Who We Are

Mikey Cohen has spent much of his career building systems and leading teams where listening mattered as much as engineering. At Netflix he led teams that built and operated the core systems handling all consumer-facing traffic, including services that simply could not fail. That work meant navigating conflict, earning trust, and learning that empathy, psychological safety, and being heard are what keep a complex system, and a group of people, running under high-stakes pressure. After Netflix he co-founded a national research nonprofit to understand how antisemitism, hate, and polarization spread online. Seeing how quickly misunderstanding turns into division, hostility, and sometimes violence pushed him to focus on bridging political and social divides. That work underscored the necessity and power of real listening. His work with Shama’ti comes from a desire to create spaces where people can listen across deep differences and rediscover each other’s humanity. The skills that helped him keep teams together and build coalitions are the same skills that can help keep a society together, and he’s here to practice them with the group.

Mia Gold is a fourth year Jewish Studies Major at UCSC. They are currently writing a thesis on Zionism and anti-Zionism among American Jews. Mia identifies as a queer, Diasporist Jew, and is dedicated to open discussion and compassion.

Batya Kagan, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist has been active in the Jewish community for over 30 years having served on the board of Chadeish Yameinu, a Jewish Renewal Congregation, and has been a youth director, and Hebrew High Instructor at Temple Beth El in Aptos, CA.   

Batya has also been active in numerous political campaigns that have inevitably  involved controversy and the need to reach voters of all persuasions both locally and nationally.  She traveled to Paris (COP 21) for the climate summit with a delegation whose focus was to encourage activists from all over the world to listen deeply to each other, even if they disagreed.  She has been involved in vital grassroots organizations and witnessed their dissolution due to “cancel culture”,  unaware racism.  anti Semitism, homophobia, and classism, and is now motivated to use her skills in counseling couples and families to extend to organizations.

Michael Levy works in Santa Cruz as a musician, volunteer with the Neighborhood Justice Program (restorative justice diversion program for Santa Cruz County), Board member at El Rio MHP (a low-income housing cooperative), and peer counseling teacher and organizer. His experience in all these roles, as well as his history in climate activism, have led him to the conclusion that we must learn to connect based on our humanity, beneath our treasured positions on issues. He is a student of Non-Violent Communication and a joyful participant in Shama’ti.

Sarah Young has worked as a teacher, instructional and leadership coach, and professional facilitator for many years. She leads workshops on a variety of topics with a special focus on culturally responsive practice, anti-bias and anti-racism work, as a way to better understand also interested in being a resource in situations of conflict, drawing from a variety of modalities and practices to offer service in facilitation and mediation. She has appreciated the opportunities with Shma’ti to break down polarization within the Jewish community and beyond in any situation where people are stuck in stalemates of us and them.

Dana Peleg is an Israeli-American writer, poet, teacher and award-winning Hebrew translator. She has been a pro-peace and anti-occupation activist since her youth, and an LGBTQ+ activist for many years, in various organizations. Dana believes that peace stems from grassroot work, within the community, one listening circle at a time.

Karen Sylvan has been involved in the Santa Cruz Jewish community for thirty years. She has been a teacher, a bar and bat mitzvah tutor, a d'var Torah giver and a Torah reader. She deeply believes that the discord and disagreement that has divided us will best be healed by each of us listening to and hearing one another with compassion and understanding.