ALEX D DUCHENE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & VISUAL ARTIST
MEET THE TEAM
KAREN SCHACHTER
Karen has spent 30 years in the field of transformation as a therapist and a coach. Her work is a blend of psychology and spirituality; and is built entirely around what actually creates change in people. She’s held hundreds of women through their hardest and most expansive moments.
She brings all of that to THE VILLAGE, alongside her home in Costa Rica, and her completely unshakeable belief that joy and grief can live in the same room; and that sometimes our most potent remembrance is rooted in profound pain.
She has a powerful capacity to see your light and reflect it back to you so you remember it too.
Over the past several years, Karen has brought that same capacity to the Jewish community. Post October 7, she created Rooted to help Jews deepen their relationship with their Jewish identity. She co-created The Lighthouse for Jewish leaders in the online space. She has led over ten international retreats, and she knows, in her bones, what it means to hold a room full of people who are carrying more than they’ve been able to process.
She is currently writing her first book, a natural culmination of three decades spent listening to what lives beneath the surface of women's lives.
ALEX DUCHENE
Alex is a Creative Director, artist, community builder, and passionate advocate for meaningful connection. For more than two decades, she has worked at the intersection of creativity, communication, and human experience, building brands, telling stories, and creating spaces where people feel seen and heard.
In the years following October 7, Alex emerged as a respected voice within the global Jewish community, dedicating her craft and platform to fostering Jewish pride, resilience, and connection by creating and supporting global initiatives. She lives at the intersection of radical optimism and the idea that we all have the power to change the world.
She recently authored her first novel, The Pink Elephant, a hauntingly honest fictional memoir that covers the journey of a Jewish woman grappling with her own identity. A story about finding power and strength in our own generational lineage and story, regardless of what that story looks like.
THE VILLAGE is a natural extension of that philosophy, bringing people together to exhale, reconnect, engage in thoughtful conversation, and rediscover the power of community.
SARAH EMANUEL
Having grown up in Israel and now based in Los Angeles, Sarah has spent years building community through creativity, storytelling, and meaningful connection. Following October 7, she became an active voice in the Jewish and Israeli community, using her platform to foster resilience, Jewish pride, and connection during a time of profound challenge and change.
As the Founder and Creative Director of Meesh Meesh Media, Sarah helps businesses, brands, and organizations tell their stories with authenticity, purpose, and heart. She is especially passionate about supporting Jewish-owned businesses and the allies who stand with them, creating visibility, connection, and community through thoughtful design and storytelling.
THE VILLAGE is a natural extension of Sarah’s belief that we are not meant to navigate life alone. She is honored to help create a space where people can reconnect with themselves, deepen their connection to the Jewish community, and experience the power of gathering with intention.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
October 7 and the days that followed rocked our world. The pain of the attacks, and the explosion of antisemitism hit something ancient within us. The lionesses within, who had gone to sleep in the comfort of an ostensibly safe world, began to wake.
Our love for our people.
Our remembrance of our ancestors' traumas.
Our human need to do whatever it takes to protect the future for our children.
We lost friends. We lost clients. We lost communities. Some of us even lost family. The ground we thought was solid became shaky. And through it all, we found our voice, deepened our roots, and remembered what mattered.
We are tired too. But we are also committed, driven, and absolutely unwilling to let those who hate us determine the meaning we bring to our lives.
We will do as Jews before us have always done. We will lead with heart, with courage, and with our deep knowing that love always wins.
THE VILLAGE is our answer. Not a fight against hate but a connection rooted in love, in life, in remembrance. A gathering place where belonging is guaranteed, not conditional.
Because the most radical thing we can do right now is come together, remember who we are, and refuse to let what we’ve lost limit what we will gain.
The three of us bring different gifts to this week, but the same intention: to create a container where you can put it all down for a moment and remember what it feels like to be held.