Augusta "Gustie" Owens is a junior at Barnard College in New York City studying Urban Studies and Anthropology. She’s interested in politics, story-telling, and loves making babka. 

Ella Thompson is a junior at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California. When not in school, Ella works on the leadership team for her Boy Scout troop, where she hopes to build a welcoming community for young girls. She also participates in many of her synagogue’s programs outside of school, and spends her summers at Ramah Galim in Northern California. Ella is particularly passionate about sustainability, education, and politics. She hopes that she will never stop learning and growing as a person and as an activist. Ella enjoys hiking and reading, and has a deep appreciation for art and good food.

Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw is a junior at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, where she is the head of the Jewish student coalition, a tutor for “Tuesday Night Tutoring,” and an active participant in Fata Morgana, her school’s dance company. Ma'ayan also organizes her school’s Summit on Sexual Assault and Consent every year. She reminisces often about her time on Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim, Ramah's Israel semester abroad program, and her eight meaningful years at Camp Havaya. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends, listening to podcasts, and making intricate friendship bracelets.

Liana Smolover-Bord is a senior at Georgetown Day School in Washington DC. At school, Liana is Director of the Student Action Committee, Opinions Editor of the newspaper, and a senior leader of the Sexual Assault and Consent Summit. Outside of school, Liana leads GTG-Tech, a non-profit assisting seniors with technology. She serves as the Religious and Cultural Vice President of her synagogue’s youth group and directs the synagogue’s junior choir. Following her participation in an ACLU fellowship in 2019, Liana was selected as an ACLU Democracy Summer Fellow for 2020. She is captain of her school’s tennis and softball teams and loves reading and writing.

Jessie Schwalb attends Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she is a senior and captain of the Mock Trial Team. Her passion for debating issues extends beyond school grounds; she is also a member of Ann Arbor's student advisory council, the youth advisory council for South-East Michigan's Community Foundation, her town’s Sunrise Hub, and the Adolescent Champion Youth Advisory Council, which works to inform the practices of health professionals in the area. Her interests vary widely, as do her commitments, which include her school's theater program and hacking club. When she has time, she enjoys baking elaborate desserts, writing, and calling friends and family.

Dahlia Plotkin-Oren is a senior at El Cerrito High School in El Cerrito, California. She is a Diller Teen Fellow and is active in her school community as the president of the P.L.U.M Club (Please Learn about and Understand Menstruation). As an alumna of Alexander Muss High School in Israel, Dahlia is inspired by and passionate about her Judaism and its connection to Israel. She loves to spend her summers working with kids as a counselor at Camp Kee Tov.

Lily Pazner is a junior at Cranbrook Kingswood High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where she writes for her school newspaper. She is active in her local BBYO chapter and is a member of its executive board this year. Lily is serving on the jGirls Editorial Board for her second year and is a co-founder of Dinah, a youth group for Jewish teen feminists in Michigan. She also volunteers at Friendship Circle. In her free time, Lily can be found hiking, playing with her dogs, weaving, embroidering, and, of course, reading and writing.

Simone Miller, a senior at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, Illinois, serves as Editor-in-Chief of her school newspaper and yearbook, and as Prose Editor of her school’s literary magazine. She co-founded and serves as president of the Student to Student program in Chicago, teaching high school students about Judaism through peer presentations. Simone is politically active on issues pertaining to Israel, feminism, sustainable fashion, and environmentalism. She is a member of her school’s cross country and Model UN teams, and she spent the last two summers at the Drisha Institute for advanced Talmud study for women.

Goldi Lieberperson is a senior at Miami Beach Senior High in Miami Beach, Florida. She is active in her local Jewish community through the Miami Beach JCC. Goldi is also on the boards of her local temple youth group and her local BBYO chapter, L’olam. Goldi is an alumna of the URJ Heller High and Diller Teen Fellows programs. When she is not doing Jewish activities, she is usually at the beach with friends. Goldi also prides herself on listening to her Waze app in Hebrew while driving her 6-speed manual transmission.

Rena Kosowsky is an alumna of Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Maryland. She spent this past spring working as an intern for the Brem Foundation, a breast cancer nonprofit, and is currently studying for a year at Midreshet Lindenbaum, a gap year program based in Jerusalem.

Lana Klein is a junior at Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) High School in the Bronx. She is known for being a feminist and an avid advocate for LGBTQ rights at her school. She is a founding member of her school’s GSA and the head of the SAR branch of Knock Knock Give a Sock, a homelessness awareness club. She is also involved in her school’s fencing team and the animal rights club. In her free time, she loves to read, write, cook, and bake. Lana is an active member in her shul, and has been a leader in her youth group for three years.

Noa Gross is a junior at Saint Paul Academy and Summit School in Hopkins, Minnesota. During school hours she participates in debate, the cross country team, her school’s newspaper, and the Jewish affinity group, of which she was recently named president. Outside of school, she enjoys expressing herself through art media, with a focus on creative writing and photography. Noa works to deepen her connection with Judaism and her Israeli heritage through involvement in her synagogue’s b'nai mitzvah program and Minnesota’s chapter of the Heschel Honor Society.

Judy Goldstein is a senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. She is in Blair’s Communication Arts Program and loves being on her school’s stage crew. She is an alumna of Alexander Muss High School in Israel and is always trying to learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Judy loves to make short films and documentaries and is an aspiring scriptwriter. She also sells earrings for community bail funds on Instagram. Judy spends her summers at Camp Louise, the happiest place on earth for her.

Simone Feinblum is a junior at Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) High School in New York. She is on the swim team, soccer team and model congress team. Her passions include feminism, Zionism, Judaism, photography, reading, and baking. Simone has attended Camp Moshava for six summers. She is also an active participant in her shul, where she leads children's groups. When she's not with her friends, she is traveling, reading, playing sports, or watching Netflix.

Shoshanah Curiel-Alessi is a senior at Jewish Community High School in San Francisco, California. She is the president of the student advisory board at her school, working to make it a more inclusive and socially aware place. She is also the president of her youth group and an art teacher at her religious school. Shoshanah is heavily involved in the arts, theater, and yearbook scene at her school, and has dabbled with her school’s literary magazine and the school newspaper. She is passionate about intersectional feminism, body positivity, and matters of identity and race. Shoshanah also loves making art, reading, going on walks, and listening to music.

Rose Clubok (she/her) is a senior at the Columbus School for Girls. She develops curriculum for and teaches at her synagogue’s religious school and received JewishColumbus’s 2019 Twelve Torches Award for her work as a Jewish educator. She also serves on the National Curriculum Committee of Diversify Our Narrative which develops inclusive, diverse, and anti-racist curriculum for K-12 schools. Rose was a 2020-2021 Rising Voices Fellow and is passionate about Jewish identity, history, feminism, and vintage clothes. 

Jordana Barnett is a senior at Hunter College High School in New York City. At school, she is the co-president of the Hunter Life Committee and the Muslim Student Association, in addition to being an active member of Coalition Z. Outside of school, she is a teen leader and singer in HaZamir. She also learns Talmud and writes fiction and nonfiction. She is an alumna of the 2020 Vision Fellowship, the Drisha High School Program, and the Maimonides Scholars Program. In her free time, she loves to read, bake, and try to save the universe.

Dodie Altman-Sagan is a senior at Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts. She is an enthusiastic member of Gann’s Heifers For Israel club and a student advisor for ninth graders at her school. Dodie is also actively involved in disability advocacy with the Disability Law Center in Boston and is a writer for Gann's fashion publication, Fashion On Forest. In her spare time, Dodie plays lacrosse, upcycles and sells clothing on Instagram, hangs out with her friends, and loves to write.

Belinda Brock earned a MS in Literacy and Language from University of Chicago and her background is in teaching and educational publishing. She authored the award-winning GG and Mamela, the first children’s book to address hospice care. Her essays have been featured on HuffPost and Kveller. She is a contributor to The Best Advice in Six Words (the same amount of advice her children tolerate) and has a picture book biography being released in 2022. Although she didn't become a librarian as she once considered, she is the sponsor and steward of the Little Free Library in her city. Find her on Twitter @grandbooking and at belindambrock.com  

Jessica Ullian (she/hers/they) is a writer and editor in Boston. She's written about co-working for Money magazine, parenting for Buzzfeed, and studying Talmud for Kveller, and is a contributor to WBUR's Cognoscenti. She volunteers as a school and synagogue social-justice coordinator and in her free time enjoys running and romance novels. You can find more of her work at jessicaullian.com.

Emily Cohen is a writer from Kansas City, Missouri. She studied German and History at Bowdoin College in Maine. She enjoys reading and writing about history, politics, and food. Find her on Twitter as @emily_ann_cohen.