List in Formation

• Mrs. Rivka Alter ASKT
  Glendale, WI February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Rivka Alter

  Rivka Alter presently serves as a yoetzet halacha in Riverdale, New York and Teaneck, New Jersey. She is also a member of the Judaic studies faculty at Maayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls. Rivka is an experienced kallah teacher and serves as a mentor for Nishmat’s kallah teacher training program. She frequently teaches adults and teens locally, on Zoom, and for the OU Women’s Initiative. Rivka and her husband Daniel served as Rav and Rebbetzin in Denver, Colorado for fifteen years and currently reside in Bergenfield, New Jersey. 

• Mrs. Rachel Besser Shaare Torah
  Pittsburgh, PA TBD More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Rachel Besser

  Rachel Besser is the Nach Department Chair at the Frisch School in Paramus, NJ, where she also teaches Tanach and Jewish philosophy and is a member of the Israel Guidance Department. A graduate of Stern College for Women, Rachel received her master’s degree in English literature from Hunter College in New York City. At the OU Women’s Initiative, Rachel taught Sefer Yirmiyahu and Sefer Ezra as part of the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program.  She presented a Nach Yomi Siyum shiur, Rosh Chodesh shiur and served as a Counting Toward Sinai Scholar-in-Residence. Rachel lives in Clifton, NJ with her husband Donny and six children. 

• Mrs. Reena Fohrman Congregation Emek Beracha
  Palo Alto, CA February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Reena Fohrman

  Reena Fohrman has taught Tanach for more than thirty years. She has inspired students at Bais Yaakov Baltimore, MMY Seminary in Jerusalem and, more recently, at Meira High School in Palo Alto, California. She’s also taught Tanach to women’s groups in Baltimore, New York and Israel, and at various holiday retreats in the tri-state area. Her love for Tanach was kindled at a young age by her father, who lovingly collected the original Gilyonot of Nechama Leibovitz, won the Chidon HaTanach Hatzeva’i, and would sing the whole of Shir HaShirim as he cleaned up after the Pesach Seder. Reena has kept the Chidon HaTanach tradition alive in her own family, learning with her children for untold hours on the couch as they prepared for participation in the National Chidon HaTanach. Reena holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts. and an M.A. in Education from John Carroll University. When she’s not in Israel, she lives in Woodmere, New York, with her husband and children. 

• Ms. Chani Gotlieb Congregation Anshei Chessed
  West Hempstead, NY February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Ms. Chani Gotlieb

  Ms. Chani Gotlieb is a dynamic educator, currently teaching in two prestigious girls’ high schools in New York. In addition, she lectures around the world to diverse audiences that span the gamut of Orthodox Jewry. Born and educated in Israel, Chani successfully integrates the best of Israel’s yeshiva education with her high-level academic training. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science earned in Israel, and a master’s degree in Judaic studies earned in the USA. In her lectures, Chani analyzes contemporary issues through the lens of diverse Jewish thinkers. Her insights, gained by a rigorous approach to text, appeal to both intellectuals and laymen alike. As a historian, Chani’s lectures are enhanced by the first-hand impressions she has formed of the many Jewish sites that she has visited worldwide. She has developed and implemented a unique curriculum for Jewish genealogy research which has exposed her to hundreds of personal narratives of multi-generational Jewish families. This work, together with her interviewing of Holocaust survivors for the Spielberg Shoah Foundation, provides Chani with a reservoir of memoirs to draw from, helping her to bring history to life for her audiences. 

  At the OU Women’s Initiative, Chani has served as a Counting Toward Sinai Scholar-in-Residence and presented a recording on tefillah as part of the Counting Toward Sinai Tefillah Series. 

   

• Mrs. Amy Horowitz Congregation Ahavas Achim
  Highland Park, NJ February 13-14 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Amy Horowitz

  Amy Horowitz studied English Literature at Stern College for Women and holds a Master’s Degree in Education from NYU. Although she began her career as a copyeditor, Amy quickly discovered her passion for teaching Tanach, which she has done at Katz Yeshiva High School of South Florida for the past 19 years, also serving as Director of Girls Judaic Studies and Chairperson of the Tanach Department. At the OU Women’s Initiative, Amy taught Sefer Yeshayahu to over 5,000 women worldwide as part of the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program in addition to Rosh Chodesh Lunch ‘N Learn. In addition to teaching high school students, Amy frequently teaches classes to the adult community in Boca Raton, FL, where she lives with her three children. 

• Mrs. Michal Horowitz Congregation Ohr Torah
  Edison, NJ February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Michal Horowitz

  Mrs. Michal Horowitz is a Torah teacher whose shiurim reach audiences worldwide. She teaches weekly in her Five Towns, NY, community and lectures nationally and internationally. A longtime presenter for the OU Women’s Initiative, she inaugurated the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program. In September 2023, she was invited by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to serve as the first female scholar to keynote the Annual Pre-Yamim Noraim Conference for the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. She is the author of Abled: Living With a Disability, a Torah View (Mosaica Press, 2025) and lives in Woodmere, NY, with her family.

• Mrs. Chana Meira Katz Congregation Darchei Noam, Fairlawn, NJ
  Congregation Beth Abraham, Bergenfield, NJ February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Chana Meira Katz

  With over 20 years of teaching and four years of administrative experience, Mrs. Chana Meira Katz has dedicated her career to educating women in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Los Angeles, California. Her multifaceted approach to Torah learning integrates her Hadar Bais Yaakov education, Ohr Lagolah Kiruv training, as well as a Master of Science in Jewish Education from Azrieli Graduate School of Education and Administration and a Master of Education in Teacher Leadership from Brandeis University. She currently teaches at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles and extends her impact by hosting weekly shiurim for women in the local community. Passionate about empowering women through Torah study, Chana Meira is dedicated to making Torah learning not only accessible but also profoundly relevant to women’s lives.

• Mrs. Rachel Kosowsky Beth Sholom
  Rochester, NY February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Rachel Kosowsky

  Rachel Kosowsky is the high school principal at Farber Hebrew Day School– Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield, MI. In addition to her job as principal, she teaches limudei kodesh at Farber Hebrew Day School and delivers a weekly gemara shiur at the Young Israel of Southfield. Her previous experience includes serving as Tanach Department Chair, as well as twenty-six years of teaching Judaic Studies in Rockville and Baltimore, MD. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Barnard College, and an MA in Jewish Thought from Baltimore Hebrew University. She also studied at Drisha Institute in NY, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Nishmat and Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. She has served as a teacher mentor with the Jewish New Teacher Project and regularly lectures to adult audiences. At the OU Women’s Initiative, Rachel has presented shiurim for the Rosh Chodesh program, served as a Counting Toward Sinai scholar-in-residence, spoken about tefillah as part of the Counting Toward Sinai Tefillah series, and taught Tehillim for Torat Imecha Nach Yomi. She is married to Rabbi Ira S. Kosowsky, who is also a Jewish educator. They are the proud parents of four children. 

• Rebbetzin Liat Mayerfeld Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington
  Silver Spring, MD February 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Rebbetzin Liat Mayerfeld

  Liat Mayerfeld was born in New York, raised in Israel, and somehow still manages to make the best of both accents. After serving for over two years in Israeli military intelligence (yes, she could tell you more, but then….), she earned teaching credentials in Jewish studies and special education from Michlala College. She spent years in London as director of women’s education at Aish UK and was also the Rebbetzin of Shomrei Hadath Synagogue in West Hampstead. Now in NYC, Rebbetzin Mayerfeld co-directs Kii, connecting, teaching, and laughing with young professionals across the city. She also teaches kallahs and trains and mentors kallah teachers of women from various backgrounds.

• Mrs. Aviva Orlian Shaarei Tefilla
  Providence, RI TBD More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Aviva Orlian

  Mrs. Aviva Orlian grew up in Baltimore, MD and currently lives in Monsey, NY. She has been lecturing, giving shiurim and has been a featured speaker for various community-wide women’s programming for the past 25 years, including the OU Women’s Initiative. Aside from her passion for teaching Torah, Mrs. Orlian is a full-time practicing speech-language pathologist.

• Professor Smadar Rosensweig Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton
  Passaic, NJ February 20-21 More about this speaker
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  Professor Smadar Rosensweig

  Smadar Rosensweig is a world- renowned Jewish Educator and Lecturer in Tanakh. She lectures extensively throughout the United States and internationally.  She is a Clinical Associate Professor of Bible and Judaic Studies, at Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, and a lecturer in the Graduate Program for Advanced Torah Studies at Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University. Professor Rosensweig received her B.A from Barnard College in History and her M.A. and M. Phil from Columbia University in Jewish History, where she studied under Professor Yosef  Hayim Yerushalmi and was a Presidential Fellow. Previously, she was a Professor of Judaic Studies at Lander College for Women, Touro College and a Senior Lecturer of Tanakh at the Allegra Franco Teachers College. At the OU Women’s Initiative, Professor Rosensweig taught Sefer Iyov and Sefer Shmuel Aleph to thousands of women worldwide as part of the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program. 

• Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman Beth Joseph
  Phoenix, AZ March 6-7 More about this speaker
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  Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman

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  Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman is the founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative. She is a community leader with over three decades of teaching experience in New York, Alabama and Pennsylvania. She received a PhD in Educational Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, MS in School Psychology from Queens College and MA in Jewish Education and a Certificate in Educational Technology from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University.  She received a Teacher’s Certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary (BJJ).  She is the rebbetzin of the Lower Merion Synagogue as well as the co-chair of the Lower Merion Community Mikvah in Bala Cynwyd, PA.  She is a kallah teacher and mikvah attendant.  She and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Shmidman, live in Bala Cynwyd, PA and are the parents of four sons. 

• Mrs. Tzivi Zuckerman Ohr Hatorah
  Dallas, TX February 20-21 More about this speaker
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  Mrs. Tzivi Zuckerman

  Tzivi Zuckerman holds a BA in History and an MA in Jewish History, and taught World History, Jewish History and Tanach for over 15 years at a variety of schools, including Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, Michlalah Jerusalem College, Bais Yaakov of Baltimore and Columbus Torah Academy. Since moving to Columbus, Ohio, Tzivi has taught a range of community classes on Taharas HaMishpacha, relationships, Jewish history and Jewish thought. In addition to teaching women in the community, Tzivi teaches High School Navi at CTA’s GHSP division. Tzivi has taught in a variety of forums for the OU Women’s Initiative, including Haggadah Ideas and Inspiration and Rosh Chodesh Lunch N Learn, as a scholar in residence for Nach Yomi Nach Shabbat, and Sefer Melachim II for the previous cycle of Nach Yomi Torat Imecha.