Alumni News
Mazal Tov to the 2025 Graduates of The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education!
Tobi Afran is the assistant director of Camp Ramah in the Poconos.
Sarah Bernstein is Park Avenue Synagogue’s assistant director of congregational schools in NYC.
Mallory Bustow is the education director of Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver, CO.
Liora Finkel is both education coordinator and teacher of CSAIR Marsha Dane Stern Hebrew School in Bronx, NY as well as a teacher and Hebrew-tfilah curriculum coordinator for Temple Israel of New Rochelle, NY.
Julia Goldberg is continuing her academic and professional interest as a JTS rabbinical school student.
Trudy (Morse) Goldshine is the senior manager of Jewish education for Repair the World in Los Angeles, CA.
Israel (Izzy) Gordan is the fundraising manager of Shahar, a moshav in Israel.
Shelly S. Kedar is the chief impact officer of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Ariel Light is the programs and engagement associate at the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.
Emma Sesar is an assistant teacher at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in New York.
Hadassa Slager teaches Hebrew and Jewish studies at Smith Jewish Academy (formerly known as Amos and Celia Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School) in Minneapolis.
Shanna Bedrick Straut continues in her role as Director of Education of Temple Beth Sholom in New City, NY.
We are very proud of our alumni who shared the following professional achievements and brought us up to date on their roles. If you have an update that you would like to share in the next issue, please reach out to Melissa Friedman, Director of Alumni Affairs at mefriedman@jtsa.edu.
Matt Altman is the assistant director of Yachad, the congregational school of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY.
Alyssa Berman was one of five Jewish educators to receive the Jewish Education Project’s 2025 Robert M. Sherman Young Pioneers Award. This award celebrates educators aged 40 and under who demonstrate a commitment to new ideas and the use of innovative approaches to inspire children and families in their community.
Matthew Check published an edgy, self-aware memoir, What Would Philip Roth Do?
Hillary Jaye Gardenswartz is now a talent lead for Sandler Search, matching talent with hiring non-profit employers.
Sheridan Gayer is now the director of family engagement of Temple Shaaray Tefilla in New York.
Danielle Rockman Greene, now a certified pediatric sleep consultant, is the founder & owner at Danielle Greene Sleep Consulting, LLC.
Samuel Greene serves as the senior speaker bureau coordinator at L&M Healthcare Communications.
Harman Grossman is an educator at the upper school of Golda Och Academy in West Orange, NJ.
Rachelle Grossman is an assistant professor in the department of comparative & world literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Anna Hartman is now the program officer for Jewish giving at the Crown Family Foundation.
Joshua Jacobs is a psychotherapist at Metropolitan Center for Mental Health in New York.
Saul Kaiserman is a lecturer at American Jewish University.
Yonah Kirschner was recently promoted to program director of Covenant Foundation.
Kelly Kosar began her studies towards an EdD at American Jewish University in early childhood education.
Jacob Kotlicky received rabbinic ordination by Yeshivas Chonen Daas and now serves as a department chair at David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, FL.
Jaimie Krass was named president & chief executive officer of Keshet.
Eliyahu Krigel is the director of education and family engagement of SULAM, the religious school of Beth El Temple in West Hartford, CT.
Micah Lapidus, director of Jewish and Hebrew studies and school rabbi at the Alfred and Adele Davis Academy in Atlanta, was a 2025 recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award.
Gabe Miner is the director of Jewish student belonging at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Margie K. and Louis N. Cohen Center for Jewish Life
Jon Mitzmacher recently became a senior director at Scott Goldberg Consulting.
Alli Moses was recently promoted to associate director of Ramah Galim/Camp Ramah in Northern California.
Micah Peltz was honored by Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ for 18 years of dedicated leadership.
Miles Roger is now the director of lifelong learning at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, WI.
Sara Shapiro-Plevan became the new chief program officer of Elluminate.
Jordan David Soffer will become head of school at Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy in Stamford, CT on July 1, 2026.
Amy Posner is now the chief advancement officer/interim executive director of the Hudson Valley Community College Foundation.
Andy Shugerman recently expanded his work to include the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh as an educational consultant.
Carrie Zucker Siegel was named Head of School of Golda Och Academy in West Orange, NJ
Samantha Aviva Vinokor-Meinrath was named one of Hadassah’s “18 American Zionist Women You Should Know.” Samantha is recognized as a leading voice on the American-Jewish experience at this transitional point in history.
Dana Beth Levinson Walker recently joined Urban Legend Media as its chief operating officer.
Andy Weissfeld joined the leadership team at Congregation Adas Israel in Washington, DC as its new rabbinic director of education and Judaics.
