The COJECO BluePrint Fellowship

The BluePrint Fellowship is a year-long program for Russian-speaking Jewish adults ages 25-40 to explore personal and collective identity through the creation of Jewish community projects, supported by group workshops, one-on-one guidance, and a mini-grant.

Please Stay Tuned for Information about Upcoming BluePrint Cohort

Cohort 2019-2021

The BluePrint Fellowship brings together a select group of Russian-speaking Jewish innovators, artists, and intellectuals, to explore the link between personal identity and creativity.

What does it mean to be Jewish for someone born in the Former Soviet Union and living in the United States today? The BluePrint Fellowship offers participants the opportunity to examine and explore this question on their own terms. Chosen through a competitive application and interview process, fellows are able to bring their ideas to life and engaged in this community-wide conversation.

BluePrint Community Projects

BluePrint projects from years past have been innovative initiatives that impact the Russian-speaking Jewish community and Jewish community at large in areas such as: arts & culture * media & technology * gender & sexuality * literature * education * environment * children and family life * social justice * philanthropy

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Zing Along Shabes

Dmitri Slepovitch et al.

Survivor: Aron's Story

Alex Teplish

Unknown Woman in Three-Quarter View: Letters to an Imaginary Lover

Masha (Mariya) Vlasova

Meaning in Melody

Lara Traum

Distanced from the Source

Irina Khokhlova

Bukharian Jews of New York

George Itzhak

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF BLUEPRINT

Knowledge:
Offering fellows a deeper historical and cultural perspective on the Jewish people and contemporary issues of the Jewish world today, with a unique focus on post-Soviet Jewry through a series of informal educational experiences.

Inspiration:
Motivating participants to become more active members of the Jewish community through a personal connection to and familiarity with an array of projects, organizations, and approaches to Jewish community life.

Skills:
Providing fellows with the tools to develop successful community projects through hands-on professional workshops and peer-to-peer review.

Mentoring:
One-on-one mentoring guides Fellows in setting clear goals for project objectives, offers options for achieving desired goals and outcomes, and identifies possible resources that go beyond traditional methods.

Russian Jewish community projects created since 2008

140

Projects continuing beyond their Fellowship year

55

New Jewish non-profit organizations resulting from BluePrint projects

6

Fellows who became Jewish professionals or lay leaders

47

People engaged by BluePrint Fellowship community projects

13,000+

BLUEPRINT FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS

  • Fellows must be Russian-speaking Jews between the ages of 25 and 40, residing in the NYC area.
  • Fellows must have an original concept for a community project with an explicitly Jewish theme and an anticipated impact on at least 50 people.
  • Fellows must participate in the program fully, including a three-day weekend retreat and 8 evening workshops, which take place monthly on weeknights.
  • Fellows must implement their community projects within the Fellowship year, including a public launch event.

PROGRAM DETAILS

The BluePrint Fellowship begins with a weekend retreat and is followed by monthly educational workshops,  where fellows meet other talented thinkers and social activists, gain a new perspective on the community’s historical context, and hone their project management skills. BluePrint sessions are designed to inspire and support participants through the development of their projects, while exploring new ways of looking at personal history and identity.

Future Fellowship Sessions: TBA
Location: TBA
Day & Time: TBA
Dates: TBA

Through a guided grant application and reporting process over the course of the program, each fellow is awarded a mini-grant of up to $5,000 for the implementation of their community project. The average grant awarded is $3,000.

Each fellow is paired with a BluePrint alumnus mentor who can offer guidance, support, and advice to a new fellow, having had firsthand experience of participating in this process.

Selection Criteria

Preference will be given to candidates with long-term vision and aspirations for their community project and their personal community involvement. While projects must be implemented within the the program year, the Fellowship should be viewed as a  launching pad for on-going endeavors.

Preference will be given to community project proposals in the following areas:

  • New mediums for informal Jewish education among RSJ (e.g. games, multimedia, animation, etc.)
  • Israel engagement
  • Russian-Israeli community
  • Volunteering, Philanthropy & Fundraising
  • Family & Children educational workshops

Cohort 2019-2021

Blueprint fellows

Current Fellows
Past Fellows

Masha Dinor StroyKa

Masha Dinor is originally from Saratov, Russia and recently immigrated to New York. She is an architect and interior designer by trade and finds inspiration in teaching kids about art and design. She was an active member of Saratov' Jewish life and taught tradition and craft lessons at a local Jewish Family Center. Once she moved to Moscow to advance her career, Masha also led classes at a local architectural studio for kids.  Masha continues her work as an art educator in New York, where she teaches at Kibbutznik summer camp, Kompot events, Little-Avangardist and Dacha project.

Tatyana Kalko Every Life is A Song

Tatyana Kalko is a NY based, Belorussian born singer-songwriter who creates irreverent indie folk music. A classically trained singer and self taught guitarist, Tatyana studied acting at NYU and the Moscow Art Theatre School. Influenced by Anton Chekhov as well as her dad's Beatles collection, Tatyana's songs are a blend of lighthearted introspection and raw emotion mixed with old Hollywood romanticism. She regularly sings with The Shul Band of NY and is an Artist in Residence with UR2.Global, a non-profit whose mission is to uplift humanity through the arts. For original music and videos visit http://www.kalkomusic.com/

Victoria Drob Rus Jews Views

Victoria Drob is a National Board Certified Counselor, holding a master's degree and a license in clinical counseling. Providing psychotherapeutic counseling during her internships as part of her graduate studies has been a life-altering experience for her. For her COJECO Blueprint community project, Victoria conducted research that brought to light the stigmas surrounding the field of psychology in the ex-Soviet culture, in the hopes of dispelling the prevalent myths and misconceptions. Victoria hosted an educational lecture on the benefits of counseling for the Russian-speaking Jewish audience offering insights gained from her research results. Victoria continues advocacy work and research in this field. Her project, Rus Jews Views, can be followed on www.RusJewsViews.com as well as on Facebook.

Yevgeniy Klig KinoFERMA

Yevgeniy Klig was born in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated to United States in 1997. After graduating from Stony Brook University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Yevgeniy worked for a major telecommunication company involved in the implementation of the high-tech communication solutions. During his tenure as an engineer, Yevgeniy went on the Taglit trip that inspired his interest in Jewish identity exploration. From 2007, Yevgeniy participated in a number of Jewish identity and leadership development seminars and fellowships, becoming an active lay leader. Having been selected as one of the first four recipients of the COJECO Blueprint Fellowship Grant, Yevgeniy created a Russian-speaking Jewish film festival "KinoFERMA." Motivated by this experience to become a Jewish community professional, Yevgeniy began working for a JCC in Brooklyn (Marks JCH of Bensonhurst) as Director of Teen Services, consulted with COJECO as a volunteer coordinator during Superstorm Sandy, and created various young adult social programs for the NYC Russian-speaking community. Prior to joining GPG, Yevgeniy worked as a Senior Director of Russian-speaking Programming at Moishe House, managing 12 RSJ Moishe Houses across the globe and organizing multiple learning and training conferences for the young adult Russian-speaking Jewish community. Yevgeniy resides in Brooklyn, NYC with his wife Lisa and a fat cat named Yuriy.

Olga Gilburd Happiness the Jewish Way

Olga Gilburd lived in Russia and Ukraine before coming to the United States. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a Master’s degree in Public Service. She worked with teens and adults at The Jewish Agency for Israel and also with kids in a Jewish Sunday school. As a nurse, she interacted and helped predominately Russian-speaking immigrants.  Listening to many life stories, she realized that although pursuit of happiness is the main reason for immigration, the emotional well-being skills and happiness are mostly overlooked in everyday challenges. Olga studied positive Psychology and created a blog about happiness. www.olgarythm.blogspot.com

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Blueprint Fellowship Alumni

“Collective Effort” Documentary Film by COJECO BluePrint Fellow, Leonid Gurevich

Save the Date: To be Announced

“The Collective Effort” is a captivating exploration of immigrant identity, Jewish identity, and the artistic identity of a creative mindset. This documentary, skillfully crafted by designer, editorial stylist, fashion photographer, and educator Leonid Gurevich takes viewers on a journey through the creation of a Dress made from fabric hand-painted by Jewish immigrants of various ages and social backgrounds.

From conception to the runway, the film weaves a narrative of unity, teamwork, and extraordinary results achieved through collaboration, while providing an insider’s look into the enigmatic world of fashion design.

The COLLECTIVE EFFORT Documentary features actress Sophie Van Haselberg, Lauren Ezersky – VOGUE’s iconic journalist, model-actress Marlen Fjeldstad, model and radio host Marina Novikova, Rabbi and author Tobi Rubinstein, and other prominent figures.

Click HERE for more information

The film is created with the support of COJECO as part of the BluePrint Fellowship Program.

Alumni Projects

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The Mountain Jews Cuisine: a cookbook

Yafo Mardakhayeva

Songs of Our Journey

Yaffa Borukhova

The Mountain Jews Cuisine: a cookbook

Lana Shalumova
The BluePrint Fellowship is generously sponsored by

The Genesis Philanthropy Group.

For more information

or if you have any questions, please e-mail
us at:

monicak@cojeco.org

Stay in Touch

COJECO was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization for grassroots community organizations of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants in New York to make their voices heard and respected. Today we represent over 30 such network organizations, including young adult leadership groups, Holocaust Survivors, professional associations, arts & culture organizations, and social justice groups.

COJECO was formed in 2001 as an umbrella organization for grassroots community organizations of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants in New York to make their voices heard and respected. Today we represent over 30 such network organizations, including young adult leadership groups, Holocaust Survivors, professional associations, arts & culture organizations, and social justice groups.

Tel: 212-566-2120 E-mail: info@cojeco.org

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