Bios of TIOH Speaks Guests
TIOH SPEAKS SHABBAT: A Look Inside The Food Industry
Moderated by Greg Roth
Greg has focused his talents and passions on crafting vibrant, inviting spaces for living that highlight sustainability and eco-awareness. For 6 years, Greg was co-founder, with his husband Daniel Shapiro, of the LA-based baked goods emporium, Modern Bite. He applied his unique brand of colorful, edible graphics to custom-designed cakes and cookies. He and Daniel live in Los Angeles in a nearly-empty nest, run by a 15-pound poodle-shih tzu mix named Colton.
Jamie Rubin: Home Cook and Food Content Creator
Jamie Rubin learned to cook after college by watching television in her tiny New York city apartment; she couldn’t afford cable and the Food Network was free so it was b’shert. Almost two decades later when the pandemic locked us all in our homes, she took shelter in her kitchen tearing through cookbooks, recipe testing, organizing food swaps, and eventually created and co-hosted a weekly cooking show on Instagram. She is the author of the Weekend Workup, a recipe and recommendation newsletter, and can be found every Sunday morning at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market shopping for her weekly staples. Her favorite thing to cook is roast chicken for Shabbat dinner. Her favorite people are those who like to eat.
Robyn Shreiber: VP Sales, National Accounts at J&J Snack Foods
Since 1982, Philadelphia native Robyn Shreiber has been a top sales executive for J & J Snack Foods, the company her father bought out of bankruptcy in 1971. Robyn started in ’82 as a young sales representative selling products to independent snack bars, theme parks, and sporting venues and was responsible for turning the company’s then-flailing bakery division around with the success of a warehouse club cookie business and creation of the Newman’s Own organic line of cookies. Currently, as VP Sales for National Accounts, she leads the charge for developing new products and selling existing ones. The company produces over 10,000 product skus.
A philanthropist and humanitarian as well as a leading Pro-Am ballroom dancer, in 2016, Robyn combined those passions to co-found the RIDE Foundation (Robyn & Italo Dance Event). RIDE creates one-of-a-kind dance events for difference-making charities, raising much-needed funds for various non-profits. She is also the Founder, CEO, and Designer of Beautiisoles, a comfort-driven luxury shoe line sold at major department stores and boutiques nationwide. Her son, Maxwell, attended religious school at TIOH and was Bar Mitzvah’d there in 2003.
After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, Grover began his broadcasting career in Grand Junction, Colorado. Before coming to NBC4, he was an investigative reporter for KSTP in Minneapolis and KCBS in Los Angeles.
Jenny Silbert: Master Scavenger, Urban Environmentalist
Jenny is an architect turned sustainable design entrepreneur passionate about dumpster diving. Before founding Rewilder in 2014, she developed new materials and fabrication processes for complex architectural projects. As an expert in waste reduction, she brings her knowledge and experience to solving the world’s trash problem through a design lens. She founded Little City Farm – a small organic farm and event space near Koreatown – in 2020 to live more sustainably, grow food for her family and raise chickens. It’s grown into a space for heartfelt events connected to nature and farming. She is an avid surfer, sailor, and backpacker.
Craig Susser: Owner and Founder of Craig’s Restaurant and Craig’s Vegan Ice Cream
For 23 years, Craig worked at LA institution and classic celeb hotspot Dan Tana’s, moving up the ranks as server, bartender, maitre’d and GM before finally venturing out on his own and opening Craig’s LA in 2011. The inspiration for Craig’s Vegan stemmed from requests of Craig’s restaurant customers looking for something special that was yet to be on the market. Craig’s Vegan started in 2016 on the restaurant’s menu but soon requests came pouring in and pint’s became so in demand that the company grew and now can be found in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store. Craig and his team currently are focused on growing and expanding both companies across the country.
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