Meet our Executive Director,
Ilana Kaufman
Ilana’s (she/her) work sits at the center of Jewish Community, Racial Equity, and Justice is anchored by the voices and experience of Jews of Color and is focused on grantmaking, research and field building, and community education.
As a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered and Code Switch, with pieces featured in eJewish Philanthropy and The Foundation Review, and an Eli Talk titled Who Counts, Race and the Jewish Future with 16,000 views, Ilana is passionate about all things at the intersection of Jewish Community/Racial Justice/Jews of Color/Education/Philanthropy.
Prior to joining the Jews of Color Initiative Ilana was the Public Affairs and Civic Engagement Director, East Bay for the San Francisco, Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council.
Ilana, a Senior Schusterman Fellow who is always searching Jewish Text for discussion of equity and justice received her B.A. in Sociology from California State University-Humboldt and her M.A. in Educational Pedagogy from Mills College.
Meet our Director of Programs & Operations, Angel Alvarez-Mapp
Angel (he/him) is the Director of Programs and Operations of the Jews of Color Initiative. Prior to joining the Jews of Color Initiative Angel was CEO of Hello Mazel, a quarterly subscription box of unique, hand-picked Jew-ish stuff. Angel is a seasoned nonprofit professional with extensive experience in the development of comprehensive strategic plans, capital campaigns, and communication/marketing plans. He has provided strong leadership and strategic direction to organizations for more than a decade.
Angel studied Business Administration at St. Mary’s College of California, and Graphic Design at the Art Institute of California, San Francisco.
Meet our Program Director, New York, Riki Robinson
Riki (she/her) is the Program Director of the Jews of Color Initiative’s New York Hub. Prior to joining the Initiative, she was a Food Justice Fellow with Repair the World in Brooklyn where she learned about urban farming, food pantries, and SNAP benefits along with a Jewish lens to community engagement. She also has a background working in Asian American Pacific Islander organizations as well as immigration justice groups.
Riki is rooted in the theory and praxis of Ethnic Studies that research should be generated by and for community relevance. She received her B.A. in Asian American Studies and Sociology from Pitzer College.
Meet our Program Officer, Gabi Kuhn
Gabi (she/her) is the Program Officer of the Jews of Color Initiative. She has extensive experience working in the Bay Area Jewish community, with a focus on advocacy, philanthropy, and multicultural community building. Gabi’s work is grounded in her intersectional identity, which inspires her commitment to social and racial justice issues around the world.
Gabi received her B.A. in Global Studies from The New School in NYC, and most recently received her M.A. in Human Rights and Transitional Justice from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 2020, she was a Jeremiah Fellow with Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, focusing on immigrant justice and voting rights.
Meet our Communications Manager, Emma Gonzalez-Lesser
Emma (she/her) is the Communications Manager of the Jews of Color Initiative. Emma is dedicated to work that centers racial justice, Jewish peoplehood, and identity. She is a scholar-activist completing a Ph.D. in Sociology, and her research examines the identities and experiences of Jews of Color, Jews by Choice, Jewish women, LGBTQ+ Jews—and all their intersections. Emma has spent the last several years as an instructor in undergraduate classrooms teaching on justice and inequality, and serving as the Managing Editor of an academic journal.
Emma received her M.A. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut, where she is also completing her Ph.D., and her B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies from Simmons University.
Meet our Executive Assistant, Theresa Precia
Theresa (she/her) is the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Jews of Color Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, Theresa worked as the Executive Assistant and Office Manager at the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center. Her extensive experience working with C-level executives has built a network of financial, human resources, hotel and office management, and nonprofit professionals throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area.
Theresa holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Howard University, and additionally has numerous continuing education certificates, is a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP), and a D.C. Licensed, Insured and Bonded Notary.
Meet our Programs Coordinator, Tiziana Friedman
Tiziana (she/they) is the Programs Coordinator for the Jews of Color Initiative. She left life in the emergency room behind to pursue her passion for Jewish community building. Prior to the joining the Initiative, Tiziana has contracted with Dimensions Educational Consulting and Moishe House on DEI initiatives, and volunteers her time running a Moishe Pod with her spouse. As a proud Jew by Choice, Tiziana hopes to show others that passion alone can get you started in the Jewish community, and there is no minimum time as a Jew required to make a difference.
Meet our Advisory Board
The Advisory Board supports the mission and work of the Jews of Color Initiative with their strategic thinking, professional networks, and ingenuity. Working alongside staff, the Advisory Board is responsible for upholding our mission and providing invaluable project oversight.
Stefanie Rhodes, Chair
Stefanie is the CEO of Slingshot in New York. She has spent the last 17 years working in Jewish philanthropy. Before joining Slingshot, Stefanie spent 9 years working at the Jewish Funders Network, where she ran the Younger Funders programming and was the founding Director of the Foundation Professionals program. Prior to joining the Jewish professional world she worked in ad agencies and tech start-ups in the Bay Area.
Stefanie holds a B.A. in Journalism and a Certificate in Jewish Studies from Indiana University, and a Certificate in Jewish Philanthropy from Yeshiva University. She is a Senior Schusterman Fellow and was a member of the inaugural CEO Onboarding cohort. Stefanie is married to Hue, and together they have two children.
Janu Mendel
Janu was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. He completed his B.Sc. in Political Science in 2005 at the University of the West Indies. He immigrated to the United States in 2006 and worked in corporate business, later finding his personal and professional home in Miami’s Jewish community. He was recruited as an Outreach Fellow for Temple Beth Am in 2013, while also serving as the Director of Engagement at the University of Miami Hillel. He is currently the founding Executive Director of Repair the World Miami. Janu is an alumnus of the Pardes Summer Program and Bend the Arc’s Selah Leadership Program for Jews of Color, and a current Wexner Field Fellow.
Ginna Green
Ginna is a political strategist, writer and consultant, and previous Chief Strategy Officer at Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. Ginna has worked as Managing Director of the Democracy Collaborative at ReThink Media, at the Center for Responsible Lending, Full Court Press Communications, The OpEd Project, SPIN Academy, and the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. Ginna is a frequent speaker and writer on democracy, race, racism in the Jewish community, Jewish community diversity, and leadership, and has been published in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and more. An alum of the Jeremiah Fellowship and the Selah Leadership Program, and a 2019 Schusterman Fellow, Ginna is a native southerner and the mother of four amazing kids.
Gamal Palmer
Gamal is the Senior Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Gamal is the Founder and CEO of Global Eye Entrepreneurs, an organization creating pipelines to power for male entrepreneurs of color. Gamal co-founded a theater arts collective, “Company Cypher,” which missioned to transform the conversation around skin–tone prejudice and racism.
Gamal earned an MFA and a Post-Graduate Associate from the Yale Schools of Drama and Management (SOM) in Business Organization & Leadership Development. He has served as a Los Angeles Global Justice Fellow. In September of 2018, Gamal became an ICAP Fellow at the Aspen Institute. A native of Philadelphia, Gamal is the youngest of nine children and was highly influenced by his activist parentage.
Meet our Grant Advisory Committee
The Grant Advisory Committee helps ensure a fair and thoughtful decision-making process for grant awards. Together with the Jews of Color Initiative leadership staff, the group reviews grant applications and makes informed recommendations based on their own experience and expertise in the field.
Jordan Daniels
Jordan (he/him) is a Fat Queer Afro-Jew writer and photographer who focuses on Queer experiences, anti-racism, belonging for JoCs, and Fat activism. Jordan believes in collective liberation and is striving to find pathways to it that explore joy. He is an alumni of Bend the Arc’s Selah JOC Cohort and Upstart’s Change Accelerator. He seeks to support those with intersectional identities in gaining tools to unlock their own freedom personally and professionally.
Robin Harrison
Robin (he/him) was born the sixth of seven children raised in Compton, California. He received his bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from Cal State University Dominguez Hills and has served as a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District for twenty-five years. Robin has served on the Beth David Board of Directors for the last eight years and been the Adult Education trustee, VP of Religious Practices, and is currently Social Action trustee. In 2018, he had the honor of serving as a member of the URJ Jew V’Nation Fellowship for Jews of Color. Robin’s family has been members of Temple Beth David, in Westminster, for nearly a decade. As a current rabbinic student and future rabbi, it is his hope to be a positive influence on his temple and surrounding community.
Matthew Hom
Matthew (he/him) is a community organizer and Jewish educator based in Southern California (Tongva land). After studying ancient Jewish history and literature in graduate school in New York City, he returned to California in 2016 and has since pursued a career in political and social justice organizing, working not only for electoral campaigns but also with Jewish progressive nonprofits like Bend the Arc and Never Again Action on issues like immigration, housing, and racial justice. He also has years of experience in Jewish education, and is passionate about engaging with Jewish youth to build inclusive, affirming and Tikkun Olam-centered Jewish identities. Matthew is a proud Chinese American and Ashkenazi Jew, and he is committed to helping foster representation, visibility, creative expression and community for Jews of Color.
Heather Miller
Heather (she/her) is a career educator, school leader, and future rabbi who is passionate about creating embracing spaces in both the religious and secular parts of her life. As the President of her synagogue, she strives to build a community that is safe for all of the intersecting identities in its membership. Heather merges her skill sets to work on committees and projects with various organizations to help move DEI work forward in Jewish spaces. Heather is the founder of The Multitudes, where she designs and facilitates workshops for synagogues and school communities that help cultivate a more racially inclusive lens. She was awarded METNY’s 2020 Ernest L. Rothschild Leadership Award and is honored to be in the 4th JOC only cohort of Bend the Arc’s Selah Leadership Program. Her favorite role of all, however, is as the mother of three amazing boys who are proudly descended from both freed slaves and Holocaust survivors.
Anjelica N. Ruiz
Anjelica (she/her) is the Director of Libraries and Archives at Temple Emanu-El, where she also teaches Judaica to fourth graders. She previously worked at the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas in the Center for Jewish Education and the donor services department. She holds an M.S. in library science from the University of North Texas; an M.S. in criminal justice from Texas State University; and a B.A. in criminology from St. Edward’s University. Anjelica is an alum of the Union for Reform Judaism’s JewV’Nation Fellowship in the 2018 Jews of Color cohort and Bend The Arc’s Selah Fellowship as part of Cohort 16. She also completed the Anti-Defamation League’s Glass Leadership Institute in 2016 and currently sits on the ADL’s Texoma Regional Board.
