Hillel professionals, campuses recognized at Hillel International Global Assembly
Hillel International presented more than 20 awards to its talented professionals and campuses at its sixth-annual Global Assembly, held at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center. More than 1,100 professionals, stakeholders and partners attended the conference.
Hillel recognized eight campus professionals with the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award for engaging students and building dynamic Jewish communities on campus.
One of those awardees, Rabbi Megan GoldMarche, senior Base Hillel rabbi and director of strategic development at Metro Chicago Hillel, was lauded for creating authentic and pluralistic Jewish experiences, especially for those on the periphery of Jewish life. Rabbi GoldMarche has opened her home for Shabbat dinners, conversations about Judaism and gender, back-to-school barbecues and the 10-week Jewish Learning Fellowship.
In addition, eight Hillels were recognized for numerous achievements, including creativity in fundraising, efforts to collaborate with campus organizations and innovative engagement methods.
Syracuse University Hillel and Greater Portland Hillel were awarded the Phillip H. and Susan Rudd Cohen Outstanding Campus Award, which includes a $1,000 gift to bolster campus success.
These campus Hillels successfully engaged 70% of the Jewish undergraduate students on campus at least once and engaged 30% of Jewish undergraduate students in either six or more experiences or one high-impact program.
Several Hillel professionals were honored with the Milestone Award for serving campus Jewish communities for 20 years or more.
Below is a complete list of winners:
Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award Recipients
Jason Benkendorf, Executive Director at American University Hillel
Michelle Brownstein Horowitz, Campus Director at North Carolina Hillel
Megan GoldMarche, Senior Base Rabbi and Director of Strategic Development at Metro Chicago Hillel
Rachel Hillman, Assistant Director of Northwestern University Hillel
Julianne Miller, Director of Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hillel
Rabbi Aaron Lerner, Executive Director at Hillel at University of California, Los Angeles
Rabbi Ari Weiss, Executive Director of Cornell University Hillel
Shana Zionts, Assistant Director at Columbia University/ Barnard College Hillel
Campus Award Recipients
The Campus Partnership Award: Yale University Hillel
The Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz Innovation Award: Hillel Moscow
The Innovation in Fundraising Award: Penn State Hillel
The Israel Education and Engagement Award: Stanford University Hillel
The Great Place to Work Award: Elon University Hillel
The Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Jewish Educational Vision: Boston University Hillel
The Phillip H. and Susan Rudd Cohen Outstanding Campus Award: Greater Portland Hillel and Syracuse University Hillel
Milestone Award Recipients
Jennifer Chestnut, Campus Support Director at Hillel International
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger, Rabbi at University of Wisconsin Hillel
Diane Redman Pfahler, Director of Operations at Michigan University Hillel
Philip Schlossberg, Executive Director at Purdue University Hillel
Greg Steinberger, Executive Director at University of Wisconsin Hillel
Amy Olson, Executive Director at University of Rhode Island Hillel
Rabbi Sue Laikin Silberberg, Executive Director at Indiana University Hillel