Hear from Repair Alumni Now on Staff, How Service Changes Lives

Repair the World’s fellowship makes an indelible impression on all who participate. Recently, the program expanded from one to two years, doubling fellows’ opportunities to build the capacity of local nonprofit service partners and exponentially increasing their growth as Jews, professionals, neighbors, and as citizens.

Hear from seven of our former fellows who now work as Repair the World staff, how service changes lives.

Woman smiling

Tori Burstein (she/her)

 

 

Tori Burstein (she/her)
Brooklyn 2018-19 

Today: Senior Associate, Office of the President 

“Because of my fellowship, I’m much more engaged in Jewish life. It’s been really influential to have made strong ties to local organizations in the city where I participated in the fellowship, and to have met mentors and colleagues who continue to be so important to me. The Repair alumni community has been essential. I communicate and get together regularly with the folks from my cohort — we even did a Hanukkah gift exchange for the fourth year in a row! It feels great knowing that I have a group of people with similar values, shared interests, and common experience.”


Danna Creager (she/her)

 

 

Danna Creager (she/her)
Harlem 2018-19

Today: Development Assistant 

“The Repair Fellowship reaffirmed my passion for food system change by allowing me to work alongside two anti-hunger community based organizations. Working alongside these partners, who directly serve people for whom the current food system is not working, gave me new perspectives and a deeper understanding of how much the food system needs to change.”

 

 


Annie Dunn (she/her)

 

 

Annie Dunn (she/her)
Pittsburgh 2015-16

Today: Senior Program Associate, Pittsburgh

“My fellowship experience granted me the opportunity to engage deeply in authentic relationship building and address food insecurity in public housing communities. Giving of my time and energy to meet immediate community needs fulfilled me in a deeper way than I had previously known. The Repair fellowship granted me the opportunity to explore what gives meaning to my life, and to ultimately live my values out loud.”

 

 


Emily Erves (she/her)

 

 

Emily Erves (she/her)
Miami 2019-20, NYC 2020-21 

Today: Marketing Assistant

“The most rewarding part of this work was to be able to share common values of service and to support community members who were looking for opportunities to invest in their community in ways that felt particularly meaningful to them. Repair helped elevate my skills as a service leader. I’ve found ways to foster authentic relationships between volunteers and community partners to create sustainable and lasting partnerships.”

 


Elaine James (she/her)

 

 

Elaine James (she/her)
Pittsburgh 2018-19

Today: Senior Data Associate 

“Being part of the Repair community is very rewarding. Extending the fellowship to two years will allow for even greater buy-in from the fellows. Additionally, with more time to work with their community, they can create deeper relationships than they would in one year. Fellows will be able to take on larger or longer-term projects.”

 

 


Rose Osburne (she/her)

 

 

Rose Osburne (she/her)
Pittsburgh 2018-19

Today: Marketing and Recruitment Associate 

“My time as a Fellow was incredibly special because of the connections I made with the welcoming and wonderful Pittsburgh community. The heartbreaking part was finishing up after only 11 months. By extending the Fellowship to two years, Fellows are going to be provided valuable time to create deeper connections and impactful projects/ideas. This will truly be an investment in themselves and their communities, providing everyone more opportunities to achieve their visions.”


Sam Sittenfield (he/him)

 

 

Sam Sittenfield (he/him)
Pittsburgh 2014-15, Brooklyn 2015-16 

Today: Director of National Partnerships

“Without my experience with Repair the World, I might not have found the ways to plug into the inspiring social justice work in all of the communities where I’ve lived since then. Pursuing the connections between Jewish life and social justice has become such an animating force in my life that my job is now to equip our partner organizations to do the same.”