Be a Part of our Team
As our services grow we are continuously seeking new team members. If you are a therapist or yoga instructor looking to make a difference please get in touch.
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The Team
Our Staff
Dr. Karen Friedman
Founder and Director of Keren Gefen and the Hadassah Rimon Mind-Body Fertility Center
Dr. Karen Friedman, psychologist, is the founding director of Keren Gefen, which facilitates Mind/Body Fertility projects in Israel. She is most proud of the Gefen Center, a beautiful space in the German Colony in Jerusalem, where fertility challenged women are nurtured and supported. The center serves as a teaching resource to share its unique vision and innovative programs with Jewish communities throughout the world.
Dr. Friedman is a CBT therapist, who has a Doctorate from Harvard University and completed Clinical Psychology training at Hadassah. "At Harvard, my Doctoral advisor, Professor Lawrence Kohlberg, taught me to challenge my thoughts and understand the thoughts of others. Professor Carol Gilligan taught me that woman have a 'different voice'. I have found that voice. It is a maternal voice, and my goal is to further the vision of Dr. Ali Domar to allow each woman to fulfill her fertility potential.
She made Aliyah from Los Angeles and resides in Jerusalem with her husband, Prof. Yedidia Stern and their eight children.
Kady Harari
Program Director
Kady Harari is the Program Director of Keren Gefen. She has a BA in Psychology from Bar Ilan University and is currently completing her MA in Clinical Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Kady coordinates all of Keren Gefen's programs and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. She works closely with Dr. Friedman to ensure that all programs run smoothly and that participants receive the support they need.
Originally from London, Kady made Aliyah in 2010 and lives in Jerusalem with her husband and children.
Dr. Rhonda Adessky
Clinical Director
Rhonda Adessky received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Following a predoctoral internship at Yale University School of Medicine and a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cognitive Behavior Therapy in the Department of Psychology at Yale University, she served as a member of the faculty and Associate Director of the training clinic at Yale Psychological Services. Since making aliyah in 2000, Dr. Adessky has directed the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training program that she co-founded at Hadassah University Hospital, and has conducted ongoing research in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder at Hadassah. She is also clinical director of the Training Center for Mind-Body Skills, focusing on interventions for stress reduction and well-being. She has taught at Neve Yerushalayim in various capacities for the last ten years. She is currently teaching in the M.A. program in clinical psychology at Hebrew University.
Dr. Jordana Hyman
Gefen Medical Advisor
Dr Jordana Hyman is a graduate of Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia and completed her OB-GYN residency at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Dr Hyman went on to fulfil a two-year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Mc Gill University, Canada in 2013. She has been working intensely in the field of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) for over ten years and is currently a senior staff specialist in Shaare Zedek's IVF unit, as well as in fertility clinics in the kuppot cholim. Dr Hyman is active in research and teaching and also lectures widely. She is the medical director of Nishmat-Gefen Fertility Advisors course and has been a wonderful resource to Gefen staff members, providing professional assistance and advice. Dr Hyman is passionate about helping women and couples to become parents, seeing this work as a true calling, and a great privilege. She is highly regarded for her professionalism, her compassion, and her warm bedside manner.
Michal Lipschitz
MSW Social Worker
Michal Lipschitz, MSW social worker, personal, couple and family therapist and health expert worked at Maccabi Health Services in the women's health centers, guiding students in the process of training them for social work. She has over 20 years of experience in treating women and couples facing fertility challenges, facilitates Mind-Body and CBT groups for women in various stages of their fertility journey.
Leah Mazeh
Clinical Social Worker M.S.W.
Leah Mazeh has a Master's Degree in Clinical Social Work (M.S.W). She is a graduate of the CBT course for treating postpartum depression, as well as a course for treating fertility challenges and at risk pregnancies. In addition she has completed the training program to guide social work students. Leah specializes in women's mental health, in particular the challenges of fertility, pregnancy and postpartum depression. She treats women, couples and parents at her private clinic in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. As part of the Geffen Foundation, she treats women with fertility challenges and women suffering from postpartum depression. In addition, Leah leads groups of postpartum mothers on behalf of the Jerusalem Municipality. Leah has over a decade of experience in mental health care. She worked at the Mental Health Station of Herzog Medical Center for 5 years. The role included therapy for children, parental guidance, leading group therapy sessions and mentoring students of social work.
Heidi Weissman
Psychologist
Heidi Weissman, psychologist, received her PhD. in Clinical Health Psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology in New York. She is a trained CBT therapist and supervisor, accredited by ITA and the EABCT. She is an administrator in the CBT training program in the Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Karem, where she supervises and trains students, as well as teaches in the course. Over the past ten years, she has taught CBT in multiple training programs in Jerusalem. In addition, she is involved in PTSD research through Bar Ilan University. She is particularly interested in Women's Health, including the challenges of fertility, as well as perinatal and postpartum depression.
Rabbi Yisrael Cohn
Director of Gefen-Adva Project
Rabbi Yisrael Cohn is the Director of Gefen-Adva Project for social programs and community support for fertility challenged couples. He has recently launched the Mens support group in Keren Gefen. Yisrael studied at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh and Yeshivat Hamivtar with Smicha from Rabbi Brovender, Rabbi Riskin and Rabbi Zalman Nechemya Goldberg. He has a Masters in Clinical Sociology from the University of North Texas. He has been working with young men, in preparation for marriage for the last 20 years.
Jill Levenfeld
Yoga Instructor
Jill Levenfeld was certified in 2014 as a Yoga instructor through the School of Integrative Yoga, founded and led by Tzippy Negev, the current director of the Israeli Yoga Association. She began the Yoga Journaling course in the Yoga for Fertility program at Keren Gefen. Jill developed the idea of Yoga Journaling during her teacher training, and created a series of practices under Tzippy's supervision. Jill facilitates an experience, while on the yoga mat, to reveal the unwritten stories hidden in our bodies through the integrative practice of yoga and journaling. Jill has had extensive experience in many different organizations as a facilitator over the last 15 years using the tool of personal stories to strengthen self-identity.
Sigalit Reubinoff
Program Coordinator Rimon Center Hadassah IVF
Sigalit is a Graduate of the Reidman Institute, specializing in Physical Psychotherapy.
She is the coordinator of activities at the Rimon Center, Hadassah Hospital, Mount Scopus where she leads the fertility yoga course.
Sigalit's guidance and coaching style is characterized as gentle and attentive, striving to create a connection between Body and Soul, while also taking into account the pressures and tensions of daily life.
Rabbanit Sharona Margolin Halickman
Workshop Facilitator
Sharona holds a BA in Judaic Studies from Stern College and an MS in Jewish Education from Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University. Sharona was the first Madricha Ruchanit at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, NY. After making aliya in 2004, Sharona founded Torat Reva Yerushalayim, a non profit organization based in Jerusalem which provides Torah study groups for students of all ages and backgrounds. Sharona is a graduate of Matan's Eshkolot Tanach program and she is currently a student at Hilkheta, Matan's Halacha fellowship. Sharona is the author of Parsha Points: Torah from the Land of Israel and Parsha Points: More Torah from the Land of Israel. She writes a weekly blog for the Times of Israel.
Esther Soibelman
Aromatherapist
Esther is a Registered Nurse and certified Aromatherapist. She completed her nursing studies at Machon Tal and worked for five years as a nurse in the Pediatric Oncology department at Hadassah Hospital, where she also pursued advanced training and specialization in oncology. During this time, she further expanded her expertise by studying Aromatherapy at Reidman College, becoming a certified Aromatherapist. Esther has utilized her knowledge and skills to support friends and family through their healing journeys with Aromatherapy. She is currently working as an Aromatherapist at the Gefen Center, providing personalized care and supporting women through the challenges of fertility.
Professor Meni Koslowsky
Director of Research
Professor Meni Koslowsky received his Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University and is currently a professor in the Psychology Department of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where he formerly served as chairman of the department (2010-2014). His main research areas include personnel selection (interviewing techniques, letters of recommendation, CV evaluation), organizational behavior, the stress-strain relationship, methods of persuasion and their effectiveness, evaluation of programs, and research methodology. Professor Koslowsky has written over 100 articles, authored or edited five books, and has presented at more than 90 professional conferences over the years. He is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists and has been a visiting Professor at several universities in the United States.
Jezabel Cohen
Administrative Director
Jezabel completed her BA in Musicology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Jez is the Administrative Director of Keren Gefen.