OUR PEOPLE

Staff

Aaren Alpert (She/Her/Hers)

DFI Director

In the Office

Coming Soon

Out of the Office

Coming Soon

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Jessica Berndt (She/Her/Hers)

Operations Manager

In the Office
  • Managing day to day finances
  • Coordinating logistical details for the organization,  event planning, website management, alumni awards and payments, basically keeping the wheels turning
  • Making sure that everything is running smoothly. And if it isn’t, helping diagnose and resolve any technical or logistical issues as they arise
Out of the Office
  • Trying to pet every dog I see
  • Baking over complicated things for the sheer fun of it. If it’s fiddly, I’ve made it
  • British comedy panel shows, and Terry Pratchett books

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Brauna Doidge (She/Her/Hers)

Chief Operating Officer

In the Office
  • Build and manage the Foundation’s internal infrastructure, including our finances, accounting, IT and human resources
  • Continues to develop and build upon these infrastructures, to ensure we follow best practices
  • Central hub for our employees’ needs and in relation to our outside financial, legal, HR, and IT partners
Out of the Office
  • Probably at a stand up show
  • Listening to niche comedy podcasts
  • Searching out and cataloging the best bakeries in every city I visit

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Steve Jacobson (He/Him/His)

Executive Director

In the Office
  • Imagining ways to challenge, subvert, and change the status quo to create an ever-more fair and just society
  • Encouraging and celebrating the success of colleagues
  • Coaching civil activists and non-profit professionals
Out of the Office
  • Watching sports, particularly Cubs baseball and Jayhawk basketball
  • Reading historical fiction and books about physics (minus the math, and probably with a whiskey in hand)
  • Spending as much time as possible with family, pets, friends, and pets of friends

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Jacob Levkowicz (He/Him/His)

Associate DFI Director

In the Office
  • Builds each new DFI cohort, from recruitment to the selection process
  • Plans key events on the DFI calendar, including onboarding new Fellows, Orientation, and Leadership Retreats 
  • Organizes the annual Budapest seminar for current DFI Fellows
Out of the Office
  • Driving myself insane watching Arsenal games
  • Searching for the next great hidden gem restaurant before Pete Wells 
  • Traveling as far and wide and often as possible

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Israeli Team

Neil Harris (He/Him/His)

DFI Israel Director

In the Office
  • Overall responsibility for the day-to-day functioning of the Fellowship in Israel
  • Responsible for advisory sessions with each Fellow throughout the year to set personal learning goals, to dream big, and to discover their “fireworks”
  • Managing the DFI staff in Israel and maintaining relationships with our huge team of PLP mentors, teachers and partner institutions
Out of the Office
  • Always trying to find more time to spend with my two grandsons
  • On my way to the next live performance show, and occasionally performing in it
  • Experimenting with a new cake recipe – and when in doubt, baking my yummy cheesecake

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Tiferet Bassel (She/Her/Hers)

DFI Israel Program Director

In the Office

Coming Soon

Out of the Office

Coming Soon

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