Lost Tribe is committed to building friendships between Jewish teens in North America and Israel, and to making Israel travel appealing and accessible to everyone in our community. We are proud to announce that Michal Nodel, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, has joined our team as director of Israel operations. Michal will help Lost Tribe build connections with Israeli teens through partnerships with other Jewish and Israeli organizations.
Michal has helped produce video games and animated content for companies like Hi-Rez Studios, BrainPOP, and through her own company, Digital Powwow. She has helped launch interactive digital products for entertainment, education and marketing purposes. A native of Hod HaSharon, Israel who then moved to the Atlanta-area for middle and high school, Michal has experience working for Israeli and American companies, and remains involved in various Jewish community organizations.
“I’ve always appreciated gaming as a great space for people, especially teens, to connect with one another. Games offer opportunities to develop important skills, like communication, strategic thinking and commitment to peers,” she says. “Lost Tribe stands at an important intersection of gaming, community building and education. The organization’s dedication to building Jewish friendships is a transformative and powerful approach toward engaging Jewish teens and connecting them with peers in Israel and worldwide.”
Lost Tribe has engaged over 20,000 unique participants through in-person and online tournaments, game nights, livestreamed events and mini-camps. Israeli teens comprise nearly 10% of Lost Tribe’s community and are among its most active users, engaging with and building friendships with North American peers. With participation across multiple time zones, Lost Tribe’s meeting hub for Jewish teens is literally active 24/7.
“For Lost Tribe, all roads lead to Israel,” says Lenny Silberman, Lost Tribe Founder & CEO. “Michal’s skillset and wealth of experience will help us grow partnerships with communal institutions and industry advisors in Israel, and significantly increase in-person and virtual engagement between North American teens and their Israeli peers.”
With the new initiative focused on connecting American and Israeli teens, Lost Tribe hopes to build lasting relationships founded in shared interests and Jewish traditions, as well as to develop summer Israel travel experiences that incorporate gaming, tech, and content creation to appeal to a broad demographic of Jewish teens who may have never considered going to Israel before.