Rabbi Aaron Fine
​Executive Director

413-549-1710 x207
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

413-549-1710 x208
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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Rabbi Raffi and Ariella Leicht 
OU-JLIC Educators

413-549-1710 x206                  413-549-1710 x206
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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​Melanie Gerard
Interim Director of Strategic Initiatives

617-319-5235
Email Melanie HERE
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Melanie returned to UMass Hillel in April 2024 as our Interim Director of Strategic Initiatives. In this role, she will partner with senior leadership to guide special initiatives and frame a strategic capital campaign.  Melanie was formerly the Director of Advancement at UMass Hillel (between 2019 and early 2023) and during that time, managed Hillel’s advancement portfolio and worked to deepen partnerships with UMass Foundation.

Melanie started her fundraising career at Camp Yavneh in 2013 and dedicated her time as a volunteer lay-leader for organizations including Hadassah Boston, Solomon Schechter Day School, and the City of Newton Creative Arts Council.  Prior to this, she worked in the private sector as a Business Development and Market Research professional. 

Melanie graduated with an MBA in Marketing, BS in Economics & Finance, and minor in Gender Studies from Bentley University. She lives in the metro-Boston area with her family and visits campus frequently. 

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Matthew Plotkin
Facilities and Operations Manager

413-549-1710 x205
Email Matthew HERE

​Matthew (he/him) joins the UMass Hillel team in 2024 as the Facilities and Operations Manager. Matthew possesses a bachelor's in operations management from UMass Amherst as well as a master's in emergency management from the University of New Haven. He brings over a decade of experience in commercial property management and leasing and also holds a Massachusetts Construction Supervisors License as well as a Massachusetts Real Estate License. Outside of UMass Hillel he can often be seen riding a bike or hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He is also an active volunteer firefighter and EMT with a local fire department of which he has been a longtime member.
 
Matthew's work at UMass Hillel focuses on management of the Hillel building and grounds, he manages the Jewish Living Community at Hillel, handling lease agreements, resident communications, and floor protocols in coordination with the RA.

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Shir Amira
Jewish Agency Israel Fellow

413-549-1710 x202
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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Rachel Pellis
Springboard Fellow

413-549-1710 x 213
Email Rachel HERE

Rachel (she/her) is excited to be joining UMass Hillel as an Ezra Jewish Education Springboard Fellow! Originally from Mt. Kisco, NY, Rachel grew up steeped in the Conservative and Reconstructionist Jewish communities. In High School she ran her own challah baking business and completed a two year program about how to facilitate dialogue about Israel on college campuses. In 2020 Rachel spent a gap year in Israel with the program Year Course, where she practiced her Hebrew and engaged with feminists organizations. In Spring 2024 she graduated from the University of Maine with a BA in Anthropology, focusing on climate change, with minors in Judaic Studies and Dance. At Umaine she created and led programs to engage UMaine’s diverse spiritual community, serving as the President of Hillel for two years, the Vice President of the Student Heritage Alliance Council, a student leader at the Multifaith Center, as well as a member of the Dance Team. She spent a semester based in Mystic, CT where she traveled to different coastal communities to learn about how they are impacted by climate change and rising sea levels. For the past two summers she’s worked as the Rosh Rikud (head of dance) at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

Rachel is part of the Student Life Team at Hillel, focusing on student engagement. She is the advisor for Challah for Hunger and JewMass, and is excited to bring her experiences from different global and religious communities to UMass students. In her free time she loves to dance, swim, hike, and pretend to be the main character of an indie film.

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Rich Kassirer
​​Office Manager/
​Development Associate

413-549-1710 x201
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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Tommy Sanders
Resident Assistant

Tommy (he/him) is from Long Island, New York. He came to UMass Amherst in the fall semester of 2022 and found himself calling Hillel home by the following year. He’s earning a BS in Sustainable Food and Farming and finds himself indulged in plant and soil sciences. He enjoys volunteering in the UMASS Permaculture Gardens, visiting local farms, and working on projects at the on-campus Makerspace. At Hillel he is a board member of Challah for Hunger and loves to chat with anyone around.