Is This Ok to Say?: The Impact of Words on the Jewish Experience

Darryl Coulon currently serves as the Associate Director of Education for ADL’s Southern Division, where he helps PreK-12 and workplace educational efforts in fifteen states.

Darryl began a career in Jewish nonprofits before graduating undergrad, by interning in ADL’s New Orleans office in 2016, interning for a pro-Israel organization in 2017 in Washington, D.C., and serving as lead organizer for pro-Israel student groups at Xavier University of Louisiana and at LSU in Baton Rouge between 2016-2019.

With professional experience in fundraising and community organizing, Darryl brings a passion for bridge-building across diverse communities and facilitating important, yet sensitive, conversations related to interpersonal themes at the intersection of oppression and race/ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation.

Darryl recently relocated from Houston, Texas, back to his hometown of New Orleans, to continue fighting hate for good in this role at ADL. In his free time, Darryl is usually found studying and flying for his pilot’s license.

Kiyomi is an Afro-Latin, queer, Jewish, Marine Corps veteran, mother who works to ensure that all of the intersecting identities of her and her children feel at home in any space. If there is one word to sum up her life’s work it would be “inclusion.” Kiyomi’s social justice activism is centered on creating more inclusive spaces for Jewish people of all backgrounds as well as eradicating racism and antisemitism. To that end, she develops, produces, and facilitates panels, workshops, and discussions on the topics of race, racism, and antisemitism and utilizes non-violent communication approaches to coach people through tough conversations and promote productive dialogues. In 2020, Kiyomi co-founded Jewbian Princess, a Black, Jewish women-led organization to deliver corporate-level diversity and inclusion education to Jewish organizations through a Jewish lens. Kiyomi joined the Project Shema team as a coach and facilitator to help educate people on antisemitism and its root causes within social justice activism in 2021. In her role as the Vice President of Partnerships at Project Shema, Kiyomi works with Jewish activists to coach a training and support strategy with the goal of slowing the tide of antisemitism to ensure Jewish voices are included in progressive activism. Recently, Kiyomi joined the facilitator team at Ta’amod to “stand up” for creating psychologically safe Jewish workplaces through empathy, education, and equity. In addition to her day jobs, Kiyomi serves as a board member of the Los Angeles section of the National Council for Jewish Women (“NCJW”) and the national board of Jewish Council of Public Affairs (“JCPA”). She has a degree in political science and a Juris Doctorate with an emphasis in public service. Kiyomi lives with her partner and two children in the suburbs of Los Angeles where she can be found watercolor painting, embroidering, and sewing pieces of flare to inspire a more just world. Learn more about her at KiyomiKowalski.com.

Debbie Lechtman is a Jewish, Israeli, and Latina author, educator, content creator, and artist. She is a sitting board member at Indigenous Bridges and writes educational content on Jewish history and identity for the Anti-Defamation League, Creative Community for Peace, Honest Reporting, and more.

She has collaborated with a number of renowned organizations, including Jewish on Campus and the Center for Peace Communications, and has also presented lectures at a number of events, including events hosted by Limmud, the American Jewish Committee, the Holocaust Center for Humanity, Hillel, and Microsoft. In the past, she worked as a guide, educator, and curator at Costa Rica’s only Jewish museum and wrote for a number of Jewish publications

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Jillian Bontke is the Director of Education Programs for ADL’s Central Division where she provides strategic planning and leadership for all ADL Education programs and resources at the divisional level including, antisemitism, antibias, Holocaust education and No Place for Hate on over 800 campuses in the division. Jillian joined the ADL after working as a public school teacher & counselor. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas and is passionate about helping people critically explore their own bias and empowering them to become changemakers in their communities.