JOWMA (Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association) Podcast JEWISH ORTHODOX WOMEN’S MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Rachel (Rochel Yenti) Bodek holds a degree in Teacher of the Visually Impaired from Hunter College. She is visually impaired herself and has some family members with the same eye condition. Rachel teaches blind and visually impaired students of all ages. She teaches various skills to her students including reading and writing with adapted methods, using assistive technology, self-advocacy, and coaching them to obtain other needed services and supports. She co-runs a support group,  called Insight Beyond Eyesight,  for Jewish families with visually impaired members providing information, support, and advocacy. She is also involved in other organizations servicing the blind and people with other disabilities like the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and she's a board member of TRIPS (her local paratransit service).   



Esther Markowitz has lived in Monsey, NY, for 50 years. She works at Cheder Chabad of Monsey as the office manager, a position she has held for 20 years. Esther is a proud mother and grandmother to many adorable grandchildren, each cherished individually. Additionally, she is the proud mother of her 21-year-old daughter, Hindy, who is blind.

She is the co-founder, along with Rochel Bodek, of the organization "Insight Beyond Eyesight," which serves Jewish visually impaired children, adults, and their families.

insightbeyondeyesight.org

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Dr. Emily Hoffman was born and raised in New York. She graduated from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in 2017. She did her Internal Medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center from 2017-2020 and served as chief resident in 2021. Dr. Hoffman is passionate about medical education and was part of a medical education pathway in both medical school and residency. She completed her Infectious Disease fellowship at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2023 and joined the faculty at NYU as a Clinical Assistant Professor. In addition to caring for patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting, Dr. Hoffman also serves as “Content Lead”, a role that includes contributing to and supporting educational endeavors related to infectious disease and immunology at the UME and GME level. She lives on Long Island with her husband and two children.



Dr. Ellie Carmody is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.  She obtained her MD at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University and Infectious Diseases fellowship at NYU School of Medicine.  She has a clinical practice as an attending physician on the Infectious Diseases service at Bellevue Hospital and is an investigator at the NYU Langone Vaccine Center.  Dr. Carmody has been a researcher with the Jewish Orthodox Women's Association (JOWMA), assessing effectiveness of health education programs and evaluating strategies to build confidence in vaccines and preventive health measures. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three children.  
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Sunny Levi is one of ten female certified-seventh-degree black belts in the country. She has been training in Taekwondo for over 35 years and has been teaching and coaching children, teens, and adults for over 20. 

In addition to being a Taekwondo master and an elite athlete who was once on a path to the Olympics, Sunny is also a faith based life coach, a martial arts therapist for kids kicking cancer, a personal fitness trainer, and a yoga, and self-defense instructor. Sunny is passionate about empowering her students with the skills and mindset they need to survive dangerous situations in both body, mind, and spirit. 

Sunny is also a mother of 6 kids, and an Orthodox Jew who is passionate about eating clean, hiking, and being best friends with God. 

You can keep up with her on Instagram @sunnyblackbelt or Facebook @ Sunny Ariella Levi or Sunny’s martial arts and fitness or you can find out more about her coaching at sunnylevi.com

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Dr. Alexandra Dubinskaya is the founding physician at the Los Angeles Institute for Pelvic & Sexual Health in Beverly Hills, CA. She has sculpted a multidisciplinary haven that stands as a testament to her visionary approach to women’s sexual health and wellness.

The institute caters to patients seeking expert care for issues ranging from urinary incontinence to pelvic organ prolapse, UTIs to interstitial cystitis, vestibulodynia to sexual dysfunction. Dr. Dubinskaya harmoniously blends her vast expertise in urogynecology, female pelvic medicine, reconstructive surgery, sexual health, and menopause to offer a holistic care paradigm that truly celebrates and nurtures women.

Her journey started in Russia where she had the honor of training at the prestigious North Western State Medical University and I.I. Dzhanelidze Research Institute of Emergency Care in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She then continued to the revered hallways of institutions like Tufts Medical Center in Boston and St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Dr. Dubinskaya has honed her craft, always driven by her unwavering commitment to women’s health. Her pivotal experience at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, CA, as a fellow of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, further solidified her position as a vanguard in her field.

Dr. Dubinskaya is globally recognized and serves as the chairperson of the Communication Committee for the International Society of Sexual Medicine, championing sexual literacy and championing a dialogue about women’s intimate health on a grand scale.

A prolific contributor to academia, her insights are splashed across the pages of esteemed journals and seminal textbooks, including Ostergard’s Urogynecology and Steele’s Colorectal Textbooks, setting new benchmarks in women’s health. She was also published in Taking Care of You, writing the chapter on Vulvodynia and published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.


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Alison Escalante, MD is a Pediatrician, author of the upcoming book Sigh, See, Start: How to Be the parent your child needs in a world that won’t stop pushing, Writer and Woman on a Mission to ease the epidemic of anxiety that has convinced us we are always failing and is stealing our joy. She has developed a 3 step method to help parents raise their kids mindfully, skillfully AND enjoy doing it. She is a contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today and is a TEDx speaker. Her website is SighSeeStart.com or  alisonescalante.com.
She has degrees from Princeton in the history of ideas and Rutgers in medicine, and did her pediatric training at Duke and University of Chicago. 
She is an adjunct faculty member of Rush University School of Medicine.
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Lizzy Savetsky is a leading Jewish influencer and pro-Israel activist.

Lizzy started her online journey over a decade ago as a fashion blogger, posting on her blog, Excessories Expert, and Instagram page. Gradually – Lizzy began to share more about her family life, Jewish faith and traditions, and educational content, including “Yiddish Word of the Week” and her daughter’s weekly “Torah Corner.” In 2019, Lizzy changed her handle from ExcessoriesExpert to LizzySavetsky to focus more exclusively on Jewish and Israel content.

Lizzy has spoken publicly about her struggles with alcoholism and her challenges with infertility and pregnancy loss. She has worked to destigmatize these topics and helped thousands to feel less alone. 

In 2021 Lizzy dedicated a Sefer Torah to the IDF in memory of pregnancy loss, following a global campaign to raise $57,000 from thousands of individuals, in the merit of the lives that never came to fruition. 

Lizzy was a dedicated voice for Israel long before October 7, but in the past few months she has used her platforms to support Israel, interview families of hostages and survivors of the massacre, support Jewish college students, and educate her followers about the increase in antisemitism around the world.

Lizzy is the author of “Thou Shalt Be Beautiful: The Forgotten Jewish Ideal,” which was published by Wicked Son in 2023 as part of the book Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People, along with contributions from prominent Jewish thought leaders.  

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Lizzy lives in New York City with her husband Dr. Ira Savetsky – a renowned plastic surgeon - and their three children.

Follow Lizzy @LizzySavetsky (https://www.instagram.com/lizzysavetsky/?hl=en)

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