OUR PROGRAMS

Uniting & Inspiring Jewish Girls Worldwide

Bat Mitzvah & Beyond Club

TUESDAYS 7:30-8:30 PM EST
Starting Tues. Sept 2, 2025

GRADES 5-7

Celebrate this exciting stage of your life as you journey into Jewish womanhood, discover your unique gifts, and blossom with confidence! Join master Bat Mitzvah coach Nechama Laber, counselors & art & chef instructors for creative learning and fun while exploring our historical prophetesses’ 7 Voices of Leadership to reveal the leader within YOU.

Resources used will be the JGU Press publications: Seven Voices of Leadership & Weaving the Tapestry, A Journey Exploring Women of Valor Through the Ages!

Teen Connection Circle

WEDNESDAYS 8:30-9:30 PM EST
STARTING Wed. September 3, 2025

GRADES 8-10

Grow connection to your core, Creator, and community of peers through creative journaling, art, and trust & leadership lessons learned from modern day Jewish Women with featured guest presenters & intructors, Nechama Laber and GROW Mentors.

Resources: 1. My Prayer 2. The Gate of Trust 3. JGU Press Publications: GROW Prayer Planner, GROW Trust Planners & Weaving the Tapestry.

Rosh Chodesh Reunions

SUNDAYS MONTHLY

Stay tuned for dates!

Join your JGR/JGU friends for monthly online reunions!

GROW Mentorship Program

CHOOSE YOUR OWN TIME

GRADES 5+

(Recommended in conjunction with the Bat Mitzvah & Teen club) Connect & GROW with a trained GROW Mentor. Build confidence, create a Bat Mitzvah project, learn a skill and GROW through the highs & lows in life. Meet weekly either 1:1 or in small groups, November-May.

Join our Global Network!

MEET OUR

Featured Presenters

Nechama LaberJGU Director

Nechama Laber has been a passionate educator for girls for over twenty years. She has taught in day schools and Hebrew schools in Montreal, Brooklyn, Albany. She founded the Capital Region Bat Mitzvah Club in 1998 and the Bat Mitzvah Camp in 1999. Nechama and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Laber, are the co-directors of Chabad of S. Rensselaer County and the Jewish Girls Retreat.

Miriam YerushalmiDrama & Brain Gym Instructor

Mrs. Miriam Yerushalmi holds a double Bachelors degree in Psychology and Child Development and a double Masters degree in Psychology and Family Counseling. She has worked extensively with children (over 40 years) creating outreach programs using Drama and the arts to teach Brain gym: self-mastery brain training techniques with Torah Concepts.

Tzivia KayCulinary Arts & Song Instructor

Tzivia Kay is a mother who is known for her delectable food, a bilingual poet, singer, songwriter, actress, inspirational speaker, parodist, artist, producer and a performer for women and girls only. Tzivia writes inspirational songs to bring herself, her family and others closer to G-d.

Chana LaberFine Arts Instructor

Chana is a self-taught artist who has been creating since the day she can remember. She teaches art classes for children and teens and is passionate about sharing the gift of the creative process with others. Chana works with all kinds of mediums and including painting, illustrating, graphic design, typography, and really anything creative.

Chana CotterArt & Puppetry Instructor

Chana Cotter is Jewish artist, who specializes in Judaic art creations that are perfect gifts for Jewish weddings, anniversaries, and other simchas. She is also a retired English teacher. Chana will combine her passion for education and art to teach puppetry making.

Rae ShagalowDIY Passion Projects Instructor

Rae Shagalov is the director of the Library Innovation Lab and the Gifted Program at Emek Hebrew Academy. She has the fun job of inspiring Jewish kids, women, and teachers to make their creativity and talents pop with Passion Projects and project-based learning. She is also a calligrapher and creates hand-lettered coloring books and Torah Art Journals.

Kerry Bar-CohnDance Instructor

Dr. Kerry Bar-Cohn has many passions. She is married and raising four sons in Israel. She is a Doctor of Chiropractic and spends a big part of her day helping people get out of pain. Kerry loves to sing and dance and one of her favorite creative projects is performing as “Rebbetzin Tap.” As Rebbetzin Tap, she has starred in 5 DVDs and performed for children and women around the world. She also founded the Facebook group “Kol Isha” and Instagram account “Jewish Creative Women.” She loves helping Jewish women grow and connect through creativity.

Tzirel Liba MitzmannSinging & Song Writing Instructor

Tzirel Liba is a singer and composer who has written over 100 songs on the full gamut of Jewish Life. She is the founder of ‘The Shabbos Queen Project’ a daily 3 minute message of Chizuk for women on upgrading all aspects of our Shabbos.
Combining her two passions The Shabbos Queen Project is now a musical shiur for women and girls creating a heightened awareness and passion for bringing Shabbos preparations into every day with joy!

Yakira ColishDebate Instructor

Interested in improving your persuasion skills? Want to be able to speak confidently in an organized and logical manner? Look no further! Debate offers the opportunity to achieve all that and more! I discovered the world of debate at age 12 and have since won first place at various local and regional tournaments. During my time as debate captain, I coached my team to 2 school victories and helped transform a team of new debaters into award-winning champions. I am driven by the desire to show girls like you how powerful their voices are.

Ahuvah CoatesArt Instructor

Ahuvah Coates currently resides in Chicago,Illinois. She loves to use her creative talents to both raise her family and and facilitate others to express their neshamos through artistic creative medium. She holds a B.A in Fine Art and Psychology as well as an M.S in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. She has been working with JGU and JGR as an art coach for 3+ years. Her goal is to utilize art as therapeutic expression for both the body and soul!

Karen SartoDance Instructor

Karen Sarto was classically trained in ballet with the Royal Academy of London. She is also certified by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance for jazz, tap, folk, and ballroom dance. Karen is a sought-after choreographer and dance teacher for local stage and film productions, workshops, and retreats. She currently teaches dance and fitness classes for women and girls including classical ballet, lyrical jazz, tap, Israeli folk dance (Rikudei Am) and her signature, DanceFit! program. She loves to share the gift of dance!

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