FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 | 33
volunteering. Since then, she
has maintained her advocacy
for Israel and the Jewish
community on campus,
proudly participating in
the March for Israel in DC
as a representative of both
her native Detroit and the
University of Michigan in
November.
In December, Atara was
a distinguished speaker at
the JNF Global Conference
in Denver, addressing an
audience of over 2,000
people on the issue of
antisemitism on college
campuses. During her
time at the conference, she
launched one of her new
pieces as another fundraising
campaign for Israel, a
papercut of the prayer for the
state of Israel.
After her graduation from
U-M in May, Atara will be
making aliyah and pursuing
her entrepreneurial dream
of opening her own Judaica
studio, AtaraKetubot. To
stay updated on her artistic
journey, you can follow her
on Instagram @Ataraketubot.
OLIVIA BERLIN
Olivia Berlin is
the senior
program associate
in the Israel &
Overseas
Department at the Jewish
Federation of Detroit.
Born and raised in Metro
Detroit, Olivia is a graduate
of Michigan State University.
She is a recent graduate of
Spertus Institute for Jewish
Learning and Leadership
where she received her
master’s degree in Jewish
professional studies and
certificate of Israel Education
from the iCenter.
Prior to working at the
Jewish Federation of Detroit,
Olivia worked at Hillel of
Metro Detroit, spent many
summers at URJ Camp
George and taught English
while participating in Masa
Israel Teaching Fellow in
Rishon L’Zion.
Outside of work, Olivia
loves to have Shabbat dinner
parties with friends, travel
and knit the occasional hat.
MAYA
GURFINKEL
Maya was raised
in Ann Arbor.
After attending
Kalamazoo
College and joining the
Hillel Campus Alliance of
Michigan (HCAM), Maya
moved to Greensboro, North
Carolina, where she worked
as outreach and engagement
manager for the Greensboro
Jewish Federation. While
working in Greensboro,
Maya oversaw the young
professional network, the
leadership development
course, PJ Library and the
Triad Jewish Film Festival.
After a few years, Maya
moved back to Michigan
with her partner and now
resides in Ferndale.
Maya currently works
as the director of the 2024
Detroit JCC Maccabi
Games. In this role, Maya
helps direct a dedicated
staff and lay leader-driven
team. Maya hopes to
cultivate an environment
where participants will
make lifelong memories
and connections within the
Jewish community. Maya
looks forward to the Games
this summer and encourages
all community members to
get involved.
In her free time, Maya
enjoys spending time with
her partner, family, friends
and pets. Some of Maya’s
favorite hobbies are hiking
and traveling. She is involved
with the Detroit Ultimate
Frisbee League.
LIOR ZISSER-
YOGEV
Lior Zisser-Yogev,
who serves as our
community’s
Shlicha through
the Jewish Federation of
Detroit, grew up in Givat
Ella in Emek Izrael in
Detroit’s Partnership2Gether
region. After meeting the
Jewish community of
Michigan in camp, she
decided to get involved in
Shlichut and Israel
education.
After finishing her army
service as a combat soldier
and a teacher, Lior worked
in other Jewish summer
camps and spent two years
as a community Shlicha in
Peoria, Illinois, and even
a summer as a Shlicha in
Sydney, Australia.
Lior has a B.A. in
education and political
science, and M.A. in public
policy and management
(both from the Hebrew
University) and a teaching
certificate in civil studies.
For the past eight years,
Lior worked in various roles
for different ministries in
the Israeli government such
as the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs, the Ministry
for Social Equality and the
Civil Service Commission.
Lior moved here from Israel
with her family, her husband,
Gil, and their daughters Zeve,
7, and Rona, 4.
DANIEL
BUCKSBAUM
Daniel
Bucksbaum is a
passionate
advocate for
Israel and the Jewish people.
He graduated with honors
from Western Michigan
University with a B.A. in
political science focusing on
contemporary Middle
Eastern politics and a minor
in Arabic. Daniel is also a
member of the Phi Beta
Kappa Honors Society. He
has written extensively about
Israel and the Middle East,
and some of his work has
been published in the
Jerusalem Post, the Times of
Israel and other publications.
Daniel is the Israel and
Interfaith associate for the
Jewish Community Relations
Council/American Jewish
Committee Detroit (JCRC/
AJC). With this role, Daniel
works to build meaningful
relationships between the
Jewish community and
other religious and ethnic
communities in Metro
Detroit, including the Hindu,
Hispanic and Chaldean
communities, and Detroit’s
large Muslim and Arab-
American community.
As JCRC/AJC’s Israel
associate, Daniel also
works collaboratively with
community leaders, school
boards, elected officials and
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