Welcoming New Members of Hillel International’s Board of Directors
Hillel International is thrilled to welcome four new members to our Board of Directors. The Hillel International Board of Directors is a diverse cohort of leaders who work collaboratively to fulfill Hillel’s mission. With their creativity, passion, and strategic thinking, this group of Hillel stakeholders, including professionals at local Hillels and exceptional student leaders, works to focus Hillel’s direction and generate financial support.
Joining the Board of Directors are Hillel International Student Cabinet co-chairs, Jordan Robinson and Jessica Yeroshalmi; former Student Cabinet member and member of President Biden’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, Jordyn Zimmerman; and Executive Director of Metro Chicago Hillel, Charles Cohen.
Jordan Robinson is a 2022 graduate of Michigan State University with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies. He was involved at Hillel at Michigan State throughout his four years of college, including serving on the Executive Board for two years, and is now beginning his second year of serving on the Hillel International Student Cabinet. He also participated in fellowships, served in internship roles, and worked with university and student leaders to build relationships with the Jewish community and combat antisemitism on campus. This fall, Jordan will be pursuing his Masters of Business Administration at Wayne State University. Additionally, he is interning for the Delta Dental Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental. In his free time, he loves listening to new music, travelling, trying new coffee shops, playing with his apartment dog Koda, and being out on a mountain or lake. He looks forward to advancing Hillel’s student movement and representing the voices of thousands of Jewish students globally.
Jessica Yeroshalmi is a Macaulay Honors student at Baruch College studying Economics and Political Science. Throughout her college experience, she has been an active part of Hillel at Baruch (and at City, John Jay, Pace, SVA, Fordham, FIT, and The New School). At Hillel at Baruch, she is the incoming E-Board President, as well as the President of WINGS (Women Improving Next Generation Society). In her first year on the Student Cabinet, Jessica co-chaired the Mizrahi-Sephardic Cohort with members from around the country. Jessica’s Sephardic-Jewish Persian heritage has driven her passion for connecting with the Jewish community and creating a better campus environment for Jews of all backgrounds and experiences. She is looking forward to serving as co-chair on Hillel International’s Student Cabinet to promote the Hillel movement and use her platform to create change for the better.
Jordyn Zimmerman, M.Ed., obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Education Policy from Ohio University and her Masters of Education at Boston College. As a nonspeaking autistic student who was denied access to effective augmentative communication until she was 18, Jordyn has personal experience challenging the educational status quo, which is featured in the 2021 documentary This Is Not About Me. Technology helped open Jordyn’s world and she began advocating for others through a series of engagements. Since then, she has delivered keynote addresses and presented at conferences around the world and is currently on the board of CommunicationFIRST. She also works as Director of Professional Development at the Nora Project, where she helps educators teach students about disability as a natural and expected part of human diversity. Most recently, Jordyn was appointed to serve on President Biden’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Charles Cohen is the Executive Director of Metro Chicago Hillel. A native Milwaukeean, Charles grew up with all of the Jewish formative experiences: Jewish day school, day and overnight camp, youth group, and trips to Israel. In 1996, Charles received his B.S. in finance, with honors, from Yeshiva University Sy Syms School of Business, and then got his J.D. at Boston University School of Law. After many unhappy years as an attorney, Charles became the Planning Manager for Jewish Continuity at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, where he developed community building and strategic planning skills and oversaw the creation of the Volunteer Center. He then returned to Boston to become the Manager of the Jewish Day School Affordability Knowledge Center, where he worked with day schools across North America to analyze and experiment with strategies to make Jewish education more accessible to all families. From there he went to Palm Beach to serve as the Executive Director of the Lorraine & Jack N. Friedman Commission for Jewish Education, and then as the Executive Director of the Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy.