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. Uri continues to be an advocate for Hillels across the CUNY system while leading Slifka Center forward. Under Uri’s leadership, Slifka Center received Hillel International’s Campus Partnership Award in 2019 for its work elevating and strengthening the entire Yale community.

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

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.

Springboard Fellow

Aviva Green

Aviva recently graduated from Smith College with a degree in history and Spanish. They were involved in Smith’s student-run Jewish community and are excited to continue facilitating Jewish student engagement at Slifka. Through her studies at Smith, Aviva found a passion for public history and the power of history in activism and community engagement. Outside of school, Aviva pursued work in museum spaces and worked in the education department of the New Haven Museum. While not in the classroom or working in museums, Aviva can be found playing any type of music. While at Smith, Aviva played in the orchestra and wind ensemble as well as other student music groups, playing the clarinet, guitar, and ukulele.

Associate Jewish Chaplain

Rachel Leiken

Rachel Leiken is excited to begin working at Slifka as the Associate Jewish Chaplain. She comes to Slifka from Harvard University, where she has served for the past year as the Multifaith Engagement Fellow at Harvard’s Memorial Church. There, she worked to build connections between Harvard’s numerous faith communities and campus centers and support students while they were away from campus. Prior to that role, Rachel received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. At HDS, she focused on the intersections of religion and justice work; embodied theology; and college and university chaplaincy.

Rachel holds a BA from Brown University in Religion and Ethnic Studies, and has also worked in Brown’s Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life as the Multifaith Coordinator and Chaplain Intern. She is trained as a community organizer through JOIN for Justice and has facilitated JOIN’s online course in community organizing through a Jewish lens. Prior to pursuing her call to college/university chaplaincy, Rachel organized with members of Boston area labor unions to build worker power. She has also worked for a number of Jewish organizations including OneTable and the Inside Out Wisdom and Action Project.

Rachel is originally from Southern California. She loves coffee and word games and lives with her partner, Ana, and their puppy Addie.

Slifka Think Tank Fellow

Elizabeth Breit

Elizabeth Breit is thrilled to be working at Slifka this year! She is currently in her final year of Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City and also serves as the Rabbi of Eitz Chaim, a synagogue in Monroe, NY. She is Yale College class of 2010 with a BA in Religious Studies and she spent the year after graduation as a Fox Fellow in Tel Aviv researching bilingual Hebrew-Arabic state education. She then received a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where she focused on chaplaincy and trained in negotiation and mediation through the Harvard Law School and worked in the mediation legal clinic there and as a mediator in South Boston. When she wasn’t working as a chaplain, Elizabeth led cycling tours across Europe, Central America, and Israel with Backroads, a travel company based in Berkeley, California. Elizabeth now lives in Manhattan with her giant puppy Cooper and many happy plants and takes herself and friends hiking as often as possible (she is a former FOOT leader, after all).

Student Life Operations Associate

Nicholas Rivera

Nick joined the Slifka Team Spring 2022. He is excited to make an impact and is looking forward to his future here at Slifka.

Nicholas graduated from American International College with a degree in Communications and minored in Visual and Digital Arts. Working in Residence Life his second half of college, Nicholas looks to bring that same upbeat energy to both students and Staff at Slifka. With a passion for making sure things are done right and effectively, Nicholas hopes to make any experience run smoothly for everyone.

In his free time, he is an avid gamer and enjoys playing rugby for his local teams.

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.

Development Specialist

Lynn Jackson Quinn

Development Coordinator

Nathalie Garcia Mora

Nathalie excitedly joined the Slifka staff fall of 2021.

Nathalie’s journey collaborating with nonprofits began in 2016, when she moved to New Haven to serve as an AmeriCorps Member (Public Ally) at Hillhouse High School. During her time there Nathalie realized the importance of nonprofits collecting and recording accurate data. She says, “You cannot grow your programs without storytelling—and data drives story telling—it allows you to create representations of the change you’re creating in the world”.

After her AmeriCorps term, Nathalie went on to work with other nonprofits in the New Haven area as database lead, and digital marketing associate. Through these experiences, she has been able to combine storytelling and data. Nathalie studied Women and Gender Studies, and Public Policy at Hunter College (CUNY). She is passionate about social justice and gender equality. She has a fond appreciation for all art forms, and nature. When she is not taking care of her extensive plant collection, Nathalie enjoys visiting art galleries, exploring the outdoors, reading, and baking.

Executive Chef

Chef David S Williams

David joined the slifka staff in the fall of 2021. With 15 yeas experience in the culinary field, Chef David brings a creative and energetic passion for food and customer service to the slifka team.

In his free time David is an outdoor enthufsiast, enjoying kayaking, fishing, camping, mountain biking, downhill skiing, and snowboarding.

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.

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 “I’ll find out.”

Margarita lives in Seymour with her partner and their dog “LEGS”. She sings lead in a Party Rock cover band,  enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons, and cooking.

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.