Meet the Ritually Rooted Fellows

 

Ellie Cohen headshotEllie Cohen

Ellie Cohen is a senior at UCLA studying Public Health with a passion for building meaningful Jewish communities. Cohen serves as co-President of Hillel at UCLA, where she also leads UCLA’s Reform club, Bruins B’Yachad, and the Progressive Jewish Alliance. Cohen is excitedly perusing a career in meaningful and strategic Jewish young adult engagement. When she’s (rarely) not at Hillel, Cohen can be found teaching Sunday school, working in homelessness outreach, or losing track of time in Target.


Hannah Cohen headshotHannah Cohen

Hannah Cohen is a sophomore at Barnard College studying religion. She is perpetually curious about how to build alternative Jewish community, which, at the moment she is attempting with her pluralistic co-op, the Bayit. Otherwise, Cohen spends her time stumbling around on the violin, volunteering with her school’s housing mutual aid organization, and seeking the outdoors in all five boroughs (and beyond!).


Morgan Collins headshotMorgan Collens

Morgan Collens is a junior at Brandeis University originally from Michigan. While at Brandeis they have filled their college experience with singing, learning, and Jewish joy. Collens is majoring in Sociology and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (NEJS), also studying both Yiddish and Hebrew languages along the way. They have led weekly Shabbat services as T’fillah Coordinator for the Brandeis Reform Chavurah (BaRuCh) for the past year and will continue in the next. Collens has also been involved with Rather Be Giraffes (RBG), an a cappella group at Brandeis, since their first year, and currently serve as RBG’s Business Manager.


Ori Edgar headshotOri Edgar

Ori Edgar is a student at the University of Buffalo. They are a Philosophy and Jewish Studies Major and hope to go to Rabbinical School after college. Edgar works at a local synagogue running a junior congregation as well as running services at their local Hillel. While Edgar thinks of those two as their Jewish community, they also love to discover new traditions and practices.


Olive Ephross headshotOlive Ephross

Olive Ephross is a first-year student at Tufts University from Brooklyn, New York. Her passion for building Jewish community has inspired her work in intergenerational programming at DOROT, as a camp counselor at Young Judaea Sprout Brooklyn, and most recently at Tufts Hillel. In her free time, Ephross enjoys ballet and ballroom dance, traveling, cooking, and arts and crafts. She is excited to contribute to Jewish life at Tufts through the Ritually Rooted Fellowship.


Naomi Feldman headshotNaomi Feldman

Naomi Feldman is a third-year student at Montclair State University. She is studying hospitality, sports, events, and tourism, minoring in business, and earning her MBA. She lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, looking for a job. Feldman considers Chabad of Montclair to be her Jewish community. After she graduates from Montclair State University, Feldman hopes to apply to rabbinical or cantorial school at Hebrew Union College. Her hobbies include working out, reading thriller books, and singing.


Noa Glashow headshotNoa Glashow

Noa Glashow is originally from Northern Virginia and is currently a senior at Tulane University in New Orleans. She is majoring in Jewish Studies and International Relations, and loves being involved with her Jewish communities in both the DC area and New Orleans. In her free time, Glashow enjoys baking, crafting, and spending time with friends.


Cooper Hartog headshotCooper Hartog

Cooper Hartog is from NYC and currently studying Animal Science at the University of Vermont. He has over four years of Jewish leadership experience at camp, synagogues, Hillel, and Keshet. Hartog is a religious school teacher at Temple Sinai in Burlington and a counselor at 6 Points Sci-Tech. He also loves archery and Rubik’s cubing. He is very excited by the opportunity to do this fellowship.


Jonathan Horowitz

Jonathan Horowitz is a senior double major in Religion and Stage Management at Baldwin Wallace (BW) in Cleveland, Ohio. Horowitz has had the chance to learn about many religious traditions and topics in Jewish studies. Horowitz is currently working on a senior thesis about how interfaith relationships have influenced religious identity and belonging in younger generations. Through their positions as student president of BW’s Hillel and member of BW’s Interfaith Center, Horowitz has been working to cultivate interfaith cooperation and learning in their campus community. At BW, they have also had the joy of working on 10 theatrical productions, including multiple regional premiers. Outside their studies, Horowitz enjoys reading fantasy novels and loves cats.


Eliyahu Kitibwakye headshotEliyahu Kitibwakye

Eliyahu Kitibwakye is a 24-year-old youth leader from Tziyon Beit Hamitzvot in Mukono, Uganda, where he is deeply involved in fostering community growth and engagement. Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at St. Lawrence University, Kitibwakye aims to empower young people through leadership and education. As an active member of the Jewish community, he is passionate about preserving our cultural values while connecting with others. Kitibwakye’s interests include reading, playing soccer, and creating meaningful connections with those around him. He looks forward to contributing to this fellowship and learning from peers worldwide.


Issac Kofsky headshotIsaac Kofsky

Isaac Kofsky is a Chaplain’s Associate and a sophomore at Carleton College, majoring in religion. He specializes in both Jewish and interfaith leadership. He has planned High Holiday services, organized his school’s National Coming Out Day programming, and lowered intrastate bus prices as a leader in his school’s Interfaith Social Action group. Kofsky was a songleader at URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy and created specialized programming to support Jewish exploration in their youngest campers. He is the opinion editor on his college’s newspaper, and enjoys cooking dinners for friends, reading non-fiction books, and collecting rocks and minerals. Kofsky hopes to attend rabbinical school because of his love of the academic and lived ritual parts of Judaism, but also so trans Jews can see themselves in their Jewish leaders.


Goldi Leiber headshotGoldi Lieberperson

Goldi Lieberperson is a fourth-year Political Science student at the University of Florida (UF), minoring in Innovation. Goldi’s involvement in the Jewish community at the University of Florida includes maintaining roles in the student leadership of UF Hillel and sitting on the UF Hillel Board of Directors. On campus, Goldi serves as a Student Conduct Committee member within the Dean of Students Office and as Assistant Supervisor of Elections for UF’s Student Government.


Caroline Lipson headshotCaroline Lipson

Caroline Lipson is a Musician in Boone, North Carolina as a student of Appalachian State pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance and Opera. Growing up, she formed her relationship with Judaism alongside her love of music and currently pursues both as the Cantorial Soloist for the Temple of the High Country. Lipson has worked for 6Points Creative Arts and most recently, visited the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance.


Brendan Reeves headshotBrendan Reeves

Brendan Reeves is currently finishing his Masters in Computer Science at Stanford, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Symbolic Systems (CS + Linguistics). He loves music as an active classical singer pianist and composer, learning new languages, and thinking about problems in education and technology. Reeves also loves seeking wisdom in Jewish tradition, reading philosophy, poetry and biographies of great Jewish thinkers and discussing with friends.


Sophia Rose headshotSophia Rose

Sophia Rose is majoring in social work with a minor in sociology at Bradley University. Her Jewish community consists of a synagogue, Hillel, and family. She says her synagogue back home will always be a welcoming and needed constant in her life. Throughout her college career, Rose has found a home at Bradley Hillel and has formed some of her best memories there.


Liana Bord headshotLiana Smolover-Bord

Liana is a senior at Tufts University double majoring in Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Liana’s Jewish community is Tufts Hillel, where she serves as VP of Religious and Spiritual Life and leads Hillel Community Action Partners, an after-school program for middle school students. Outside of Tufts, Smolover-Bord is passionate about policy advocacy and community organizing and loves to read, spend time outside, and cuddle her dog, Ella.


Rena Zucker headshotRena Zucker

Rena Zucker is a junior at Colorado State University studying Human Development Family Studies with a concentration in pre-health and a minor in American Sign Language. She works at an elementary school before and after care, as working with kids is her passion in addition to sign language. Zucker’s Jewish community includes friends at the Hillel as well as her congregation back home in Denver. When she is not studying and working on her degree, Rena is almost always crocheting. Zucker enjoys not only making things for the people she loves and selling her creations, but donating hats, scarves, and mittens to homeless shelters and other organizations that benefit people who are less fortunate.