Executive Director

Uri Cohen

Uri was appointed Executive Director of Slifka Center in July 2018. His appointment to that post follows a seven-year tenure in the same role at Queens College Hillel in the City University of New York. Prior to coming to Hillel, Uri held positions at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, Hillel International, and Perry Davis Associates, with almost two decades’ experience in fundraising, community relations, and leadership. Even in his new post, Uri continues to be involved with Jewish life at Queens College and works to raise awareness of the need for thriving Jewish life to serve the 13,000+ Jewish students currently enrolled at CUNY campuses.

Uri has been been studying, practicing, and teaching leadership for the last 25 years, and has spent 17 years working in the Jewish community. He comes to Slifka with strong experience in fundraising, administration, management, community relations, and financial management. He stewarded Queens College Hillel to being named Hillel International’s Outstanding Campus in 2015, and looks forward to beginning his work at Slifka Center, together with the outstanding team that is now in place.

Outside his time at Slifka, Uri is involved in his synagogue, is an Eagle Scout and active Cub Scout leader, loves camping and the outdoors, and is a big Mets fan. He lives in White Plains, New York with his wife Stacey and son Noah.

Howard M. Holtzmann Jewish Chaplain at Yale

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein

Jason Rubenstein comes to Slifka Center from a background as diverse as Yale’s Jewish community: a childhood at Temple Micah in Washington DC, formative years studying at Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa in northern Israel, and rabbinic ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary. For the past eight years Jason has taught on the faculty of the Hadar Institute, where he’s created classrooms, conversations, and communities that bring Torah to life by drawing on the fullness of students’ lives.

From his own formative undergraduate years at Harvard Hillel, Jason personally knows the value of Slifka Center’s work. Creating a community of meaning where students forge identities as Jewish leaders and relationships with one another that will continue to grow and deepen even after graduation not only enriches the lives of individual alumni – it has the potential to reshape and enliven the American Jewish landscape through those alumni’s talents and contributions.

In addition to rabbinic ordination, Jason holds an AB in Social Studies from Harvard College and a Masters in Talmud from JTS. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Covenant Foundation’s 2015 Pomegranate Prize for Emerging Educators.

Jason and his wife, Arielle, are grateful to be raising their two sons in beautiful East Rock, as members of the gracious and brilliant Yale Jewish community.

Managing Director

Ziv Eisenberg

Assistant Director for Programming

Juli Goodman

Juli is so excited to be beginning her 7th year at Slifka Center for Jewish Life! Prior to her time at Yale,  Juli attended Rutgers University for undergrad where she studied Art History. She then went on to receive a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership in Jewish Communal Settings from the Jewish Theological Seminary. While in graduate school Juli spent a semester in Jerusalem earning a certificate as an Israel Educator and interning at the 92nd Street Y, Resource Center for Jewish Diversity. Juli has previously worked and learned in a variety of Jewish institutions both large and small from the time she was 16 and worked as a day camp counselor until today.

Juli lives in New Haven, CT with her roomba (does that count as a pet?) and spends her time playing rugby, eating tacos, falling behind on podcasts and tv shows, and discussing the formation(s) of Jewish Identity.

Director of Development

Jennifer Rogin Wallis

Jennifer is excited to be the Director of Development at Slifka Center. She began working at Slifka Center in 2011.

Jennifer studied Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and later went on to receive her Master’s degree in Social Work Administration and Planning from Columbia University. Her professional career began as a founding staff member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. She has also worked at The Jewish Museum in New York, Buckley Hall Events, New York City Public Advocate’s Office and the Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County focusing on development and special events.

Building Superintendent

Alex Deleon

A Puerto Rican native who moved to Connecticut when he was five.  Alex is a hard worker who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.  He always had a passion for fixing things ever since he was given his first set of tools as a kid which has led him to maintenance.  Some of his favorite things to do are spend quality time with his wife and daughter Peyton, fishing and hiking.  Alex is also a huge football fan and his favorite quarterback is Peyton Manning.  Alex is excited about joining the team and is looking forward to his future here at Slifka Center.

Senior Jewish Educator

Rabbi Isaama Goldstein-Stoll

Rabbi Isaama Goldstein-Stoll comes to Slifka as a recent ordainee of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally from the Washington D.C. area, Isaama received BA in Religious Studies from Carleton College before pursuing an MA in Hebrew Letters and Smicha from HUC-JIR.

Isaama has been shaped by the Reform movement in many ways: from transformative experiences in NFTY and at URJ Camp Harlam to her studies at HUC-JIR. However, in recent years Isaama has served as a student rabbi and rabbinic intern not only in Reform but also in Conservative and Humanistic congregations.

In addition to her congregational work, Isaama has provided pastoral services in a variety of Jewish social service settings. These experiences have included assisting individuals involved in all aspects of adoptions, as well as offering counseling and religious programming for clients of the Jewish Family Services Vital Support Center and Food Pantry. While in Cincinnati, Isaama also completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education by serving as a chaplain in the ICU and on the palliative care team at Cincinnati’s Jewish Hospital.

Isaama brings to Slifka her commitment to liberal Judaism and her pastoral experience. Additionally, Isaama has always been motivated by a deep commitment to diversity. Through her work at Be’chol Lashon, an organization dedicated to serving Jews of Color, Isaama has served as an advocate around issues of Jewish diversity. She is excited to help Slifka continue to become an inclusive environment where Jews of all identities feel included and affirmed in their diversity.

Isaama and her spouse Sara are excited to make New Haven their new home and to join Yale’s Jewish community!

Development Specialist

Lynn Jackson Quinn

Office Manager

Margarita Nieves

Margarita joined the Slifka staff summer 2019. She has worked as an administrator and project coordinator in a multitude of industries, bringing with her wisdom from each. Margarita is passionate about sustainability through conscientious business practices. Her motto is “variety is the spice of life,” and “I’ll find out.”

Margarita sings lead in a Party Rock cover band,  enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons, and volunteers with the Shoreline Trolley Museum in her free time.

Director of Finance

Adriana Odice

Adriana is excited to join the Slifka Center as the Director of Finance.  Adriana is an accomplished accounting and tax professional with more than 30 years’ experience working with public and private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.  Prior to joining the Slifka Center, Adriana held leadership positions in the corporate office of the American Arbitration Association, Inc (New York, NY), including the VP of Finance, Corporate Controller and most recently, the VP of Financial Systems.  Prior to that, Adriana was the Director of Financial Reporting & Analysis at The Arcus Foundation (New York, NY). Adriana brings with her strong technical accounting and tax skills as well as in-depth knowledge and experiences with multiple financial and tax systems that streamline processes and improve efficiencies.

Adriana earned her Bachelors of Science in Accounting at Fairfield University and is a Certified Public Accountant, registered in CT.   She lives in Milford, CT with her daughter, Samantha and their lab-pit mix, Ford, and tabby cat, Morgan le Fay.

Co-Director and Educator, OU-Jewish Learning Initiative

Rabbi Alex Ozar

Rabbi Alex Ozar and Lauren Steinberg are thrilled to be the JLIC couple at Yale beginning in Summer 2018! Together with their son Noam, they’re excited to learn and cultivate a positive, flourishing spiritual community together with students and the broader Slifka Center family.

Rabbi Alex Ozar grew up in St. Louis, MO. A fourth generation Missourian on both sides, he left home to spend two blissful years studying in Israel at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh and then returned stateside to attend Yeshiva University, where he received his BA, MA and Semikha. A proud Bulldog himself, Alex is now pursuing his PhD at Yale in Philosophy and Religion, with a focus on prophetic witness and the how-to’s of pursuing justice in an often-indifferent world. He is especially excited that I-95 will no longer feature in his daily commute. Alex has worked for First Things magazine, as a Tikvah Fellow, and as a gemara teacher at Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, CT. In his spare time, he enjoys rocking out with the acclaimed band Three Rabbis and a Cik, exploring the outdoors, and solving the cosmos’ problems with friends and family.

Lauren Steinberg grew up in New City, NY and received her BA and MA in political science from Columbia University. After graduation, she worked as an assistant regional director for the Anti-Defamation League’s New York Regional Office, coordinating intergroup and interfaith affairs, and then as terrorism analyst at the ADL’s national Center on Extremism. Lauren traveled around the country briefing law enforcement and government officials on domestic recruitment and radicalization and was recognized for her expertise on the subject. For the past year, Lauren has directed the Jewish Community Relations Council in Stamford, Connecticut. She is excited to dive into this next chapter of her coalition and community building work, for the opportunity to learn Torah on the job, and just to be a part of the wonderful Yale and Slifka communities! In her spare time, she reads the news and as many books as possible from the library’s non-fiction new releases section and tries to get outside as much as possible.

Co-Director and Educator, OU-Jewish Learning Initiative

Lauren Steinberg

Lauren Steinberg and Rabbi Alex Ozar are thrilled to be the JLIC couple at Yale beginning in Summer 2018! Together with their son Noam, they’re excited to learn and cultivate a positive, flourishing spiritual community together with students and the broader Slifka Center family.

Rabbi Alex Ozar grew up in St. Louis, MO. A fourth generation Missourian on both sides, he left home to spend two blissful years studying in Israel at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh and then returned stateside to attend Yeshiva University, where he received his BA, MA and Semikha. A proud Bulldog himself, Alex is now pursuing his PhD at Yale in Philosophy and Religion, with a focus on prophetic witness and the how-to’s of pursuing justice in an often-indifferent world. He is especially excited that I-95 will no longer feature in his daily commute. Alex has worked for First Things magazine, as a Tikvah Fellow, and as a gemara teacher at Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, CT. In his spare time, he enjoys rocking out with the acclaimed band Three Rabbis and a Cik, exploring the outdoors, and solving the cosmos’ problems with friends and family.

Lauren Steinberg grew up in New City, NY and received her BA and MA in political science from Columbia University. After graduation, she worked as an assistant regional director for the Anti-Defamation League’s New York Regional Office, coordinating intergroup and interfaith affairs, and then as terrorism analyst at the ADL’s national Center on Extremism. Lauren traveled around the country briefing law enforcement and government officials on domestic recruitment and radicalization and was recognized for her expertise on the subject. For the past year, Lauren has directed the Jewish Community Relations Council in Stamford, Connecticut. She is excited to dive into this next chapter of her coalition and community building work, for the opportunity to learn Torah on the job, and just to be a part of the wonderful Yale and Slifka communities! In her spare time, she reads the news and as many books as possible from the library’s non-fiction new releases section and tries to get outside as much as possible.

Database & Communications Manager

Evan Wexler

Evan is excited to join the Slifka family as the Database & Communications Coordinator. His professional experiences include working on the production floor of a manufacturing company, overseeing database and technology usage at a Jewish Non Profit in NYC, and school time internship at the career office for UConn’s School of Business. Evan has a bachelor’s degree in Business and Engineering from UConn – Go Huskies! Along the way, Evan found his passion for strategic technology usage, and supporting organizations in their missions by helping improve all types of processes. Outside of work, he enjoys all parts of the culinary experience, from cooking and trying new recipes to, obviously, eating. Catch up with Evan’s food adventures, or suggest a new recipe for him to try out on his food-stagram, @ISwearItWasGood.

Rabbinic Intern and Think Tank Coordinator

Emmanuel Cantor

Emmanuel is thrilled to be back at Slifka after graduating Yale in 2018, this time as a rabbinic intern. When not connecting with students and coordinating the Slifka Think Tank, Emmanuel is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College, where he is a Wexner Graduate Fellow.

 Before rabbinical school, Emmanuel worked as a community organizer for Jews United for Justice, a grassroots organization advancing social, racial, and economic justice in DC and Maryland. While doing so, he lived with *eleven* housemates in an Avodah Bayit, an intentional, cooperative community committed to exploring the intersections of Jewish identity and justice work. 

 At Yale, Emmanuel studied Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. He also facilitated workshops on consent and bystander intervention as a CCE, organized with Fossil Free Yale, and guided backpacking trips as a FOOT leader. Emmanuel found a home at Slifka, where he served as Hillel Social Justice Chair and Egalitarian Minyan Gabbai.  

 After high school, Emmanuel studied at Yeshivat Maale Gilboa in northern Israel, a big change in scenery from his native New York City. When he is not working or in class, you can find Emmanuel volunteering with the Center for Anti-Violence Education, trying his best in the kitchen, or jogging to early 2000’s top 40.

Arts & Social Justice Coordinator

Noam Shapiro

Noam is excited to return to Slifka as the new Arts & Social Justice Coordinator after graduating from Yale in 2015. When he’s not dreaming up new ways to bring culture and activism to campus, Noam is a freelance theater director, teaching artist, and immigration activist. In 2019, he was thrilled to spend a semester on campus as the guest director of the Dramat’s fall mainstage, Sweeney Todd.

As an undergrad at Yale, Noam was in Hopper College and double majored in History and Theater Studies. He was a Co-Founder of Lux Improvitas, directed a Dramat Ex, and was a Head Recruitment Coordinator at the Admissions Office. Noam was also an active member of Slifka’s Reform Chavura, served as a Blanksteen Curatorial Fellow, and was a recipient of a Slifka Arts Grant in support of his thesis on theatrical performances during the Shoah.

Prior to Yale, Noam was active in New York City’s museum community, serving as a curatorial intern at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, and The Bronx High School of Science’s Holocaust Museum and Studies Center.

Noam is looking forward to building new creative collaborations between Yale College and Graduate & Professional School students. Whether you’re an artist, activist, or audience member, he’d love to hear from you at noam.shapiro@aya.yale.edu.