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Yael Ukeles, Founder, Teva Adventure.
Yael grew up in New York City but recalls that among the earliest influences in her life were the summers she spent visiting her grandparents in Colorado and camping in the Rocky Mountains. It was during these excursions that she learned from her grandfather, Rabbi Manuel Laderman (z"l), to appreciate the meaning of the words:
I raise my eyes upon the mountains, from there will come my support. (Psalms 121).
As a teenager she literally took to the mountains and began downhill skiing, a sport which soon became a passion. She continued to involve herself in this and many other sports and outdoor activities including hiking and scuba diving while attending Midreshet Lindenbaum in Israel, and then at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yael's professional career began in television production and then gravitated towards the high-tech sector where she managed projects in software and web interface design.
In 1996 Yael moved to Israel where she now lives. She continued to advance her high-tech career in Jerusalem but found herself pulled more towards the pursuit of outdoor activities, engaging in day-hikes and spending time skiing in Europe and New Zealand's South Island where she also first experienced the joys of glacial ice climbing.
As her enthusiasm for outdoor sports and the environment grew, Yael made the decision to change the course of her career and to focus on these areas. Over the past several years Yael's outdoor experience has grown to include completion of a Wingate Institute (Israel) course to become a Certified Rappelling Guide as well as a Certified Climbing Wall Manager, and participation in rock climbing and hiking outings in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Yael spent part of the winter of 2001/2002 in Europe where she devoted herself to skiing in the Swiss and French Alps and mountaineering and ice climbing in the mountains above Chamonix.
In the summer of 2002 Yael returned to Colorado, where the roots of her love for the outdoors were planted. There, she completed courses to become a Certified Wilderness First Responder and a Challenge Course Facilitator. Yael also found time to summit a 13,500ft (4100 m) peak in the Rockies. In that same summer, Yael was grateful to be chosen as a Cummings Fellow in Jewish Environmental Education (on behalf of the Foundation for Jewish Camping) and benefited from the Fellowship's excellent seminar and network of educators and peers. Her knowledge of Judaism, nature and the environment was further enhanced while directing the Teva (Nature) and hiking/camping programs at Camp Nesher in Lake Como, Pennsylvania and learning from the many campers and staff. "The process of sharing the beautiful trees and wildlife with the children at camp while connecting nature to Jewish ideas and learning together how to appreciate the environment was a very powerful experience for me."
With a love for the outdoors and a commitment to environmental issues, all within a Jewish framework, Yael sees Teva Adventure as a vehicle for helping people to grow in their connections to the natural world and Judaism. "The mountains and forests have always been places of incredible inspiration for me", Yael says. "I've seen first-hand how outdoor activities and challenges can transform people. I would like to use that inspiration and fun to help enhance awareness of the integral role of the natural world in Jewish life, and to strengthen knowledge and appreciation of Jewish life in the natural world."
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