Meet Our Director
The Office of Alumni Affairs is here to support and connect JTS alumni with one another and with the many opportunities and resources JTS offers. We hope you’ll stay in touch, share news, and contact us at any time.
JTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee, WI); Former Director of Admissions, The JTS Rabbinical School and H. L. Miller Cantorial School
Director of Admissions, The Rabbinical School and H. L. Miller Cantorial School
Rabbi Joel Alter earned a BA in Jewish History from Columbia University, an MA from The Davidson School of Education, and rabbinic ordination from The Rabbinical School. Rabbi Alter previously served pluralistic day schools in Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Boston over 16 years as a teacher, assistant head of school, and Rav Beit haSefer.
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), National Director, Ramah Camps and Israel Programs (Retired)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Adjunct Lecturer and Associate Rabbi, Romemu
Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses, Adjunct Lecturer and Associate Rabbi, Romemu
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence, UJA Federation of New York
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Founder & Lead Educator, ExploreJewish & Judaics Tutoring NYC
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graducate School), Editorial Associate, Posen Library of Jewish Civilization and Culture
Read MoreJTS Alum (Davidson School, List College), Former Director of Admissions, List College
Director of Admissions, List College
As director of List College admissions, Jenna Ferman facilitates the admissions process for all prospective undergraduate students. She works closely with List College’s deans and the admissions team to provide a seamless and personalized enrollment process.
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; JTS Fellow
Read MoreDirector of Alumni Affairs
Director of Alumni Affairs
As director of the Office of Alumni Affairs, Melissa Friedman works closely with JTS’s senior leadership and drives JTS’s alumni relations efforts. In her time as director, Melissa has revitalized JTS’s relationship with alumni spanning more than six decades. She engages alumni through social and professional networking opportunities nationwide, and welcomes the opportunity to hear from alumni who want to plan a reunion. Melissa continues to cultivate relationships between alumni and current students. She collaborates with student group leaders and deans to create and provide meaningful encounters between the two. Melissa strives to develop and maintain close relationships between alumni from all of our schools—degree and non-degree programs—and JTS.
Read MoreAlum (Rabbinical School), School Rabbi for Perelman Jewish Day School (Philadelphia, PA)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Former Project Manager, ReFrame: Experiential Education in Congregational Schools
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Cantorial School, Davidson School, Center for Pastoral Education)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Teacher’s Institute), Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Bar Ilan University
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Former Director of Israel Engagement JTS and Director Year-in-Israel Programs, HUC-JIR (NY)
Read MoreAlum (List College, Rabbinical School, Davidson School); Associate Rabbi, Ansche Chesed (New York, NY)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School)
Vice Chancellor and Chief Advancement Officer
In his role as vice chancellor and chief advancement officer, Rabbi David Hoffman is a member of the senior administration, working closely with many of JTS’s major supporters, including the Board of Trustees, and serving as an ambassador for JTS to the many communities we serve. David is an assistant professor in the fields of Talmudic Studies and Jewish Law.
JTS Alum (List College) PhD, Director of Digital Projects, The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Adjunct Instructor in Professional and Pastoral Skills; Deputy Director of T’ruah
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Assistant Rabbi , Congregation Beth Shalom (Overland Park, KS)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Kekst Graduate School); Chief Operating Officer, The Rabbinical Assembly
Read MoreDirector of Recruitment and Admissions for Religious and Educational Leadership and Assistant Dean of First Year Rabbinical Students
Rabbi Annie Lewis serves as the Director of Recruitment and Admissions for Religious and Educational Leadership and Assistant Dean of First Year Rabbinical Students. In this role, she is the lead ambassador for The Rabbinical School, The H. L. Miller Cantorial School, and the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education and oversees the planning, execution, and oversight of the full life cycle of the professional admissions operation.
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Former Rabbi-in-Residence at the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, JTS
Read MoreAlum (Davidson School), Associate Dean, List College and Gershon Kekst Graduate School, Director of Kekst Graduate Admissions
As associate dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, Orlea Marlin provides academic advising and general guidance to students in List College and the Gershon Kekst Graduate School
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Adjunct Professor of Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Studies
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, List College), Rabbi, The Jewish Center (Princeton, NJ)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Davidson School), Former Program Coordinator, Fellowship for Applied Jewish Wisdom
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Kekst Graduate School, Center for Pastoral Education)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Former Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and the Division of Religious Leadership
Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and the Division of Religious Leadership, Senior Lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills
Rabbi Daniel Nevins is the Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and dean of the Division of Religious Leadership of The Jewish Theological Seminary. He represents JTS on the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism and the Executive Council, Joint Placement Commission, and Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly. He has written responsa on the halakhic topics of personal status, disabilities, bioethics, technology, and homosexuality. His responsa may be read at the CJLS website and on his personal web page, rabbinevins.com.
Read MoreDirector of the Beit Midrash and Nishma Summer Program, JTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Kekst Graduate School, Davidson School)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Director, Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Yeshiva University
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School)
Kendell Pinkney, Student, The Rabbinical School of JTS (Class of 2022)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Adjunct Lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School, Kekst Graduate School), Adjunct Professor of Jewish Thought
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School, List College), CEO and Academic Dean, Academy of Jewish Religion
Read MoreJTS Alum (List College), Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University; JTS Fellow
Read MoreSamuel Eig Associate Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Theology and a faculty fellow at the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, JTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School)
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Gemara Faculty and Director of External Affairs, Yeshivat Maharat
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Adjunct Lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbinical School), Mental Health Program Coordinator, Adjunct Faculty in the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS
Read MoreJTS Alum (Kekst Graduate School), Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History, Rutgers University
Read MoreJTS Alum (Rabbincal School, Kekst Graduate School), Rabbi, Beacon Hebrew Alliance
Read MoreAdjunct Instructor of Professional and Pastoral Skills
Director of the Center for Pastoral Education
Rabbi Mychal B. Springer founded the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS in 2009, establishing relationships with hospices, Jewish social service agencies, and—most recently—prisons and reentry facilities, allowing students to learn the art of pastoral care as they serve marginalized populations.
Read MoreJTS Alum (PhD in Rabbinic Literature, Kekst Graduate School), Content Manager, Hadar
Read MoreJTS Alum (Davidson School)
Sarah Tauber was an assistant professor at the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of JTS. She graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in history, University of California at Berkeley with a secondary school teaching certification in English, and JTS with an EdD in Jewish education. She also studied Jewish history in Paris at l’Écoledes hautes études en sciences sociales. She has taught in a variety of secondary school settings in the Jewish and general educational world, both in the United States and in Europe, and was the education director of Congregation Beit GIL in Geneva, Switzerland. Before coming to JTS she taught Judaic studies, history, and tefillah at the High School of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester. Dr. Tauber is also the book review editor of the Journal of Jewish Education. Dr. Tauber is passionate about teaching and mentoring JTS students on their journeys.
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