Meet the Staff


Executive Staff

Joanna Headshot

Rabbi Joanna Samuels, Chief Executive Officer
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

Melissa Donovan, Chief Operating Officer, The Center for Health and Wellness
Melissa is in her 19th year at the JCC where her role converges her passions for community-building, leading teams, and organizational alignment. She oversees the staff, strategy, and operations of the Center for Health & Wellness, Membership, Fitness, Sports, Aquatics and Afterschool areas of the JCC. Melissa loves working broadly across the organization to translate vision into reality, develop capacity, support key partnerships, ensure the member experience, and create high-performing, values-driven teams. Melissa is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and also the Muehlstein Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership. She was the recipient of the 2017 JCC Award for Staff Excellence. She is a PennPAC probono coach, passionate about social justice advocacy through sports, and an avid Sixers fan. She lives on the UWS with her husband (whom she met at the JCC) and three children.

Todd Elkins

Todd Elkins, Chief Health and Wellness Officer
Todd is responsible for the vision and fulfillment of all of the health, wellness, aquatic, and athletic programs offered each season at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. He enjoys collaborating with members of the community, the JCC's Board of Directors, and leaders in the field of health and wellness. Some of his major accomplishments in his career at the JCC include facilitating the Saturday Morning Partners program, creating the ACES program, and welcoming to the JCC the veteran anglers group Project Healing Waters and Achilles Tri-Athletes team. Todd has also written two children's books, Hopefully You'll Get to See and The Traveling Teepee for Peace. Todd truly believes that JCC is a place of absolute inclusivity and welcomes all that want to make health and wellness a lifelong journey. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and 3 children.

Liz Freirich

Liz Freirich, Chief Development Officer
Liz is delighted and proud to have joined the JCC leadership team as the Chief Development Officer. Liz has 20+ years of non-profit and fundraising experience, most recently serving as the Senior Director of Philanthropy, Northeast at UNICEF USA (UUSA) in New York City. Prior to UUSA, Liz served as the Director of Institutional Advancement at Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan.

Liz discovered her love of fundraising during the early aughts while working at the Anti-Defamation League and participating in the inaugural cohort of UJA's Muehlstein Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership. Since then, Liz has worked in many areas of fundraising including annual fund, campaigns, events, grants, legacy, and major gifts within the Jewish and secular worlds. Liz has loved serving as a mentor and a coach to fundraisers around the world helping them to grow their practice and connect more deeply with their donors.

Liz holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Women's Studies from Trinity College in CT. She enjoys travel (most recently Zambia and South Africa), attending theater, hearing live music, eating delicious food, as well as exploring all things NYC. Liz grew up on the UWS of Manhattan and continues to call Manhattan home alongside her spouse and two children.

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Sivan Gopen, Special Projects Associate
Sivan is excited and proud to join the JCC as a Special Projects Associate. Prior to joining the JCC, she was the Administrative Director of Friends of Ethiopian Jews. Sivan is dedicated to building vibrant and diverse Jewish communities, and she is deeply passionate about writing. Sivan holds an MA in Jewish Professional Leadership from the Hornstein Program, a master's of public policy from Brandeis University, and a BA in psychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Deborah Kadetsky, Chief Engagement Officer
Deborah is thrilled to join the JCC as its first Chief Engagement Officer, following 25 years in executive digital and consumer marketing roles. She began her career building one of the very first affiliate communities for the music e-commerce startup CDNOW. Since then, Deb has held leadership positions in the entertainment and women’s lifestyle space for the Columbia House Company, Viacom’s VH1, Walt Disney Publishing, and Time Inc.

Most recently, she's honed her engagement experience cultivating a diverse audience across the web as the SVP of Marketing & Partnerships for SHE Media, a women-led, mission-focused Penske Media company. She looks forward to applying a collaborative approach and her personal passions to the JCC, managing a centralized team responsible for multi-channel marketing, communications, operations, and analysis, all in support of community development.

Deb holds a B.S. in Marketing Management from Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, enjoys the NYC live music scene, strolling Union Square greenmarket, and volunteers for City Harvest and as an Election worker in her free time.

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Jacqueline Marks, Chief Children and Family Officer
Jacqueline is delighted to rejoin the JCC community as its inaugural Chief Children + Family Officer. 

For ten years, Jacqueline was central to the growth and development of children and family programming at the MMJCCM, where she was a classroom teacher at the Saul and Carole Zabar Nursery School and then served as the Director of the Wasserman Center for Family Life.

Most recently, Jacqueline was the Senior Director of Early Childhood at the Manny Cantor Center, where she developed New York City's first progressive integrated early childhood center, celebrating the linguistic, cultural, racial, and socioeconomic diversity of the Lower East Side. The school has begun to disrupt systemic inequities and ensure all children have equal access to high-quality progressive education and serves as a model for early childhood education.  

Jacqueline holds an MS from Bank Street College in Early Childhood General and Special Education, a BA in Art History from Columbia University, and a BA in modern Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Jacqueline lives downtown with her husband and three children, all of whom are avid lovers of Camp Settoga.

Elyssa Plotkin

Elyssa Tannenbaum, Executive Assistant and Board Liaison 
Elyssa has been the Executive Assistant at the JCC since 2014, first to Rabbi Joy Levitt, and now to Rabbi Joanna Samuels. She is proud to work at such an incredible organization that serves the entire community in so many diverse ways. Prior to coming to the JCC, Elyssa was the Executive Assistant at the National Yiddish Theater-Folksbiene. She holds a BA in Clarinet Performance from Dickinson College and an MA in Performing Arts Administration from NYU. She lives on the UWS with her husband and two young children. She can be found dropping her son off at the JCC Nursery School and popping in on her daughter in Crawler's Club and Little Maestros.

Megan

Megan Whitman, Executive Vice President
Megan is the inaugural Executive Vice President of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. In this role, she works closely with the CEO and senior leadership to drive organizational strategy and create alignment organization-wide. Megan began her tenure in 2008 in the program department and initiated the position of Director of the Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas at the JCC. In 2020, Megan became the Chief Program Officer, seeing the JCC through the challenges of the pandemic, enabling the community to engage in robust virtual programming before reopening safely, for meaningful in-person engagement. Prior to joining the JCC, Megan held positions for the Louise Blouin Foundation in New York and Urban Gateways/The Chicago Community Trust in Chicago. She graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and holds a Masters Degree from Columbia University’s School of Arts and Science. A native of Los Angeles, she now calls the Upper West Side home with her husband Tony, and son, Ry.

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Adult Programs

Jen Cinclair

Jen Cinclair, Program Manager, Wechsler Center for Modern Aging
Jen was the director of culinary and studio arts at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan from 2016 to 2020 and rejoined the JCC staff as the program manager for the Wechsler Center for Modern Aging in 2022. As a collector of hobbies, Jen enjoys planning recreational programs that inspire conversation and spark artistic expression. Jen holds a degree in sociology from Hood College and a diploma in pastry arts from the International Culinary Center. She believes that sociology and food both help us learn more about an individual’s ideals and that taste buds are the same as people—fickle, influenced by others, and diverse.

Rabbi Brian Fink

Rabbi Brian Fink, Director of the UJA-Federation of New York's Engage Jewish Service Corps
After growing up in Cleveland, Brian attended college at Tulane University in New Orleans, then lived in New York as a participant in the Avodah: Jewish Service Corps, working at the Urban Justice Center in Manhattan. While attending the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) in Philadelphia, Brian had many internships in congregational, campus, chaplaincy, and social justice settings. After graduating from RRC in 2011, he served as the Rabbinic Fellow at Cornell University Hillel. Brian and his wife, Aileen, live in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

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Michael Kalmin, Program Coordinator, The Selma and Lawrence Ruben Center for 20s + 30s
Prior to joining the JCC, Michael worked in film production, assisting directors of various critically acclaimed TV shows, feature films, commercials, and music videos. Michael went on to work as a brand ambassador for the Jewish dating app, JSwipe, and for Birthright Israel as a Community Manager. He has enjoyed volunteering at Bellevue Hospital and the NYU Langone Hospital, and more recently for Net Impact NYC Service Corps as a content strategist and management consultant. Michael grew up in Riverdale and now lives in Kips Bay. He relishes opportunities to display his creativity to solve problems and help people.

Sarah-Kay Lacks

Sarah-Kay Lacks, Senior Director, Shabbat and Holidays
Sarah-Kay is a raised (though not born) New Yorker who has lived in three out of five boroughs and worked in all five of them. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in Urban Studies and Religion, she went on to work for city government and received an MPA from the Wagner School at NYU in nonprofit management. Sarah-Kay's favorite kind of Jewish programs are surprising, magical, and free. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, their three kids, and their dog and cat.

Susan Lechter

Susan Lechter, Director, The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging
Susan has been at the JCC since 2005 and has overseen the older adult department ever since. She has focused on the development and creation of programming, community building and volunteer engagement with a rapidly growing older adult population. Susan grew up in Montreal, Canada and received her B.A., M.A. and EdM degrees at Harvard and Columbia. Before moving to New York, she spent several years in Paris where she worked as a consultant at UNESCO; as education director for Kehillat Gesher, the French Anglophone Jewish Community, and then as Director for the OSE Center for Holocaust Survivors. Susan lives in Brooklyn Heights with her husband, daughter and 2 adorable cats.

Sherri Learner

Sherri Lerner, Projects and Initiatives Coordinator, The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging
Sherri joined the staff of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in April 2015, and now serves as the Projects and Initiatives Coordinator for The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging, a position she has held since July 2021. She is responsible for managing several volunteer initiatives, including Caring Calls and the pairing of volunteers with older adults seeking regular phone contact. Sherri also works on intergenerational and other programs. In her previous role as the JCC's editorial director, she was responsible for editing all marketing materials, including the seasonal program guides, and for sharing the stories of the JCC via the website, program guide, and social media.

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Ines Malone, Director of Literacy + Math Programs
Ines was born and raised on the Upper West Side. She graduated from Bronx Science and Bucknell University before joining Teach for America in 2019. While pursuing a Masters in Childhood Education Ines taught Kindergarten at Pharos Academy in the Bronx, during which time she discovered her passion for play-based learning. Her success in the classroom led to the creation of a Literacy Specialist role, wherein Ines coached teachers and empowered students reading significantly below grade level with the academic and social-emotional skills to succeed. Ines works to create, through her commitment to educational equity and lifelong learning, a better world for children. She is proud to partner with students, schools, shelter-based organizations, and volunteer tutors as the Director of the Koopersmith Family Literacy + Math Programs. When she isn't working, Ines enjoys visiting her family in Spain, practicing Pilates, and sitting in the sunshine. Ines lives on the Upper West Side with her partner, his cat, and their ever-growing music collection.

Ruth Messinger

Ruth W. Messinger, Social Justice Activist in Residence
Having served as president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) from 1998 to July 2016, Ruth Messinger is currently the organization’s inaugural Global Ambassador. In this role, she is continuing her crucial work of engaging rabbis and interfaith leaders to speak out on behalf of oppressed and persecuted communities worldwide.

Ruth's remarkable 18-year presidency at AJWS began after a 20-year career in public service in New York City as a City Council member and Manhattan Borough President. Under Ruth’s leadership, AJWS grew exponentially—granting more than $270 million to promote human rights in the developing world and launching campaigns to end the Darfur genocide, reform international food aid, stop violence against women and LGBT people, end land grabs, and respond to natural disasters around the globe.

A tireless advocate and social change visionary, Ruth mobilizes rabbis and faith-based communities throughout the U.S. to promote human rights. She previously sat on the State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group and is currently a member of the World Bank’s Moral Imperative Working Group on Extreme Poverty.

Currently Ruth also is doing international human rights work for AIDS Free World and serving as the inaugural Social Justice Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Ruth has been honored for her leadership with awards from many national Jewish organizations and honorary degrees from five major American rabbinical seminaries. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding Leadership Award. Ruth was named one of the 10 most inspiring women religious leaders of 2012 by The Huffington Post; the sixth most influential Jew in the world by The Jerusalem Post; and was listed annually on The Forward’s “Forward 50” for nearly a decade.

Ruth is an active member of her congregation, the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, and serves on the boards of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Hazon, Aegis Trust, and Surprise Lake Camp. She holds a B.A. from Radcliffe College and an M.S.W. from the University of Oklahoma. She is married to Andrew Lachman and has three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Sheryl Parker, Director, The Joseph Stern Center for Social Responsibility
Sheryl has dedicated her career to helping New Yorkers give back to their communities. After receiving a BA in Biology from Middlebury College and a MPH in Epidemiology from UNC-Chapel Hill, Sheryl relocated to New York City where she found a professional home at New York Cares. Over the next 7 years, she worked her way up from a temporary position on their events team to serve as the organization’s Senior Director of Programs – leading a multiyear program expansion plan and overseeing the organization’s response to 9/11 which mobilized 10,000 volunteers. More recently, Sheryl served as the Director of Strategic Volunteer Engagement at UJA Federation of New York where she launched two volunteer initiatives including the Engage Jewish Service Corps. Sheryl is an enthusiastic traveler and hiker who aspires to visit all 7 continents (to date she has visited 5). She lives in South Orange, NJ with her two children and Italian Water Dog.

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Arienne Pelletier, Department Administrator, The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging
Since joining the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in 2012, Arienne has worn many hats, but recently transitioned into her current position as 60+ Department Manager. She is passionate about giving back to the community and is excited to enroll and educate volunteers about our opportunities. Prior to working at the JCC, she worked in theater management in New York City and South Florida. Outside of the JCC, she has been involved with a nonprofit arts organization that provided arts education to in-need children throughout New York City. Arienne received a bachelor of arts in theatre management from Barry University in Miami.

Sheira Schiff

Sheira Schiff, Assistant to the Executive Vice President
Sheira has worn several hats at the MMJCCM including a party hat as the school age birthday party and program coordinator. She previously worked at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and DR Theatrical Management, and has a background in technical theater and stage management. Born and raised on Long Island, Sheira graduated from Smith College and now lives in Riverdale where she is thrilled to have curbside compost collection.

Udi Urman

Udi Urman, Director of the Lambert Center for Arts and Ideas and The Sonabend Center for Israel 
Prior to joining the JCC, Udi served as the Executive Director of Friends of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Prior to his work with Bezalel, Udi was the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Israeli Consulate in New England and in New York. Udi has extensive experience in the arts and cultural sphere, has taught at Brandeis University and is the founder of NY Public Art, a platform for tours and public art projects in New York.

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Arts + Film Programs

Udi Urman

Udi Urman, Director of the Lambert Center for Arts and Ideas and The Sonabend Center for Israel 
Prior to the JCC, Udi served as the Executive Director of Friends of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Prior to his work with Bezalel, Udi was the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Israeli Consulate in New England and in New York. Udi has extensive experience in the arts and cultural sphere, has taught at Brandeis University and is the founder of NY Public Art, a platform for tours and public art projects in New York.

Yitzi

Isaac Zablocki, Senior Director, Film Programs and Israel Film Center
Born in New York, Isaac grew up in Israel and served in the IDF's leading film unit as an educational film producer. He attended film school at Columbia University and went on to work at Miramax Films. At the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, he runs weekly screenings, and programs multiple film festivals annually, including the acclaimed Other Israel Film Festival and ReelAbilites Film Festival: New York. Isaac has developed the largest online database of Israeli films as well as Israel Film Center Stream, the leading site for streaming Israeli films. Isaac lectures around the world at major institutions and writes for a variety of publications. 

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Children + Families

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Yael Kahn Pinto, M.S.Ed. Director, The Bert and Sandra Wasserman Center for Family Life and Director of Programs for Infants and Young Children
Yael earned her M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood General and Special Education from Bank Street College of Education. She began her teaching career at the JCC where she became passionate about and developed expertise in the Reggio Emilia approach and constructivist education. During her time teaching, she also served on the school's leadership team and as the Director of the Day Camp @ the JCC. She then spent several years working as an educational consultant at The Jewish Education Project, focusing on leadership development and teacher training. She is thrilled to be back at the JCC and is passionate about working with children and families and cultivating positive experiences from early childhood through the teenage years.

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Rachel Alter, Director of School Age Programs
Ten years after working her first job teaching swimming lessons at the JCC in Toronto, Rachel Alter is excited to bring her career full circle as the Director of School Age Programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC. As a proud upper west sider, a former teacher, and a recent graduate from her master's program at Teachers College, Columbia, she looks forward to bringing her passion for education and the community to her position. Rachel aims to create innovative school-age programs, welcome a skilled team of staff back to the thriving Clubhouse program, and revitalize the Havurah program to bring Jewish life to our vibrant community of children and families. She is eager to work with the Department of Family Life to support and maximize the experiences that our families have with the wonderful programs and opportunities offered at the JCC.

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Rabbi Nadia Gold, Director, Jewish Journey Off-the-Bimah B'Nai Mitzvah Program
Rabbi Nadia Gold grew up in New York City and her love of Jewish education began early on. Nadia was active in her home synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Sholom for many years as a teen. After graduating from Wellesley college with degrees in Jewish Studies and Art History, Nadia attended Hebrew Union College where she received her Rabbinic degree. After serving as the assistant Rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El in NYC for seven years, she went back to HUC to receive her degree in Jewish Education. Nadia has held significant positions of educational leadership in various synagogues in and around the city, including West End Synagogue, Town and Village Synagogue and most recently, she served as the Religious School Director at Scarsdale Synagogue.

Emmy Goodman, Regional Director, BBYO Manhattan
Through Emmy's positive experiences as a teen, her passion for working professionally for BBYO has grown. In 2018, Emmy began working for BBYO Manhattan Region as Associate Regional Director. In 2020, Emmy became the Regional Director of Liberty Region in Philadelphia with a community of over 800+ engaged teens. In the summer of 2021, Emmy rejoined BBYO Manhattan Region as Regional Director and lead staff member. Emmy works to establish a culture where Manhattan’s 370+ teens are motivated to increase membership, grow programmatically, and instill best leadership development practices. Emmy earned her Bachelor's degree in Organizational & Community Leadership and a Master's in Entrepreneurship & Design from the University of Delaware. While receiving her Masters, she served as Hillel’s Leadership Development Intern at UD and established a ten-week leadership workshop series called impACT which provided innovative programming to inspire a stronger sense of the Jewish community.

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Adam Metzger, Director, Camp Settoga
Adam began working at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan over a decade ago as a floating teacher and a coach for afterschool sports. He was also a coach at the Day Camp @ Pearl River for two summers (2010 and 2011). He has spent most summers as a camper, counselor, or specialist at various camps around the country and feels very much at home in the camp environment. He is currently a head teacher in the nursery school and on the Leadership Team. He received his M.S.T. in early childhood general and special education from The Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. Adam believes that children are capable and creators of their own knowledge, and that community is at the heart of what we do both as early childhood educators and members of a Day Camp Staff.

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Kerin Robins, Community Engagement Manager
Kerin has been part of the JCC community for over 10 years. From teaching in our pre-nursery 2s Together program to spending her summers at Camp Settoga, Kerin has spent the past decade watching JCC children and families grow from year to year. Before coming to the JCC, Kerin spent five summers as a lead counselor at NYU’s Child Study Center Summer Program for Kids, a therapeutic program for children with behavioral and learning challenges. With a background in psychology and special education, Kerin believes strongly in meeting every child at their level and encouraging growth through a positive lens. She has always been her best self at camp and works everyday to create that same caring, supportive, encouraging environment for campers, staff members, and camp families. At camp, you can often find Kerin joking and laughing with campers, checking out the frog pond, or singing any and all types of songs.

 

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Naomi Skop Richter, Senior Director, Teen + Young Adult Mental Health Initiative
Naomi Skop Richter most recently served as Chief Program Officer at the National Council of Jewish Women, New York where she oversaw all of NCJW NY's direct service programs out of the community center, Council House, on the Upper West Side. Previously, Naomi was a Program Manager at the Jewish Funders Network working on the Jewish Teen Funders Network program. Earlier in her career Naomi worked as a clinician at a therapeutic pre-school and a psychotherapist at an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. Naomi is an LCSW. She holds an MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and a B.A. in Psychology from Brandeis University. She lives in Washington Heights with her husband and two sons.

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Coaches

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Carolina Stapleton, Senior Director, Aquatics
Carolina was born and raised in Brazil. She came to New York as an international correspondent and end up staying for good. Looking to add an extra job and some fun into her reporting career, Carolina became a lifeguard and certified swim instructor in 2009. She joined the JCC in 2012 as a swimming instructor and shortly after became part of the Aquatics department. Carolina worked as an Aquatic Director for the JCC Day Camp in 2014 and Day Camp in Pearl River in 2015 (now Camp Settoga).  Today, Carolina is still teaching kids to swim, to be safe and love the water. She has two young kids and lives in Pearl River, NY.

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Development

 

Bari Lovi

Bari Lovi, Director, Leadership Giving
Bari’s passion for helping those in need and advocating for a better world served as the inspiration to dedicate her career to raising critical funds for organizations in the Jewish communal world and healthcare space. These organizations served to shape our Jewish future, provided services to vulnerable populations by fighting poverty, caring for the elderly, responding to global crises, created programs for the well-being needs of the IDF soldiers, and advanced innovative research as well as improved the quality of life for individuals and their families impacted by cancer and paralysis. Prior to joining the JCC team, Bari worked with organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Bari earned a BS from Penn State University and an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a resident of the Upper West Side where you will often find her exploring Central Park, enjoying a book in Sheep’s Meadow, cheering on the Knicks, and singing along at a Billy Joel show.

Nikki Ncole Minkoff

Nicole Minkoff Nachimow, Director of Operations
Nikki oversees operations for the Development department working closely with the Chief Financial Officer and the Finance team. A long term veteran of the JCC, Nikki previously worked in several departments including Membership and Registration, Family Life, and Finance. Originally from North Woodmere, New York, Nikki spent several summers working at the early childhood center at the Marion and Aaron Gural JCC. A graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park, Nikki resides in Hoboken with her husband, sons, and her miniature schnauzer Pliny.

Melissa Regan

Melissa Regan, Senior Director of Institutional Giving
Melissa has spent her career helping social and human service agencies achieve their fundraising goals, build organizational capacity, and provide critical services to their communities through effective grant writing, prospect research, program development and strategic planning.  Prior to the JCC, Melissa worked for the Jewish Board of Children and Family Services, the NY Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Seattle Children's Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She holds a B.A. in English from Syracuse University and an M.A. in Adolescent Education from Hunter College.


Fitness + Wellness

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Caroline Kohles, Senior Director, The Center for Health and Wellness
A health and wellness professional for over 25 years, Caroline is co-founder of Nia New York™. Nia is a holistic lifestyle and fitness practice. As a somatic educator and Nia Trainer, she co-facilitates intensive trainings at the white, green, blue, brown and black belt level. She holds certifications in yoga, indoor cycling, personal training, life coaching, and 5 Rhythms—a dynamic movement meditation practice. A former professional dancer with a passion for anatomy and the brain, Caroline is drawn to using movement to help special populations. In her years working at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, Caroline has been instrumental in leading a progressive slate of fitness programming. She created and designed our 100+ group fitness class schedule and health and wellness programs for every population, from tweens/teens to prenatal/postnatal moms and seniors. Her signature work includes developing a range of cancer care programs in partnership first with Mount Sinai Hospital and now Breastlink NYC. She also designed the nationally and internationally recognized Edmond J. Safra Parkinson's program, now in its twelfth year, in partnership first with The Fresco Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center and now with Northwell Health. In addition, Caroline developed the JCC's popular "Doctor Is In" program, in conjunction with NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, as well as many other nutrition and brain health programs. Caroline has been recognized as a teacher, programmer, a wellness mentor for staff, and a constant advocate for JCC members and the Upper West Side community. She was honored with the Award for Staff Excellence for her leadership, dedication, passion, and contribution to the JCC's Center for Health and Wellness.

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Jewish Life

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Rabbi Yael Rapport, Director of The Gottesman Center for Jewish Living
and The Selma and Lawrence Ruben Center for 20s + 30s

Rabbi Yael Rapport was ordained by the Reform Movement's HUC-JIR in 2015. She served as the Associate Rabbi of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue of New York City, from 2016-2022. Prior to her work at CBST, she served as a Chaplain Resident in the Mount Sinai Health System at Mount Sinai Beth Israel focusing on inpatient and outpatient oncology and the Gender Affirmation Surgical Unit. Her passions include visual art, new food traditions, and she is certified as a yoga teacher.

Sarah-Kay Lacks

Sarah-Kay Lacks, Senior Director, Shabbat and Holidays
Sarah-Kay is a raised (though not born) New Yorker who has lived in three out of five boroughs and worked in all five of them. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in Urban Studies and Religion, she went on to work for city government and received an MPA from the Wagner School at NYU in nonprofit management. Sarah-Kay's favorite kind of Jewish programs are surprising, magical, and free. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, their three kids, and their dog and cat.

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Marketing

Natalie Batshaw

Natalie Batshaw Batalion, Senior Director of Program Marketing
Natalie grew up in Montreal and has a Bachelors degree in business from McGill University. She also has an MBA from Fordham graduate school of business where she focused on Marketing and finance. Natalie has worked at the JCC since 2011 and has always focused on the Family Life area. She has loved serving as the marketer for Infants + Young Children and has found it even more rewarding since the birth of her three kids. Natalie lives on the UWS with her husband and two daughters and son. You can often find Natalie and her children running the halls of the JCC and enjoying all the wonderful kids' programs the JCC has to offer.

Jessica Epstein

Jessica Epstein, Senior Director of Marketing Operations
Jessica coordinates the pipeline and process from start to finish of all designed materials created by the JCC marketing department, along with marketing the JCC’s film programs and festivals. She was born in France and lived, studied, and worked in 12 countries across Europe, Latin America, and Asia before moving to New York, her dad’s hometown. She has previously worked as an executive assistant, copy writer/editor/proofreader, and project manager at small nonprofits and publishing houses overseas. She speaks fluent Spanish, passable Portuguese, and bits and pieces of five other languages. Jessica came to New York in 2012, primarily out of a desire to reconnect with her roots—including her extended family, as well as the American Jewish community—and she found a big part of that connection when she began working at the JCC in 2013. Now she calls New York home, and in her spare time, she loves attending the theater, visiting museums, and walking around the city. 

Peter Hines

Peter Hines, Senior Director of Creative Services
Peter has helmed the design department at the JCC since 2004. Born in Baltimore, he grew up in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He has lived in Baltimore, Washington, DC and London. Peter has attended (and occasionally collected degrees from) The George Washington University, MICA, and SVA, among others. He is married, has two boys (and two cats) and lives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Noelle Pileggi

Noelle Pileggi, Director of Program Marketing
Noelle Pileggi grew up a short Metro North train ride away in Mamaroneck, NY. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2003 with a B.A. in Economics. Noelle has spent a majority of her career in the media world, having worked several years in brand marketing for ESPN/The Walt Disney Company. She also worked in business development as an advertising manager during her time at USA TODAY. Noelle currently resides across the park on the Upper East Side with her husband and two boys. Her favorite place in the entire city is the Great Lawn in Central Park.

Jordana Roat

Jordana Roat, Director of Program Marketing
Jordana is the marketer for The Center for Social Responsibility, JCC Harlem, The Center for 20s + 30s, and The Center for Arts + Ideas, and is one of the prime movers behind the JCC's social media. Before coming to the JCC, she worked in magazine publishing and creative production. She graduated from Barnard College with a double major in English and Jewish Studies and a minor in Psychology. Jordana is a proud Philadelphia native and currently lives on the Upper West Side.
 

Amanda Schechter

Amanda Schechter, Director of Program Marketing
Amanda graduated from Rutgers University in 2016 with a Bachelors in Psychology. She began her career at the JCC fresh out of college as a marketing assistant, and has since been promoted. Amanda currently oversees the marketing for the Center for Special Needs, the Center for Jewish Living, and Makom, as well as assists with membership marketing and the Davidson Fishberg Center for Health + Wellness. Amanda is a die-hard Yankee fan who currently lives in Hoboken.

Shira Kaiserman

Shira Kaiserman Verteramo, Managing Director of Program Marketing
Prior to the JCC, Shira worked at Grey Advertising in account management for Procter & Gamble brands. After an inspiring Birthright Israel trip in 2010, she left the corporate world to pursue a career in the Jewish nonprofit world. Shira is in charge of marketing membership for the JCC and The Center for Health + Wellness, as well as social media. Shira is a graduate of Brandeis University and was a World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers’ Global Fellow. During her fellowship, she developed the first-ever international Taglit-Birthright Israel trip for young professionals from New York, Argentina, and Israel, to bring together Jews from different backgrounds. She was also a recipient of a Birthright Israel NEXT/Natan Grant for Social Entrepreneurs, which allowed her to create a Jewish sports league for young professionals that has run at the JCC since 2011.

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Special Needs

Caitlin McInerney

Caitlin McInerney, Director of The Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs
Caitlin is a native New Yorker who joined the Center for Special Needs in 2014. Her focus has primarily been supporting the Adaptations and 40+ communities, but she has also had the pleasure of working with individuals of all ages, and their families, during her time at the JCC. In addition to overseeing and designing program models reflective of our community's current needs, she has been dedicated to finding ways in which the JCC can assist families plan for the future. Caitlin is an advocate for person-centered approaches, universal design and providing individuals with the supports they need to make informed decisions about their lives. Her goal is to guide the Center to be a place where individuals can successfully achieve their personal goals as they move through the different phases of their life, build lasting relationships with peers, and are valued members of a broader community. Prior to the JCC, Caitlin worked with children with a variety of abilities in inclusive school settings and helped launch a nonprofit organization that supports access to arts education for New York City youth. She earned her master's degree at New York University's Silver School of Social Work.

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Hannah Badain, Director of Connections
Hannah has worked with the Connections program since its inception in 2011. In her role, she has developed a flourishing young adult social community for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hannah has increased the programming to include a variety of trips, overnight retreats, art groups, and cooking classes. Prior to joining the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, Hannah worked with individuals at residential treatment facilities, camps, and afterschool programs. She graduated from Scripps College with a BA in psychology in 2011 and is trained in traumatic crisis intervention.

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Hannah Cohen, Director of Special Needs Parenting + Support Programs + The Shabbat Shop
Hannah first came to the JCC as a teacher for toddler classes. In this position, she was able to see the need for support for parents whose children were being diagnosed with developmental delays, leading to the start of support programs at the JCC. Hannah has developed and now facilitates the support groups within the Center for Special Needs for parents of children, teens, and adults, as well as a unique group tailored specifically for fathers. She established the volunteer-run Parent2Parent Resource Center, which gives parents an opportunity to speak with other parents of children with special needs for guidance and support. Hannah has brought experts from every field and modality within the special needs community to present to both our staff and and the community of families with whom we work. The Shabbat Shop, a pop-up shop in the JCC lobby which sells products for Shabbat and holidays and is a training ground for learning job skills for our Adaptations participants, is her most recent project.

Julie Singer

Julie Singer, M.Ed., Teen Coordinator
Julie was raised in Bergen County, New Jersey and “grew up” at the Tenafly JCC, attending pre-school, day camp, and more at the facility, which is where she learned that incredible organizations such as the JCC exist that support people of all ages and abilities. She earned her bachelor's and master’s degree in special education from West Chester University, and is a New York State certified middle school and special education teacher. Prior to coming to the JCC, Julie worked primarily with adolescents with autism, teaching imperative community and life skills as well as social and self-care awareness. She also has experience working with children, teens, and adults of all abilities in recreational and educational settings, including time as a camp counselor and academics tutor. Julie's personal family experience with disability drives her philosophy of supporting everyone in achieving confident, independent, and meaningful lives in their communities.

Verunka Fierro

Verunka Vlkova, Center for Special Needs Administrator
Verunka joined the Center for Special Needs team in September 2021. Prior to that, she was involved in The Shoebox Project, collecting and delivering gifts to women living in shelters throughout NYC. During her time there, she reached over 7,000 women and developed an outreach program that brought in a variety of exciting and supportive workshops such as meditation, cooking and skincare. She understands the importance of community centers such as the JCC and The Center for Special Needs as she is a strong advocate for her sister with disabilities and knows the difference a quality program can make in a person's life. Verunka lives in Queens with her husband and two cats.

Michelle Wexler

Michelle Wexler, LMSW, Director of Adaptations
Michelle Wexler joined the Center for Special Needs in 2017 after a year-long social work internship with Adaptations. Michelle graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in American studies and in Social Justice, Social Change. She graduated with her MSW from Columbia School of Social Work with a focus on advanced general practice and programming in 2017. Prior to coming to the JCC, Michelle worked with children, teens, and adults of all abilities in recreational and educational settings. Michelle has previously served as the Teen Director in the Center for Special Needs, Tween Director in the Center for Family Life, and CIT Director at Camp Settoga.

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