Meet Jeremy, a creative and adventurous spirit who thrives on spending time with family and friends. Join him at one of the local board game cafes!
Urban Dor: We heard you grew up in Greater Hartford and lived for a few years in LA most recently - what brought you back to your hometown and how did you come across Urban Dor?
Jeremy: I lived in Los Angeles for nearly a decade before the pandemic struck, and one of the main reasons I chose to make that big leap at the time was because after college, there unfortunately was not much of a community here for young Jewish professionals in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s. Even now, all these years later, it still feels like that chasm exists between college life and married life in local synagogue communities as there typically is little to no social, religious, or tikkun olam (community service-oriented) event programming focused on this demographic. I discovered Urban Dor as I actively sought out that kind of event programming after moving back here, and I am thankful Urban Dor exists.
Urban Dor: You attended Trybal Gatherings with our founder, Simon Lichter, and we know it was awesome. What were your highlights of the Jewish camp experience? Did the Urban Dor Trybal Grant help make your decision to attend?
Jeremy: Trybal was AWESOME indeed! I cannot recommend it highly enough to any other young Jewish professional in their 20s to early 40s - and as someone actively seeking new career opportunities, I deeply appreciated how the Urban Dor Trybal Grant made it possible for me to attend this summer.
One of the many things nobody tells you about in high school or college is how much harder it can be to make new friends as an adult (let alone Jewish friends, specifically), especially if you do not live in a major city, so it was SO refreshing to attend a long weekend retreat where you could be surrounded by people who are all looking to be warm, welcoming, open-minded to trying new activities, and eager to get to know one another. What was so excellent about the Trybal experience was the degree of freedom with their programming as it allowed you to make the most out of whatever experience you wanted to create for yourself. In fact, the name "Trybal" is spelled that way intentionally because the weekend's all about trying new things. I gave Bachata dancing and a Thai massage class a shot when electives were offered, shared a funny story during their "peak awkward" themed campfire open mic session and stayed 'til the very end singing alongside their resident guitarist, and so much more.
Urban Dor: Music, board games, and making YouTube videos are your jam. Tell the community more about what makes you happy. How can people see your creative videos?
Jeremy: Spending time with family and friends brings me joy - particularly when we are able to do something creative, fun, and meaningful. I'm not one for small talk, rambling on endlessly about work, or doing the same old thing over and over - I want to play music with people, try baking or cooking something new, teach people new games at a board game cafe (shout out to Back Again in Middletown!), hit up a barcade, take on an escape room (psyched for Level99 coming to West Hartford next year!), shop at some mom and pop's, go traveling, etc.
My original dream was to get into TV/film production, but I had decided to pursue a career in K-12 education because of those drives to be creative, bring people together, and help people learn new skills and overcome challenges through unconventional means. As a means of bringing these two passions together, I created ENGAGE! on YouTube with the intent to help make the practice of leveraging games for learning more accessible to educators everywhere - and I'm not just talking The Oregon Trail here. We're talking video games like Minecraft, Among Us, Portal 2, and indies like The Stanley Parable as well as board games like Settlers of Catan, Pandemic, and Hanabi, not to mention eduLARPs (live-action role-play) and ARGs (alternate reality games). You can check out ENGAGE! at https://youtube.com/ENGAGEshow, and if you'd like to support production of the show directly, you can back ENGAGE! on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ENGAGEshow.
Urban Dor: What's your favorite band?
Jeremy: That is such an impossible question to answer as I don't like picking favorites and the music I listen to each day is so intertwined with how I am feeling that day...but if I had to pick only one artist or musician to listen to if I was stranded on a desert island, it would be Steely Dan. I gravitate towards musicians with distinct sounds and deep talent, and there just isn't anything else like the Dan out there. It has also been uncanny how their songs have resonated with me in different ways at different stages of my life.
"Weird Al" Yankovic would be an extremely close second as he too is unparalleled. Al has always inspired me with his incredibly versatile musicianship, his incredible sense of humor, and his meticulous attention to detail in his music videos and all the gags in his live performances. Other artists and bands I love in no particular order include: RUSH, Yes, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Aerosmith, Steam Powered Giraffe, Super Soul Bros, White Denim, Jamiroquai, CAKE, Blues Traveler...and really, I could go on and on.
Urban Dor: How can people contact you to connect further?
Jeremy: For professional connections, I am currently seeking new career opportunities in school ed tech leadership/integration, media production, and instructional design / staff learning & development. My full portfolio can be found at https://jy-creative.weebly.com/about-me.html and I am happy to connect with interested parties via LinkedIn.
Otherwise, you can find me at Urban Dor events or playing/teaching games at the Back Again board game cafe in Middletown.
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