Who We Are

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 + Wellness Officer
Rabbi Diana Fersko, Chief Jewish Life Officer
Sally Hirschwerk, Executive Assistant
Deborah Kadetsky, Chief Engagement Officer
Courteney Kovacs, Chief Human Resources Officer
Justin Pearlman, Executive Vice President
Beth Mann, Chief Development Officer
Shlomi Naim, Chief of Staff

Rabbi Nadia Gold, Director, Jewish Journey Off-the-Bimah B’nai Mitzvah Program
Mark Luban, Musician in Residence
Anila Sole-Zier, Ulpan Director

Udi Urman, Director

Helen Black, Director of Development Operations
Robby Goodman, Senior Director of Major Gifts
Michael Kalmin, Donor Relations + Events Director
Bari Lovi, Vice President, Philanthropic Giving
Melissa Regan, Senior Director of Institutional Giving
Elyssa Tannenbaum, Manager of Board + Leadership Engagement

Rebecca Sullivan, HR Generalist

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

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

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

Amy Blumenthal, Director of Personal Services
Jessica Gumora, Group Exercise + Fitness Desk Director
Diane Jimenez, Fitness Reception Lead Manager on Duty + Scheduler
Caroline Kohles, Senior Program Director, Health + Wellness
Carolina Stapleton, Senior Director, Aquatics

Dani Kogan, Community Engagement Manager
Ines Malone, Director of Literacy + Math Programs

Hannah Badain, Director of Connections
Hannah Kaplan-Cohen, Director of Special Needs Parenting + Support Programs
Caitlin McInerney, Director
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

Alyssa Blackman, JCC Day Camp + Athletics Director
Talia Feldman, Camps Coordinator
Rachel Kaye, Director of School Age Programs
Yael Kahn Pinto, Vice President
Marc Luban, Musician in Residence
Kelley Malloy, Associate Director, Programs for Infants + Toddlers
Kerin Robins, Community Engagement Manager

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

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

Michael Kalmin, Program Director

Alex Clavijo, Engagement Director
Heny Gabay, Vice President, Marketing
Shaifali Patel, Vice President, Digital Products
Colton Tracy, Engagement Director

Jean Nickolson, VP Building Operations + Facilities

Scott Romanoff, Chair
Marina Lewin, Vice Chair
Jane Pollock, Vice Chair
Yaron Werber, Treasurer
Lisa Kiell, Secretary