PROFESSional
leadership
BRIAN FREEDMAN
Executive Director
Brian grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and Brian attended The Ohio State University. He has worked at Hillel at The Ohio State University as the Director of Engagement in Columbus, Ohio as well as the Program Director for Hillel at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, Brian had been working for Northern Hills Synagogue in Cincinnati, Ohio as their Executive Director and Director of Lifelong Learning.
In his free time, Brian earned a Dual Masters degree in Jewish Education and Jewish Studies from Hebrew College.
When Brian is not working, he enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee, baking bread and desserts, playing bass guitar, and reading. He moved to Binghamton with his Doodle mix, Scarlett, and is looking forward to hiking and exploring upstate New York with her.
Want to schedule some time to chat? Please sign up online by clicking here!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brian.z.freedman
Instagram: bassmentrock
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Kayla Goldfarb
Springboard Fellow Innovation Specialist
Kayla was raised in Parkland, Florida after she moved there when she was eight years old. She is initially from Lynbrook, New York and is so excited to be back in her home state! She will be graduating from the University of Central Florida this Summer with a BA in Political Science: Pre Law. At UCF, she served as an orientation leader, an SGA senator, and even held two internships at Central Florida Hillel. She loved being a Knight and will miss her school dearly. In her free time, Kayla enjoys reading, painting, and watching the Food Network almost exclusively. She loves the cold and hopes to learn how to ski now that she’ll be back!
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Rabbi Isaac Attia
OU-JLIC Educator
Rav Isaac was born and raised in sunny San Diego. He received his BA in Psychology and Business Administration and served as President of the Yeshiva Student Council (SOY) at Yeshiva University. After marrying his best friend and moving to Israel, Isaac pursued ordination at the RIETS Israel Kollel (Gruss) and taught at Yeshivat Orayta. A proud Sephardi, Rav Isaac is tri-lingual (English, Hebrew, and Spanish!), enjoys a good harmony and is always down for a competitive game of football.
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Tal Attia
OU-JLIC Educator
Tal hails from Elizabeth, NJ. After learning in Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY), she received a BA in Psychology from Stern College for Women, and an MA in Nonprofit Management & Leadership from Hebrew University. In Israel, she worked for Ayeka Center for Soulful Education, and MMY as an Activities Coordinator (Rakezet). Tal is an avid reader, enjoys nature hikes, and plans to pursue further degrees in Psychology/Family Counseling.
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CANTOR ABBE LYONS
Business Manager
Cantor Abbe Lyons is thrilled to continue with Hillel at Binghamton as Business Manager. She also serves as Jewish Chaplain and Business Manager for Hillel at Ithaca College. She grew up on Long Island but fell in love with upstate NY in her teens, and graduated from Ithaca College with a major in voice performance in 1987. She is adjunct faculty at ALEPH Ordination Programs where she received cantorial smicha in 2010. She lives in Ithaca with her wife, son, mother-in-law and 2 cats. Fun fact: Abbe was certified as an auto mechanic in brakes and front end for 2 years in the early '80s.
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LILLI SHVARTSMANN
JTS Rabbinic Fellow
A first-year rabbinical student, Lilli Shvartsmann has always found outlets for her passion for Jewish education. Between her summers as a division leader for USY on Wheels and a teacher at Camp Ramah, she spends much of her free time creating and executing individualized lessons to prepare students to become Bar/Bat Mitzvah. When not teaching or learning, Lilli loves to spend her days baking cookies and challah, or searching for the best plate of pasta in NYC.
Lilli graduated from California State University Northridge with Bachelors degrees in child development and Jewish studies. Having moved to New York in 2017, Lilli spent one year as a fellow in the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, and one year as a fellow at Yeshivat Hadar.
AMY KRASNO
Administrative Assistant