A Badger through and through, Stefanie graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May of 2006 with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Jewish Studies. She made her parents very proud by putting her degree to good use as the Associate Editor of JUF News and is currently getting her masters in professional Jewish Studies at the Spertus Institute in Chicago. At this juncture in her life, Stefanie is also trying out a new career as a professional wedding, wedding shower and bachelorette party-goer. She is currently experiencing an overload of pink, gift bows, wedding cake and slight nausea.

Libby Ellis has been writing and editing professionally for about 10 years. Her career highlights include: Interviewing Joan Jett, getting to stand on Wrigley Field and Soldier Field during the same week and visiting a Canadian vineyard owned by a member of Bob Marley’s family. She earned her MA in Writing and Publishing at Emerson College.

Cheryl Jacobs loved contributing to Oy! over the past year and is so excited to take on new roles and responsibilities with the new and improved Oy!  After graduating from Skidmore College with a Bachelor’s Degree in political science and history, Cheryl tried to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a bat girl for her beloved Cubs.  When that failed to pan out, she decided to chase her second love—writing.

After studying commercial photography and graduating from Ohio University, Lindsey Bissett threw a dart at a map and ended up in Chicago. She began working at a theatre where she rode horses and danced with fire to make ends meet. With scorched fingers and an aching back, Lindsey left the horse theatre business and now works as a production assistant for JUF News.

Sydney Bucksbaum has finally decided to stay put for once. After moving around and living in five different places in her twenty years of living, she discovered her passion for the city, and is here to stay in Chicago...that is, until she graduates.

Brought up in bumping Minneapolis, Jacey moved to the big city about a year ago—give or take a few steps in between. She has lived in Uruguay, Argentina, Israel and the ever so exotic Madison, Wisconsin—but not in that order. Although life has taken her in many directions, she is currently working in fundraising for the Jewish United Fund—saving the world one dollar at time.

Stacey Ballis is the author of four novels: INAPPROPRIATE MEN, SLEEPING OVER, ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT and THE SPINSTER SISTERS. She is a contributing author to two non-fiction anthologies; GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS and EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME.

Esther grew up in the wilds of Appalachia, where the next closest Jewish community was in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She came to the big city and graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006 with a degree in “dead literary boyfriends.” One thing led to another, including figuring out (after several false starts) that nonprofit work made her truly happy, which led her to her current position at the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders.

Rachel Bertsche is a web producer and a journalist in Chicago. Before leaving New York for the Midwest, Rachel was an editor at O, The Oprah Magazine. In addition to O, she’s written for publications including Marie Claire, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Teen Vogue, Outside, Fitness, More, Women's Health, Chicago Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, Ocean Drive and Field and Stream.

As a little girl, Jane Charney dreamed of becoming D’Artagnan when she grew up. Having discovered that the musketeers were only on Disney now, Jane decided to wield a pen instead of a rapier. She now works as a staff writer at JUF News, where she occasionally explores the inner workings of the Jewish soul. A Muscovite by birth, Jane has lived in five different cities in the Midwest in the past 10 years until graduate school brought her to Chicago, a city reminiscent of Moscow – at least in weather. Jane loves untranslatable Russian word puns and feeding people.

It is only fitting that Blair Chavis is an Oy! contributor, as “oy” is one of the most frequently uttered words in her vocabulary, according to her co-workers, friends and family. Blair is a reporter at the Chicago Tribune’s Triblocal.com, a suburban subsidiary (try saying that three times fast), focused on hyper-local community news and making the Web hip for newspapers. She reports on happenings in the North Shore of Chicago—an ironic twist—because that’s where she grew up.

Jeremy Fine is currently a Rabbinical Student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Even though he is studying Judaism all the time, sports still comes second to none (he hopes his wife doesn't read that). So Jeremy started a blog www.thegreatrabbino.com and then found out about Oy!Chicago and now he’s here.

A native Philadelphian, raised Methodist, with childhood ambitions of becoming President, Karen never dreamed she’d find herself living in Chicago, Jewish and married to a Rabbi, and working for JUF. And that was just the last three years of her life.

In her life outside Oy!Chicago, Sarah Follmer works on the grants team at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Prior to that, she worked for the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders, sold and shelved books at a co-op bookstore, and built herself a small pet-sitting empire. Sarah is a proud graduate of both the Chicago Public Schools and the University of Chicago.

Laura Frankel is the former chef and founder of the Shallots restaurants. She has training and extensive experience in both savory and pastry kitchens. After starting a family, she began maintaining a kosher home and found that there was nowhere in Chicago serving the quality of food that she knew she could offer. She opened her first restaurant in 1999 offering kosher fine dining with a produce-driven menu. She opened Shallots NY in 2000 in Mid-town Manhattan. In 2004, she moved her Chicago restaurant to Skokie and created Shallots Bistro.

A transplant from Cleveland, Ohio, Rachel has lived in Chicago for three years and can’t quite figure out how her relocation plans didn’t take winter into account. Nevertheless, she has fallen in love with Chicago’s unique neighborhoods, the Green City Market, long walks along Lake Michigan, her daily Metra commute and the plethora of frozen yogurt places popping up at every corner.

Hailing from the land of snow and Purple Rain (Minnesota), Abby Halper moved to Chicago two years ago upon graduating from the University of Kansas. Forever dancing to the beat of her own drum, Abby's interests include humming on the way to work, collecting sunglasses, creating culinary masterpieces, being a "gym rat,” looking for the best deals while shopping, avoiding germs at all costs, and quoting sports movies from the early 1990's (The Sandlot, Little Big League, Rookie of the Year, and of course, the Mighty Ducks Trilogy). Abby's third grade teacher described Abby as "a social butterfly with the most mischievous smile" she had ever seen.

Andy Kirschner is a "Chicagoan by Choice" since moving from Michigan in 2004.  Currently he works as a career services representative at Jewish Vocational Service, program fellow at Birthright Israel Next, and as a tour guide for Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company.  Recently, he started a small group dedicated to living a sustainable lifestyle in an urban setting, called the Chicago Eco-Jews. He spends his free time performing Improvised Comedy with his Improv Team of 3 years, Franken Reagan, and planning his wedding. He is passionate about his involvement in the Jewish Community, religiously, culturally, and socially!

Ron Krit has been personal training clients for over 10 years! His philosophy centers on making fitness fun so you look forward to working out and getting healthy.

Alyssa Latala is a full-time mom and part-time Marketing Communications Manager at a small family foundation. She lives in suburbia with her husband Joe, baby Ben and cockapoo/troublemaker Ruby.

Sharna Marcus runs Taglit-Birthright Israel programs for Shorashim and frequently travels between Chicago and Israel. Since she was 18, she has been a journalist, teacher and now director at a not for profit. Sharna is also the co-founder of Makor in Chicago.

David Reinwald is the cantor of Temple Anshe Sholom in Olympia Fields. He grew up in Buffalo Grove, and has lived in numerous places since, but his heart has never left Chicago. David is an avid fan of music, concerts and theater, books, exploring the city on foot or bike, "This American Life," and ... chocolate! David is a longstanding "community organizer" in the Jewish LGBT community, including the "Chicago LGBT Jews" Facebook community which he created and helps organize. He lives with his two cats in the South Loop.

Dana cringes when instructed to write bios, "short and fun". She has lived in lots of places that start with vowels, including Ann Arbor, Arad (Israel), Evanston, Urbana, Indianapolis, and Iowa City. In fourth grade, she bragged because she was Jewish, left handed and had AB+ blood. In fifth grade, she shut up. Yesterday she did Pilates, drank steamed soy milk, schlepped the girls to Sunday school, and tried to fly a kite. Tomorrow she hopes nobody wakes her up at 4 AM with bad dreams about camels or monkeys. Like Chai and Sarah, Dana is a grants person at the Jewish Federation—planning, allocating, pushing papers and fixing the world.

T.J. Shanoff is a native Chicagoan, and has been a member of The Second City since 1997. Credits there include: The Second City National Touring Company (director), Rod Blagojevich, Superstar (composer/lyricist), Jewsical: The Musical (composer/lyricist/director), Sex & The Second City (composer/lyricist), An Evening with Martin Short (musical director), and Songs of the Second City (musical director).

Cindy Sher is managing editor for JUF News, the monthly magazine of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Cindy has been on staff with JUF News for nearly 8 years. Highlights of her time at the magazine have included interviewing such luminaries as Elie Wiesel and Jon Stewart and comparing latkes to hamentaschens (seriously).

Born and raised in Chicago, Ari Moffic Silver is Oy!’s resident expert when it comes to the hottest spots and tastiest treats for the late night metro bar crawlers. He has been in the hospitality business for nearly three years, currently holds several professional certifications in Mixology and Fine Service, and is well-versed in the grand world of spirits and fine dining in Chicago.

Taron is not as old as he looks in this picture. He is much, much older!  As a rabbi at Temple Sholom of Chicago, Taron has married about 30 people, but has buried many more. (sad!)  To date, none of his couples have divorced. Taron likes to believe that this is on account of the amazing pre-marital sessions he has with each couple, but knows deep-down that it might be for other reasons. A few years ago, Taron launched Temple Sholom 20’s and 30’s, a new series of popular programs for Jews in the 20’s and 30’s

Imagine a man with the charisma of Cary Grant, the audacity of Marlon Brando, and the brilliance of Laurence Olivier. That’s George Clooney. I’m more… Jason Alexander. I was born in Cleveland in 1970, but entered Northwestern in 1988, moving to Chicago permanently (so far) in 1994… so there is some hesitancy as to where I’m “from”. I have two gorgeous, genius children of grade-school age, one of each major type. I have a wife who is prettier, smarter and more athletic than me. We have a puppy who is just plain ridiculous.

Chai’s favorite activities include playing the cello on a stage or in the recording studio, painting, doing calligraphy and eating vegan bakery treats. She also enjoys trying to finish the Redeye crossword puzzle on the red line during her morning commute to the Jewish Federation where she works in the grants department.