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Jump to: UNC Hillel | Hillel @ NC State | NC Hillel Link
Hannah Spinrad
Executive Director
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Prior to joining the Hillel movement, Hannah was the Atlanta Director of Community Engagement for Honeymoon Israel, a national start-up providing immersive Israel experiences and locally-based community for young couples. Hannah has also worked in the development departments for the Jewish Federations of Boston, Miami, and Atlanta. Hannah is a proud Tar Heel alumna, graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a BA in International Studies and minors in Spanish and Jewish Studies. Hannah earned her MBA in Nonprofit Management and MA in Jewish Professional Leadership from the Hornstein-Heller Program at Brandeis University. She is also an alumna of the Jewish Federations of North America FEREP Program. A fifth generation North Carolinian, Hannah lives with her husband Kyle and daughters Miriam and Noa in Chapel Hill.
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Sara Gottschalk
Donor Systems Manager
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A former NC Hillel student leader at UNC Greensboro (holding various board positions, including president), Sara brings her perspective as a recent alumna and her Jewish non-profit development skills to support the continued growth of our Hillels across the state. During her senior year at UNCG, Sara was introduced to the world of professional community-building as the Programs Intern at the Greensboro Jewish Federation. From there, she has honed both her programming and development skills in support of Jewish young adults across the globe while working at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Moishe House.
Hometown: Currituck County, NC
Max Weinberg
Managing Director
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Max joined the NC Hillel team in January of 2020, supporting the organization in its operations and financial tasks. In August 2023, Max assumed the role of Managing Director, working with all of our campuses on their engagement strategy and vision, budgeting, and statewide programming.
Prior to his time at NC Hillel, Max was the Senior Assistant Director at URJ Camp Kalsman in Seattle, WA, and spent the previous seven summers at URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, WI, including two as Assistant Director. Max is a graduate of the Foundation for Jewish Camp's Yitro Fellowship, where he worked with camp professionals from across North America on staff recruitment, supervision, and engagement. Max loved connecting with the staff at camp, and now loves engaging with college students year-round! Max graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Elementary Education. He spent a semester teaching 6th grade and coaching softball in Chicago Public Schools while finishing his degree. In his free time, you can find him watching baseball (Go Mets!), hiking, or cooking. Hometown: Highland Park, IL
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Nikki has spent almost a decade working with Jewish teens and young adults in both Israel and the US. While receiving her MSW at UNC Chapel Hill with a focus on inclusion and family support, she remained committed to working with Jewish youth at Judea Reform Congregation, which later transitioned into her position at the Durham JCC as Teen Program Manager. She's spent the last two years in Ithaca, NY at Cornell Hillel as their Director of Jewish Experiences, but missed NC and is so excited to be back in Tar Heel territory! Nikki loves pluralistic, experiential Jewish education, and seeks to continually connect with both the communities and individuals she works with. Outside of work, Nikki loves reading, stand-up paddle boarding, hiking and folk music.
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Hila is originally from Yavne, Israel. She served in the IDF for two years as a multimedia producer in the Air Force. In 2014 she worked as an A&C specialist at Emma Kaufmann Camp, West Virginia. Hila has a degree in Education a minor in English. For the last five years she has worked as a high school English teacher and homeroom teacher. Hila is looking forward to exploring Chapel Hill and the States and seeing what Jewish life is like in the area. She also seeks to continually connect with both the communities and individuals she works with. Outside of work, Hila loves traveling, cooking, music, going to the beach and learn languages.
Hometown: Yavne, Israel
A recent graduate from the University of Virginia with a degree in Anthropology and a minor in Jewish Studies, Rayna is joining UNC Chapel Hill Hillel as the new Springboard Fellow. Throughout her college experience, she was involved in Hillel and Chabad at UVA, leading Shabbat services, participating and organizing discussion groups, and taking part in Birthright and Onward Israel. Upon graduation, she was awarded the 2023 Samuel and Evelyn Linden Prize for Excellence in the Study of Judaism and Justice. She also has experience teaching Religious and Hebrew school at Congregations Beth Israel in Charlottesville, VA and Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, VA. Rayna is looking forward to exploring Chapel Hill and seeing what Jewish life is like in the area. In her free time, she likes to paint, spend time outdoors, and do crossword and sudoku puzzles.
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
Sarah Gindes
Campus Director
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Sarah Gindes is originally from Indianapolis, IN, where she earned her BA from the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. Soon after moving to Durham in 2014, she joined Jewish for Good (formerly known as Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill) as their Development Events Manager. Sarah happily grew there for the past six years, while also taking on nonprofit consulting clients as a Jewish communal professional. Being a lifelong student, Sarah earned her certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University in 2017 and is currently enrolled at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership for her Masters in Jewish Studies (graduation March 2022). Sarah looks forward to co-creating community and a culture of engagement at NC State with an open door. Sarah and her husband have three children at the Lerner Jewish Community Day School (ages 4, 6, and 8), where she has been an active volunteer with their Parent Association. Sarah enjoys photography, hiking, discovering new places, and cooking.
Hometown: Indianaoplis, IN
Jane Lebowitz
Springboard Fellow
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Jane Lebowitz is a current M.S. Candidate of Human Resource Law at Albany Law School, and an alumni of the University of Rochester, where she majored in Political Science and Jewish Studies. Before joining the NC State Hillel team, Jane worked as a sommelier in Saratoga Springs, NY and received her education in fine wine, food, and luxury hospitality through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. Jane is a "people person", whose passion in life is to create spaces in which others can feel welcomed, uplifted, and advocated for. Jane lives with her partner Derek, and their cat, Ollie. The three of them are looking forward to moving to Raleigh this summer to meet the amazing students of NC State.
Hometown: Saratoga Springs, NY
Ginny Vellani
Director
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Ginny Vellani previously serving as Acting Director at Elon Hillel. At Elon, she helped lead the community’s growth as it doubled in size, opened a permanent building on campus, and expanded to include a historically Jewish fraternity, an Israel advocacy and dialogue club, and a chapter of Challah for Hunger. Her work has emphasized immersive experiences and off-campus opportunities, including Birthright Israel, teaching a month-long Holocaust Studies course in Europe, and traveling with students to interfaith leadership conferences across the country. Ginny is a member of the Weinberg Accelerate Executive Training Program’s fourth cohort. She has a B.A. in Religious Studies from Agnes Scott College, a M.A. in Jewish-Christian Studies from Seton Hall University, and also studied at the University of Haifa’s International School. A proud native North Carolinian, she currently lives in Greensboro with her husband and son.
Hometown: Mebane, NC
Ask me about: Link campuses and how to support your Jewish student
My alma mater's mascot: Scotties
Fun fact: I'm an Italian citizen
Rebekah Green
Engagement Associate
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Rebekah Green is excited to start her professional career as NC Link Campus Hillel’s Engagement Associate. Rebekah is originally from Columbia Maryland. She recently earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a minor in theater from Nova Southern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Rebekah was very involved in her own campuses hillel holding multiple board positions including; engagement ambassador, president, and engagement intern. Rebekah is so excited about working for NC Link Hillel campuses and can not wait to see what her future holds in North Carolina.
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Ask me about: Link campuses
My alma mater's mascot: Shark
Fun fact: I've been to Disney World more than 20 times