Rabbi Aaron Fine
​Executive Director

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Email Rabbi Aaron HERE
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Rabbi Aaron Fine (he/him) was born in Bloomington, Indiana where he was raised with two religions, Judaism and Indiana basketball, both of which he continued to observe after moving to Amherst at the age of 10.  Aaron went to Oberlin College where he majored in Jewish Studies with a minor in Studio Art.  He went to rabbinical school, and acquired a Masters in Jewish Education, at Hebrew College in Boston.  He served for five years as the rabbi of Temple Sinai in Marblehead, Mass., and during this time founded an intercommunal Jewish learning program, Torah Hub.  Rabbi Fine has served as the Executive Director of UMass Hillel since 2014, and lives in Northampton with his wife, two kids, and Israeli dog Fox.  In his spare time he loves to fish, explore the nature of Western Mass, and do ceramics. 

Rabbi Fine’s work at Hillel includes supervising senior staff, fundraising, grants, strategic planning and budgeting, working with the Hillel Board of Directors and campus and organizational partners, leading the Rabbi’s Fishing Club, and advising Mizmor and Ruach student groups.

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Rebekah Steinfeld
​Assistant Director

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Email Rebekah HERE
  
​Rebekah (she/her) joined the staff of UMass Hillel in 2014 after two years teaching at a Jewish Day School in Northampton, MA. Some of her other work experiences have been in Jewish environmental education at Teva and directing the arts programs at Seeds of Peace International Camp. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU and a BA in Theatre from Willamette University. She lives in Northampton with her partner Erik and his 2 children. In her free time she likes to hike, read, cook, travel, and develop her ukulele skills.

Rebekah’s work at Hillel includes supervising the Student Life Team programming staff, supporting student leadership, overseeing the coordination of student group advising and events, facilitating Jewish Learning Fellowships, and ensuring UMass Hillel strives for excellence in all student relationships and engagement.

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Lawrence Klein
Director of Advancement

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​Email Lawrence HERE

Lawrence Klein, Esq. (he/him) was born and raised in Rockland County, NY. Lawrence went to Clark University and received his JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.  He started his career as in-house counsel for high-tech companies. In 2001 he founded the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and in 2002 the MoCCA Arts Festival. For 13 years prior to his role with UMass Hillel, Lawrence worked at Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY, most recently serving in the roles of Assistant Head of School for Institutional Advancement and General Counsel. He lives in Western MA with his wife, two kids, and two rescue cats.  Outside of UMass Hillel, he volunteers on the boards of several local nonprofits, and curates comic art exhibits around the globe. As a fun fact, Lawrence is also a character in the “Dick Tracy” cartoon strip.

Lawrence’s work includes developing relationships with alumni, parents and other stakeholders and partners in support of Hillel’s mission. Lawrence oversees Hillel’s fundraising program, including annual giving, special campaigns, major gifts, planned gifts, and stewardship. ​

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Rabbi Raffi and Ariella Leicht 
OU-JLIC Educators

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Email Raffi HERE                      Email Ariella HERE

Raffi (he/him) was born in New York City and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in Los Angeles, CA and in Riverdale, NY.  After Manhattan Day School and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA), Raffi studied in Israel (Yeshivat Reishit, Aish HaTorah, and Derech HaTalmud) for two years. He studied in Israel and Yeshiva University for his Rabbinical education and studied neuropsychology at The City University of New York Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies and Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School. He has conducted research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, led Passover seders in Katowice, Poland and Flensburg, Germany, written for Tablet Magazine, created, edited and published two Jewish literary journals, organized concert series featuring Israeli musicians in New York City, and served as gabbai to chassidic rebbes. He is an alumnus of The Stollel and the University of Purim.

Ariella (she/her) was born and raised in Great Neck, NY.  After spending a year and a half in Israel at Sha’alavim, Ariella made her way to Stern College where she majored in Biology and History.  Ariella earned her Master's degree in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. Ariella has worked as an educator and as the assistant curator at the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where she designed an exhibit on the history of Jewish wedding gowns and in Israel at the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art in Jerusalem, Israel where she worked on their entire digital library.  She is currently the Development Manager at Amherst’s own Yiddish Book Center and earning her second Master's degree in Business Administration at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass.

Raffi and Ariella personally serve students and community through one-on-one conversations, Jewish learning in different settings, Shabbat and Holiday experiences like hosting meals and events in their home, advising Degel, the Shabbat Committee, organizing prayer services, supporting religious infrastructure and student advocacy.

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Alyssa Kristek
Director of Administration
​and Finance

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Email Alyssa HERE

​Alyssa (she/her) joins the dynamic team at UMass Hillel serving as the Director of Administration and Finance. She obtained both a BA and MBA from UMass Amherst and has nearly two decades of finance experience within academia finance as well as research sponsorship grants and projects.  A strong believer in the notion of “never stop learning,” Alyssa is also a certified EMT, notary public, and an experienced Realtor® in the Pioneer Valley and beyond.  She lives in Palmer with her husband, Brian, and their daughter, Mackenzie.  In her free time, she loves to read, watch movies (all things Harry Potter!), go hiking, and just spend time with her amazing family.  

Alyssa’s work at Hillel focuses on financial and general administration, and serves as interim Facilities and Property Manager.  She manages the Jewish Living Community at Hillel, handling lease agreements, resident communications, and floor protocols in coordination with the RA, and also manages the Hillel commercial kitchen.​

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Shir Amira
Jewish Agency Israel Fellow

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Email Shir HERE

Shir (she/her), originally from Shoham in the center of Israel, is excited to start her first year at UMass Hillel as an Israel Fellow. Shir has a passion for education - in her army service she served as a commander in the Education Unit and has just graduated from David Yellin college in Jerusalem with a degree in special education and English. In the last year Shir worked as a special Ed homeroom teacher in Tel Aviv. Before her army service Shir did a gap year in midreshet "Ein Hanatziv '' where she explored her Jewish identity. After her army service Shir joined the summer camps program from the "Jewish Agency" and spent 3 summers as a counselor and a teacher in camp "Yavneh'', New Hampshire. Shir is looking forward to exploring Massachusetts and getting to know the community around. 

Shir is part of the Student Life Team at Hillel where she helps with Israel-related programming, including serving as staff advisor for Mishelanu and SAFI. Shir also works closely with students on the weekly Shabbat challah baking for meals at Hillel.​

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Sarah Schuminsky
Springboard Fellow, Intrapreneurship Specialist

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Email Sarah HERE

Sarah (she/her) comes to UMass Hillel from Florida State University where she recently graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Social Science. After spending her whole life in the South, she is excited (and a little nervous) to experience winter in the Pioneer Valley. In college, she was heavily involved with service and Jewish life on campus. She loves meeting students and working alongside them to create meaningful experiences. In her free time, you can find her at the farmers' market, trying out new coffee shops, catching up with friends, or hanging out with her handsome cat, Henry.

Sarah is part of the Student Life Team at Hillel where she helps with engagement, outreach, and programming. Much of her time is dedicated to working on Hillel’s wellness and social programming initiatives in addition to advising Challah for Hunger and JewMass. She also loves teaching the Jewish Learning Fellowship.

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Leah Eve Jezer-Nelson
IACT Birthright Coordinator

Email Leah HERE

Leah Eve (she/her) joined the UMass Hillel team for the 2022-23 school year. After teaching English in underserved communities in areas of Tel Aviv and Ramla, Israel, she's excited to be back in the States. Originally from Syracuse, New York (the Golden Snowglobe of the Northeast), she graduated magna cum laude and with honors from Wells College with a degree in Anthropology and Sociology. She looks forward to meeting and engaging with students from diverse backgrounds and with diverse thoughts. In her time off, Leah Eve loves going to dog parks, reading through science fiction novels, armchair researching the orca whales off Puget Sound, and engaging with politics on a national and international level. Come say hi, or meet me at a coffee shop! 

Leah Eve is part of the Student Life Team at Hillel where she helps with planning, developing, and staffing our Birthright trips to Israel, as well as executing events, supervising an intern team, and advising various student groups.​

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Rich Kassirer
​​Office Manager/
​Development Associate

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Email Rich HERE

Rich (he/him) moved with wife Sue to Western Mass. after more than 30 years in the Boston area to escape the unending traffic and city sprawl. After working for many years as an editor for Boston newspapers, he is content in his second career at Hillel. He spends his downtime kayaking, walking in the woods, enjoying time with his grown children and weeding his vegetable garden. He also volunteers at the Amherst Survival Center and at local music venues.

Rich supports the fundraising and general administrative needs of Hillel, and plays a key role in making students and visitors feel welcome, answering concerns and questions regarding Hillel and doing whatever is needed to keep Hillel running smoothly.

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Missy Goldstein Gleisser
​​Marketing and Development Manager

Missy (sher/her) joined UMass Hillel in 2021 as our Marketing and Development Manager. In this role, she spearheads grassroots campaigns and tells the stories of our incredible students. Missy previously worked as a Fellow at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, MS and in the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and received her master's degree in Jewish Nonprofit Management and Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College. Missy lives in State College, Pennsylvania with her husband (the Senior Jewish Educator at Penn State Hillel), son AJ, and pup Gertie.

Missy is part of the development team and focuses on telling the story of our amazing students and the role Hillel plays on campus, with a focus on giving days and special campaigns. She sends out parent and community e-newsletters, crafts broad communication emails and letters, and helps create a common brand across UMass Hillel. Missy works remotely from State College, PA.

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Nathan Krevolin
Resident Advisor

Nathan Krevolin (class of 2023) is majoring in History with a minor in Biology, with his eye toward eventually become an educational administrator. Since normal college life returned to UMass in Fall 2021, Nathan has become deeply involved with Hillel. He has helped to lead egalitarian Friday evening Shabbat services, helped plan events for JewTalk and will be co-president of the club in the upcoming school year. He also lives at the Hillel and serves as the Residential Advisor. He also traveled with UMass Hillel on their May 2022 Birthright trip to Israel. He was recognized by Rabbi Fine as part of the Jewish Leadership Collective for his extraordinary commitment to Jewish life on campus. He serves on the Hillel Board of Directors during the 2022-23 school year.