THE MITZVAH LEARNING FUND IS A NON-PROFIT COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PURSUING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONALIZED JEWISH EDUCATION.

About Us

Our Board of Governors

Lizzie Scheck Calne

Chair
Lizzie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her 2 children. Lizzie has her own namesake jewelry business which she has had for over 20 years. Lizzie’s son is currently a junior at University of Wisconsin, Madison and her daughter will be a freshman at University of Michigan this fall. Lizzie went to Jewish day school graduate from New York City and sent her children to Jewish day school in Los Angeles. Lizzie has never been more grateful for her Jewish education and knowing that her children can walk around their college campuses as proud Jews who express their opinions, help educate those who are not well informed, makes her incredibly proud. Helping others find ways to be educated on Judaism, its history and its future, is what led Lizzie to be a part of Mitzvah Learning Fund.

Karen Macarah

Secretary-Treasurer

Karen started her Jewish education way back in the 1980’s as a student at Temple Emanuel Community Day School in Beverly Hills. Later, as the parent of two children and three stepchildren, she made it a priority that all of them attend either Day School, Religious School and/or Jewish summer camp, and is proud that all her (now high school and college age) children celebrated their B’nai Mitzvot and remain deeply connected to their Jewish heritage. She served for a number of years on the board of the Valley Village congregation, Adat Ari El, where she continues to be a member, sometimes Torah-reader, and leader of Shacharit on Rosh Hashanah, and she’s proud to be a part of the Mitzvah Learning Fund and to support its mission of helping to provide personalized Jewish learning opportunities.

Esther D. Kustanowitz

Board Member

Esther is an award-winning writer and podcaster who has published in publications such as Hadassah Magazine, eJewishPhilanthropy, J.: The Jewish News of Northern California, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, LAist, JTA, The Jewish Week, and The Forward. Esther teaches journalism at Shalhevet High School, where she also advises the student newspaper, The Boiling Point. She has also worked with dozens of legacy Jewish nonprofits and independent projects. Esther’s award-winning podcast, The Bagel Report, centers on Jewish representation in popular culture; most recently, she contributed a chapter on Jewish representation to the recently published anthology, Modeling Religious Pluralism: Cultivating Religious Equity in Today’s World.

Dana Marks

Board Member

Dana lives in Los Angeles and grew up at Sinai Temple, where she eventually married her husband, Jeff. Jewish learning has always been a meaningful part of her life, shaped in part by her grandfather, a rabbi whose dedication to teaching students left a lasting impression on her. A consultant and project manager, she is the proud mother of two grown children whose early Jewish education began at Adat Ari El, where they attended preschool and Hebrew School, and where her family remains connected as members. Inspired by the role synagogue life has played in her own family, she believes deeply in helping make personalized Jewish learning more accessible.

Deborah Engel

Grant Administrator

Deb Engel is the Operations Associate at Hadar. With decades of experience as a Jewish educator and community builder, she has worked in diverse settings both in Los Angeles and Israel. Deb holds an MBA and an MA in Jewish Education from American Jewish University.

Linda Fife

Past Board Chair

Linda has spent most of her adult life working both as a professional educator and as a volunteer in the Jewish community. She is a founder of LimmudLA, worked as an outreach coordinator to converts and intermarried couples, holds a Master’s in Jewish Education, taught children with special needs and created a Jewish Lamaze program among other accomplishments. Linda developed a wide range of programming for congregations for both adults and children and has served as an officer and director for a number of Jewish nonprofits.

Todd Shotz

Founder

Todd is the Founder/Executive Director of the personalized Jewish educational company Hebrew Helpers. After many years as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah mentor in both New York and Los Angeles, Todd started Hebrew Helpers in 2005 with the mission to create authentic and meaningful Jewish learning experiences and life cycle events without boundaries or restrictions while at the same time, paying tribute to tradition. He is also an award-winning film producer through his company T42 Entertainment.