RENCONTRE

Kimberly Ariella (Mari) Dueñas

Kimberly Ariella Dueñas (also known as Mari) is a California native with a global spirit. Born into a multicultural home, she discovered that the best way to explore her dynamic Jewish identity was to immerse and involve herself in the world - beginning with tracing her roots to rural El Salvador and across Europe.

An international Jewish educator, Kimberly Ariella is passionate about providing a safe space for people to develop deeper connections to their Latin and Jewish identities. Her passion for community healing led her to join the Jewtina y Co. team as a founding member and the Director of Learning in charge of innovative identity, community and wellbeing programming. Prior to working with Jewtina y Co. she was an experiential Jewish educator in Los Angeles, CA and volunteer educator at the Jewish Community Center in Mumbai, India.

Kimberly Ariella is a graduate of the American Jewish University, where she was selected to be the valedictorian of her graduating class. She is a former JDC Entwine Jewish Service Corps Fellow and community representative, a Selah Fellowship (Bend the Arc) and Kollel Fellowship (Mitsui Collective) alumna, is a member of the Schusterman Foundation's ROI community, and was one of five emerging Jewish educators nationwide to receive the Pomegranate Prize in 2024.