Rabbinic Advancement Fund

At a time of increasing isolation and mental health crises, we aim to provide college students with the tools to better themselves, their community, and the world around them. That’s where the Rabbinic Advancement Fund is key.

Support the Fund today with a gift of any size.

With your support, we’re hoping to increase religious and spiritual exploration and support students through the good days and the bad days.

  • - Connecting over 1,500 students each semester to our Rabbinic team

    - Pioneering wellness-centered programs that help combat isolation on campus

    - Reestablishing a strong Jewish presence in NYU’s Spiritual Life Advisor cohort and facilitating a ‘J-Zone’ antisemitism prevention training for University staff, faculty, and students

    - Hosting inclusive and welcoming daily prayers, shabbat services and meals, and holiday programming

    - Mentoring future Jewish educators and clergy

  • - Hire a full-time Conservative Rabbi to mentor and support our growing Traditional Egalitarian student group

    - Establish a discretionary fund for our Rabbinic team to provide in-the-moment support for students in need, whether it is providing a hot meal or paying a mikvah fee

    - Invest in new educational initiatives that increase religious literacy and cohort-based learning

Meet the Team

Whether they are leading High Holiday services, organizing a canned food drive, or working one-on-one with students, our rabbis and educators are always finding new ways to meet students where they are. Get to know the Rabbinic Team and the programs they pioneer.

  • Executive Director

    Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the Executive Director of the NYU Bronfman Center and the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the United Arab Emirates. He is also a University Chaplain and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Rabbi Sarna, along with Imam Khalid Latif, co-founded the 'Of Many' Institute for Multifaith Leadership at NYU. He is a 2003 graduate of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

  • Reform Rabbi

    Rabbi Emily Aronson (she/her) is the Reform Rabbi at the Bronfman Center, ordained from HUC in 2021. She oversees Shabbat and holidays, teaches in the Jewish Learning Fellowship, supports students in 1-1 learning, and provides pastoral care to students and staff. She serves as a Spiritual Life Advisor for NYU and specializes in Jewish disability theology.

  • OU-JLIC Rabbi

    Leead Staller, along with his wife Shoshana, serves as OU-JLIC Director at the Bronfman Center for all downtown students. Leead received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University's RIETS, but his commitment to the rabbinate and community was formed during his time as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. There he saw the power of Jewish community in students' lives and he continues that communal work on campus downtown.

  • Rabbinic Intern - JTS

    Lindsay Goldman is a 5th year rabbinical school student at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and is in her 3rd year of the rabbinic intern role at the Bronfman Center at NYU. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor's degree in general and special education from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in 2014. She spent three years working at University of Maryland Hillel as the Jewish Experience Associate and is thrilled to be back at her alma mater to serve the traditional egalitarian community, to teach, and to pastor students through the highs and lows of their lives in college. Lindsay loves reading with her feminist book club and traveling the world.

  • Education Fellow - JTS

    Calle is serving as an Education Fellow at the Bronfman Center as a part of their M.A. in Jewish Educational Leadership, which they are pursuing at the Jewish Theological Seminary. They are a graduate of the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary where they studied History and Ancient Judaism. As an educator, Calle is committed to inclusion along multiple lines of difference and takes great joy in working in pluralistic and non-denominational Jewish settings.

  • Rabbinic Intern - YCT

    Adam Cohen grew up in the UK and has spent the past decade immersing himself in the world of Jewish education, and expanding his knowledge by experiencing the different approaches of various communities. Adam has spent time working in London, at Yavneh High School, in Sydney, at Moriah High School, and in Jerusalem, at Mosaic United. He has led trips to Israel and Poland for groups of 160 students, as well as leading Moriah's Counterpoint camps in Sydney. He was also an active member of Bnei Akiva UK, leading national youth camps. While Adam has gradually transitioned from an exclusively experiential to a more formal classroom setting, he has since acted as a bridge between the two approaches. He has seen how combining the two can motivate and engage young people in the classroom while bringing increased rigour to their Jewish educational experience in more experiential settings.

The Bronfman Center greatly appreciates every donation, no matter the amount. All contributions are tax-deductible. Feel free to reach out to Jacob Fertig (jacob.fertig@nyu.edu) for any questions.

Thank you so much for your generosity and continued support.