• Jeremy Kasdin is the Eugene Higgins professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, emeritus, at Princeton University.  He retired from Princeton in 2019, after which he was the Assistant Dean for Engineering Programs at the University of San Francisco, retiring from there in 2022.  Dean Kasdin received his BSE from Princeton University in 1985 and his Ph.D. in 1991 from Stanford University’s department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.  From 1991 to 1998, Dean Kasdin was a project manager and the chief systems engineer for NASA's Gravity Probe B spacecraft, a satellite test of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (GP-B was launched in April, 2004).  Dean Kasdin joined the Princeton faculty in 1999 where his research focused on astronomical instrumentation for high-contrast imaging, space systems design, astrodynamics, and control.  At Princeton, he created the collaborative team investigating high-contrast imaging techniques for detecting and characterizing exoplanets.  Dean Kasdin has led several Technology Demonstration for Exoplanet Missions studies and was PI for the CHARIS integral field spectrograph for the Subaru Telescope.  From 2014 to 2016 he was Vice Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton where he led their self-study and strategic planning effort.  While at Princeton he served on the board of the Center for Jewish Life/Hillel for 6 years, including two as President of the board.  He has been on the SF Hillel board since 2021 and now serves as its President.

  • Ari Abramson is a Management Consultant at PwC, specializing in the intersection of strategy execution and operational readiness. He partners with leaders at Fortune 500 companies to translate complex business requirements into scalable operational realities across the Technology, Mobility, Retail, and Hospitality sectors.
    He credits the foundation of his Jewish leadership journey to growing up in Young Judaea, where years of peer leadership culminated in serving as Vice President on the movement’s National Mazkirut in 2012. In college, Ari was elected to the student board of Hillel at Temple University. There, he focused on cultivating a safe and inclusive environment for Jewish students across campus, building intersectional programming that brought together students from diverse backgrounds, and strengthening the relationship between student government and Hillel amid rising antisemitism. He is also a proud brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Pi chapter.
    After graduation, Ari spent five years living in San Francisco Moishe Houses, first in the Dolores house and later in the Nob Hill house. Together with his roommates, he hosted seven events per month to build meaningful community among Jewish young adults and to model what vibrant Jewish home life could look like.
    Ari is proud to continue supporting Jewish communal life in a professional capacity as a board member and Vice President of SF Hillel. In this role, he oversees board governance, expectations, onboarding, bylaw maintenance, and key strategic initiatives. He is energized by SF Hillel’s continued growth and especially excited about the opportunities the transition into the Nancy and Stephen Grand Building will create for the organization and for students.

  • Jamie Cohen (SFSU 2012) is on his second term as board member for SF Hillel. He holds a master’s in Jewish nonprofit management from HUC-JIR and a master’s in communication management from the University of Southern California. Originally from Philly and the Bay Area, he currently lives in Carlsbad, CA with wife Pearl where he spends his nonexistent free time working for the family travel guitar business (Voyage Air Guitar - as seen on Shark Tank), competing in powerlifting, and learning to surf. 

UCSF

  • Eli Weinzveg is the Executive Director of CTE Foundation of Sonoma County.

    He grew up in Sebastopol and attended Santa Rosa High School. After graduating, he earned his BA, MA, and teaching credential from California State University, Sacramento, where he also married his wife, Nicollette, a fellow Sonoma
    County native. They later returned home to raise their twins.

    Eli began his career teaching in the Roseland School District before becoming an administrator at
    Roseland Collegiate Prep, helping guide the school through the aftermath of the 2017 Tubbs Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In 2022, he transitioned to the nonprofit sector as Director of College Pathways at 10,000 Degrees, where he led teams across Sonoma, Napa, and Lake Counties, expanded partnerships, launched professional development systems, and aligned programs to strengthen student outcomes.

    As Executive Director of the CTE Foundation, Eli is focused on advancing career education and
    workforce development for students and the broader community, supporting the next generation in
    achieving career readiness and contributing to a stronger local workforce.

    Aside from his “professional” work, Eli is deeply involved in the local Jewish Community, serving as Board President for Congregation Shomrei Torah as well as Hillel of Sonoma
    County, proudly leading both organizations into the future.

Board of Directors


  • Ilana was born and raised in San Francisco. As a child of refugees who escaped horrific anisemitism in the former Soviet Union, Ilana did not get exposed to many Jewish customs growing up. Ilana sought out opportunities to join Jewish clubs in high school and became an active participant in SF Hillel when she studied at the University of San Francisco (USF). Ilana
    joined SF Hillel's Board of Directors in 2019 as a student representative for USF. From 2019
    through 2020, Ilana shaped the future of SF Hillel by representing her fellow students and
    helped set the long-term direction for how the board supports students. While earning her
    Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Ilana served as the President of the Jewish Student Union (now SF Hillel at USF) and taught Kindergarteners at Sunday School in Temple Emanu-El. After graduating, Ilana stayed on the Board and has been serving as a Secretary since 2020.
    Ilana earned her juris doctorate from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in
    2023. At McGeorge, Ilana restarted the Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA) and served as the
    President throughout her years as a law student. As President, Ilana planned and executed the first JLSA cross-campus event between McGeorge and UC Davis to host a Networking Fair
    Dinner. Ilana brings her years of being a student leader and cultivating inclusive spaces for Jewish and non Jewish students to learn and interact with Judaism to SF Hillel. Ilana began her legal career as a Research Attorney at the San Francisco Superior Court. She is looking forward to putting her Trial and Appellate Advocacy training to good use as she pursues meaningful work in civil litigation. Ilana sees serving on the Board of Directors at SF Hillel as an opportunity to continue learning and strengthening her Jewish identity while serving a community that has given so much to her.

  • Edward M. Luby is Emeritus Professor and Director of Museum Studies and former Director and Chief Curator of the Global Museum at San Francisco State University, where he was also Faculty Advisor for SF Hillel, and where he continues to serve on SF State’s Jewish Campus Climate Initiative Advisory Group.  

    Prior to San Francisco State, Professor Luby was Associate Director of the Berkeley Natural History Museums at the University of California at Berkeley, Director of the Repatriation unit at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Research at UC Berkeley, where he was also appointed as a Research Archaeologist.  Today, Professor Luby serves as Partner at the Archaeological Research Facility at the University of California at Berkeley.   

    Dr. Luby received a B.A. in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Anthropological Sciences from Stony Brook University in New York, where he specialized in Middle Eastern Archaeology.   He has conducted archaeological field work in places such as Iraq, Syria, Mexico, and California, has worked on museum-and heritage-based projects around the world, and has developed partnerships with organizations such as the National Museum of Kenya and Tel Aviv University.  Dr Luby is the author of many academic articles about archaeology and museums as well as a newly published book about museum directorship.  

    A member for more than ten years of Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, where he is active in Torah Studies and Interfaith activities, Edward was also a member of Temple Sinai in Oakland for many years, where his children had their B’nai Mitzvah, and of Temple Beth El in Berkeley, where his children attended preschool and summer camp.  Born in New York, Edward lived first in Babylon, New York, and amazingly, while conducting archaeological field work in Iraq at Sumerian and Babylonian sites, found himself one day at the actual Babylon. 

Student Board Representatives

  • Aurora de Tagyos joined the SF Hillel board of directors in 2024 as the graduate student representative. She is a PhD student in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics at UCSF, where her research focuses on stabilizing protein-protein interactions. Aurora attended UCSB for undergraduate studies and was a double major in German and Chemistry and Biochemistry. During her time at UCSB she was very active at Santa Barbara Hillel, holding 5 different leadership roles throughout her time there and serving on the student board for 3 years. In high school, she was a member of the teen leadership board for the Hand Up Food Pantry at Jewish Family Service of San Diego. Aurora was a member of the board for 4 years and served as co-chair in her senior year.

    Aurora continues to be dedicated to Jewish life, especially focusing on creating opportunities for Jewish students who may be newer to exploring their connection to Judaism. Most of the time Aurora can be found in the lab, but in her free time she enjoys cross stitching, going to concerts, and watching competition reality tv shows.

SFSU

  • Garrett grew up in Alameda, CA and had his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland.   Garrett first joined the SF Hillel Board as a Federation Fellow in 2022 and became a full voting member of the Board in 2023.  He currently serves on the Finance Committee and also chaired a special committee to revamp SF Hillel’s vision statement.

    Garrett studied finance and computer science at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was active in Hillel and Chabad and experienced firsthand how important Jewish life on college campuses is to creating the next generation of Jewish leaders.  Upon graduation, Garrett moved to Chicago to work for Uber Freight, first as an Account Manager and then as a Business Analyst.  While in Chicago, he was involved in several Jewish organizations, including Base Hillel, the Jewish United Fund as a member of the Back from Birthright Committee and a participant in the Mensches in Motion program, Anshe Emet synagogue, and Windy City Minyan.  

    Garrett moved back to San Francisco in 2021, and a few months later, joined Isometric Technologies, a software company providing transportation performance intelligence for the trucking industry, as a Senior Business Analyst.  Aside from SF Hillel, Garrett was part of the inaugural class of the Young Professional Social Impact Corps of SF JFCS, where he continues to volunteer and mentors a young adult with developmental disabilities who participates in the Shupin Social Club.  Garrett is also active in JLeaders and is a member of Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland.  Outside of Jewish life, Garrett serves on the board of Tulane’s Bay Area alumni chapter and enjoys running, golfing, and baking in his spare time.

  • Carol’s career in insurance and brokerage related fields spans over 50 years in the San Francisco community. Carol founded Weitz Medical Management in 2002, providing business support to physicians who specialize in the workers’ compensation field. 

    She has served on the Board of San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, National Women’s Philanthropy. She serves on the Board of Merola Opera Program attends Congregation Beth Sholom, is active in AIPAC and has traveled to El Salvador, Ghana and India with American Jewish World Service.  Carol currently is Co-Chair of J. The Jewish News of Northern California and serves on the Board of SF Hillel as Capitol Campaign Chair.

  • Maddux Eckerling (He/Him) joined the SF Hillel board of directors in Fall 2025 as the undergraduate student
    representative. He is a senior at San Francisco State University studying Sociology, Human Sexuality, Jewish
    Studies, and Public Health. During his time at SFSU Maddux has been very active at SF Hillel. Maddux has
    participated in six learning Cohorts, and has been a student leader since his return from Semester at Sea last
    spring, and Maddux currently serves as the President of SF Hillel for SFSU.

    During his time abroad with
    Semester at Sea, Maddux was the co-leader of Jew Cruise, the Jewish student club on the ship, where he
    and his co-leader lead High Holiday observances and weekly Shabbat rituals.

    At SFSU, Maddux is deeply
    invested in Residential Life, working as a Resident Assistant and serving on the Director's Advisory Council.
    During the Fall 2025 semester, Maddux has been able to teach an experimental college course on Judaism and Sexuality based on a research project he did last spring. In High School, Maddux was the inaugural youth board member of his home synagogue, paving the way for Jewish youth to get more involved with the organization.

    Maddux has a love for Jewish education and community building, and is excited to join the SF Hillel Board as the undergraduate rep to continue his advocacy for the Jewish Community.