Staff
Naftali Brawer, PhD
Neubauer Executive Director & University Jewish Chaplain
Pronouns: he/him/his
Rabbi Brawer cares deeply about the Jewish community of the future, and believes that it is being shaped on the college campuses of today. The excitement of supporting Jewish students as they experiment with, and discover a Judaism relevant to them, is what drives his work at Hillel.
Lauren Bloom
Rosen Family Associate Director
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Lauren oversees the vast array of programming at Tufts Hillel. Lauren's work has a special focus on making social justice an integral component of work on campus. Lauren is a Syracuse alumna, and holds a graduate degree in Social Work. Prior to her appointment at Tufts Hillel, Lauren directed youth programming at a large synagogue and has also worked extensively with the foster care system and troubled youth.
Marilyn Goldman
Director of Operations
Marilyn joined Tufts Hillel in June 2022 as the Director of Operations. She has spent her career working in the Boston Jewish Community in various organizations as well as working for many years at a private family foundation who supported local and national Jewish organizations. Marilyn has extensive experience in nonprofit management, specifically in the areas of operations, finance and human resources. Marilyn has also spent much of her career working with college students and high schools and is excited to return to campus through her work at Tufts Hillel. Marilyn cares deeply about the Jewish community, in future generations, and is energized by her work with young adults. Marilyn lives in Newton with her husband and is the proud mother of two young adults, who also live in the Boston area. When not working, Marilyn enjoys experiencing the many sights and wonders of Boston and the greater New England area.
Alyssa Frank
Director of Development
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Alyssa Frank is proud to serve as the Development Director of Hillel at Tufts University, where she leads fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and community partnerships to support Jewish life on campus. Since joining Tufts Hillel, Alyssa has focused on deepening relationships with alumni, parents, and friends of the university, while also working closely with students and staff to ensure they feel supported in bringing their ideas, initiatives, and goals to life. Alyssa brings experience in development from her previous roles at Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to Tufts Hillel, where cultivating meaningful connections remains at the center of her work. Alyssa is a Syracuse University alum where Hillel was a meaningful part of her college experience, becoming her “home away from home”. She lives in Charlestown with her husband, their three-year-old son, and goldendoodle. In her free time, she enjoys walks in the neighborhood, reading, and being by the ocean.
Ilan Persing
Communications and Marketing Manager
Pronouns: he/him/his
Ilan hails from all over, including Israel, Boston, and California. At UMass Amherst he studied Communication and Film studies, and has spent his career working in Jewish Experiential Education, Multimedia and Marketing. Ilan loves finding new restaurants to explore, playing his guitar, and spending quality time with his wife and their dog.
Katie Hamelburg
Senior Jewish Educator
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Katie Hamelburg is thrilled to have joined the Tufts Hillel team as the Senior Jewish Educator. Her background is in Experiential Jewish Education and Engagement and is passionate about creating meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all backgrounds. She moved to Boston after studying Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Maryland and has an MA/MBA in Jewish Professional Leadership and Non-Profit Management from Brandeis University's Hornstein Program. Prior to coming to Tufts, Katie worked in a wide range of Jewish communal organizations including Repair the World, Camp Tel Noar, United Synagogue Youth, Metrowest Jewish Day School, and Boston area synagogues, and most recently comes from the Program Team at JPro. In her free time, she loves playing board games, traveling, and teaching Israeli dance.
Natalie Lopez
Student Life Coordinator
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Natalie works with our student leadership at Tufts Hillel, along with supporting first years and connecting with prospective students. Natalie graduated from Tufts in 2020, earning her BA in Classics and International Relations. A former Tufts Hillel student leader herself, Natalie loves being a mentor to our amazing student leaders as they implement fun and meaningful programming for the community. In addition to her work, Natalie recently completed her Graduate Certificate and is pursuing her Master’s in Israel Education through the iCenter and George Washington University. In her free time, Natalie is a certified personal trainer and avid gym go-er. Outside of work, you can probably find her in an OrangeTheory, CrossFit, spin, Pure Barre, or [solidcore] class.
Ariel Hekier
Springboard Innovation Fellow
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Ariel is originally from east Texas and earned her BA in Sociology from Duke University. At Duke, she was a Jewish Learning Fellowship Intern at her campus Hillel. She is passionate about fostering community and belonging on college campuses, and she is excited to work with Tufts students as a Springboard Fellow. In her free time, Ariel is a competitive weightlifter and also enjoys hiking, reading, and exploring new restaurants in the area.
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit
Emeritus Neubauer Executive Director
Pronouns: he/him/his
Rabbi Summit stepped down from the position as Executive Director of Tufts Hillel after serving for 39 years. He is currently a Senior Consultant for Hillel International directing a national project entitled “Living our Values.” He continues in his position of Research Professor in the Department of Music and the Judaic Studies Program at Tufts and also holds the appointment of Emeritus Jewish Chaplain at Tufts. Rabbi Summit is an ethnomusicologist and his CD "Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda" was nominated for a GRAMMY award. He also recorded a CD for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on the music of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Fair Trade coffee farmers in Uganda and is the author of two books on music and identity in the American Jewish community. He is passionate about hiking, guitars, and Jewish music.