JOI

Glimpse of the 2007-2008 JOI Fellows

Julie Aronowitz studied Sociology and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, where she was also a student representative for the Pluralism Alliance, a founder of the Brandeis Chavurah Minyan and a participant in Puente, a Jewish-Latino social justice program. For the JOI year, Julie is addressing issues of neighborhood revitalization and community leadership with Chelsea Neighborhood Housing Services.

Brian Brotman is from New Jersey and majored in English and Government with a concentration in Political Theory at Wesleyan University. In college, he was involved with Food Not Bombs, the WESU Middletown Radio Station, and assisted in rebuilding communities in the 9th ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with the Common Ground Relief Collective. Having deferred from law school for a year, Brian’s JOI placement is at Health Care for All, where he organizes to give the consumer a voice in health care decisions and legislative and administrative processes.

Aaron Desatnik is from Ohio and received his bachelor’s degree in comparative and religious studies from Ohio State University. While in college, Aaron co-founded his campus chapter of STAND: Students Taking Action Now for Darfur. Aaron has been an organic farm apprentice through the ADAMAH fellowship and a team captain with the Hazon Israel Environmental Bike Ride. He is currently working to implement green building solutions as the NEXUS Event and Marketing Coordinator at his placement at The Green Round Table, an organization that supports sustainable development and building projects.

Annie Fox attended Wesleyan University, where she served as a student trustee on both the University Board of Trustees Finance Committee and the Community Outreach Committee. This past summer she was a fellow at Adamah, a sustainable farming and Jewish leadership training program. Fluent in Spanish, Anne is currently working with Boston-area hotel workers as a union organizer with UNITEHERE Local 26.

Dan Gelbtuch received a masters in Special Education and Social Studies in 2005 from Queens College, and has taught both middle and high school students in New York city schools, including the School for Democracy and Leadership. As an undergraduate student at Wesleyan University, Dan co-founded an Israel/Palestine Peace Group called Third Path. For his JOI placement, Dan is organizing Dorchester residents seeking to bring back local train service to surrounding communities with the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation

Ivy Hest majored in English linguistics, language and literature and minored in social justice and social policy at Brandeis University. While in college, she founded the Brandeis chapter of STAND: Students Taking Action Now for Darfur and interned with both the National Center on Family Homelessness and the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington D.C. With plans to pursue a Masters in Public Policy and a JD, Ivy is working as the Public Policy Fellow at Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women.

Seth Leibson attended Brown University where he was a leader in the Student Labor Alliance. He has worked as a union organizer with the SEIU 615 Justice for Janitors campaign, as well as with immigrant workers with the United Workers Committee. Fluent in Spanish, Seth is spending his JOI year organizing to build power for low to moderate income people in the Metro West area of Greater Boston with Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations Acting for Hope (MICAH).

Leah Madson is from Western Massachusetts and majored in American Studies at Tufts University. Before college, she attended the Year Course in Israel at the University of Jerusalem and later on participated in a Leading Up North Service Trip to Israel. Leah has worked as a community organizing intern at the Somerville Community Corporation and with immigrant communities at the Welcome Project. Fluent in Spanish, Leah is currently working on community engagement projects with Chelsea Neighborhood Housing Services.

Amanda Sagarin received a bachelor’s degree in social work from Rhode Island College, where she interned with the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America and worked to restore the right to vote to ex-felons with the Right to Vote campaign. Amanda has served as Assistant Director at the Union of Reform Judaism’s Kutz Camp for a program for Jewish youth on the autistic spectrum. With future plans to pursue a masters in social work, Amanda returned to the Boston area where she grew up to join the JOI fellowship and work as an apprentice organizer at The Committee of Interns and Residents, an SEIU labor union for resident physicians at Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Hospital.

Molly Zeff is from Missouri and studied political science and comparative government at Yale University. While in school, she interned with the Yale Alumni Community Service Summer Fellowship and worked with the Global Legislative Team addressing domestic and international poverty. She also co-chaired Jews in the Woods, an interdenominational Jewish retreat for college students and recent graduates, and was the co-president of her campus’s Hurricane Katrina Emergency Relief Organization. Molly’s JOI placement is at Young Entrepeneurs Alliance, an organization that helps low-income teens realize their economic potential and take steps towards financial independence. .