dog named Sandy. Rabbi Joseph Black Joseph Black has served as Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Denver, CO since July 2010. Previously, he served as Rabbi of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1996-2010 and as Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1987- 1996. A pioneer of contemporary Jewish music, Rabbi Black has recorded five critically acclaimed albums, a songbook and two videos. He has performed his original music in many communities in the United States and Canada and has received numerous honors for his performance and composition. Two of his songs, “Boker Tov” and “The Afikoman Mambo,” have been made into Children’s books and distributed by PJ Library. He also is an accomplished writer and poet. Rabbi Black has published several poems and articles in leading national literary and academic journals. He is a frequent contributor to anthologies and collections of Jewish writing. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northwestern University in 1982 and his Master’s degree and Rabbinic Ordination from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1987. In 2012 he received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Black serves as a Chaplain in the Colorado House of Representatives and is Past President of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council. Sam Blustin Sam Blustin is in his final year of rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. At JTS, he created and facilitates Shomer Achi, a men’s group for rabbinical and cantorial students to explore and confront both the privileges and potential difficulties of being male-identifying leaders of our communities, supporting and challenging each other to be more compassionate leaders and better allies for others in our communities. Sam is also a composer of singable liturgical melodies and is currently writing a thesis on the art of building meaningful prayer communities. Joe Buchanan Joe Buchanan is an Americana singer-songwriter from Houston, TX who converted to Judaism and found his voice in the values, history, and Torah of the Jewish people. He has since written two albums, toured around the U.S., and shared a love of this new life through music. Combining elements of country, roots-rock, and folk, Joe’s music reaches deep to tell personal stories of struggle and triumph. This is feel-good, toe-tapping, Americana with a Jewish Soul. From Shabbat services to concerts, Buchanan visits communities across the United States and shares a love of Judaism, prayer, and connection to GD and each other. Joe released his latest album, “Back from Babylon,” in late 2019. Shelley Dean Shelley Dean, founder of Rhythm ‘n’ Ruach, has a mission to bring joyful Judaism to Jewish people of all ages. Inspired by her grandparents, who are survivors of the Holocaust, Shelley is passionate about Jewish continuity. She discovered her love of Jewish music as a young child while at Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin. Her experiences of “Ruach” continued through her time spent in Jewish youth group and then exploded as she participated in the Livnot U’Lehibanot program in Israel. Shelley’s gift of transmitting and creating ruach is felt in every program she is part of. When not engaging in Rhythm ‘n’ Ruach activities, she does yoga with little ones and adults of all ages. She is a certified Kidding Around Yoga instructor as well as a RYT 200 yoga instructor. She earned her BA from UW-Madison and lives in St. Louis with her husband and four amazing kids. Cantor Ellen Dreskin Cantor Ellen Dreskin is an innovative leader in today’s Reform movement. Her expertise extends from music to synagogue transformation, from experiential education to enlivened liturgy and mysticism. She has worked with Jews of all denominations from Houston to Chicago and Los Angeles to Boston, both as a scholar-in-residence and in her capacity as past Director of Programs for Synagogue 2000, a national, not-for-profit institute dedicated to revitalizing and re-energizing synagogue life in North America. Ellen has served as Cantor and Educator for congregations in Cleveland and New York, and has taught for many years on the faculty of URJ Summer Kallot, Hava Nashira, and the URJ Kutz Camp Leadership Academy. She is a native Texan, a graduate of HUC- JIR School of Sacred Music, has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University, and is proud to have received her honorary Doctorate of Music from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe A native of Los Angeles, California, Rabbi Rebecca L. Dubowe was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She holds a B.A in Jewish Studies from the American Jewish University formerly known as the University of Judaism, an M.A. in Hebrew Letters and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew Union College - JIR in 2018. Rabbi Dubowe has served synagogues in Thousand Oaks, California, Hollywood, California and New Brunswick, New Jersey. Since 2015, she has been serving the small but vibrant Jewish community in Bloomington, Illinois as the rabbi for Moses Montefiore Congregation. Rabbi Dubowe serves as the co-chair of the Faith and Outreach committee associated with the Not In Our Town organization, a grassroots movement about stopping hate, addressing bullying, and building safe, inclusive communities for all. In addition, Rabbi Dubowe serves on the Ethics Committee associated with the Advocate BroMenn Medical Center. Besides serving the rabbinate full-time, Rabbi Dubowe offers her time to the greater Jewish Deaf Community, which has a special place in her life as she is the first female deaf Rabbi ordained in the world. Rabbi Dubowe has spoken at numerous synagogues and JCCs throughout the country, written various articles, and led webinars about the importance of inclusion within the Jewish community. Hazzan Joanna Dulkin Hazzan Joanna Dulkin is committed to innovative musical and spiritual leadership that inspires joy, connection and meaning at all ages and stages. She has taught and performed internationally as a Cantor-, Musician- and Scholar-in residence, and her music is sung in congregations and kehilot all over the world. Her background as a Jewish camp songleader, musician and educator led her to the Cantorate. She currently serves Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka, MN, is a vice president of the Cantors Assembly, was on the editorial committee for the new-ish Conservative movement Siddur Lev Shalem, Joanna grew up in the Reform movement in Northern California, and was the first Head Songleader in the history of URJ Camp Newman. While studying at JTS’s H.L. Miller Cantorial School, Joanna spent four summers as the Rosh Shira of Ramah Darom. She has worked with Institute for Jewish Spirituality as a student and faculty member, which works with mindfulness meditation, yoga, chanting and text study. Her current interests and projects are uncovering and teaching the stories of the hidden (and not) women of the Bible, working on a new clergy life cycle manual, and she is studying to become a Certified Yoga instructor.