Light Lab x K’ilu Collab!
Innovative Collaboration Between Covenant Foundation Fellows to Enrich Jewish Family Educators Nationwide
Jonathan Shmidt Chapman and Eliana Light Join Forces Across Professional Development Labs in 2026
Chicago, IL and Durham, NC— December 17, 2025 — Two visionary leaders in Jewish family education — Jonathan Shmidt Chapman and Eliana Light, both recipients of the prestigious Jewish Family Education Fellowship from The Covenant Foundation — are partnering in an exciting cross-collaborative initiative that brings together their expertise to support Jewish family educators across North America. “We’re excited to see Jonathan and Eliana come together in this exchange of ideas and leadership,” said Joni Blinderman, Executive Director of The Covenant Foundation. “This collaboration beautifully models the kind of innovation, partnership, and field-wide impact that the Jewish Family Education Fellowship seeks to nurture.”
In March 2026, Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, Founder of The K’ilu Company, will host the 2026 K’ilu Lab for Jewish Family Educators in Northbrook, Illinois. This immersive, creative intensive brings together a national cohort of Jewish family education professionals to explore dynamic approaches to family engagement through theater, play, and imaginative learning. Participants receive hands-on training, new curricular resources, and community-building connections that they can bring back to their home institutions. As part of this program, Eliana Light will lead a guest workshop on Family T’fillah — offering practical tools and soulful inspiration for supporting prayer and spiritual life within family contexts.
Then in June 2026, Eliana Light, Founder of Light Lab, will host the inaugural Light Lab Ignite! High Holiday Family T’fillah Intensive in Durham, North Carolina. Designed to empower clergy, educators, and songleaders in co-creating meaningful, accessible, and spiritually resonant High Holiday prayer experiences for families, this intensive cohort program includes pre-retreat virtual learning, an immersive in-person retreat, and ongoing support leading up to the 5787 High Holidays. As part of this program, Jonathan Shmidt Chapman will facilitate a guest workshop on storytelling as part of family High Holiday offerings, exploring ways narrative and theatrical elements can deepen communal and familial engagement with sacred moments.
Both programs exemplify innovation in Jewish family education — combining imagination, ritual, creativity, and community connection to support educators as they nurture meaning and belonging within families and communities.
About The K’ilu Company
The K'ilu Company sparks Jewish discovery in early childhood through immersive theater and imaginative play. K'ilu brings Jewish tradition to life through innovative experiences for families and schools, in-school workshops, theatrical productions, and community programs. The K'ilu Company serves communities nationally by partnering with local federations, JCCs, synagogues, day schools, and pre-schools, as well as national organizations, including ElevatEd, Jewish Grandparents Network, and Paradigm Project.
About The Light Lab
The Light Lab is cultivating a more connected world by giving educators and clergy the tools to make the spiritual wisdom of Jewish liturgy and prayer practice (t’fillah) accessible and meaningful to their students, families, and communities. Through professional development, consulting, and cohort programs like Light Lab Ignite!, the organization supports leaders in crafting spiritually resonant prayer experiences that foster connection across generations.
About the Covenant Foundation’s Jewish Family Education Fellowship
The Covenant Foundation strengthens the field of Jewish education by honoring outstanding educators and supporting creative, transformative approaches in Jewish learning and engagement. The Jewish Family Education Fellowship from The Covenant Foundation honors the legacy of Harlene Winnick Appelman, z”l, and supports the development of bold new approaches in Jewish family education and engagement. Fellows are selected for their creativity, leadership, and commitment to expanding what it means to educate and engage Jewish families — helping to strengthen the field through innovative practice, research, and collaboration. More information can be found here: https://covenantfn.org/the-family-engagement-fellowship/
