Staff

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PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

ADMINISTRATIVE & FINANCE TEAM

Adina Vogel-Ayalon

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Adina joined J Street in 2015 as the Deputy Israel Director and in 2020, she served as J Street’s Israel Director before taking on the role of Chief of Staff in 2021. Prior to J Street, Adina worked at the Shimon Peres Center for Peace...

Kate Press

Chief Operations Officer

Kate has been part of the J Street team since 2009. Prior to her current role, she served as the J Street U East Coast Campus Organizer, New York Regional Director, and National Director of Regional Operations and Strategy. As Vice...

Thanh Tran

Vice President of Finance and Administration

Before joining J Street, Thanh Tran founded Validus Consulting LLC in Bethesda, MD, where he served as Managing Partner. Thanh holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Management from the University of Virginia and a BA from Boston

Shawn Clement

Director of Information Systems & Technology

Shawn has been part of the J Street family for six years and serves as the Director of Information Systems and Technology. With over 10 years of experience in Salesforce (three-time certified), fundraising, and IT in the non-profit...

Ariel Gudwin

Director of HR and Employee Engagement

Ariel joins J Street after receiving an M.S. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University. Ariel has previous experience with nonprofits, government agencies and startup organizations...

Marie Erichsen

Accounting & Finance Senior Associate

Marie joined J Street in 2024 from a diverse background in operations, finance, and administrative support. While in Hampton Roads, Virginia, she served as an Operations Assistant at the financial planning firm Mason & Associates, gaining e

Kristian Portillo

Information Systems and Technology Assistant

Kristian joins J Street with a background in software development, data analysis, and IT consulting. He received his Software Engineering Certification from Flatiron School in DC. In his most recent role prior to J Street he worked for Inte

Tais Davis

Human Resources Assistant

Tais brings a global perspective to J Street, having earned her BS in Psychology with double minors in Political Science and Homeland Security from Virginia Commonwealth University. Currently pursuing an MA in International Affairs with a f

Rebecca Weintraub

Special Assistant to the President and Office Assistant

Rebecca joins J Street after working as a Regional Organizer for the Harris Walz campaign in Philadelphia. In 2024, she graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Human and Organizational Development and Political Science...

Communal Relations Team

PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM

Hannah Morris

Director of Government Affairs

Hannah joins J Street after earning a M.A. in German and European Studies from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. There, she focused on German-Israeli relations and wrote a thesis comparing the special relationships Israel shares...

Cooper Boyar

Director of Public Affairs

Cooper joins the Public Affairs Team after six years in a variety of roles at J Street. He previously served as Associate Director for Congressional Education, managing J Street's Congressional travel to Israel and the West Bank...

Lillian Adelstein

Deputy Director of Government Affairs

Lillian “Lily” Adelstein joins J Street after several years working and interning in Congress. From her first internship in high school for the Secretary of the Senate, to becoming a full time congressional staffer in the House of...

Hannah Fajer

Assistant Director of Government Affairs

Hannah joins J Street in 2023 after previously serving as Policy Associate on the advocacy team at American Jewish World Service (AJWS). While at AJWS, she mobilized the Jewish community on international human rights issues and elevated...

Bradley Freericks

Assistant Director of Government Affairs

Bradley joins J Street with several years of experience in non-profit development and political advocacy. Before J Street, Bradley worked on the development team of the world’s largest peacebuilding organization, Search for Common Ground...

Kat DesCamp-Renner

Senior Government Affairs Associate and Defense Policy Analyst

Kat joined J Street in 2022 and previously served as Program Assistant for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 2021 with degrees in Foreign Affairs and...

Michael Farrell-Rosen

Government Affairs Assistant

Michael joins J Street in 2024 after graduating from Brown University with degrees in Political Science and Economics. While at Brown, Michael was deeply involved in J Street U as the New England Vice President to the J Street U National...

Evan DeWitt

Public Affairs and Policy Center Coordinator

Evan joins J Street after graduating from American University in 2023 with a degree in international studies. There, he focused on peace, global security, and conflict resolution in the Middle East and North Africa region. Evan...

Tali deGroot

National Political Director

Tali deGroot returned to J Street in 2022 as the Ilya Braverman National Political Director. Tali previously worked at J Street from 2016-2019 in various roles on the Capitol South Regional Team. Tali first discovered J Street while she...

Jessica Blum

Digital Director

Jessica joins J Street after nearly a decade in the Democratic digital space – working with progressive organizations, political committees, campaigns, causes, and corporations. Her career highlights include being part of...

Lexi Goldwyn

Deputy Political Director

Lexi joins J Street after working on campaigns, advocacy organizations, and political committees, most recently as a national fundraising consultant for incumbent Senate Democrats. Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, Lexi graduated from...

Holly Conlon

Political Associate

Holly joins J Street after graduating from Harvard College, where she majored in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. While in college, she served on Congresswoman Becca Balint’s campaign as Deputy Communications Director...

Daniel Haggart

Political Assistant

Daniel joins J Street in 2024 after interning at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) office in Washington, DC. In 2023, he graduated from Clemson University with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in History. Daniel...

Policy Team

Development Team

Adee Telem

Chief Development Officer

Adee serves as J Street’s Senior Vice President of Development, overseeing fundraising and leadership engagement across the country. Prior to this, she was J Street’s Tri-State/PA Regional Director, directing fundraising, advocacy...

Josh Lockman

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Josh Lockman has been actively involved in local/national politics and the Middle East policy arena. He has taught international law and US foreign policy at USC Law School since 2011. During the 2016 campaign, Josh served on Secretary...

Becca Freedman

Director of Foundation Relations

Becca Freedman oversees foundation relations at J Street -- working across the organization to grow and strengthen J Street's institutional funding portfolio. She brings with her a decade of experience in philanthropy and foundation...

Nick Shulevitz

Director of Development Operations

Nick joins J Street after spending over five years working as a fundraiser on Congressional campaigns. Nick has raised money for candidates in Illinois, New York, Nevada and Florida. As a finance director, Nick has both planned...

Alexandra Hain

Director, Foundation Relations

Alexandra returned to J Street in 2022 after obtaining her master's degree in International and European Politics at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She previously worked as the Development Associate where she helped lead the...

Joshua Fielding

Development Assistant

Joshua joins J Street after graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied Sociology with a minor in Political Science. Born and raised in New York City, Joshua spent summers at URJ Crane Lake Camp where he...

COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL TEAM

Jen Abrahamson

Vice President of Communications

Jennifer joined J Street in the summer of 2024, following a long and winding career spanning cultures, countries and continents. Over the past 20 years, she has designed and delivered advocacy-driven communications strategies to effect...

Nathan Wolfson

Director of Communications Operations

Nathan joined J Street after spending three years managing digital marketing for The Atlantic's live event division. Prior to that, he worked in new media strategy for the National Park Service while earning his masters degree in Media...

Ben Winsor

Special Advisor for Strategic Communications

Ben joins J Street after serving as Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s Digital Director during the 2018 midterms. From a communications placement with the International Criminal Court...

Eliza Schloss

Content Strategist and Producer

Eliza joins J Street after graduating from American University, where she studied journalism and Jewish studies. She most recently completed research with her alma mater on antisemitic extremism found on alternative social media platforms..

Kamila Arap

Communications Assistant

Before J Street, Kamila worked in Communications and Public Affairs at the U.S. House of Representatives, The French Consulate, and U.S. Southern Command, where she contributed to on-the-ground media reporting during the 2021 Haiti...

Rafi Barglow

Communications Assistant

Rafi Barglow joins J Street after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied political science and sociology. Rafi was president of his campus’s J Street U chapter and, in 2022, was a fellow for J Street's...

EVENTS TEAM

ENGAGEMENT TEAM

— Team I —

Janette Hillis-Jaffe

Senior Director for New England and the Midwest

Janette Hillis-Jaffe established J Street's Boston office, initially serving as the Regional Political Director and then Special Adviser to the New England Region from 2010 to 2013. She returned as Regional Director for New England in...

Noah Finkelstein

Midwest Regional Director

Noah is Deputy Regional Director for Midwest. Previous to this role, Noah was the Senior Coalitions Associate on J Street's Public Engagement team and held roles on the J Street U team. Before joining J Street, he worked at Habonim...

Madison Goldstein

Deputy Regional Director

Madison joined J Street after two election cycles working as a finance director on Democratic Congressional campaigns. In 2020, she launched MJ Hegar’s $23 million campaign for US Senate in Texas and served as Deputy Finance Director...

Adam Didech

Associate Director of Public Affairs for New England and the Midwest

Adam Didech joins J Street after 15 years working on a variety of local, state, and federal campaigns in Illinois. He graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Adam lives in the north suburbs of...

Marina Cemaj

Midwest Assistant Regional Director

Marina Cemaj joins J Street after working on this issue for several years, focusing on grassroots peacebuilding in the region including working at the Alliance for Middle East Peace...

Arad Boxenbaum

Midwest Regional Associate

Arad Boxenbaum is a graduate of DePaul University and longtime advocate in the Chicagoland area primarily in the world of gun violence prevention, climate change, and reproductive rights and has served in state and local leadership for...

Sara Hadigian

Engagement Associate for New England and the Midwest

Sara joins J Street after graduating from University of Oregon Clark Honors College in 2023 (sco ducks!) where they studied Political Science, Global Engagement, and Sociology. Outside...

— Team II —

Trevor Dworetz

Director, Mid-Atlantic and Florida

Trevor joins J Street after working most recently as a grassroots campaign organizer for HIAS. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics, Trevor worked as a Research Assistant for the Federal Reserve...

Adi Adamit-Gorstein

Deputy Director, Mid-Atlantic

Adi brings to J Street deep policy and advocacy experience in both Israel and the United States. Originally from Tel-Aviv, Adi started her career in strategic communications with one of Israel's top PR firms, where she advised clients...

Hannah Umansky Castro

Deputy Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic

Hannah joins J Street from Capitol Hill, having worked on foreign affairs as Legislative Counsel to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. She also clerked for Senator Amy Klobuchar on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to that, Hannah...

Josh Eisemann

Public Affairs Associate

Josh joins J Street with several years of experience in government and political advocacy. Before J Street, Josh worked as a Public Affairs Associate for Foley & Lardner’s Government Solutions Practice Group assisting with research...

Aidan Jelinek

Senior Engagement Associate

Aidan comes to J Street after moving from Melbourne Australia. He holds a Bachelor's degree in arts majoring in International Relations and Religious studies (the fun stuff) as well as a master's degree in International Relations with a...

Macy Miller

Engagement Assistant, Mid-Atlantic and Florida

Macy joins J Street after graduating from Wesleyan University, where she majored in Government and History with a concentration in American Politics and Policy. While at Wesleyan, Macy interned for several Democratic congressional...

— Team III —

Adam Steinberg

Director, West Coast

Adam Steinberg returns to J Street as Director for the West Coast, overseeing J Street’s advocacy, fundraising, political work and Jewish communal relations from San Diego to Seattle, from the Olympic Mountains to the Montana Big Sky...

Jessica Colburn

Regional Director for the Southwest

Jessica Colburn is thrilled to join J Street as Regional Director in the Southwest. Jessica has 13 years of diverse organizational and development experiences working with individuals, corporations, advisors, and foundations to advance...

Shimrit Braun Kamin

Regional Director for the Northwest

Shimrit Braun Kamin is joining J Street as the Northwest Regional Director after serving for over seven years as the Associate Director of the New Israel Fund in the Bay Area. In addition to her work with NIF, she has been a key leader...

Rabbi Andrew Straus

Regional Director for the Northwest

Rabbi Straus joins J Street after a successful career as a congregational rabbi, primarily in California and Arizona. Most recently, he was the rabbi of Temple Adat Elohim of Thousand Oaks, CA and before that served as the...

Nicole Malina

Regional Director for Greater Los Angeles

Nicole Malina was thrilled to join the J Street Southern California team in 2019. Originally from New York, Nicole has worked in development and nonprofit administration in California for over fifteen...

Casey Crouch

Engagement Associate and Data Analyst for the West Coast

Casey joins J Street after graduating from UCLA, where he majored in Political Science and minored in Public Affairs and Study of Religion. While in college, Casey interned with various public sector entities throughout the State of...

— Team IV —

Tamar Ariel

Director for Capital, South & Mountain West & National Director of Engagement

Tamar returns to J Street as Director of Capital, South, Mountain West, bringing over a decade of experience in advocacy, client and donor engagement, and business management. She previously served at J Street from 2011 to 2015 in...

Allie Berg

Deputy Regional Director, DC, Maryland & Virginia

Allie joins J Street with a nonprofit management background from across the DC Metro area. With over a dozen years of experience in nonprofit communications, fundraising, and corporate philanthropy, she specializes in highly personalized...

Emily Gilgoff

Deputy Regional Director, South

Emily Gilgoff joins J Street as Deputy Regional Director for the South, bringing a wealth of experience in community engagement and advocacy to the role. Previously, Emily served as the Assistant Regional Director at the ADL Washington...

Alana Suskin

Associate Regional Director, Mountain West

Rabbi Suskin joined J Street as Associate Regional Director in 2023. She is a long-time activist for the two-state solution, serving on the executive board of T’ruah for many years and as Director of Strategic...

Jacob Lewis

Public Affairs Senior Associate

Jacob joins J Street after completing a fellowship with the Midwest region. In December of 2021 he graduated from American University with a degree in Political Science and Israel Studies. Jacob has a strong background in politics through..

Gabrielle Meisel

Engagement Assistant, Capital, South, Mountain West

Gabi comes to J Street after completing the Yahel fellowship in Israel. Originally from MD, Gabi graduated from Bates College with a BA in Environmental Studies  and Anthropology. At Bates, Gabi was a member of the varsity swim team and...

J Street U

Erin Beiner

J Street U Director

Erin is an organizer and educator. She came to this role after working as the Southeast Campus Organizer for J Street U. Erin joined J Street in 2019 after working as the DC Community Organizer for HIAS while a participant in the Avodah...

Maya Pollack

J Street U Assistant Director

Maya is an educator and activist. She came to J Street after working for New Story Leadership, an Israel/Palestine advocacy and dialogue organization. Prior to working for NSL, Maya attended American University where she graduated with a...

Adam Deakin

Senior Coordinator for Communications and Operations

Adam joins J Street full time after completing a fellowship with the Capital/South region. In 2020, he graduated magna cum laude from American University, with a degree in Political Science. At American, Adam worked as a student...

Aryeh Filler

Midwest J Street U Coordinator

Aryeh is a proud Jewish advocate. He joins J Street after concluding his year in Avodah’s Jewish Service Corps in Chicago, where he helped provide essential services to Chicagoland’s Jewish community. He is thrilled to be the Midwest...

Alan Rabinovich

Southern J Street U Coordinator

Alan is a first generation American whose family fled the Soviet Union in 1991. He joins the J Street U team after working for the Jewish Democratic Council of America, where he was on the Outreach and Events teams. Alan graduated a...

Shana Gitterman

West Coast J Street U Coordinator

Shana is a dedicated educator and advocate, bringing her passion for social justice to her new role at J Street. Previously based in New York, she worked at a healthcare company that focused on serving and advocating for vulnerable...

Bela Urbina

Mid-Atlantic J Street U Coordinator

Hailing from Miami, Florida, Bela joined J Street after graduating from Florida International University, with a BA in International Relations, a minor in Sociology & Anthropology, a certificate in Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and...

Lucas Lyons

DMV J Street U Coordinator

Lucas joined the J Street U team following a year with the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, during which he served as a community organizer with Jews United for Justice. He studied international development at Tulane University, and has...

Noah Reiser

West Coast J Street U Coordinator

Before relocating to the Bay Area, Noah lived just outside of DC in Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2023 with a bachelor's degree with a double major in Government & Politics (International Relations...

Elan Berger

New England J Street U Coordinator

Elan joins J Street U from Southern California, where he previously worked for Newhouse & Creager, LLP as a legal assistant and community relations manager. He graduated from Tulane University in 2023 with a degree in Political Economy...

Israel Team

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