Source: Covenant Foundation
Five innovative and outstanding emerging Jewish educators are the 2015 recipients of The Covenant Foundation’s Pomegranate Prize. Hailing from educational institutions across the country, the recipients are: Erica Belkin Allen, Assistant Director of Congregational Education at Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Baltimore; Debbie Yunker Kail, Executive Director of Hillel at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ; Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, Dean of Students at Yeshivat Hadar in New York; Rabbi Devin Maimon Villarreal, Jewish Studies Department Chair and a teacher at deToledo High School in West Hills, CA; and Lea Winkler, general studies teacher and STEM Coordinator at Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead, MA.
The Pomegranate Prize was established in 2011 and recognizes emerging leaders in Jewish education – those in the field for 10 years or less. The Prize stands next to The Covenant Award, which since 1991 has honored three exemplary Jewish educators each year for innovation and impact across Jewish education settings.
Each Pomegranate Prize awardee receives $15,000 to generate new educational ventures and their own evolution as leaders in their communities and in Jewish education. In addition, over a three-year period and through Foundation-sponsored events, recipients interact and engage with thought leaders and extraordinary educators from across the spectrum of Jewish life.
The 2015 cohort joins an expanding network of up and coming Jewish educators—there are now 25 in the group. Together, they represent some of the most talented and creative young leaders working in the field today.