Tribefest is an incredible experience and gathering of young leaders from Jewish communities all across North America. It is amazing to spend a weekend with 1,500 other people who have the same goals in trying to better their own young adult Jewish communities.
- Matthew Tobe

After the great time I had at last year's TribeFest, I really wanted to spread the word around YLD to get some new people for this year's delegation. It was great to go with a combination of Indy TribeFest veterans and newbies because not only was I able to grow my friendships with them, but each had a different take on the conference events.  TribeFest is the perfect combination of fun and educational.  There are speakers, a service project and breakout sessions on a huge variety of topics, but there are also dinners, mini concerts and nights out at local clubs. Even when you're having fun, you're meeting other Jewish young professionals from across the country and sharing ideas with them. I hope to be able to attend TribeFest again in future years, and am excited to bring some new ideas back to YLD! 

-Elizabeth Wertz

 

TribeFest is a wonderful opportunity to meet people with a similar interest in impacting their Jewish community. With my job that requires a lot of travel it was also a great way to bond with other Jews in Indianapolis. I'm proud to be part of such a great Jewish community.

-Laurence Bolotin

This was my first time at Tribefest, and I sincerely enjoyed it. It was extraordinary to be at a conference targeted at today's Jewish young professionals. The main event hosted a variety of successful Jewish speakers; my favorite was Lenny Krayzelburg.  Lenny represented the U.S. team in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and is a four-time gold medalist.  Following the main event I had the opportunity to speak with him and connect on the similarities of immigrating to the United States from Ukraine. I would highly recommend to others that they attend Tribfest. 
-Marina Grabovsky

 

I had a wonderful time at TribeFest. It was a great opportunity to get to know the Indianapolis Young Leadership group better while at the same time experiencing TribeFest together. All of the main stage performances were inspiring, and I am excited about bringing all of these new ideas to our community. 

-Adi Schaham

Going to Vegas is always exciting; going to Vegas with over 1,500 people from the national Jewish community is amazing. TribeFest was a great experience that allowed me to meet and interact with other young professionals wanting to get involved in their Jewish community, as well as bond with those of us from the Indianapolis community that attended the event. I especially enjoyed the TribeFest service project, in which we read to and socialized with kindergarten through third graders at Paradise Elementary School.  It’s amazing how excited they were to read with us and get books from PJ Library. 

-Sarah Frye

First I want to thank the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis for their assistance with covering a majority of the cost of the programming and allowing me to have such a wonderful experience.  Surprisingly the part of Tribefest that had the most impact on me was not just engaging with young Jewish leaders from all over the country and hearing amazing speakers, but it was deepening the relationships with other local leaders from our community.  I feel that now our local Jewish community will benefit greatly from some of the ideas from TribeFest that will be implemented by our local leaders. I was touched most by the fact that one in six people in this country deal with hunger issues.  As a result I have met with Lori Moss and Gigi Marks Felsher at the Albert & Sara Reuben Senior and Community Resource Center to find ways that we can help people in our community in need.
- Leo Grabovsky

 

Tribefest was a wonderful experience. It was such a comforting feeling to be in the presence of 1,500 other young people that care as much about the future of the Jewish people as I do, and I was enlightened, energized and inspired. The speakers were terrific, the musicians were shockingly talented and—like any worthwhile Jewish event—the food was surprisingly good!I will definitely be attending next year, and look forward to utilizing the energy and inspiration from this event to help our local Jewish community come together and thrive! 

-Scott Levinson

 What I enjoyed about Tribefest this year was that many of the main stage speakers had created charitable or socially conscience organizations or businesses with a tikkun olam focus, model or mindset. Hearing all these amazing people tell their story was humbling. Some of them had come from nothing to beat all odds and have a major impact on others. 

I look at my life and realize that I come from plenty, but have yet to make my major impact on the world. The overall experience really made me step back and take a look at how easy it is to be comfortable with the lives we currently lead, while there is so much that can be done for tikkun olam. I just have to find my own passion and start something huge to better our world for Jews and non-Jews alike.
-Adam Goldsmith

 

 It was great to reconnect with old friends from past TribeFest events and get to know members of the Indy YLD group better. There is something to be said about taking everyone out of their normal daily grind and putting them all in the same place to bring everyone closer together. 

The highlight for me was the service project on Monday morning where our entire Indy crew read books to kindergarten through third graders at Paradise Elementary School in Las Vegas. I will never forget the accomplished looks on the two kids’ faces I was working when they successfully read a whole page of Frog and Toad to me. Little did these two first graders know they would teach me something as well; they were living proof of the impact of Jewish agencies when they work together.  The Jewish Federations of North America, by way of the TribeFest conference, supplied the volunteers, and PJ Library supplied the books and backpacks. This was an experience I will never forget!
-Rachel Modiano 

 To learn how you can attend the National Young Leadership Conference next year, please email Inna Kolesnikova-Shmuker, Young Leadership Director, at yld@jfgi.org.