We are a team of hardworking, innovative people dedicated to social change who believe in the power of service. Meet our staff below and say hello! (Or join us – check out our job listings here.)
Meet Our Staff
Staff
Sarah Allyn
Executive Director, Repair the World Detroit
Juliana Bearse
Operations Associate, Repair the World NYC
Laura Belinfante
Director of Digital Strategy
Zack Block
Senior Director of Communities and Executive Director, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Lily Brent
Director, Repair the World Atlanta
Jonathan Cohen
Program Manager, Repair the World Miami
Kari Collins
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World: Philadelphia
Alix Cramer
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Andrew Davidov
Program Manager, Repair the World Brooklyn
Rabbi Jessy Dressin
Director, Repair the World Baltimore
Miriam Cuevas Enciso
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World Detroit
Hannah Forman
Teen Program Associate, Repair the World Detroit
Liza Freed
Program Manager, Repair the World Harlem
Diana Goldsmith
Program Manager, Repair the World Baltimore
Cindy Greenberg
President & CEO
Dani Horn
Program Director, Repair the World Philadelphia
Eva Jacobs
Development Associate
Annalisa Japal
Accountant
Adina Mermelstein Konikoff
Senior Director of National Partnerships and Field Building
Rachel Libros
Program Director Family and Teen Programming, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Julie Mallis
Program Director, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Janu Mendel
Executive Director, Repair the World Miami
Neeraj Nagpal
Controller
Shelly Nelson-Shore
Development Manager
Kate Belza O'Bannon
Director of Strategy
Stathis Pauls
Detroit Farm Crew Associate
Samantha Pride
Director of Operations
Rachel Figurasmith
Executive Director, Repair the World NYC
Harriet Rivkin
Operations Assistant
Melissa Schwarz
Program Coordinator, Repair the World Chicago
Sam Sittenfield
Program Manager
Aaron Steinberg-Madow
Data Strategist
Lauren Tassone
Associate to the Office of the President
Kate Thomas
Family & Education Program Manager, Repair the World NYC
Shoshana Weiner
Program Manager
Sarah Allyn
Executive Director, Repair the World Detroit
Sarah grew up in Metro Detroit, across the street from the elephants at the Detroit Zoo. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she moved to Chicago to join Teach For America as an early childhood educator. Family and the emerging food scene in the city brought her back home where she spent four years as the Director of Education at Temple Shir Shalom. Sarah is thrilled to be working with the many passionate people and organizations in Detroit. When she's not working, Sarah can be found jogging through her Woodbridge neighborhood or ordering the left side of the menu at the Yemen Cafe.
Juliana Bearse
Operations Associate, Repair the World NYC
Originally from Connecticut, Juliana is a director, actor and producer with a passion for building and supporting community. Her search for every-day work of community-led activism got her excited about Repair the World. She was then better acquainted with the Crown Heights Workshop last year while producing and directing the world premiere of 123… a play about abandonment and ballroom dancing by Lila Rose Kaplan. She holds a B.F.A from University of Connecticut. Juli also loves swimming, traveling and crafting charcuterie boards with close friends.[email protected]
Laura Belinfante
Director of Digital Strategy
Originally from California, Laura is currently the Director of Digital Strategy at Repair the World, focusing on ways to grow and scale an audience of changemakers online. She is a passionate advocate for social justice, technology, and the forgotten histories of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. Prior to joining Repair the World, Laura was a Product Manager on the research and development team at a technology startup. She also worked at the National Ramah Commission where she launched digital initiatives for the organization and their alumni community. Laura is a KIVUNIM alumna, a member of Schusterman's ROI Community, and a graduate of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice's Grace Paley Organizing Fellowship. She has been featured for her work on eJewishPhilanthropy, Times of Israel, and JTA. Laura holds a B.A. from University of California, Santa Barbara, in Anthropology, Global Peace and Security, with a focus on Technology and Entrepreneurship. She currently lives in Tel Aviv with her husband and is excited to explore and learn more about the city, while fighting for justice for the most marginalized in Israel's society.[email protected]
Zack Block
Senior Director of Communities and Executive Director, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Zack is a born-and-bred Pittsburgher, who grew up watching the Pittsburgh Pirates of the 1990s, and bleeds black and gold. He is ecstatic that the team is a contender again.
Zack spent many years working for large public accounting firms assisting Fortune 500 companies reduce their state tax exposure. During that time, he dedicated much of his free time to volunteering for countless non-profit organizations, including Hillel Jewish University Center (“JUC”) and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh (“Federation”). It was during this “free time” that he found out how meaningful his impact could be for the organizations where he served.
Zack wanted to focus on that service and is thrilled to now be pursuing his passions for volunteerism, community activism and philanthropy in his day job by engaging and inspiring young people to join him in these important efforts.
As a long-time board member of the Hillel JUC in Pittsburgh, Zack was instrumental in building and sustaining J’Burgh, Pittsburgh’s social and professional network for Jewish graduate students and young professionals. Zack also served as Young Adult Campaign Chair at the Federation, which raised over $450,000 in young adult donations for its annual campaign.
Zack received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 2000, and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2005.
When he’s not watching the Pirate’s win, Zack enjoys drinking Zeke’s Repair the World Reserve coffee and taking walks on Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill with his wife and three kids.[email protected]
Lily Brent
Director, Repair the World Atlanta
Lily Brent is a writer and social worker whose curiosity and commitment to service catalyzed a career in international development, spanning six countries over the last eight years. But her search for the nuanced, every day work of community-led social justice has brought her to Repair the World. As the founding director for Repair the World Atlanta, she is thrilled to join other young Jews in critical self-reflection, study, volunteering with local partners, and strengthening alliances among diverse communities. Lily’s professional life has focused on creating the conditions for youth to reach their full potential in the U.S. and abroad. She has provided psychosocial support to adolescents in such diverse settings as a New York City public school and outpatient psychiatric clinic, a D.C. mentoring program for kids in foster care, and the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. She has worked on adolescent sexual/reproductive health & rights in Niger and Bangladesh, and ensuring that women and youth can access the benefits of development projects in Benin, Mongolia and Nepal. Lily also spent three years working to reform criminal justice policy and practice in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Virginia. In her rare spare time, Lily can be found reading and writing fiction, failing at arts and crafts projects, cooking the same chickpea recipe over and over, or playing cards.[email protected]
Jonathan Cohen
Program Manager, Repair the World Miami
A South Florida native and competitive swimmer for nine years, Jonathan is a Florida State University graduate. While at FSU, where he studied Biology, Jonathan was the lesson plan coordinator for FSU Life Enrichment and Discovery, an organization that teaches science to underserved youth. He fused his passions for science and service as a Repair the World NYC Fellow where he partnered with a Brooklyn nonprofit, Digital Girl Inc, and taught computer coding and other science topics in Central Brooklyn public schools. After completion of the program, he returned to Miami to take on the role of the Program Associate for the Greater Miami Jewish Federations Jewish Volunteer Center (JVC). During his time at the JVC Jonathan planned and executed large days of service with over 1,000 volunteers and organized a young professional volunteer movement.[email protected]
Kari Collins
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World: Philadelphia
Kari has been Repair Philadelphia's Workshop Coordinator since 2014. He's a graduate of Iliff School of Theology and Hampshire College. She's passionate about how faith can forge community outside of worship, so Repair the World is a perfect fit. In the other half of his work-time, she's the Building Administrator for the interfaith Calvary Center for Community and Culture, also in West Philadelphia. Outside of work, he can mostly be found on her back deck, trying to stop his cat from climbing trees.[email protected]
Alix Cramer
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Alix was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada and it was there that she received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba. After college, Alix moved to Tel Aviv where she worked in Marketing for Israeli start-ups in the high tech industry. Alix loved being immersed in Jewish culture every day, but really missed the feeling of being an involved member of a close-knit community and wanted to turn her passion for volunteerism and community engagement into a career. This led her to return to Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba to pursue an MBA and focus on non-profit management. Upon graduation, Alix moved to Tucson, AZ where she worked in Marketing for the Tucson Hebrew Academy. She loved being able to promote Jewish education and begin her career in the non-profit sector. Alix is thrilled to be a part of the Repair the World team and serve as Pittsburgh's Workshop Coordinator. When she's not working, Alix loves exploring her new city of Pittsburgh with her husband and their two boys.[email protected]
Andrew Davidov
Program Manager, Repair the World Brooklyn
Life has come full circle for Andrew at Repair the World. After graduating from Binghamton University in 2015 with a B.A. in English and a Concentration in Rhetoric & Global Cultures, Andrew joined the 2015-16 Repair the World NYC cohort as a Food Justice Fellow. Following his Fellowship year, he moved into the Moishe House in Park Slope, where he currently resides, and has worked for Penguin Random House, Yelp, Brooklyn Grange, Amir, Congregation Beth Elohim, Union Temple and, possibly his favorite of all, families around Brooklyn as a babysitter. He is excited to be back at Repair the World NYC part-time as the Workshop Coordinator and assisting around the organization as a Fellow mentor and program associate. Andrew is planning on heading to graduate school in Fall 2020 to receive his MPA to manage institutions around environmental disasters. During his free time, you can catch him cooking at home, reading in Prospect Park or melting over cute Brooklyn dogs.[email protected]
Rabbi Jessy Dressin
Director, Repair the World Baltimore
Jessy Dressin grew up outside of Washington D.C. assuming that everyone went to lobby on Capital Hill with their youth group. She has a B.A. in History and Jewish Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park (Go Terps!), and M.A. in both Hebrew Letters and Jewish Education and rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, CA. Since ordination in 2012, Jessy has worked as a community rabbi in Baltimore, MD, a city she cares deeply about and hopes to root in for a long time. She was the Founder/Director of Charm City Tribe, a community initiative to engage young adults interested in Jewish culture and tradition who want to connect in creative and meaningful ways and was named as one of The Forward's 'Most Inspiring Rabbis" in 2016. Jessy subscribes to the notion that Jewish tradition has three goals: personal meaning making, the imperative to be part of a collective and the charge to help make the world a better place. She could not be more excited to work with Repair the World, an organization Jessy has followed since its earliest days and worked closely with during her time in Baltimore. Jessy lives a few miles north of Baltimore Repair with her husband, Mark, and their 11 year old fur baby, Kofi. She loves live music, nature, ritual, craft beer, street art and cooking.[email protected]
Miriam Cuevas Enciso
Workshop Coordinator, Repair the World Detroit
Miriam emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. when she was one and soon after arrived in Detroit. She grew up between Southwest Detroit and it’s suburbs, which offered an opportunity to connect and learn from people of diverse backgrounds. Simultaneously, she learned and experienced the disparities of place-based opportunities among urban-suburban communities. This and the lack of legal status in the U.S. piqued her interest in both city-based and regional internships with the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. Once a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, her fear of living in the shadows began disseminating. Since then she has worked in both the non-profit and private sectors, specializing in program management as well as talent development and recruitment. More recently, she turned her graphic design hobby into a small-business that supports other local small-businesses. Today, Miriam still shares her time between Southwest Detroit and it’s suburbs, however more confident in her role to create information and resource accessibility in pursuit of a better quality of life for communities and cultures that are marginalized.[email protected]
Hannah Forman
Teen Program Associate, Repair the World Detroit
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Hannah is an alumni of the Urban Adamah Jewish farming fellowship, the Americorps VISTA year of national service, and a member of the Tzedek Lab, a multiracial network of Jewish professionals working toward ending antisemitism and racism. Hannah holds a masters degree in social justice education, and has spent much of her career empowering teens to build stronger community. When she’s not at work, Hannah loves to bike around town, host Jewish ritual and sing Jewish songs, and learn about somatics and other body-based healing modalities. Hannah is excited to be joining Repair because she loves working with young people at the intersection of Jewishness and justice.
Liza Freed
Program Manager, Repair the World Harlem
Liza Freed is a Program Manager for Repair the World Harlem. She is particularly passionate about mentoring, coaching, and investing in young leadership and loves managing team of three recent-college graduates participating in the Repair the World service-year fellowship. She previously worked as the teen director at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn where she was recognized for her ability to empower teens to engage in high-level programming that uses Judaism as a lens to examine injustice and inequity. She’s worked with numerous nonprofits including Creative Art Works and Bike and Build, both of which informed her love for service-oriented group experiences. Above all, she owes her passion for Jewish-informed social justice work to the 11 formative summers she spent at URJ Eisner Camp where she was a camper, staff member and eventually a senior staff person overseeing a staff of 30 and over 100 campers. Liza lives in Brooklyn and bicycles everywhere she can.
Diana Goldsmith
Program Manager, Repair the World Baltimore
Diana was born and raised in Baltimore and has been involved in the Jewish community since a young age. She has had a love for volunteering and service due largely to the volunteer opportunities she took part in as a child in Baltimore. She recently graduated from Towson University with BA degrees in International Studies and Acting. At Towson she was extremely active in the university’s chapter of Students Helping Honduras, as well as in the university’s Honors College, serving as a Student Director and founding the Kiva Initiative of Towson. While at Towson she studied abroad in Costa Rica at the International Center for Development Studies, on the Human Rights and Development track, followed by working at a microfinance corporation in Ecuador for a month. Through these experiences she became passionate about pursuing tzedek (justice) for all people, and serving in the most ethical and sustainable ways possible. She is excited to instill a love of Judaism and service in the Baltimore communities she will serve with Repair the World![email protected]
Cindy Greenberg
President & CEO
Cindy was the founding executive director of Repair the World NYC, where she built a robust program focused on mobilizing the Jewish community to meet pressing local needs through service and learning in Central Brooklyn and Harlem. In four years, Repair the World NYC engaged more than 30,000 New Yorkers, mostly young adults, in meaningful service and learning with more than a dozen community partners focused on education equity, hunger, violence mediation and housing justice. Previously, she worked for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life for fifteen years, including as the executive director of NYU's Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Cindy holds a masters degree in Non-Profit Management from NYU's Wagner School and is the recipient of the Shirley Chisholm Women of Excellence Award, the Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger Harvest Heroes Award, and Hillel's Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence award. Cindy lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Dan, and their three children.[email protected]
Dani Horn
Program Director, Repair the World Philadelphia
Dani was born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia. Since 4th grade she has had a passion for education and went onto University of Maryland where she received her B.S. in Middle School Math and Science. After graduation she wished to bring her love of education outside the classroom and served as an Education Justice Fellow in New York City. Dani hoped to connect more deeply to her own community; went on to become a Repair Team Leader in Philadelphia, then Program Associate, Program Manager, and now Program Director at Philly Repair! In her free time you can find Dani exploring the city, eating delicious food and running![email protected]
Eva Jacobs
Development Associate
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Eva recently returned to New York after receiving her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied political science and gender & women's studies. Through her studies, as well as volunteer work with local government offices in New York and Wisconsin, Eva became passionate about issues of institutionalized oppression and social justice. These experiences have ignited her belief in the power of community activism to tackle social problems, and she loves supporting such important efforts in her work every day. After graduating, Eva worked as a development assistant for the United Way of Dane County before returning to New York to join Teach for America as an early childhood educator. When she's not working, Eva enjoys cooking, making music, yoga, and taking in as much theater & art as she can.
[email protected]Annalisa Japal
Accountant
Annalisa was born and raised in Queens, New York and is a recent graduate of CUNY York College with her BS in Accounting. While in school, she was active with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, where her and fellow volunteers filed over 2,000 tax returns for low-income earners in the community. She is thrilled to be apart of a team that is passionate about social change and making a difference in the community. In her free time, she loves baking, fitness, makeup, and spending time with her family.[email protected]
Adina Mermelstein Konikoff
Senior Director of National Partnerships and Field Building
Adina provides programmatic and strategic leadership and guidance to national partnerships, education and field-building towards making service a defining element of Jewish Life. She is a passionate advocate and veteran Jewish communal professional with over a decade of experience in program development, facilitation, and strategic organizing aimed at engaging and supporting leaders to take action consistent with their values.
Most recently at Encounter, Adina created a new line of executive leadership programs to engage a cross-section of Jewish leadership on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before that, Adina was a Senior Organizer at American Jewish World Service, where she trained and inspired Jewish leaders around the country to mobilize the American Jewish community around the human rights of marginalized people in the developing world. Through running fellowships, service-learning programs, alumni programming, Adina cultivated a strong network of leaders committed to taking action on issues they care about- this all starts with getting close to the issues, through service, travel and education.
Adina graduated from Boston University with degrees in psychology and Spanish, is a Selah Leadership Alumna and a Facilitation Fellow with Resetting the Table. She lives in White Plains with her husband Ari, daughter Amalya and sons Yonah and Ezra.[email protected]
Rachel Libros
Program Director Family and Teen Programming, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Rachel comes to Repair the World with a variety of academic and professional experiences centered around social justice. Since obtaining her Bachelor's degree in Peace Studies at Goucher College in Baltimore, Rachel worked as a case manager at both a homeless shelter and a refugee resettlement agency, as well as spending a year working on a community based agricultural development project in rural Tanzania. Inspired to support more systemic change, Rachel pursued a masters degree in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Through these experiences, Rachel has developed an appreciation for thoughtful service learning, and is thrilled to be directing her passion for social justice to launch the Teen and Family programs in Pittsburgh. Originally from Philadelphia, Rachel enjoys exploring Pittsburgh, hiking, and doing yoga.[email protected]
Julie Mallis
Program Director, Repair the World Pittsburgh
Julie Mallis is a multimedia artist and educator working with digital media, paint, installation, performance, sound and audience interaction. Their work focuses on building community, audio-visual experiences, speaking truth to power, and imagining new landscapes. Mallis has exhibited, performed and curated work across the United States including at The Andy Warhol Museum, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Coaxial Arts Foundation, PhilaMOCA, MOCA Cleveland, Baby's All Right, The Silent Barn, Fringe Arts and more. Mallis has a joint degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Electronic Time-Based Media and in Cultural Anthropology from Carnegie Mellon University. Mallis helped develop and carry out artist exhibition programming of creative hub BOOM Concepts, from 2014 through 2018 as a founding Creative Director. They were recognized as Creator of the Year by the Pittsburgh Technology Council in 2016, alongside longtime collaborator and BOOM Concepts co-founder DS Kinsel. In 2018, they were commissioned to paint a 1000+ feet mural on the ground of Strawberry Way in Downtown Pittsburgh. It features colorful imagery interlaced within an interactive game asking bold questions about equity and justice to the audience. In addition to their work as an artist, they have built up and led the Positive Spin youth cycling program over the last decade. Across two different organizations in Pittsburgh (Bike Pittsburgh and MGR Youth Empowerment) they worked tirelessly with Pittsburgh public schools and area charter schools to ensure students in grades 4-12 had enriching and engaging after school activities related to bike safety. Engaging with all people about bike safety became central to their work with Bike Pittsburgh for many years, resulting in them hosting Bike Pittsburgh’s 6th annual women and non-binary biking forum. This forum sought to add elements of solidarity, community, and understanding amongst women and non-binary people through the lens of biking and transportation accessibility. These same themes of community, solidarity, personal enrichment, and accessibility run through all endeavors Mallis is involved with - at work or in the artist’s studio, their vision is constantly aimed towards how to better the future for themselves and other people, one day at a time.
[email protected]Janu Mendel
Executive Director, Repair the World Miami
Janu was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica where he had his bar-mitzvah in a sand-floored synagogue and developed his life-long love of reggae music. He completed his B.Sc. in Political Science in 2005 at the University of the West Indies. He then moved to Miami, where he worked in corporate business for seven years. Seeking something more meaningful, he found his home in Miami’s Jewish community, and realized that this was where he belonged professionally. He was recruited as an Outreach Fellow for Temple Beth Am, Miami in 2013 and now manages their young adult engagement efforts. He joins Repair from his role as Director of Engagement at University of Miami Hillel. Janu has always had a passion for engaging in service, social justice and politics, which led to his election as Head Boy in high school (yes, like in Harry Potter). Having the opportunity to take a more active role in community building makes him truly excited to be joining the team at Repair.[email protected]
Neeraj Nagpal
Controller
Neeraj has extensive experience leading complex finance functions for various non-profits for over 15 years. Notable among the organizations are Habitat for Humanity, NEO Philanthropy and Amnesty International. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, he is passionate about supporting various social justice issues by providing prudent financial management. Neeraj received Master of Business Administration in Finance and Master of Arts in Economics from University of Delaware and is a Certified Cost and Management Accountant from India. In his spare time, Neeraj enjoys tennis, reading, music and spending time with his family.
[email protected]Shelly Nelson-Shore
Development Manager
Shelly Nelson-Shore grew up in Massachusetts. She attended Brandeis University, where she studied Sociology, Creative Writing, and Women’s & Gender Studies, and picked up a passion for social justice. Shelly received an MSW from the University of Maine and worked as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Therapist, using mindfulness practice and trauma-informed care with children and young adults. Most recently, she served as Communications & Development Manager at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, where she increased the use of digital marketing strategies and helped to build a warm and connective donor stewardship program. She credits her love of Jewish practice and community to a childhood at Eisner Camp, where she spent years as a camper and counselor. In all aspects of her work, Shelly believes deeply in the power of compassionate listening, individual narratives, and mindfully collected data to cultivate projects, stories, and spaces that are open-hearted, strategic, and connecting. When not working, Shelly volunteers as a reproductive justice advocate, reads an alarming number of books, writes fiction and essays, and attempts to single-handedly sustain the stationary industry with her pen pals. She lives in White Plains with her partner and two energetic and exceptionally silly dogs.[email protected]
Kate Belza O'Bannon
Director of Strategy
Kate focuses on Repair's strategic growth (expanding Repair's programming to new markets and partnerships across the country), and working with Repair's Board of Directors and key stakeholders. She enjoys fusing her passions for tikkun olam, Judaism, and relationship building with other passionate leaders on the Repair team. Prior to joining Repair the World, Kate worked at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, where she supported the Foundation’s efforts to connect and support global networks of young Jewish adults. She started her career by completing a year of service as a JDC Global Service Corps Fellow in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Kate holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Religious Studies and a minor in Leadership. Outside of work, she serves on the boards of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Hillel at the University of Virginia. Kate is a recipient of the JPRO Network Young Professional Award. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, Clark, is an avid traveler, and can usually be found sipping on green tea and staying active through trying out the latest fitness trends, cooking, and volunteering.[email protected]
Stathis Pauls
Detroit Farm Crew Associate
Stathis Pauls has deep knowledge of food justice, environmental justice, and sustainability in Detroit - and is passionate about building community around this work. In addition to his role at Repair the World, Stathis also works with Yad Ezra, a Kosher, client-choice food pantry, and a PeerCorps partner, and Detroit's historic Eastern Market - not to mention his countless extracurriculars and lay leadership positions.[email protected]
Samantha Pride
Director of Operations
Samantha graduated from Oregon State University with a B.A. in Sociology and B.A. in International Studies. Her passion for service - learning programs and volunteering started when she served as a City Year AmeriCorps Member in Philadelphia. She later graduated with a M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University where she completed original research in Brazil on women's political attitudes. Samantha returned to City Year in New York to work as a Grants and Compliance Manager for their portfolio of city and state funding. In her role, she is looking forward to supporting the growth of Repair the World through among other things, building people friendly systems. In her spare time, Samantha enjoys hiking, reading, traveling and spending time with her husband and family.
[email protected]Rachel Figurasmith
Executive Director, Repair the World NYC
Prior to becoming the Executive Director of Repair the World NYC, Rachel Figurasmith worked in education and non-profit spaces for her entire career. Previously serving as Repair’s Senior Educator, Rachel spearheaded our family volunteering engagement initiatives for several years. A born-and-bred New Yorker, Rachel is passionate about increasing access to quality education for all young people. She is an advocate for people with disabilities, deeply engaged in criminal justice reform work, and excited to be expanding Repair’s Fellowship to involve criminal justice reform volunteering in more significant ways. When she’s not in Central Brooklyn or Harlem leading our fearless and incredible NYC based teams, Rachel is an adjunct instructor at Hebrew College and can be found chasing after her four-year-old. Rachel holds a Masters in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, a Bachelors from Hampshire College and is the recipient of the Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award and the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Seeds of Innovation Alumni Grant.
Harriet Rivkin
Operations Assistant
Harriet is a British-American educator and administrator, always keeping the value of tikkun olam front and center. She has been a teacher and trip-leader at her synagogue for 10 years, worked in development at a community center for the elderly in London, and then spent 2 years as an AmeriCorps Member with City Year Detroit. She served in a fourth grade classroom and then became a Team Leader. Each of these experiences further instilled in her a passion for social justice, local community service, and education reform. Harriet has a BA in Arabic and French and a Master's in Public Administration and Management, both from University College London. Since completing her Master's, Harriet has combined her knack for creating systems with her dedication to social change as an Operations professional; first at an elementary school in Brooklyn, and now at Repair the World! In her free time, Harriet can be found baking banana bread, singing cheesy songs, registering voters, and discovering more of NYC![email protected]
Melissa Schwarz
Program Coordinator, Repair the World Chicago
Melissa Schwarz is so excited to join the Repair team as the Program Coordinator for Chicago! She will be focusing on building Repair's presence across Chicago through programming and partnerships. In addition to this role, Melissa also serves in a part-time capacity as the Network & Communications Manager for the BHSI Fellowship at Chicago Ideas.
Prior to moving Chicago and joining these two teams, Melissa spent four years on the REALITY team at the Schusterman Family Foundation where she supported the Foundation’s efforts to identify, connect and support global networks of young change makers and enabled them to create meaningful experiences and communities for themselves and their peers.
Melissa holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland in Jewish Studies and a minor in International Development and Conflict Management. Outside of work, you can find Melissa exploring Chicago neighborhoods and local coffee shops or traveling with her husband!
[email protected]Sam Sittenfield
Program Manager
Sam (he/him) hails from the Western suburbs of Philadelphia. After serving as a Repair the World Fellow in Pittsburgh and Team Leader Fellow in NYC, he is now a Program Manager at Repair's National Office in New York City. Sam's work focuses on national training and education: supporting both the larger field of Jewish service as well as Repair the World's Fellowship. He studied Psychology and Judaic Studies at Tufts University, although he was more easily recognized as a member of the Jewish a cappella group on campus as he beatboxed between classes.[email protected]
Aaron Steinberg-Madow
Data Strategist
Aaron is a proud Philadelphian, raised in its northwest suburbs. After working as a paralegal, he entered the Jewish non-profit sector as the special assistant to the VP of Development at the New Israel Fund in San Francisco, and then joined T'ruah in Manhattan as the Executive Assistant/Development Associate. He serves as the Data Strategist at Repair the World, based in the national offices in New York City. Aaron's work focuses both on supporting Repair's use of its powerful database, Salesforce, and on building a data-driven culture at Repair. Aaron attended Haverford College, where he majored in history and concentrated in Peace, Justice & Human Rights. He currently resides in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, and serves on the Board of Mishkan Minyan. When he's not busy poring over data, he can be found running around Prospect Park, biking, or completing a shift at the Park Slope Food Co-op.
Lauren Tassone
Associate to the Office of the President
Lauren was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated with a B.A. with Honors from the University of Michigan, where she studied Cognitive Science and Organizational Studies. Lauren is passionate about interfaith cooperation and spent much of her time working with the Interfaith Youth Core, Hillel, St. Mary’s Student Parish, and various affinity groups on campus and in Ann Arbor. Lauren worked as a Resident Advisor at Michigan, and cares deeply about fostering positive community environments. Prior to joining Repair the World, Lauren worked with the Michigan Center for Positive Organizations and traveled to India to study gender and religion. She brings with her an enthusiasm for and commitment to the values and mission of Repair the World. Outside of work, Lauren loves to spend time with friends, perform music, and explore the city.[email protected]
Kate Thomas
Family & Education Program Manager, Repair the World NYC
Kate comes to Repair the World a community social worker, spanning experience in education, counseling, community organizing, and Jewish social justice efforts. Most recently, Kate served as the Community School Director at Brooklyn Landmark Elementary advocating for educational equity and coordinating community resources. A licensed social worker with an MSW from NYU and BASW from Rutgers University, Kate has trained in diverse settings including The Door Bronx Youth Center, Rutgers Hillel, and Robert Wood Johnson's office for community health promotion. She has also staffed Mitzvah Corps Seattle, a teen social justice collaboration with the International Rescue Committee, and worked as a residential counselor at Wediko Children's Services where she provided clinical guidance to children with complex trauma. After completing her time as a 2014-15 Repair the World Baltimore Fellow, Kate stayed connected on the Repair the World NYC advisory board. In her free time, she enjoys theater, writing poetry, and vacationing to anywhere with a lake!
[email protected]Shoshana Weiner
Program Manager
As a tried and true Midwesterner, Shoshana has migrated to the East Coast in search of a better bagel. Shoshana graduated from Tufts University after double majoring in French and Geology. Always searching for adventure, Shoshana interned in Jerusalem, Israel at Tevel b’Tzedek, an Israeli NGO invested in tikkun olam. Shortly thereafter, Shoshana moved to Paris to pursue her love of all things French at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle where she studied French literature and Art History. Inspired by a Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) service trip to Haiti, Shoshana served for a year as the Jewish Service Corps fellow in Tallinn, Estonia. There, she brought her passions for Jewish culture, values, and practices to a community still feeling the effects of the Soviet Era and discovering how to make Judaism a meaningful part of life. Most recently,Shoshana focused on Jewish education and engagement and the Russian-Speaking Jewish community at the Jewish Education Project in NYC. You can reliably find Shoshana training for her next marathon, reading a mystery novel, or strolling through the streets of New York in search of the best borscht.[email protected]