ABOUT
Our Mission
BaMidbar’s mission is to ensure that Jewish youth and young adults have the confidence, skills, and community support to navigate life’s challenges and thrive in the face of adversity.
OUR VISION
BaMidbar envisions a Jewish community that actively supports its members in building mental health and wellness.
We achieve our mission and vision through community education and by providing wilderness-based journeys of self-discovery, hope, and healing.
BaMidbar supports Jewish young adults struggling with mental health challenges through immersive, wilderness-based, Therapeutic Expeditions.
BaMidbar supports all Jewish teens and young adults, regardless of their mental health history, through Wellness Programs focused on building resilience through increased self-confidence, skill-building, and healthy relationships.
BaMidbar provides Professional Development for Jewish community professionals looking to expand their mental health literacy and explore facilitation through the lens of social and emotional growth.
Kavod
כבוד
Promoting honor, dignity, and respect for ourselves and others.
Simcha
שמחה
Finding joyful Jewish meaning in every aspect of our lives.
Tzmicha Ishit
צמיחה אישית
Accepting and pursuing the challenges of personal transformation.
Kehilla
קהילה
Cultivating the power of an inclusive and supportive community.
Jory Hanselman Mayschak
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
For the past ten years, Jory has worked to grow and scale innovative programs in the fields of wilderness therapy, national service, and Jewish camp. Jory has a bachelors of science from Tufts University and a masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Leadership from University of Colorado. She is also a Wexner Field Fellow.
Nick Magle-Haberek
Clinical Director
Nick has worked in the field of wilderness therapy and experiential education for the past twenty years. He earned masters degrees in both Social Work and Outdoor Education at the University of New Hampshire, and is also on the leadership committee for the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group. Nick is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist.
Emily Heeren
Admissions & Outreach Director
Emily has worked with youth and young adults both in and outside of the formal classroom for over eight years. With a foundation in experiential learning, Emily has applied her skills in high school special education, higher education, Jewish education, outdoor education, and mental health settings. Emily has a masters degree in Curriculum and Teaching with a concentration in Special Education from Boston University.
Moss Herberholz
Communications Coordinator
Starting in 2015, Moss has worked as a Jewish nature educator for Jewish organizations including Ramah in the Rockies and Teva (a program of Hazon). Since it’s pilot season, Moss has filled many roles at BaMidbar including as a logistics coordinator, assistant field guide, lead field guide, and most recently in his role as the communications coordinator. He has a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Theater Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is currently pursuing an MSW as a fellow in the Jewish Communal Leadership Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Our Board
Rabbi Matt Shapiro, Co-Chair
Douglas Wolf, Treasurer
Teena Slatkin
Cliff Stockton
Elyssa Hammerman, Co-Chair
Marla Kaufman, Secretary
Rabbi Anat Moskowitz
Judy Gerstenblith
Chief Operating Officer
BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy is poised to enter a new organizational stage as we experience significant growth and transition from a fiscally sponsored entity to an independent 501(c)3. We are seeking a mission-driven, seasoned, strategic, and process-oriented leader with experience scaling organizations and developing a culture of performance amongst a group of talented, diverse individuals. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will play a critical role in partnering with the Executive Director (ED) in setting the strategic direction of the organization. The successful candidate will help BaMidbar operationalize our mission and vision and will be a leader who can help others at BaMidbar deliver measurable results. The COO will build systems to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of BaMidbar. Importantly, the successful COO will have the skills, sensitivity, and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to BaMidbar’s mission.
Learn more here.
Apply here.
Seasonal Summer
Field Therapist
Are you a licensed mental health professional looking to use wilderness and adventure-based experiences as part of your therapeutic process? Working in BaMidbar’s Therapeutic Expeditions, Field Therapists support implementation of student treatment plans through experiential activities. The Field Therapist collaborates with the primary therapist on student well-being and group functioning, and facilitates individual and group therapy in the field. The Field Therapist also works in collaboration with Field Guides in maintaining a positive group milieu and therapeutic environment. Learn more here.
Blog
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Outcomes Part 2: Skill Development
It’s been awhile since our latest blog past, as we’ve been busy building content for our soon-to-launch website. Stay tuned, as we’re preparing to send out a number of exciting updates in the coming weeks! At BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy, we see skill development as an important pathway to …
Outcomes at BaMidbar: Part 1
In a blog post in early December, I discussed the role outcomes will play in our program development process. As a mission-driven program, it is essential we have a vision of what change we hope to make in the world, and that we create programming with that end …
“For if they fall…”
In approaching program development, I knew that many of our tasks would be framed by the “existential questions” we needed to answer. These questions cover a broad swath of territory – from defining our target demographic to the nature of our family program to the integration of Judaism …
So, what’s this all about?
The most basic (and common) question that I hear is, “What is wilderness therapy?” In a nutshell, Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) programs use wilderness and adventure-based experiences as a vehicle to promote the therapeutic growth of participants, in a process guided and directed by a licensed mental health …