Administration

Wendy Amsellem is the former Director of the Dr. Beth Samuels High School Program and an alumna of the Drisha Scholars Circle where she currently teaches. She is pursuing a PhD in Judaic Studies at New York University and has a BA in History and Literature from Harvard University. 

Neesa Berezin-Bahr is Programs Coordinator. She has a BA from New York University in Linguistics and Anthropology. She worked for the Orthodox Union's Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus before coming to work at Drisha. She was a Drisha Immersion Program Fellow in July 2010 and spent a year studying at Midreshet Lindenbaum.  

Rachel Friedman is Associate Dean and Chair of Tanakh Studies at Drisha. She also directs Drisha's Yesodot Skill-Building Program.  She has served as scholar-in-residence at synagogues and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad. She has an MA in Bible from Yeshiva University and a JD from Columbia University School of Law.

Geri Gindea is the Director of Operations at Drisha. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Barnard College and a JD from Boston University School of Law. She has served as the Executive Director of the Five Towns Jewish Council and the Director of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.

Jordana Golden is the Director of Information Resources at Drisha. She has an MA in Non-Profit Management from New School University and a BS in Physics from Bryn Mawr College. She is the Executive Director of Healing Time, a nonprofit dedicated to the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. She worked at the New York Botanical Garden before coming to Drisha.

Gila Hoch is Director of the Dr. Beth Samuels High School Programs where she learned and was a madricha. She is an alumna of Barnard College with a BA in Jewish History. She is pursuing an MA in Talmud at Bar Ilan University while studying in the Advanced Talmudic Institute at Matan Institute in Jerusalem.

Jon Kelsen teaches in Drisha’s Beit Midrash and Yesodot Programs and was a faculty member at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. A graduate of the Pardes Kollel and a fellow in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Hadarim Program, he received ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes and holds an MA in Jewish Civilization from the International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Jon works to build community and collaboration within Drisha's Full Time Programs.

Devora Labaton Stein is the Recruiting and Special Events Coordinator at Drisha. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Barnard College. She has been an active volunteer in Sloan Kettering's pediatric oncology unit and worked at the Sephardic Bikur Holim/Medstar Cancer Center before coming to work at Drisha.  

Lori Leifer is Coordinator of the Drisha Arts Fellowship Program. She’s an Arts Fellow alumna, singer/songwriter and a community organizer.  She’s spent the last 5 years working in Public Health but has been involved in the Jewish art scene throughout the years and is working on a full transition into the Jewish non-profit world. She has studied at Midreshet Rachel V’Chaya in Jerusalem and has learned about life and love from her big, warm Jewish family. 

Miri Lipsky is the Director of Recruitment and Alumni Relations at Drisha. She holds a BA from Barnard College in Comparative Religion and Art History. She previously worked in the corporate sector in communications and HR, and most recently worked in recruitment at Goldman Sachs before coming to Drisha.

Ariella Newberger is the Administrative Assistant at Drisha. She has a BA in Psychology with a minor in History from Brandeis University, where she enjoyed many campus leadership roles. She interned at the Jerusalem Report before coming to Drisha. Ariella spent a year studying Torah at Midreshet HaRova in Jerusalem.

David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He received the Covenant Award in 2000. He is the author of A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (JPS, 2011).  

Dalia Smerka is the Office Manager at Drisha. A native of Israel, she worked for 18 years in the New York office of Betar Youth Organization.