Leah Bleich
Leah Bleich is an LA-based director, producer, writer, and former development executive. Her debut feature film “The Moon and Back” starred Isabel May, Missi Pyle, and Nat Faxon, and was released on Paramount+ in 2024. She’s currently preparing to shoot a two-episode docu-series for Roadtrip Nation and PBS, and loves telling stories that make people laugh and cry at the same time.
Aaron Vaccaro
Grandson to one of the original child actors in the “Our Gang” comedies of the 1930s, Aaron got the bug to work in the entertainment business from an early age. After college, Aaron chose to disappoint his Jewish mother who wanted him to go to law school by instead pursuing a career as a screenwriter. He has since written for shows on Netflix, CBS, Disney, Nickelodeon, and sold several TV and feature projects. When he’s not busy disappointing his mother, Aaron enjoys hiking with his wife, playing street hockey with his sons, and obsessing over his fantasy football team.
Kelly Woyan
Kelly Woyan is a writer and producer who has collaborated on several projects with notable artists, including Academy Award-nominated actor Jeremy Renner and Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Professional Writing/Screenwriting from the University of Southern California, where she studied under the late Syd Field. Kelly has also attended additional writing programs at Roadmap Writers, Yale University, and the Paris American Academy, and has a journalism degree from Columbia College.
Ted Nusbaum
Ted Nusbaum is a playwright, screenwriter, and theater educator who holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School. His first play, Pischer, won the Samuel French Off-Broadway Play Festival and was subsequently published. Ted has optioned several screenplays and television pilots, and teaches theater full-time at a performing arts high school in Manhattan. Ted lives in Brooklyn with his wife, three children, and a forever hungry hound dog named Bubba.
Mattan Harel-Fisch
Mattan Harel‑Fisch is an Israeli filmmaker and product designer, known for his work on commercials and film, as well as for creating the 47-minute IDF film on October 7th, “Bearing Witness,” which gained global attention and was presented to world leaders. He has co-founded two startups and a design studio, and serves as Director of UX at the software company Lightico. His work blends narrative, design, and innovation to drive meaningful impact.
Liz Buda
Liz Buda is a writer and producer from the San Fernando Valley. She is an executive producer on the horror feature Malus, currently in post-production, and has sold projects to production companies, including Crystal City Entertainment and Biônica Filmes. Liz holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, where she won the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for her pilot based on her grandfather’s experience in the post-World War II black market.
Dan Abramovici
Dan is a writer and director whose work often explores questions of identity through a surrealist lens. His films use unconventional storytelling to navigate complex human moments with honesty and imagination. His credits include: PLAY IT AGAIN (acquired by Prideflix)and SEARCHING FOR MARCEAU (Semifinalist Academy Nicholls Fellowship).
Jacob Seidman
Jacob is an LA based writer, actor, and producer. Selected previous projects include:”Fall to Fame” streaming on Dekkoo (winner best dramatic actor Micheaux Film Festival) and “Searching for Josh Brolin” on SeekaTV.
Sarah Wildman
Sarah Wildman is the is the author of Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind. She was formerly the global identities and borders writer at Vox, a position she originated. She was the recipient of the German Marshall Fund’s 2010 Peter R. Weitz Prize, awarded for excellence and originality in European coverage. Long a regular contributor to The New York Times, Slate, The Forward, Washingtonian (where she is a contributing editor), and The New Yorker online, among other publications, Wildman has won a number of competitive grants and fellowships: from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (Jerusalem in 2013 and Paris in 2017); Arthur F. Burns and American Council on Germany fellowships in Berlin; a Mile- na Jesenska Fellowship in Vienna; and a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism in Paris. A former New Republic staffer, Wildman has also worked for The Advocate magazine, American Prospect, and Politics Daily. Wildman was the Barach non-fiction fellow at Wesleyan University’s writing workshop in 2014 and a Dart Center Ochberg fellow (a project of the Columbia School of Journalism) in 2015.
Jacob Stark
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jacob S. Stark is a graduate of UCLA Law School and the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting. An award-winning writer/producer, Jacob has worked with entertainment companies ranging from Warner Bros to NBCUniversal to Nickelodeon. Most recently, Jacob produced the acclaimed Israeli TV series, The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything, which aired on Kan 11 and is being distributed by Keshet International. He also served as an executive producer on Netflix’s The Great Seduction, which premiered on the streaming network as the #1 non-English film in the world. He is currently writing and producing an animated Christmas feature (like a good Jewish boy) with A+C Studios out of England. He is very proud to have been an inaugural Jewish Writers Institute Fellow.