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
Jory has experienced wilderness programs from the client and staff perspective, in field-based and office-based roles, in Jewish and secular settings, and in private industry and non-profit sectors. Jory received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and her master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from the University of Colorado. She is also part of the Wexner Field Fellowship for Jewish community leaders.
Nick Magle-Haberek
Clinical Director
Nick has worked in a variety of roles in the field of wilderness therapy and adventure education, including field guide, individual therapist, clinical supervisor, program manager, family therapist, and clinical director. After working as a field guide, Nick earned master’s degrees in both Social Work and Outdoor Education at the University of New Hampshire and returned to wilderness therapy in a clinical role. Nick is also on the leadership committee for the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group.
Emily Heeren
Admissions & Outreach Director
Emily has worked with youth and young adults both in and outside of the formal classroom. With a foundation in experiential learning, Emily has applied her skills through teaching roles in high school special education, higher education, and mental health settings. Emily received her undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College and has a master’s 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
Seasonal Summer
Field Guide
Are you a seasoned outdoor professional and passionate educator? Working in BaMidbar’s Therapeutic Expeditions, Field Guides serve as mentors and wilderness guides for young adults struggling with mild to moderate social, emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges. Through applying therapeutic concepts, teaching technical and fundamental skills, integrating Jewish values and traditions, and connecting personally with students, staff serve as a support system for program participants. Using BaMidbar’s supportive, strengths-based approach, Field Guides encourage students to move beyond their comfort zones to experience new, unexpected levels of confidence, personal achievement, and growth. Learn more 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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“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 …
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else”
It’s hard to believe three months have already passed since I joined the Ramah in the Rockies team to move BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy from an inception to reality. Over the coming months I’ll be using this blog to dive into particular program development topics in more detail. Today I want …