Alumni

Dangoor Senior Leadership 2023-24 Cohort

  • Tamar is the Director of Schools Strategy at the United Synagogue. Her responsibilities cover the schools, nurseries and cheders within the organisation and under the US Founding Body.

    She grew up in London and went to university in Manchester. Following graduation, she began her career working in the Jewish community. After roles at Norwood, Jewish Care and JNF, she took a break from work to raise a family. Tamar is the mother to 4 children, 3 girls and a boy, and a dog. Whilst being an at-home mum she got involved in her children’s school, running the PTA and then becoming a Foundation Governor, a current role, with responsibilities for Early Years, Safeguarding and Fundraising.

    When her children were old enough, Tamar returned to work joining the staff team at JFS and she has been in her current role at the US for two years. Throughout her various roles within the Jewish community, her work has focused on the formal and informal Jewish education.

    In her spare time she likes to walk her dog, go to the gym, read and go on holidays. She loves getting out of the house and is looking forward to renovating her home this year.

  • Raphi Bloom is the Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communication at The Fed, Manchester’s largest Jewish social care charity which supports one in seven Jewish homes and over 6,500 people across Greater Manchester every year. His role includes overall responsibility for the annual fundraising target of £2 million and managing the charity’s messaging and public relations. He is also heavily involved in The Fed’s My Voice Holocaust storytelling project.

    In a voluntary capacity, Raphi sits on the Management Board of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, helping both ensure the Manchester Jewish community’s current needs are met and shaping its future direction. Raphi is also one of the founders and co-chair of North West Friends of Israel which was formed in 2014 to fight - and ultimately defeat – a BDS attempt to close a Jewish owned shop in Manchester. Since then, Raphi has helped NWFOI organise a number of very successful pro-Israel events and activities and has appeared on television and radio numerous times to advocate on behalf of Israel.

    In his private life Raphi is married to Adele and between them they have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. When he is not busy being with his family - and especially his grandchildren – you can find him either in the gym or watching Liverpool FC!

  • Esty Bruck has been Programme Director at The Friendship Circle since its inception in 2008. The Friendship Circle help people with disabilities make friends and integrate into the Jewish community as well as work to change perceptions towards disability. They also aim to strengthen connection to Jewish life and practise, help people gain skills and confidence and provide support in many ways.

    Esty has helped build the organisation to become one of the top Jewish charities in Manchester and managed the creation, development and running of all programmes and services during this time.

    She is a member of the Jewish Representative Council Management committee and co-chairs its community group. Esty is also active in a range of other communal activities and has completed the UJIA leadership course and Leading Jewishly by Lead and the JLC.

    Esty lives in North Manchester with her husband and 4 children.

  • I am fortunate to be able to combine my passion for my synagogue community, Finchley Reform Synagogue with my professional role as our Executive Director. I joined FRS professionally in March 2021 and have led our professional and clergy team through the remainder of the pandemic, our innovative and inspirational High Holy Day programming and our move into our new purpose built synagogue.

    Prior to joining FRS, I was the Interim Co-Director of the Jewish Museum, having also held the position of Director of Development. I also spent 5 years working as a freelance project manager supporting organisations such as the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Lead, JVN, Women in Jewish Leadership, Nisa-Nashim: the Jewish Muslim Women’s Network and Moishe House alongside working as the first professional director of the Yoni Jesner Foundation. I was extremely lucky to have been involved in the early years of Lead, working on the Adam Science programme and the development of the precursor to the DSLP – Gamechangers.

    In a lay capacity, I was one of the founding partners of Wellspring which is working towards opening a cross communal centre for Wellbeing with Mikveh at its heart. I also managed to sneak into the most recent Jewish News 40 under 40 at number 22! I am very excited to be taking part in the Dangoor Senior Leadership Programme.

  • Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, I grew up actively involved in my Jewish Community. As a child I attended and later worked at my cheder and regularly participated in youth movement activities; BBYO, Habonim Dror local ken (branch) and sleepaway summer camps, Israel tour, and year-course. I then graduated to become Rosh ken and worked as a leader at summer camps across Canada and the USA for six years.

    After receiving my BA (Hons) in Film Studies and History at Carleton University in Ottawa, I ended up in Glasgow, where I have been for 20 years. Very early on I met my now husband, and I earned an MSc in Information and Library Studies at the University of Strathclyde. I worked in a variety of paid and volunteer roles within the charitable sector, including the Scotland Limmud Committee and the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre.

    I now spend my time as a stay-at-home mum of two children and give my time to the community on a volunteer basis as the Programmes Committee Chair for UJIA in Scotland, the Chair of the Matana Club, an educational project started during lockdown that provides Jewish learning and community building for children and families across Scotland, and also as the Youth Programming Co-ordinator for Garnethill Synagogue.

  • Felicia is from New York and lived in Israel before moving to London. In Israel she lectured at Kolech ”To Be a Jewish Women” conference on Judaism & Feminism. She worked in as the international spokesperson and director of development for the Association for Civil Rights for Israel and did graduate work in the Bible focusing on commentaries and comparative legal institutions at Bar Ilan University.

    In London she founded the first women’s megillah reading at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) and works as a lawyer specialising in employment and discrimination. She currently works as a civil servant advising the government on employment law. She continues to teach Jewish texts in London and served as a trustee on the board of management of LSJS. She was a founder of the Kol Rina Partnership Minyan and chaired the charity’s trustee committee.

    Felicia is a freelance writer and lecturer on legal, women’s and Jewish issues in the legal and faith press. She sits on the Employment Law Association’s Legislative and Policy committee chaired government consultations on issues including domestic violence in the workplace, sexual harassment, gender pay gap reporting, positive action and is on the LexixNexis consulting editorial board.

  • Judith has been working in the Jewish community for over a decade and specialises in crisis and change communications with extensive experience in strategic national, political and community based campaigns.

    She is currently the Head of Communications and PR at Jewish Care, leading on communications, PR, and public affairs for the organisation. Prior to this, she was the Head of Communications and Campaigns at the Jewish Leadership Council working on campaigns including Enough is Enough, Balfour 100 and Cable Street 80. Judith has spent time working in Parliament and in America, and previously worked at the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) as Campaigns Director, particularly focussing on strengthening the voices of young women and making the organisation more inclusive for disabled and LGBT+ students.

    Judith is now a trustee of UJS, a trustee of Jewish Women’s Aid, and has volunteered for a number of other charities including previously serving as a trustee of women’s interfaith charity, Nisa-Nashim.

    Judith is passionate about community, equality, and progress.

  • Daniel joined Camp Simcha in September 2010 following a number of years working for the youth movement Bnei Akiva and having graduated with a BSc in Acupuncture.

    He was promoted to Head of Services in 2015 and took on the added responsibility of Deputy Chief Executive in 2021. He is responsible for output and budget for all of the services, driving service performance, strategy and digitalisation and is Designated Safeguarding Lead. He leads a team of 7 office staff, 12 Family Liaison Officers, with over 400 dedicated volunteers.

    Daniel is married to Aviva who is a midwife and they have 3 primary school age children. Daniel is actively involved in his local shul as the Honorary Secretary. For the last 7 years has been an Edgware Hatzola Responder and Community First Responder for London Ambulance.

  • Joe Hyman is Director of Innovation and Engagement at Limmud. He previously worked at JW3 as their Communities & Special Events programmer where he diversified the audience and increased their online reach through bold and inclusive programming.

    Joe is an LGBTQ+ activist and uses his voice to increase visibility and inclusion of LGBTQ+ Jews and create spaces for people to connect and heal. He loves Jewish learning and spent time studying at Eretz Hatzvi in Jerusalem and Hadar in New York. Joe co-founded DAVAR in response to a lack of creative Jewish learning spaces. DAVAR creates unique evenings where people learn Jewish text and respond by creating visual art.

    In a former life, Joe studied architecture and values incorporating design thinking into his work. He grew up in an Orthodox home with a strong Jewish identity and mixed Scottish and Egyptian heritage. He now identifies as Masorti and is former chair of Ohel Mo’ed Community. When he’s not working, he roams the halls of museums with a sketchbook and journal and his trusted selection of pens. Throughout his life, the most consistent element of Joe’s personality has been his love of strudel biscuits and other biscuits commonly served at Kiddush.

  • Rachelle is the Community Engagement and Volunteer Manager at JVN where she is responsible for leading a team which supports charities in building vibrant and compliant volunteer teams as well as supporting individuals to find their perfect volunteer role. 

    Rachelle moved to Los Angeles in her twenties and worked for the newly created Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation managing their call centre and establishing their volunteer department as well as supporting volunteer recruitment across the world. She later managed the volunteer team at the Museum of Tolerance, where she worked with the education department to create and then train volunteers to deliver programmes on diversity and tolerance for front line responders.

    After moving to London, she worked for Jewish Care managing several of their services, although predominantly working with the Survivor and Refugee communities, developing social, cultural, therapeutic, intergenerational and educational programmes. She also developed partnerships between Survivors and schools, Holocaust education organisations and synagogues. She was instrumental in establishing the Forum for Yom HaShoah.

    She is currently volunteering on the council for her shul and an education charity in Israel.

    Rachelle is married with two children and a dog.

  • Joshua is a collaborative and driven leader with experience running UK charities and advising international clients as a strategy consultant.

    He is currently a Venture Partner for Ark, where he is advising charities working with children and young people on how to scale their operations. Beyond work, he is a trustee of the Associate of Jewish Refugees, trustee of the Jewish Youth Fund, member of the JLC's Audit and Risk Committee, financial advisor to Limmud, and Service Coordinator at New North London Synagogue. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Diplomatic Service Families Association, which supports the families of UK Government staff overseas.

    He returned to London in May 2022 after three years living in New Delhi, accompanying his wife on a UK diplomatic posting and working as a Senior Project Manager for Dalberg Advisors. In this role, he led teams on projects to counter human trafficking, broaden financial inclusion and improve access to education.

    After graduating from the University of Cambridge, he spent a year as FZY Mazkir, before becoming a financial services strategy consultant at Oliver Wyman. He has been Chief Operating Officer at two government-funded charities focussed on reforming public services - the police and the prison service. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, drinking whisky and playing Scrabble.

  • David Mason grew up in Edinburgh, studied a BSc and MSc at LSE and then spent a number of years studying in yeshivot in Israel. He has worked as Rabbi of two communities, Kingston and Muswell Hill.

    While a Rabbi, he developed a large amount of work in social justice, inter faith and the environment. David built projects that would help local asylum seekers, founded Haringey Multi Faith Network and is one of the lead Rabbis on the EcoSynagogue project. David also became active in the Labour Party, running a local branch and standing for local Council, losing by 31 votes!

    He is honoured and excited to have been appointed the new Executive Director of JCORE (Jewish Council for Racial Equality) in its new relationship with HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). This will give him a great opportunity to deepen his desire for the Jewish community to be part of the advocacy and support for refugees and asylum seekers.

    David is married and has four children - and loves reading politics and history, along with following Arsenal Football Club!

  • Daniel is a proud British Jew who has always had a close attachment to the Jewish Community and Israel. Having graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Accounting and Finance, Daniel had planned on a career in the world of finance, however soon realised that this wasn’t the path he wanted to take in life.

    Encouraged by his wife Shelley’s grandfather, Stanley Cohen OBE – a prominent philanthropist within the Jewish Community – Daniel joined Maccabi GB in 2005, initially as a sports coach. Daniel went to the 2005 Maccabiah Games and it was at the Opening Ceremony, surrounded by 10,000 Jews from all over the world singing Hatikvah, where he realised he had found his true calling.

    Almost 18 years later, Daniel is now Head of Finance at Maccabi GB and always looking at how Maccabi GB can financially meet the needs of the community when it comes to their health and wellbeing.

    Daniel is also a proud member of Shenley United Synagogue and sits on their council.

    Daniel has been married for 19 years and has 2 children – Yoni, 15 and Max, 7. Family is central to everything that Daniel does.

  • Emma is the Fundraising Manager at Kisharon, having recently celebrated her one-year anniversary at the organisation in December, having relocated from Event Fundraising at Jewish Care.

    At age 13, Emma joined FZY as an avid member of Sunday Night ‘Zera’ gatherings at Stanmore Shul. 32 years later her involvement is still going strong, despite several attempts to ‘graduate’ from the movement. From participant, to leader, to professional staff, Emma is now involved a lay capacity as Chair of Trustees for the Friends of FZY.

    Emma’s deep-rooted passion for youth work and informal education carried through from FZY to Maccabi, as a leader at Kenton Maccabi through to a professional role at Maccabi GB.

    Since spending her gap year on FZY Year Course, Emma has travelled back and forth to Israel, “trialling” Aliyah at every possible opportunity. Emma made Aliyah in 2015 but has since returned to spend invaluable time with family and friends.

    Emma is a dog obsessed, chocolate-loving, arts and crafts-y, gym-goer with a ‘Mutley’ laugh. An extremely passionate and proactive individual who will put her all into the task at hand, whilst wearing her heart on her sleeve.

  • I am Executive Director of Westminster Synagogue, a progressive independent shul based in Knightsbridge with nearly 1,000 adult members. Prior to this, I was Executive Director of Habonim Dror youth movement and Deputy Director of the Zionist Federation.

    I attended Leeds university where I studied Managing & Computing. Whilst many of my coursemates went into roles in management consulting with big companies, I knew this was not the route for me and pursued roles that aligned with my passions, beliefs and where I could make a difference to others.

    I sat on the founding committee of Mitzvah Day, have been involved in Limmud, with St Johns Ambulance and many other charities along the way.

    I am currently a trustee of Habonim Dror.

  • I retired from the NHS in March 2022 after 30 years as a Consultant Paediatrician in Community Child Health, and look forward to a more active role in the Jewish Community.

    I live in Birmingham and am a member of Birmingham Central United Synagogue, and act as president and gabbai at the small synagogue within our care home, Andrew Cohen House. My other leadership roles within the community to date have been the chair of the first ever Birmingham Day Limmud and team leader of the Central shul’s pastoral care team.

    I like to think my approach to most issues was summed up in feedback I got from a student after a lecture I gave on the effects of poverty and deprivation on child health: “Friendly man, made a boring subject seem interesting.”

    If I can get people interested in the things that matter whilst being friendly, I will know I have succeeded!

  • Becky grew up on the Wirral and barely engaged with her Jewish identity until her early 20s, when she first attended Limmud.

    After studying Modern History at Oxford, she trained as an early years and primary teacher at Brodetsky Primary School, under the guidance of the former Agency for Jewish Education. She rose to the position of Assistant Head, acted as Staff Governor, and secured an outstanding judgement for her department, before leaving for a local authority role in school improvement.

    Becky has been an active member of both Sinai Synagogue and the wider Leeds Jewish Community for the last 20 years, serving as a Trustee for Leeds Jewish Housing Association and fundraising for Leeds Jewish Welfare Board as an advocate of their mental health provision.

    Since 2020, she has worked to sustain and develop Sinai as a thriving Reform community, empowering members to take on voluntary roles and engage in community life. In January 2023, she steps up to a new role of Community Director.

    Becky is married to Simon, a video producer/ photographer, and they share their home with a lively 6 year old and a very fluffy cat!

  • Nicola is currently the Head of People and Organisational Development at Jami.

    She has worked in HR for the past 12 years starting in Ford’s Dagenham Engine Plant before shifting her career to focus on mission driving organisations, primarily in the philanthropy sector. As a People Leader Nicola has helped coach and develop leaders to help get the best out of them and is excited to have the opportunity to work on who she is as a leader and what she brings to a Senior Leadership team.

    Previously Nicola was heavily involved in community organisations and welcomes the opportunity to re-connect with her community.

    Nicola has two young kids and has always been a passionate advocate for women, women in the workplace and women’s rights.

Dangoor Senior Leadership 2019-2020 Cohort

  • Lara Balsam is the Director of the JVS.

    In recent years, she has masterminded the creation of a brand new vegan community centre - the world's first ever Jewish vegan hub. The centre is open to all, and acts as a beacon for those interested in incorporating sustainability and veganism into their everyday lives.

    Lara has a passion for ethical and sustainable living. She shares her tips on ‘My Fair Ladle’ (on Facebook and Instagram). In her spare time she enjoys cooking, food growing, arts and crafts, and making natural cleaning and beauty products from plants she grows.

  • Michelle works as Director of Operations at the Office of the Chief Rabbi, where her remit includes initiatives and issues relating to women’s involvement in the community, as well as responsibility for the operations and finances of the office. She has led on projects including the Ma’ayan Programme and Neshama.

    Previously, Michelle was Director of Operations at Mitzvah Day and worked as Public Affairs officer at the Board of Deputies.

    In a lay capacity, Michelle is a trustee of Mizrachi UK and previously was Chair of Alei Tzion synagogue for three years. Michelle is a graduate of the Adam Science Foundation Leadership Programme, and was heavily involved in both Bnei Akiva and Jewish Youth Study Groups whilst growing up.

    Michelle is married with two children.

  • Georgina is a passionate and dedicated community builder and Jewish educator. She has recently been appointed Chief Executive of Mitzvah Day, an organisation that seeks to bring people, of all faiths and backgrounds, together through Jewish-led social action. A bibliophile, tea lover, foodie, traveller, and feminist, Georgina holds a B.A. in English literature and has worked for a range of Jewish organisations focused variously on Jewish life on campus, Jewish identity, humanitarian causes, and global Jewish community through JDC Entwine, OLAM, the Union of Jewish Students, and others. In addition to her work, Georgina has always sought voluntary roles across the Jewish community to find continued ways of facilitating meaningful conversations around volunteering, inclusion for all people, women's issues, Holocaust education, and social justice. Georgina is a former resident of Moishe House London, where she worked to build young adult community and founded a monthly women’s Rosh Chodesh group. She has also volunteered for Limmud and March of the Living UK in the past.

  • Ben lives, teaches and serially volunteers in London’s Jewish community. He is a trustee or senior advisor at a number of community organisations, including JW3, the Nashira partnership minyan, and the new counter-extremism charity Nahamu. Ben held a number of roles in Limmud, chairing their 2016 Conference, and now represents them on the Board of Deputies.

    Ben writes the widely-read “Better Know a Jewish Charity” series on organisations and trends within the Jewish community. His work on a range of issues has been published or used as the basis of major stories in both the Jewish and national press, and he provides ad hoc advice and assistance to a wide range of communal charities.

    Professionally Ben works as a forensic accountant, specialising in commercial disputes and fraud investigations. He lives in Bow with his wife Tilla, an artist.

  • Jamie Field is Head of Unregulated Services at Jewish Care. He is responsible for leading the organisation’s non-regulated services including, community centres, Holocaust survivors services, centres for people living with dementia, outreach services, digital services and community development. He is also responsible for the establishment of community services at Jewish Care’s new Sandringham development.

    Jamie grew up in Ilford and initially volunteered and later worked at Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre, having trained as a youth worker. He has worked in frontline roles across various community services, progressing within the organisation and is now part of the Senior Leadership Team.

    His key achievements include creating the Department of Health backed Supportive Communities Tea Party service, which provides outreach support to isolated members of the community and the successful establishment and delivery of newly designed community services in East London.

    He is a member of the Charity Works leadership alumni having graduated from the programme and was later recruited as a mentor for participants. Jamie was also listed in The Jewish News ‘Top Forty Under 40’.

    Jamie is married to Emma and they have four children. He enjoys going for walks with his family, making sushi and carrying out DIY tasks with his daughter.

  • Yehudis Fletcher, born in Glasgow, now lives in the heart of Broughton Park, Manchester. With a background in project management, she is now the spokesperson for Nahamu, a think-tank addressing extremism in the Jewish community. She also works as an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor for Migdal Emunah, providing support to people from the Jewish community whose lives have been affected by sexual abuse, is the ambassador for JOFA UK, and writes regularly for the Jewish News.

    Yehudis is studying social policy at Salford University.

    Yehudis is passionate about making her chareidi community safe and sustainable. As a graduate of both the Susi Bradfield Women's Educational Leadership Program and the UJIA Leadership Program, she feels leadership is about knowing how much there still is to know, rather than knowing all the answers.

  • Niki Jackson has been the Director of Education at New North London Synagogue, a large and vibrant Masorti community in Finchley for the last 5 years. She is in charge of their supplementary school structures, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme and family education. Previously she worked as teacher and senior leader at Clore Shalom Primary School for 15 years where she was in charge of the Early Years Unit and the provision of modern Hebrew. Niki has worked in Jewish education and community work for close to 30 years both in the UK and in Israel in a variety of formal and informal settings including UJIA, The Jewish Agency, The Israeli Forum.

    She has also been a governor at 2 primary schools. Niki is passionate about youth leadership training and engaging young people in active and experiential learning. She is a mum to 2 (fairly) grown up children. She likes to see herself as an intrepid traveller and in the last 5 years has enjoyed some incredible volunteering opportunities in Asia and Africa. In her free time she is an aspiring farmer.

  • A registered social worker, Hadassa joined Kisharon in 2007 after moving to the UK with her husband and young children from her native Australia. She had previously worked at Oz Child in Melbourne, managing foster care services for children with disabilities, including a research and service design project with people from the local Vietnamese community.

    At Kisharon, Hadassa has worked in a variety of roles supporting adults with learning disabilities and their families. Her previous role was Principal Social Worker and Day Opportunities Manager, before being recently appointed as Director of Operations.

    Hadassa’s priority is to enable people with learning disabilities to be more valued members of their community and society in general, and to be able to contribute back. She is passionate about enabling people to live an ordinary life.

    Hadassah believes social work values and Jewish values link very closely together, and she enjoys working within her own community, although that does bring its own challenges.

  • Claudia Kitsberg is Head of Living & Learning and Governance at the United Synagogue, where her responsibilities include the following areas: social and educational events for communities, formal education and governance within United Synagogue schools and safeguarding. Claudia played a central role in the facilitation of the Jewish Community Academy Trust, of which she is now a Trustee.

    Claudia joined the United Synagogue having worked in varied roles including managing national and international research studies in both the educational and commercial sectors, teaching in a Prep school and working in The House of Commons and at Mishcon de Reya.

    She studied Mathematics & Statistics at the University of London, has a Masters in Applied Social Research, a Post Graduate Diploma in Early Years Education, a GTC teaching accreditation and a Graduate Diploma in Law.

    Claudia lives in North London with her husband Anthony and their three children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, running and going to the theatre.

  • Richard comes from a communally minded family. He is Head of Campaigns at the United Synagogue where he is responsible for a range of fundraising activities including the Kol Nidre Appeal, Trust Applications and Major Donors. He is also part of the core group looking at maximising employee engagement across the organisation.

    Richard has been with the United Synagogue for 18 years during which time he has worked in various departments including Tribe, the Community Division, Marketing and Fundraising. These experiences have helped develop his views on the community and the impact that great community initiatives can have on people's lives. Prior to working in the community, he taught Science in a comprehensive secondary school in Redbridge.

    Richard studied Biochemistry at Leeds University, gained his PGCE in Science at the Institute of Education and while at the United Synagogue gained a Masters in Community Leadership from Middlesex University, where his research project looked at the relationship between religious practise and levels of volunteering. He is also a Nahum Goldman fellow.

    Richard is married to Elizabeth and lives in Edgware with their 5 children.

  • Adam is the Community Director at Alyth Synagogue and is therefore responsible for the smooth running of one of England’s largest synagogues. This varied and challenging role includes being responsible for the office administration, communications and PR, the premises, supporting the Rabbis in the provision of services, and working closely with the Trustees in compliance with charity governance.

    Adam has been involved with Jewish communal organisations on a voluntary basis since he was a teenager. This includes teaching at chader and being a madrich with RSY-Netzer. After university, studying Hospitality Business Management, Adam went on to become a Movement Worker for RSY-Netzer and then Managed the Youth and Young Adults department at Reform Judaism until 2010 when he moved to Alyth.

    Adam has been a team member of various Limmud Conference teams, participated in the Adam Science Leadership Programme in 2009-10 and is currently a Governor at Akiva Primary School.

  • Michelle Mitchell is the Head of Strategic Collaboration at the JLC and leads on our long term strategic work on sustainability and challenges facing our members and community.

    Michelle joined the JLC from member World Jewish Relief where she was Head of Major Giving, having been at the organisation since 2012 when she joined as a trust fundraiser. She is a proud member of the Jewish community, having grown up in a family deeply committed to communal service, an active and busy United Synagogue (Belmont) and B’nei Akiva.

    Michelle’s vision for the Jewish Community, is a well governed, efficient and effective sector, delivering sustainable services based on changing needs and demographics. She would like to see increased engagement with the social challenges faced by those beyond the Jewish community, assisting wherever we can add value or expertise.

  • From the age of 13, Sara was a passionate member of a Liberal Zionist Jewish youth movement known then as ULPSNYC Netzer. She led as a Madricha for many years and spent her gap year in Israel on Shnat Netzer. Sara enjoyed fundraising as part of the RAG society at university after which she became a professional fundraiser. She now has 16 years of professional experience, during which time she has worked for Meningitis Research Foundation, Asthma UK, Norwood, Anne Frank Trust UK and now at Langdon as the Director of Fundraising and Marketing. Putting her money where her mouth is, Sara has taken part in a number of charity cycle rides including London to Brighton, Saigon in Vietnam to Siam Reap in Cambodia and London to Amsterdam. She and her family are members of Belsize Square Synagogue where she is involved as the Chair of the PTA. When Sara isn’t running after her small children, she enjoys talking politics, Netflix and listening to podcasts!

  • Originally from London, Dan has lived in communities across the U.K. (Manchester, Brighton, and Leeds) as well as Jerusalem. His experience of different communities ignited a desire to help Jewish people connect – by social, cultural, or religious means. After graduating university in 2007, he started working in the Jewish community, initially in youth engagement, then fundraising for adults with learning difficulties, before becoming head of fundraising at MDA UK. In 2015, Dan became the executive director of Mitzvah Day, a small charity with huge reach that encourages over 40,000 people to participate in social action projects each year. Dan professionalised the organisation whilst continuing to grow and develop the charity. In 2018, Dan was fortunate enough to participate in the inaugural OLAM Fellowship program. The yearlong program was life changing, as his experiences in Washington, Rwanda, and New York opened his eyes to global issues and inspired him to think about what Jewish responsibility meant outside his local or national community. Inspired with a new thirst to engage in global issues, Dan became CEO of ORT UK in January 2019. A part of the ORT global network, which empowers young people through life-changing science and technology education and vocational training, ORT UK also runs programs aimed at enhancing the student’s Jewish education and providing career progression for the community, as well as funding ORT projects across the world. In his new role, Dan hopes to increase the organization’s annual income of £1 million per year and grow its national profile.

  • Nathan has been involved in Jewish Education for 20 years. He is passionate about supporting and developing young people in a range of personal development topics, from anti-bullying, to internet safety, to relationships & sex education, antisemitism & discrimination. He is Head of Education at Maccabi GB, where he designs and delivers the educational strategy for the organisation, as well as creating the Jewish Identity Programmes at International Games. Since 2012, Nathan has managed Streetwise, the PSHE and RSE provider for Jewish Schools, which engages 25,000 young people across the Jewish community each year. In 2016 he created ‘Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination’, a project which provides anti-discrimination education, with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, to over 10,000 young people in mainstream schools on a yearly basis.

  • Judy Silkoff has been working in Jewish communal organisations for the past 12 years, having previously had a career as a freelance journalist writing for newspapers and magazines in the UK, USA and Israel. Currently, in addition to her professional role as Chief Operating Officer at a London-based Orthodox synagogal body, she is the co-chair of the AJWO (Alliance of Jewish Women and their Organisations) and the co-chair of her local Nisa-Nashim group. In November 2019, she will take up a new professional role as Director of Operations at the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

    As a passionate Interfaith activist, Judy occasionally volunteers for the Faith and Belief Forum as a schools’ speaker and has also spoken and written articles on the subject of adolescent mental health. Judy is married with four children, aged from 10 to 23.

  • Naomi has been a teacher for 20 years and has worked in Jewish Schools for the last 17 of them. She is very excited this year to have just taken on the role of Interim Head Teacher of Kerem School in Hampstead Garden Suburb.

    Teaching is Naomi’s passion but as she has progressed through the different stages of leadership she has found that she is able to fulfil her passion for teaching whilst having the opportunity to lead and support colleagues and, with others steer the direction of an organisation.

    Naomi is a mum to two active boys and much of her leisure time is spent on the side lines of rugby pitches, cheering them on.

    As members of Finchley Reform Synagogue, they enjoy both the communal prayer and the focus on social action, volunteering at initiatives such as the winter shelter. As a family, they enjoy travelling and are always planning their next adventure.

    Naomi’s vision for her pupils is that they leave school with the knowledge and skills to be successful and the attributes needed to be proud and active citizens in both the Jewish and wider community.

Dangoor Senior Leadership 2017-2018 Cohort

  • Amanda’s professional work centres around helping to change the way business does business – specifically around how to change or develop business models and processes that have a benefit on society and international development. Her career has spanned the corporate and not for profit sectors specialising in corporate responsibility and communications. She loves making connections between people, ideas, projects and organisations. And to inspire others to see the benefits of this work, making sure that follow up takes place delivering dazzling implementation and results.

    Amanda is currently a Vice President of the Board of Deputies and also chairs its Defence Division that focuses on the defence of Jewish freedoms, rights and security, specifically all forms of antisemitism, racism, anti-Israel extremism and bigotry. As a Deputy for The Hampstead Synagogue since 2012, she was Chair of BODSA (the Board’s Social Action Group) and its first Gender Equality Champion before being elected Vice President.

    She was a participant of Lead’s Dangoor Senior Leadership Programme. Amanda is a mother of two grown up daughters and is married to Anthony. She enjoys travelling and entertaining. Her guilty pleasures: soap operas and IPhone Sudoku.

  • Arieh Miller is the Executive Director of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland (ZF). Arieh has been at the ZF for almost two years now. When he started Arieh was the youngest Chief Executive working in the Jewish Community. At the ZF Arieh has aimed to expand the reach of the organisation, working closer with Youth Movements and schools to engage the future generations of Zionists living in the UK. Since an early age Arieh has had a passion for Israel and for Israel engagement, avidly believing that engagement is the only way to make progress in all walks of life. Arieh has spent a great deal of his time in the past two years running sessions and meeting with people to find out what inspires them, so that the ZF can provide something that people want, rather than just making assumptions. Arieh is proud of his work at the ZF, and is one of the few people in the world who is fortunate enough to be doing a job that excites, challenges and engages him on a personal level in addition to the professional.

    Before working at the ZF, and in his mid-teens, Arieh started out producing charity events. Having got a taste for the events world, and after his gap year in Israel (Shnat Netzer) Arieh went on to study Performance Management at Leeds University. Whilst there, Arieh’s career aspirations veered in a much more communally focused direction, starting off as a youth worker at Sinai Synagogue and working part time for RSY-Netzer and the Reform Movement. From there Arieh worked for a number of years at CST, and then moved to the Embassy of Israel in London where he held the role of Head of Digital Media and Jewish Community Relations. Excited for the future of our community, but concerned for the challenges ahead, Arieh is determined to continue working and volunteering in the community, believing in the mantra “be the change you want to see”.

  • Ashley Lerner is Maccabi GB’s Chief Operating Officer and is celebrating 10 years working for the Organisation. Ashley started as Streetwise Project Worker and then Manager, before becoming Operations Manager in 2011.

    Responsible for the day to day running of the Organisation, Ashley has a senior management team of 5 direct reports and a staff team of 15. Ashley is proud of the impact Maccabi GB has on the Community and with his team has led the Organisation through a period of change and development. Maccabi GB has evolved to be the Community’s provider of Sport, Health and Wellbeing provision and works with over one hundred different partners. From the Community Fun Run to the Maccabiah, Maccabi GB is seen as one of the most progressive and innovative Charity’s in the Community.

    Ashley was destined for a career in the Community. From participant to Movement Worker at FZY, to President of Leeds University Jewish Society. Ashley has always had the desire to make a difference in Communal life.

    Married to Sasha in 2011, their son Otis was born in January 2016. Spare time is spent enjoying his family, Spurs and most recently completing his first London Marathon.

  • Ashley has been a communications director at an international hotel business since January 2017, having previously spent five years in a major commercial property firm, with responsibility for responsible business and internal communications programmes.

    Previously, Ashley has led and managed communications and CSR programmes for a variety of leading organisations.

    Ashley has inspired, led and managed more than £10 million of community investment over the last decade, including significant strategic, award winning partnerships with a variety of leading charities, including Plan International, UNICEF and Shelter, and held senior voluntary leadership roles with St John Ambulance, the UK Youth Parliament (Trustee) and Norwood (Co-Chair, Young Norwood). He was also a member of the Government’s Russell Commission on youth volunteering and NCVO’s Future Civil Society Leadership Commission.

    Ashley was awarded the MBE for services to young people in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2012.

  • Dan Bacall is Director of External Affairs for the Chief Rabbi, where his responsibilities include the areas of interfaith, social responsibility and education. Dan played a central role in developing the Chief Rabbi's flagship Ben Azzai Programme, which takes university students who are future communal leaders to the developing world, and he has led trips to India and Ghana. He is a Trustee of the Jewish Community Academy Trust.

    He joined the Office of the Chief Rabbi after working as Head of Marketing, Communications & Strategy for Langdon. Dan has worked in the Public Affairs department of the Embassy of Israel in London, advising H.E. Ambassador Daniel Taub. He has also worked at a communications consultancy and as a Political Aide in the House of Lords.

    He studied Law at the University of Birmingham and has an MA in International Studies from Goldsmiths College. Dan lives with his wife Shoshana and two children in Borehamwood, and they are members of Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue.

  • Gary is the former Chief Executive of Langdon having recently left in October 2018 after a tenure of three years.

    Langdon seeks to make a measurable difference to the quality of life of Jewish people with Learning Disabilities. It provides care, assisted living, education at its colleges plus specialises in giving its Members access to work opportunities.

    Prior to entering the Charitable sector, Gary spent 25 years working in the Investment Banking Industry specialising in Equities and Derivatives.As a Managing Director, he held leadership roles and has extensive experiencing in extracting the best out of teams. Additionally, he was active in the mentoring of younger talent and sat on diversity committees.

    Gary is now motivated by helping the Jewish Community in the UK have a coherent direction and voice as the complexities in living in a multi-cultural society present new challenges. He visualises becoming active as a Trustee in the immediate future and continuing to give back to the community.

  • Jacalyn has been very fortunate to have worked in the Jewish community for over 25 years in two great charitable organisations, Kisharon and UJIA. Her roles have been quite varied including a Speech and Language Therapist, Deputy Headteacher and Head of Major Gifts.

    She has recently been promoted to the role of Director of Fundraising at UJIA and will be leading a team of 20 staff to grow the fundraising campaign of over £10 million.

    Her passion is Israel and the Jewish community and Jacalyn is committed to continue her work at UJIA and hopefully continue to make an impact.

    Jacalyn is married to Richard and has a son who lives in Israel and two step daughters. In her spare time Jacalyn loves to travel and go to musical theatre.

  • Jo leads strategic projects across the United Synagogue and is a senior member of its Community Division. With a focus on the development of new community models she also leads projects relating to rabbinic careers, marriage authorisation, governance and the development of lay leadership.

    Having been a senior publisher at Pearson Education, Jo’s first communal role was as UK Manager of the Jewish Curriculum Partnership. She subsequently became a director at Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS) and went on to blend her love of books and communities as Director of Community Engagement at PJ Library.

    Jo’s interest in community was sparked when she established a women’s megillah group and understood what can be achieved in bringing together people who had felt on the periphery. She became a member of her synagogue’s Board of Management and, went on to lead a lay team that developed the monthly minyan at Yavneh College into a thriving community that values welcoming, inclusivity, spirituality, innovation and volunteerism.

    Jo lives in Borehamwood with her husband, Dan and her three boys, Noah, Avi and Sol. She loves to run and be outdoors and is shamefully dependent on good coffee.

  • Jonathan grew up in a traditional household in Loughton, Essex where he was the oldest of four siblings. He went to a non-Jewish primary school before starting at King Solomon high School in Barkingside. Jonathan currently lives in Leytonstone, East London but still goes back home for Friday night dinner most weeks!

    Following completion of his A-Levels, he went to the University of Hertfordshire to study Law, before going on to complete a Legal Practice course at the College of Law.

    Jonathan made the decision at that point that he did not wish to complete his training as a solicitor and began to follow a path into public service. He has worked for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for the past 10 years in various roles most recently in Strategy and Policy for Children’s Services.

    Jonathan attends Bevis Marks Synagogue in the city and has done so for his whole life. His family have always been members and Jonathan grew up in the synagogue. Jonathan has held most lay leadership positions within the synagogue and wider S&P Sephardi Community, including chair of the local committee, member of the Board of Elders and he has just retired as member of the Board of Management after serving four successful years.

  • Louise Palmer is deputy head of services for Jami, a mental health charity that provides support to the Jewish Community. A qualified occupational therapist, throughout her career Louise has demonstrated a strong commitment to finding and developing innovative ways to support people with mental illness. She has been involved implementing organisational changes that promote recovery in mental health, has had several articles published in occupational therapy journals and regularly presents at industry conferences including; College of Occupational Therapists (COT) annual conference, Occupational Science Europe and the National Association for Educators in Practice. Louise graduated from Brunel University in 2012, receiving a first class honours and the London School of Occupational Therapy Prize. She is also the proud mum of 11 year old boy, an avid reader of historical fiction and enjoys baking.

  • Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director, René Cassin: Mia has dedicated the best part of 20 years to human rights. She joined René Cassin in June 2015 bringing with her an in-depth knowledge of international human rights work and experience in human rights education, campaigning and organisational development, acquired over 15 years while working for Amnesty International.

    Mia has a BA in international relations and an MA in international human rights law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is also a graduating fellow of the Minerva Centre for Human Rights at the Hebrew University and graduating fellow of Wizo’s Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Programme.

    She is the proud mother of Lyri, Yuval and Daniel and has lived in the UK since 2004.

  • Mitchell is Director, Government Relations Europe for Viacom, a global media business with primary interests in cinema and television

    Prior to joining Viacom he worked at Lexington Communications as a political and communications consultant to a range of corporate clients in the tech, financial services and the creative industries. Before joining Lexington he worked as the Campaigns Director for the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and was a member of the National Union of Students’ National Executive Committee, a position he resigned from due to a failure of the NUS leadership to address instances of antisemitism at its national conference. Prior to university and his involvement with UJS, Mitchell was very involved with BBYO, running its Nottingham chapter and then becoming its National Vice President.

    He has an MBA from Cass Business School, University of London and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from The University of Birmingham. He is a Trustee of UJS with responsibility for helping to improve its policy, campaigning and communication functions.

  • My name is Rachel Jones. I am the Executive Director of Sunridge Housing Association. We are a 43-bed residential care home in Golders Green. My role is predominately to lead the business and create and implement a sustainable model of care. I work closely within the Jewish community and I make up part of the National Association of Jewish Care homes which concentrate on coherence and best practice within our niche sector.

    Rachel has a special interest in End of Life and Palliative care and aims to bring the most specialised professionals together to ensure a high quality of care is delivered.

    I have been involved in social care in one way or another since I was 14. I started my wonderful and fulfilling career volunteering at an elderly day centre for Norwood and my passion grew from strength to strength. I have stayed involved with various volunteering roles throughout my life and enjoy it enormously.

    I am dedicated and passionate about care for the Jewish elderly community. I am keen to work closely with likeminded individuals, enabling the sustainability of high quality care facilities in our community for years to come.

    Taking part in the Dangoor Leadership programme is an exciting step forward in my journey to become an established leader within my community.

  • Ruth Gafson is currently working as a content editor at The Key of School Leaders. Prior to this, she was the Headteacher at Moriah Jewish Day School. She has worked in education for the past 22 years and took the jump into headship in September 2014. She truly believes that happy children learn and encourage teachers to find the most creative and inspiring ways to educate.

    Prior to taking on the headship, she taught at Wolfson Hillel Primary school for 18 years starting as a newly qualified teacher and leaving as Deputy Head. During her time at Hillel she learnt a huge amount about leadership and in the last few years was lucky enough to work with an inspirational Headteacher who encouraged Ruth to lead her own school.

    Whilst studying Education at University (Manchester Met) she also enjoyed being an active member of UJS. It was during this time that Ruth was able to really learn about student politics and leadership along with the fact that we are all responsible for our Jewish community and it’s up to us to nurture it.

    As well as leading a school (which takes up most of her time), she is married with 2 children (Josh - 13 and Jodie - 11). Ruth lives in Shenley, Hertfordshire and enjoys being an active member of Shenley United Jewish Community).

  • Vicky started her career as a university lecturer. She spent 16 years as a government lawyer, drafting legislation and teaching before moving to the Electoral Commission in 2012. As Head of Advice & Guidance, Vicky oversaw the regulation of many elections including the Scottish referendum, the General Election and the EU Referendum. In 2016, Vicky moved to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority as Director of MP Support Services.

    Vicky has always been involved in the Jewish community, with particular interests in inclusion and engagement. She has held a number of leadership positions, beginning as a youth group and student leader. Her roles have included parent governor at JFS, Council member at New North London Synagogue, Chair of the Constitution committee and she is currently the Chair of the Services Committee, responsible for maintaining a pluralist range of services and developing high quality, spiritual spaces for prayer. Vicky is also a lay member on the NHS Blood and Transplant National Retrieval Group and a member of the ethics committee at St Joseph’s Hospice.

    Vicky lives in North London with her husband and three sons and enjoys spending time with family and friends, long walks, swimming, yoga and theatre.