JOWMA (Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association) Podcast

Chani Yondorf is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist at the Albert Einstein Medical Center of Philadelphia. She graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in biochemistry. She began her medical training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, and graduated with a distinction in research. Chani then completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, where she has remained on faculty as an attending physician.

Shira Berkovits, Esq., Ph.D. is President and CEO of Sacred Spaces. A behavioral psychologist with a research background in creating large-scale organizational change, and an attorney specialized in criminal law, Shira has spent years studying the intersection of psychology and law as related to sexual offending in faith communities. Bringing a uniquely Jewish lens, Shira partners with Jewish leaders to build healthy and accountable institutions, whose culture and daily operations foster sacredness and reduce the risk of harassment, abuse, and other forms of interpersonal harm. In her role as CEO of Sacred Spaces, she has worked with Jewish communities across five continents to prevent, handle, and heal from institutional abuse. In addition to an Amazon bestseller, Shira has published pioneering pieces on abusive institutional practices, which are regularly cited as foundational texts in the Jewish abuse prevention field. Selected as an inaugural Wexner Field Fellow and named to The Jewish Week’s 2017 36 Under 36 for her pioneering work on abuse prevention, Shira sits on the board of the Academy on Violence and Abuse and is a member of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.

Aleinu Campaign: Safeguarding Our Children

Keilim | A Policy Toolkit by Sacred Spaces

I was shamed and shunned for revealing my abuse

CP is a client-centered, humanistic therapist who believes that it’s the human within the therapist that creates the space for recovery and self-actualization. CP’s holistic approach to treatment was born out of a deep appreciation for the mind-body connection. After working in vastly different populations, CP discovered early in her career that trauma and mental illness do not discriminate.  

CP has worked in juvenile prison, methadone maintenance, inner-city homes and schools, residential treatment, foster care and private practice. CP is the co-founder of Atideinu, a non-profit organization that fosters social and emotional development in children.  

After years of working as a therapist, clinical supervisor, consultant and trainer, CP created Resonant Therapies to help streamline all of these services and more.  

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/Understanding_Intergenerational_Trauma  

https://resonanttherapies.com/about/  

https://www.instituteforcreativemindfulness.com/icm-blog-redefine-therapy/5-takeaways-from-a-decade-as-a-therapist-in-our-juvenile-justice-system-by-cp-handler/

Dr Esther R. Libman, Hon. B.Sc M.D. is a family medicine physician with a full time family practice in Thornhill, Canada since 1982. She attended University of Toronto for Medical School and continued at University of Toronto’s family medicine residency program. She then obtained her Fellowship of the College of Family Medicine. She worked regular shifts in the emergency department of North York General Hospital from 1982 to 1994 and has continued to attend family practice rounds at NYGH with admitting privileges for newborn, pediatric and adult patients. 

She manages women’s health at every stage, adressing menstruation, birth control, fertility difficulties, perimenopause and menopause. She has a particular interest in guiding orthodox Jewish brides with period regulation prior to their wedding. She has received honorary awards in recognition of her outstanding commitment to the Orthodox community by the Toronto Lubavitch Center, Ohr Somayach, Bikur Cholim of Toronto and Yeshiva University. 

Her interests include challah baking, fitness, tennis, swimming, simcha dancing, camping and ice skating. She is married to a wonderful family physician, Dr Robert Libman, with whom she shares four terrific children and is the proud grandmother of many.

Compassionate, straight-forward and down-to-earth, Anna Sherman is a Registered Psychotherapist and Certified Maternal Mental Health Practitioner who works with individuals, couples and families. With a strong passion for self-help and wellness, Anna offers support as clients build on their strengths and continue to move forward in their lives.  

Dr. Hovington has a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical exercise Physiology and a Master’s in Rehabilitation Science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.   

She completed a Post- Doctoral Fellow at McGill in Education . She received her PHD in Neuroscience also from McGill University.  

Dr. Hovington is the recipient of six awards and is the author of eight journal articles.   

After becoming a mom for the first time in 2015, I learned that there were very few evidence-based resources available to support parents.  

I left academia to stay home with my 3 children and decided that I needed to create a reliable and science-backed resource that ALL parents can access. This is how Curious Neuron was born and has grown into a community of over 50,000 international parents.   

By making science accessible to parents, we make informed decisions about our children and develop tools and skills that help us and our children thrive.   

 Dr. Hovington has published her work in psychological and educational journals including Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, BMC Psychiatry, Schizophrenia and Science and Children.  

 She is a parenting contributor for CJAD800 and has appeared on Global News Montreal.  

 She has given webinars for Learn Quebec, The Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists, The Society for functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy 2021 conference and more.   

 Curious Neuron and Dr. Hovington’s work has been highlighted in Canadian, US and UK magazines. Click here to learn more about her media appearances.  

 She has worked with companies including Pampers, Pok Pok, Brightlobe, Edx Education, Dadditude, Grin Natural, Groops, Peanut and more.

Jennifer E. Weiss, M.D., is a board-certified pediatric rheumatologist. She graduated from St George’s University School of Medicine and completed a pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Schneider Children’s Hospital/LIJMC. She is board certified in Pediatric Rheumatology. Dr. Weiss specializes in juvenile arthritis, Lyme arthritis, vasculitis, lupus, fever/autoinflammatory syndromes and pediatric pain syndromes. Her research interests include clinical research on juvenile arthritis, chronic musculoskeletal pain and quality improvement. She is a member of the American College of Rheumatology and serves on the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Steering Committee and is Vice-Chair of the CARRA Pain Sub-Committee. She is also on the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcome Improvement Network Steering Committee and has served on the NJ Board of the Arthritis Foundation. She has served as site principal investigator on many clinical trials and quality improvement studies.    

Philosophy Of Care:  "My care philosophy mirrors the mission and vision of Hackensack Meridian Health. I aim to listen to patients, make the correct diagnosis, and use shared decision making to come up with a treatment plan. It is incredibly rewarding to help diagnose and treat patients with rare diseases so they can live active, pain-free lives."

Eliza “Shevie” Kassai, MD is a general and trauma surgeon in Denver Colorado. She is a graduate of Bais Yaakov of Denver and Stern College for Women. Following a 2 year post baccalaureate research fellowship at the NIH, she attended medical school at the Technion in Israel with induction into the Gold Humanism Society. She returned to Denver to complete her residency training in General Surgery at the University of Colorado. She completed a Research Fellowship in Trauma Surgery during her training and her research has been published in multiple medical journals including the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Injury, and the American Surgeon. She lives with her husband and three children in Denver. She is involved in many organizations within the local Frum community. Dr. Kassai loves skiing, running, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Christy Huff, MD, is a cardiologist and director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a nonprofit that educates about the adverse effects of prescribed benzodiazepines. Dr. Huff attended medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha. She completed an internal medicine residency at Washington University in St. Louis and a cardiology fellowship at U.T. Southwestern, with a focus in advanced cardiovascular imaging and noninvasive cardiology. 

Dr. Huff is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and was a private practice cardiologist in Fort Worth,Texas until 2011, when she became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her daughter.   Dr. Huff speaks and writes frequently about her lived experience with benzodiazepines. In 2015, she experienced adverse effects after three weeks of prescribed Xanax for insomnia. Over a three-year period, she slowly tapered off benzodiazepines utilizing Valium, and suffered protracted and disabling symptoms. Her personal experience led her to realize the serious risks of these medications and the potential severity of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, neither of which were emphasized during her medical training. Dr. Huff specifically advocates for better education of physicians regarding the adverse effects of benzodiazepines and how to safely taper patients off these medications. Her research interests include patient-centered benzodiazepine deprescribing and benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND).  In addition to her work at BIC, Dr. Huff is a member of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse’s Benzodiazepine Action Work Group.

"We take so much more on our journeys than just our profession. While homeopathy forms the basis of my professional education, I added many other tools over the years. I have gained a lot of perspectives and insights from books, studies, meetings with my patients and conversations with colleagues. All of these have allowed me to create my own individual way when meeting patients and practitioners. My approach is both practical and spiritual, and is based on my deep belief that we can all grow and learn."  - Rivka Klein-de Graaf  https://rivkaklein.com/about-me/