Rabbi Joanna Samuels is thrilled to be leading the JCC. Prior to joining the MMJCCM, she was the founding executive director of Educational Alliance’s Manny Cantor Center, where she redefined the Jewish Community Center and the Settlement House for a new era. Her work at the Manny Cantor Center was written about in The New York Times, The Daily News, and The Jewish Daily Forward.

Following rabbinic ordination in 2002, Joanna served as the Rabbi of Congregation Habonim in New York City, where her leadership helped to revitalize the synagogue’s community. She also worked as an advocate, strategist, and mentor for women’s advancement and gender equity in the Jewish community at Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community.

Joanna has written for local and national publications and taught at many institutions throughout New York City. Rabbi Samuels graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College and received Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She serves on the advisory board of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger and Plaza Jewish Community Chapel and lives on the Upper West Side with her husband and two children, alumni of the Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School.

Melissa Donovan, Chief Operating Officer, Health + Wellness
Todd Elkins, Chief Health and Wellness Officer
Deborah Kadetsky, Chief Engagement Officer
Courteney Kovacs, Vice President of Human Resources
Jacqueline Marks, Chief Children and Families Officer
Julia Nelson, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer
Elyssa Tannenbaum, Executive Assistant and Board Liaison

Rabbi Yael Rapport, Director
Sarah-Kay Lacks, Senior Director, Shabbat and Holidays
Rabbi Nadia Gold, Director, Jewish Journey Off-the-Bimah B’nai Mitzvah Program
Anila Sole-Zier, Ulpan Director

Udi Urman, Director

Alicia Gordon, Deputy Chief Development Officer
Ashley Bannon, Development Associate
Bari Lovi, Director, Leadership Giving
Nikki Minkoff Nachimow, Director of Operations
Melissa Regan, Senior Director of Institutional Giving

Anna Zennakis, Senior Financial Controller

Courteney Kovacs, Vice President of Human Resources

Naomi Sage, Executive Director
Rabbi Mira Rivera, Rabbi-in-Residence

Udi Urman, Director
Liel Ben David, Program and Art Studios Manager
Raffaela Vergata, Studio Arts Manager

Isaac Zablocki, Senior Director, Film Programs and Israel Film Center
Caroline Calandro, Film Program Producer
Juliette Klitz, Film Production Manager

Caroline Kohles, Senior Program Director, Health + Wellness
Jessica Gumora, Group Exercise + Fitness Desk Director
Amy Blumenthal, Director of Personal Services
Christina Vega, Fitness Reception Lead Manager on Duty
Kimberly Avendano, Fitness Reception Manager on Duty
Cody Correa, Fitness Reception Manager on Duty
Diane Jimenez, Fitness Reception Lead Manager on Duty + Scheduler

Sheryl Parker, Director
Ines Malone, Director of Literacy + Math Programs

Alex Clavijo, Membership Director
Zuri Robert, Assistant Director, Membership

Caitlin McInerney, Director
Hannah Badain, Director of Connections
Hannah Kaplan-Cohen, Director of Special Needs Parenting + Support Programs
Julie Singer, Director of Youth Programming
Brooke Sweeney, Adaptations Coordinator
Verunka Vlkova, Administration and Operations Manager
Michelle Wexler, Director of Adult Programming and Inclusion Services

Yael Kahn Pinto, Director
Rachel Kaye, Director of School Age Programs
Alyssa Blackman, JCC Day Camp + Athletics Director
Jessica Spiegel, Director, Camp Settoga
Naomi Skop Richter, Senior Director, Teen + Young Adult Mental Health Initiative
Aliya Gottehrer Cohen, Assistant Director, BBYO Manhattan
Mary Gipe, Assistant Director, Camp Settoga
Emmy Goodman, Regional Director, BBYO Manhattan
Kelley Malloy, Associate Director, Programs for Infants + Toddlers
Kerin Robins, Community Engagement Manager
Ben Romano, Musician in Residence
Talia Feldman, Camps Coordinator
JessAnn Smith, Tween + Teen Program Coordinator

Susan Lechter, Director
Rabbi Brian Fink, Director of Engage@Wechsler
Whitney Chapman, Director of Programs
Arienne Pelletier, Department Administrator
Lonnie Rubin, Projects and Initiatives Coordinator
Judith Margolis, Social Worker and Memory Project Director

Shari Pick Taishoff, Director, Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School
Erica Held, Director of Admissions, Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School
Alex Reynolds, Associate Director
Adam Metzger, Pedagogista

Rabbi Yael Rapport, Director
Michael Kalmin, Program Director

Scott Romanoff, Chair
Lisa Messinger, Vice Chair
Sara Wechter, Vice Chair
Seth Berkowitz, Treasurer
Marina Lewin, Secretary