About Us...
Russel M. Neiss
Russel M. Neiss is currently the Elementary and Middle School Librarian for the Rodeph Sholom Day School in New York City. He has previously worked in the rare book room of the Jewish Theological Seminary, as well as a traveling Jewish educator in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana with the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. He received his Masters of Library Science with a specialization in digitization and information technologies from Queens College, and his Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies and Jewish Studies from CUNY's Macaulay Honors College at Queens College. Russel has also studied Yiddish with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, and at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute in Lithuania. A recipient of the Association of Jewish Libraries Scholarship Award, Russel is especially interested in the intersection of technology and Jewish education, and is committed to helping individuals access Jewish resources and promoting Jewish literacy. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Rori Picker Neiss, a consultant in interfaith dialog.
Charlie Schwartz
A native of Portland, Oregon, Charlie Schwartz is a fourth year rabbinic student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. In addition to his studies, Charlie has worked as a gabbai with Kehilat Hadar and as a teacher for an exceedingly cute class of first graders at Congregation Or Zarua. Prior to JTS, Charlie served with distinction as a squad commander in the airborne battalion of the Nahal infantry brigade in the Israeli Defense Forces. Charlie earned a B.A. in Religion and Jewish Studies from Oberlin College, and currently lives in New York with his wife Andrea Wershof Schwartz.