Rabbi Josh Bolton
Executive Director

Rabbi Josh has spent a decade working with university students and comes to Brown RISD Hillel from the University of Pennsylvania Hillel where he spent eight years as the Director and Senior Jewish Educator for the Jewish Renaissance Project. A celebrated educator and innovator in the Hillel movement, he is the recipient of a Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award for “pushing the boundaries of social media and articulating a rabbinate for the 21st century.”
“Brown RISD Hillel is a leading center for Jewish innovation and creativity. I’m honored to begin a collaborative partnership with student leaders, alumni, Hillel staff, and trustees on behalf of a vibrant and exciting future for Jewish student life in Providence,” says Rabbi Josh. Rabbi Josh is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His collection, One Hundred Suggestions for Seekers and Spiritual Activists, was published in 2018 by Alternadox Press. 

Contact: joshua_bolton@brown.edu
401-863-9354

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​Rabbi Michelle Dardashti
Rabbi / Associate University Chaplain for the Jewish Community at Brown University

The daughter of a secular American folk-singer/teacher and a traditional Iranian-born cantor, Rabbi Michelle Dardashti was raised on a brand of Judaism which is multicultural, meta-denominational, musical and global – she became a rabbi to share the gifts her parents’ eclectic Judaism afforded her: passion, hope, wonder, gratitude, empathy, responsibility and joy. Rabbi Dardashti hails from Los Angeles, Baltimore and New York – with stops in Uruguay, Connecticut, and four years in Jerusalem along the way. She views Jewish learning and living as rich and winding journeys and is eager to travel the road with students of all walks of life.  After being ordained and receiving a Masters in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), she served as Marshall T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellow at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan and Director of Community Engagement at Temple Beth El in Stamford, both positions in which her mandate included connecting with those on the fringes of the community. Rabbi Dardashti brings her varied experiences and trainings (including in the realms of interfaith engagement, hospital chaplaincy, dialogue, facilitation and congregation-based community organizing) to bear in the campus context; she loves chatting, organizing, praying, singing, eating and walking (simultaneously, optional) with the incredible students on College Hill. RMD (as she’s fondly known on campus) is married to Nathan Sher; their three children--Eden, Miya, and Lavi--look forward to meeting you and hopefully hosting you at their home as well.  
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Contact: rabbi@brown.edu 
401-863-2733
    
Click here for Rabbi Dardashti's bio on the OCRL website

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Alyssa Marton
Director of Operations

Prior to joining Hillel in January 2019, Alyssa worked in the area of faculty development for the Office of Academic Affairs at Providence College for over a decade. Bringing strong organizational and project management skills, Alyssa is excited to learn and grow with Hillel's wonderful staff and engaging students. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Alyssa received an MBA and BA (Public & Community Service Studies) from PC. She is passionate about all things food related, and loves reading, baking, walking, and traveling. Alyssa and her wife Racheal are raising two young children in  Barrington, RI. She serves on the board of trustees at Temple Habonim in Barrington, and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Providence College. 

Contact: alyssa_marton@brown.edu 
401-863-9353

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Gina Mazza
Office Manager

Gina joined Hillel in 2012 after many years of working in the entertainment industry in New York City. As office manager, Gina is there to greet all Hillel visitors, support the daily activities of the office, and schedule the many events that take place in the Glenn and Darcy Weiner Center. Gina enjoys getting to know Brown and RISD students visiting Hillel. 

Outside of work, Gina and her husband keep busy attending their kids soccer games and actively volunteering at their children's local public school. 

Contact: Jeanne_Mazza@brown.edu
401-863-2805

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Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz
Senior Jewish Educator 

For the better part of the last decade, Rabbi Moshe has been drinking coffee, hosting epic Shabbat meals and learning Torah with students. Besides being passionate about all things Torah, Rabbi Moshe is an inducted brother of Beta Rho Pi (the Jewish fraternity on campus), an ordained Dudeist minister, and the proud father of a growing family of grills, smokers and various other BBQ paraphernalia on campus. (Brown’s only kosher smoker “Holy Smokes” lives on the porch of Marcy House, and “Ruth Bader Grillsberg” resides on Hillel’s terrace). As the grandson of four Holocaust survivors, Rabbi Moshe co-led his first trip to Poland last winter, and as the advisor to MEOR International, he looks to taking this journey with students once again. In 2014, Forward Magazine recognized Rabbi Moshe as one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis”. Rabbi Moshe studied in Yeshivas in Montreal and Jerusalem, as well as the New England Rabbinical College here in Providence, where he earned a degree in Rabbinics. After living in Brooklyn, Monsey, Montreal, Cincinnati and Jerusalem, he has settled down in Providence, where he lives a short walk off campus with his wife Saara, and daughters Menucha Rus and Eva. 

Contact: Moshe_Moskowitz@brown.edu
​401-863-2805

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Molly Goldmeier
Assistant Director

Molly Goldmeier, raised in Southfield, Michigan, spent the past two years pursuing an MBA in Non-Profit Management at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and an MA in Jewish Professional Leadership from the Hornstein Program at Brandeis University. Molly is a Wexner Fellow/ Davidson Scholar and interned at the Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh in Newton, MA. Prior to beginning Brandeis, Molly spent three years working in the corporate offices at Warby Parker and J.Crew, focusing on corporate social responsibility, branding, and campaign strategy. As an undergraduate, Molly attended New York University and developed an independent major in fashion marketing. During her time at NYU, Molly held various leadership positions at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life on Campus and was awarded an NYU President’s Service Award as well as a Bronfman Center Exemplar of Excellence. Molly spent her summers attending Camp Stone in Sugar Grove, PA, where she served as Head of the Wilderness Program and Head of Camp. Molly is thrilled to be joining the team at Brown RISD Hillel and is excited to leverage lessons from the fashion industry to help develop creative, sustainable, and inclusive Jewish experiences and spaces. Molly and her husband, Jay, look forward to their move to Providence and are eager for coffee shop and ice cream store recommendations!

Contact: Molly_Goldmeier@brown.edu

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Jo Ann Laliberte
Development Assistant

​Jo Ann is a yoga teacher and joined Hillel part time in 2019 to support and manage input and integrity for donor and student engagement data bases.  She brings skills to Hillel from many years in the Human Resources field.  Jo Ann is delighted to be part of a dynamic and dedicated team.

When she is not at her Hillel desk, she can be found teaching yoga, working in the garden, playing with her grandkids, taking her dog Belle on a hike or relaxing in Franklin with her husband.

Contact: Jo_Ann_Laliberte@brown.edu
401-863-6726

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Lex Dorfman
Springboard Fellow for Innovation

Lex is a graduate of Augsburg University where she studied religion, Spanish, and leadership. While at Augsburg, Lex established that campus’ Hillel and advocated on behalf of inclusivity and Jewish students. Raised in a Jewish-Mexican household, Lex inherited a rich multicultural tradition grounded in the values of cooperation, respect, and generosity. These values have inspired Lex to contribute to the wellbeing of various communities by celebrating their differences and learning from one another in diverse settings. As the Springboard Innovation Fellow, Lex is looking forward to creating meaningful relationships with Brown and RISD students, being one of their biggest cheerleaders, working with talented staff members, and being a part of a Jewish international community. Outside of work, Lex’s number one passion is Latin dancing. She also enjoys hanging out with friends, singing, painting, traveling, and being outdoors.

Contact: Alexis_Dorfman@brown.edu

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Joe Blumberg
IACT Coordinator for Israel Engagement

Joe Blumberg is joining the staff of Brown RISD Hillel after spending a year at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he studied Jewish texts and conducted research on comparative theologies of diaspora as a 2019 Fulbright Scholar. In addition to learning and researching, Joe volunteered with Women of the Wall and taught English classes for the asylum-seeking community in Jerusalem, learning a lot about marginalized voices in Israeli society along the way. A proud son of Lexington, Massachusetts, he is a passionate student of American history, and he graduated from Yale in 2019 with a BA in early American religious history. At Yale, Joe spent most of his time at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life, where he led the Reform Chavurah, sang with Magevet (Yale’s Jewish choir), and organized Jewish life for the AEPi fraternity. He loves to talk about pluralism, hiking, Israel, Jewish journeys, the Talmud, and fermentation, among very many other things. Joe can’t wait to join the Brown RISD Hillel community and dive into expansive and exciting Israel programming!

Contact: Joseph_Blumberg@brown.edu

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Talia Kaplan
Slifka-Nadich Rabbinic Intern

​Talia Kaplan is an organizer and educator studying for rabbinic ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Passionate about the intersection of Judaism and justice, Talia has served as the Program Director of JustCity; advocated for immigration justice with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and worked on issues of mass incarceration and human trafficking with T’ruah and Juvenile Law Center. She has published poetry and prose on a number of topics, including Israel education and collective memory, gender in Jewish ritual, and the intersection of kashrut and interpersonal relationships. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Talia majored in government with certificates in Jewish Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. When not working or studying, Talia can be found exploring used bookstores, enjoying New York’s theatre scene, scouting out greenery amidst the city, and shopping at farmers markets. 

Contact: tkaplan@brownrisdhillel.org

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Frankie Sandmel
Rabbinic Intern

Frankie Sandmel is in their fifth and final year of rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Boston, where they are also an educator and a community organizer. Frankie is passionate about radically accessible, authentic Jewish learning and social justice. They've worked for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Center for Small Town Jewish Life in Maine, and were a teaching fellow at SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. Before starting rabbinical school, Frankie was program director at SVARA and taught at innovative Jewish after-school programs across Chicago. When not teaching or exploring ancient texts, they love to bake and build community in their home in Jamaica Plain, MA. Frankie is excited to bring their enthusiasm for building vibrant and welcoming Jewish community to the Brown & RISD community. ​

Contact: fsandmel@brownrisdhillel.org