Deanna Neil is a multifaceted writer, educator, ritual facilitator and performer. She is currently the Director of the Jewish Learning Center at the Silverlake Independent JCC in Los Angeles, running a Sunday program for 115 students, k-8, and their families. Deanna officiates alternative coming-of-age bar/bat mitzvah rituals for youth from religiously unaffiliated, interfaith families. A decade-long member of Storahtelling, she’s led workshops and trainings on Torah translation for religious leaders nationwide. Deanna has served as a Cantorial soloist and scholar for numerous communities including Am Shalom in Chicago, Wilshire Boulevard Temple and the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles, Yale University and NYU. She is currently a DreamLab teaching fellow at AJU, unwrapping the pedagogy of arts in Jewish education.
