JEC About Page

Natalie Solomon

Ari Soshtain

Ari Soshtain grew up in Woodmere, Long Island and graduated from Queens College with a Degree in Economics. After graduation he spent a few years living the dream in Israel. He surfed all the best waves in Herzliya, Tel Aviv, and Netanya while studying with Jerusalem’s finest minds. After a few years, he decided it was time to return to Manhattan to get his career going. Ari was trading on Wall Street and doing some real estate investing when he knew the time was right to propose to his long time friend Cookie. A few years later, Ari started to wonder if a career in the Jewish world would be more fulfilling for him and his young family. He re-connected with a friend from his Israel days who also happens to be the Executive Director of the JEC, Matt Mindell. When Matt heard Ari was thinking of getting back into the Jewish Communal world he was thrilled and snatched him up quickly! You can find Ari teaching a class, learning with students or staffing any of our amazing Trips! Ari and Cookie live in Manhattan with their 3 beautiful children, Moshe, Haley, and Kira.

Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
Lecturer & Educational Director

Rabbi Hajioff received his degree in Economics from Manchester University in England. After working for MTV and European Business News along with moonlighting as a Jewish stand-up comedian, Rabbi Hajioff traveled to Jerusalem to learn at Yeshiva. Following that he returned to London to help establish the Jewish Learning Exchange, now a thriving Jewish educational center in London. Rabbi Hajioff received rabbinical ordination from Ohr Somayach in Monsey. In his spare time he works for NY State with recovering Jewish teens and young adult drug addicts, and is an adjunct professor at Stern College. He is now the educational director of the Jewish Enrichment Center, where he teaches and counsels many of the attendees. Rabbi Lawrence has performed 25 weddings of JEC attendees over the past 7 years he has been working at the JEC.

Shelly Muhlbauer
Trips Director

Shelly grew up in the Garden State and went to school at Lehigh University. Although she obtained her major in Economics, little did she know that her minor of Jewish Studies would bring her fame, fortune and local acclaim. After working a few years for Yahoo! Hotjobs she decided to choose another course and decided to go study spirituality in Israel. After a year of study at Neve Yerushalayim, Shelly came back to NYC where the JEC eventually found her. Hard work pays off - while working for the organization Shelly also was able to meet the yin to her yang at the JEC! Among her various roles, Shelly's main responsibilities include hanging out with Birthright Israel NEXT, NY alumni, developing interesting programming and events and finding opportunities to get members of the tribe back to Israel! Shelly lives in Manhattan's Upper West Side with her husband Robert and adorable son, Akiva.

Robyn Brooks
Trips Coordinator

Robyn Brooks is the Marketing & Trips Manager at JEC. At age 12 she moved from Queens to Syosset, Long Island and upon High School graduation made her way to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It was there Robyn was given the opportunity to go on the Taglit-Birthright Israel trip- and it changed her life. Upon returning from the trip, Robyn decided to devote the rest of her college career to educating others about Israel and bringing people closer to their heritage. She co-founded the Student Alliance for Israel which has spread to other colleges across the country and now receives state funding in Massachusetts. Robyn was also a freelance writer for the Western Massachusetts Jewish Ledger and Public Relations Campus Liason for AIPAC. After college, she fell into a career in television working in Talent Management and Casting. After three years, Robyn felt the pull again, and knew she had to fulfill her commitment and return to the Jewish world full time. Robyn is your go-to-girl for getting back to Israel!

Matt Mindell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Rebecca Sugar
Director, Birthright Israel NEXT NY

Rebecca Sugar is the New York Director of Birthright Israel NEXT, NY. Before joining the organization, Rebecca was the Managing Editor of a nationally circulated lifestyle magazine and prior to that she worked as a development associate for The Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. Rebecca earned a Masters Degree in Jewish History from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a Bachelors Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sari Fallas

Sari grew up in Deal, NJ. After high school there she decided to spend a year in Israel where she studied Jewish concepts. When she came back Sari decided to gain some experience in the merchandising field. She worked as a sales assistant for a whole sale company in NYC. Soon after, Sari attended Rutgers University where she obtained her bachelors in Psychology. Upon graduation, Sari went on the JEC Israel Reloaded trip and fell in love with the organization. She has been working for Birthright Israel NEXT, NY and JEC ever since as an Alumni Relations Manager.

Rivka Katz

Rivka grew up in Los Angeles, California. After graduating YULA high school, she went to the University of Southern California and majored in Cinema-Television, International Relations and Business. She spent a semester abroad in Australia at the University of Queensland in Brisbane where she completed her courses in International Relations and became a certified open water scuba diver. Upon graduating USC, Rivka spent 6 months in Israel learning at Neve Yerushalayim. She then worked for CBS on The Early Show. Now Rivka is living in Far Rockaway, NY and now serves as the multimedia director of the JEC.

Elimelech Blumstein

Born and bred in Brooklyn, NY, Rabbi Elimelech Blumstein staffs trips to Israel, offers his time to learn on-on-one with alumni, and teaches classes on a wide array of Jewish topics. His expertise and personal touch make him a sought-after teacher for one-on-one sessions or through the JEC's Executive Learning Program. His fun, out-going personality brings truth to the adage "good things come in small packages." Elimelech lives in Brooklyn with his wife Faigy and their children, Yael and Azriel.

Aviva Garbowit

Aviva was raised in New Haven, CT but has called Manhattan home for the last decade. While some little girls were playing with Cabbage Patch dolls Aviva was making collages of magazine ad campaigns. Lucky for her she ended up at the Fashion Institute in New York earning her college degree in marketing and communications. For the last three years Aviva produced national events for clients like New York magazine, Johnnie Walker, adidas and MTV. In 2003 Aviva went on a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip and got hooked. Of all the places she’s seen, Israel still ranks as one of the most beautiful and inspiring. You can find Aviva at Reunion everyday overseeing things like the Young Philanthropists Committee and NEXT Shabbat programming. In her free time Aviva volunteers as a Big Sister, eats good meals with friends, writes and also spends time with her cool cousins, Luisa, Gabe and Benji. Feel free to say hi and learn more at aviva@jeconline.com.

Ariela Ades

New Jersey native, Ariela Ades, is the lady behind it all. Ariela attended Rutgers University and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. After several part time jobs through college, including the Police Department, Ariela landed a job as a Bath & Body Product Development Manager. In 2006 she went on a JEC Israel Reloaded trip. Shortly after her trip Ariela began her service to the JEC. When she is not making sure all runs smoothly behind the scenes of this vast organization, Ariela can be found dancing or playing a wide range of sports. Ariela currently resides in Manhattan.

Milton Schwartz
Chief Financial Officer

Milton Schwartz is the Chief Financial Officer of the JEC. Before joining the JEC, Milton was the Founder and President of Royal Crown Financial, Inc., a corporate Finance Consulting group. Prior to his work there, Milton was a Financial Consultant for a private client group at Prudential Securities, where he was involved in financial planning and executions of numerous market transactions. Often called "the jack of all trades," when Milton isn't busy crunching numbers for the JEC, you can often see him fixing the internet at Reunion or making sure everyone has a full glass of wine at our Shabbat dinners.

Jonathon Triest
Graphics Designer

Eli Babich
Program Director

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