Our Team

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman is an award-winning artist, writer, and Jewish educator. As the founder of The K’ilu Company, Jonathan reimagines Jewish early childhood and family engagement through theater and play. He leads programming and professional development in synagogues, day schools, and early childhood centers nationwide. His projects have reached thousands of families and classrooms. He is the author of two books, Let There Be Play: Bringing the Bible to Life with Young Children and In the Beginning: My Storybook Bible, both recently published by Behrman House. He is a curricular partner and consultant for ElevatEd, Jewish Grandparents Network, and Jewish United Fund Chicago. Jonathan is a recipient of The Covenant Foundation’s 2022 Pomegranate Prize for emerging Jewish educators and was named the Foundation’s inaugural Jewish Family Education Fellow in 2023. He is also a recipient of The Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America’s Medallion Award. Previously, Jonathan served as executive director of Theater for Young Audiences USA and as producer of family programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. His theatrical works for children and families have been presented at Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, and have been featured by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The New York Times, and American Theatre magazine. He lives in the Chicago area with his husband, Rabbi David Chapman, and their two children. Learn more at jonathanshmidtchapman.com.