Jewish–Interfaith Families and the Future of Jewish Life in the United States, Co-hosted by CASJE and eJP

Curt and Else Silberman Professor of Jewish Studies

Bio

Theodore Sasson is a sociologist and the Curt and Else Silberman Professor of Jewish Studies at Middlebury College. He is author of The New American Zionism (NYU Press, 2014) and two previous books, as well as dozens of scholarly articles, book chapters and research monographs in the fields of Israel Studies, diaspora studies, heritage tourism, demography, and the sociology of crime and punishment. Ted’s short essays and journalism have appeared in Tablet Magazine, The Forward, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post and other periodicals.

At Middlebury, Ted teaches courses about Jewish politics and social movements, Israeli politics and society, the US-Israel relationship and American Jewish life.  Ted also serves as the Ruderman Family Foundation Scholar in Residence at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for International Studies (INSS). Earlier in his career, Ted was a Senior Research Scientist at Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, where he concurrently held the position of Visiting Research Professor in the Sociology Department. 
 

Professor of Sociology and Jewish Communal Studies

Bio

Bruce A. Phillips is Professor of Sociology and Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College, and University Fellow at Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. He is one of the leading researchers in the demography and sociology of American Jewry and is the 2017 recipient of the Marshall Sklare award for his contributions to this field. He is the leading researcher on Jewish interfaith marriage in the United States, having published influential studies over the past three decades, including “Intermarriage in the 21st Century: New Perspectives” in the American Jewish Year Book. His current research focuses on Jewish adults who grew up in interfaith homes and re-examining Jewish suburbanization.

Chief Marketing & Digital Engagement Officer

Bio

Sophie Mortman leads 18Doors’ marketing, brand, and digital engagement efforts—bringing together strategy, creativity, and collaboration to grow awareness of the mission and foster lasting connections. She oversees storytelling, social media, email communications, and visual brand expression, ensuring every touchpoint feels vibrant, welcoming, and true to 18Doors’ values. Outside of work, Sophie loves live music, anything sweet, and petting every dog she meets.

18Doors empowers and enables multi-heritage individuals, couples and families to connect with Jewish communities and the joy of Jewish living, while inspiring and equipping leaders and organizations to infuse an ethos of belonging into the culture of the Jewish community. From digital content and in-person offerings that help couples and families – to their fellowship and learning opportunities for Jewish professionals and clergy, 18Doors delivers helpful, non-judgmental information with a warm welcome.

Chief Executive Officer

Bio

Before co-founding Honeymoon Israel, Avi was the founding North American Director of Masa Israel Journey, bringing more than 10,000 North Americans to Israel annually. Avi has lived in Israel for several years and also spent more than a decade working on Jewish community development in the former Soviet Union with Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Avi served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Kyrgyzstan. Avi earned a BA from Binghamton University and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Honeymoon Israel’s mission is to provide immersive trips to Israel for locally based cohorts of couples that have at least one Jewish partner, early in their committed relationship, creating communities of couples who are building families with deep and meaningful connections to Jewish life and the Jewish people. Their goal is to make young couples of all backgrounds feel welcome in the Jewish community and to inspire them to incorporate Jewish values and traditions into their lives in their own way.

President

Bio

Edmund Case is the founder of 18Doors and served as CEO from inception until he stepped down in March 2015. He is the author of Radical Inclusion: Engaging Interfaith Families for a Thriving Jewish Future, co-editor of The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life: An InterfaithFamily.com Handbook, and founder of the Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism.

The Center for Radically Inclusive Judaism strives to be the central address for professional and lay Jewish communal leaders who seek to advocate for radically inclusive Judaism with respect to interfaith families. The Center’s mission is to advocate for radically inclusive attitudes and policies toward interfaith families – and for programmatic efforts to engage them in Jewish life and community. The Center’s vision is that interfaith couples and their children engage in a Judaism of meaning that is radically inclusive of them. 

Research Digest Editor

Bio

Dr. Sasha Volodarsky is CASJE's research analyst and editor of the CASJE Research Digest. Dr. Volodarsky's research focuses primarily on antisemitism at US campuses, the impact evaluation of educational programs, and American Jews’ relationship with Israel.

He has authored academic papers on various topics, including operational ideology in the United States, perceptions of antisemitism, the impact of COVID-19 on students' mental health, and the effectiveness of online education.

Before joining CASJE, he worked as a researcher at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute for Applied Research in Israel. He is fluent in Hebrew, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Managing Editor

Bio

Judah Ari Gross is managing editor at eJewishPhilanthropy. Prior to joining eJP, Judah was a correspondent for the Times of Israel, reporting first on the military and then on Israel-Diaspora affairs and religion. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and Haifa University. Judah is an inaugural Elson Israel fellow at the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and lives with his family in Zichron Ya’akov, Israel.