TOPICS

Engaging with the News: A Recipe for Good Digestion
As the Host of Ark News Daily, Deborah brings perspective, unique strategy, and humor to the media literacy landscape. This interactive keynote looks at the news through the lens of being Jewish during some of the darkest news cycles. With a dash of optimism, she offers practical suggestions for staying informed without the overwhelm.

Time Well Spent! Gathering with a Purpose
As Head of Community for The Fold and the Founder of the Play Full Society, Deborah breaks social behaviors down into their playful parts and builds a blueprint to help people create meaningful moments with their family, friends, and larger communities. She draws on decades as a facilitator in the corporate and private sectors. This interactive keynote leaves people inspired to never miss an opportunity to bring depth to an experience through conversation, learning, and play.

Working Words of Wisdom
This fully interactive keynote and workshop taps into collective creativity and group wisdom. Customized to support themes familiar to Jewish communal events, the program uses ancient proverbs as a jumping-off point for solo work, paired collaboration, and small-group discussion. The final exercise produces new proverbs, created by the participants, that reflect their collective experience. It's truly transformative.

The Song Cycle
Deborah uses well-known and original songs to surface soulful questions that don't always find their way into everyday conversation. With five CDs to her name, Deborah's early career in music connected her to audiences in a unique way. This is not a concert; instead, her music is woven into a narrative that invites the audience to reflect, share, and snap their fingers… sometimes all at the same time!

BIO

Deborah Pardes is a dynamic host and producer who sits at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and community. She's known for transforming fragmented audiences into thriving communities. She is the Host of Ark News Daily, reporting on the latest news from Israel and the Middle East, geopolitics, and Jews around the world. Most recently, she took on the role of Head of Community for Ark Media's new private social community, The Fold. She is also the founder of The Play Full Society, a community reimagining how adults connect through play, creativity, and authentic human interaction. Previously, as VP of Stories & Voices at Swell, Deborah championed accessibility in podcasting and helped thousands of creators find their voices until the company's exit in 2025. Her earlier work includes founding Artists for Literacy, a national arts and education movement recognized by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NPR. A Barnard College alum and lifelong creator, Deborah continues to build spaces and stories that inspire joy, empathy, and connection. She is the author of two published books and has a strong catalog of original music, streaming on Spotify and Apple Music under her own name. She lives in Los Angeles and frequently visits New York, Baltimore, and Israel, where her extended family thrives.