OUR PEOPLE

Born in 1985 and raised near Los Angeles, Aaren earned both a BA and an MA at the American Jewish University, where she was a FEREP Scholarship Fellow of the Jewish Federations of North America. Aaren is a graduate of Kivun, a Schusterman Foundation Professional Development Program as well as the M2 Senior Educators Cohort. She is an alumna of the Jeremiah Fellowship of the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Shatil Fellowship of the New Israel Fund and The Dorot Fellowship in Israel. Aaren lives in Cleveland.

Perpetually curious, with a fierce desire to help others, Jessica has worn many hats in her life. From being a makeup artist for fashion and media, to a practice manager for a bustling veterinary practice, she has always sought to be the best at what she does while trying to help those around her blossom and thrive. Three years ago, she found herself landing in the Jewish non-profit world managing a Providence synagogue before eventually coming to Dorot. She loves the work she does for Dorot, and the people she works with and for. When she isn’t working you can find her baking, or doing NYT puzzles.

Jessica and her husband Jason live in Rhode Island with their cat George, and George’s cat Monty.

Brauna is trained as an attorney and has worked in law and non-profit management and administration. She specializes in guiding organizations through the ever-challenging process of change, including building, improving, and implementing systems of operations, such as human resources, finances and governance. Previous to her position at the Dorot Foundation, Brauna was the Managing Partner at McCauley Lyman LLC, a law firm specializing in renewable energy. Brauna serves on numerous boards in the Rhode Island Jewish community, where she lives with her husband and three children. She studies Daf Yomi and is obsessed with stand-up comedy and longform improv.

A lifelong student, and sometimes teacher of the American Jewish experience, Steven was a Senior Fellow of the Melton Center for Diaspora Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was a student of Nachama Leibowitz and a mentee of Professor Michael Rosenak. Steven has served as Director of the Curricular Project for International Jewish Communal Service and an Instructor of the Hornstein Program at Brandeis University and as Hillel Director at the University of Kansas. For two decades as Director of the Dorot Fellowship in Israel, he guided the development of an innovative leadership training curriculum and established and led an annual seminar in Budapest about the historical and contemporary Jewish experience of Hungary. He has completed the Coach Development Program with the Teleos Leadership Institute, has served on numerous boards and committees, and consults to a variety of early-stage Jewish initiatives. He and his wife, Andrea Katzman, live in Providence, RI where they were raised by two children.

Born and raised in Boston, Jacob received a BA from Wesleyan University. Before joining the DFI, he was a Program Officer and National New Gen Coordinator at the New Israel Fund, where he ran programs in the New York area, and managed NIF’s Fellowships and its 20s/30s New Gen program. Prior to his work at NIF, Jacob was an Shatil Social Justice Fellow, where he spent the year working at Kav La’Oved – Worker’s Hotline, and a Dorot Fellow. Jacob has worked at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and The David Project. He trained as a facilitator through Resetting the Table, facilitated Encounter trips, and led tours to Israel and the Occupied Territories with Telos. Jacob lives in New York City.

In her role leading the foundation’s grantmaking, Naomi is fueled by her commitment to equitable, effective funder practices and Dorot’s values of justice, proximity, and trust. Prior to this role, Naomi worked at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), where she served as Director of Research and Director of Assessment and Advisory Services. An expert on philanthropic effectiveness, Naomi has been a frequent speaker to foundation staff and boards, authored numerous CEP research reports, and helped funders listen to and act on candid feedback from nonprofit leaders. Previously, Naomi worked in nonprofit program and fundraising roles in the fields of education, civil rights, human services, and civic engagement.

A first-generation college graduate from rural northern Wisconsin, Dorot’s mission —a just and equitable society in which all can reach their fullest potential — deeply resonates with Naomi. She holds an EdM in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA from Brandeis University. She has served on the board of human rights nonprofit B’Tselem USA, has been as a volunteer mentor for first-gen college students, is a member of a nationwide giving circle, and is an alumna of the Dorot Fellowship. Naomi lives in Cambridge, MA with her spouse and two kids. Outside of work, she enjoys experiencing the world from the perspective of her high energy kiddos and testing out new cookie recipes.

Neil Harris is the DFI Israel Director. He was born in London in 1956 and studied acting and educational theater before moving to Israel in 1979. He was a founding member and three times General Secretary of Kibbutz Tuval. In 1981, Neil was drafted into the IDF and spent two years as a medic in the First Lebanon War. Following the military, he spent two years working in Community Theater and on programs supporting “youth-at-risk” in the central Israeli town of Rehovot. Returning to Kibbutz Tuval in 1985, Neil started to work in the field of Experiential Education for Social Change, and since then has been facilitating programs on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Jewish/Palestinian-Arab Dialogue, LGBTQ Related Issues, and general democratic dilemmas in Israeli Society. In addition to teaching in the Community Theater Department at the University of Haifa, Neil was a faculty member at the American Dance Festival, teaching “Performance and Activism” for performers interested in being agents of social change. Art and activism continued to be a central theme when in November 2001, Neil completed a walk of over 500 miles from Metulla to Eilat, interviewing Jewish and Palestinian-Arab Israeli citizens on “The State of the Nation” one year into the al-Aqsa Intifada. In the last few years, Neil has appeared professionally in a number of dance-theater productions in both Israel and the USA. You can find him in his 2013 TEDx Jaffa presentation “Pink in the Periphery” and as a performer in this music video from Shai Tsabari. Neil joined the DFI team in 2004-2005. He splits his time between living on Kibbutz Tuval and Givatayim.

Tiferet Bassel was born to American immigrants to Israel and raised in Jerusalem. She currently resides in Jaffa with her wife and their giant brown dog, Miso. Tiferet holds a BA in Eastern Asian and Interdisciplinary studies from Tel Aviv University and an MA in Cultural Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Prior to working at Dorot she was the Director of the Yahel Social Change Fellowship. Tiferet has taught Hebrew extensively and conducted academic research in Cultural Studies with a particular focus on postcolonialism and conflicting narratives of world history. In addition, she has worked at an antiques auction house, researching and writing about artifacts important to Jewish culture and Israeli history.