Staff
Aaron Lansky, founder and president. Aaron Lansky was a graduate student in Montreal in the late 1970s when he discovered that large numbers of Yiddish books were being discarded by younger Jews who could not read the language of their parents and grandparents. So he took what he expected would be a two-year leave of absence from graduate school, founded the Yiddish Book Center, and, in the summer of 1980, issued a public appeal for unwanted and discarded Yiddish books. At the time, scholars believed just 70,000 volumes were still extant and recoverable. Lansky and a handful of young colleagues recovered that number in six months and went on to collect more than a million volumes. Their work has been described as “one of the greatest cultural rescue efforts in Jewish history.”
A native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Aaron Lansky holds a BA in modern Jewish history from Hampshire College, an MA in East European Jewish studies from McGill University, and honorary doctorates from Amherst College, the State University of New York, and Hebrew Union College. Early in his career he was included by Esquire magazine in its first annual register of “The Best of the New Generation: Men and Women Under Forty Who Are Changing America,” and he received a so-called “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation in 1989. His bestselling book, Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books, won the Massachusetts Book Award in Nonfiction in 2005. Aaron lives in Stockbridge with his wife, Gail.
Susan Bronson, executive director. Susan holds a PhD in Russian history and Jewish history from the University of Michigan and has served in her current role for more than a decade. Previously, she worked in nonprofit culture and higher education for more than twenty years in organizations including the Social Science Research Council in New York and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. She currently serves as chair of the Board of the Council of American Jewish Museums and on the board of 7000 Languages, an organization dedicated to saving and teaching indigenous languages. _____________________________________________________________
Sam Brivic, membership manager. Sam received his BA in history and geography from Clark University. He was a child when he first heard tales about the Yiddish Book Center from his grandparents, who have been enthusiastic longtime members. Prior to working at the Center, Sam was a touring musician and has experience working in a wide variety of fields.
Brianna Burdetsky, development assistant/donor research and events. Brianna holds a B.A. in English from George Mason University and an M.A. in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Columbia University. Her academic background is in linguistics and comparative literature, with a focus on Middle High German and Old Yiddish. She previously worked as an editorial and events assistant at Moment magazine.
Elizabeth Cardaropoli, associate director of visitor's services and public programs manager. Elizabeth holds a BA in Theatre & Arts Management from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She has worked in arts administration and museum services in New York City, Boston, and the Berkshires before joining the staff of the Yiddish Book Center.
Amber Kanner Clooney, director of web development and the digital library. Amber holds an M.L.I.S. from Simmons College and a B.A. in English from George Mason University. She has worked in various academic and public libraries with a primary focus on digital resources, collections, and providing access to digital content.
Madeleine (Mindl) Cohen, academic director. Mindl has a PhD in Comparative Literature with an emphasis in Jewish Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a western Massachusetts native, she grew up in Greenfield and attended Hampshire College, where her studies focused on German and German-Jewish literature. As an undergraduate, Mindl participated in the Yiddish Book Center's Steiner Summer Yiddish Program, which set her on the path of Yiddish Studies, and more recently she was a Yiddish Book Center Translation Fellow. Before coming (back) to the Center, she worked as the Editor-in-Chief for In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies and taught Yiddish language at Harvard University. Mindl also teaches as a visiting lecturer in Jewish Studies at Mount Holyoke College.
Gretchen Fiordalice, director of education administration. Gretchen has worked in various nonprofit and higher education settings with a primary focus on program and project management. She holds a BA in French language and literature from Smith College.
Margaret Frothingham, education program manager. Margaret holds a BA in English Literature and Studio Art from Wheaton College in MA and has a passion for children's literature and illustration. An avid artist, writer, and listener, Margaret is inspired by the power of language and the written word. As a volunteer and intern at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, she developed an interest in museum education and programming.
Eva Gellman, communications & marketing manager. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Eva comes to the Center from Portland, OR, where she worked at Grains of Salt, a consulting firm supporting arts-focused nonprofits and individuals. Prior to that, she interned at Tavern Books, a nonprofit poetry publishing house focused on reviving out of print poetry collections and bringing works in translation to English-language readers. She graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a BA in English.
Eve Glazier, project assistant, Wexler Oral History Project. Eve holds a BA in American Studies from Barnard College, where they studied social movement history and took courses in Yiddish. Before coming to the Yiddish Book Center, Eve worked as a research assistant for the Barnard Center for Research on Women and as a student associate at the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. In their role at the Barnard Archives, Eve helped start an oral history project documenting the history of the New York Coalition for Women Prisoners.
Ezra Glinter, senior staff writer and editor. Ezra is an award-winning writer, editor, translator, and biographer. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ezra attended McGill University and New York University, where he received a master’s degree from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute in 2011. For five years Ezra worked as the deputy culture editor of the Forward newspaper, where he edited Have I Got a Story for You, a landmark anthology of Yiddish fiction in translation. In addition to the Forward, Ezra’s writing has appeared in the New Republic, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Paris Review, The Walrus Magazine, and the National Post, among other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, for Yale University Press.
Jeff Hayes, manager of publishing and book programs. Jeff earned his MLIS from the University of Alabama in 2019, his MA in higher education administration from Bay Path University, and his BA in international studies and Spanish from Stonehill College. He worked for over 10 years in academic affairs and student services at Harvard College, and he also completed archival internships with the National Archives and Records Administration and Brandeis University’s Archives and Special Collections Department.
Joanna Hejl, development manager. Joanna has previously worked in development at culture and history organizations in Nebraska and Virginia. She holds a BA in American Studies from the University of Richmond and an MA in History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Outside of work, she is a local historian of western Massachusetts’s historic houses and their owners.
Zvi Jankelowitz, director of institutional advancement. Before joining the staff of the Yiddish Book Center, Zvi headed his own fundraising consulting practice, The Jankelowitz Group. He was the director of institutional advancement at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and also served in director-level positions at Cohen Hillel Academy, American Friends of Israel National Museum of Science, and The Rashi School. He holds a BA from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and an MA from Brandeis University’s Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership.
Bob Loeb, treasurer and chief financial officer. Bob is a member of the executive committee with primary responsibility for oversight and management of fiscal operations. Prior to joining the Yiddish Book Center, Bob served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the non-profit Baim Institute for Clinical Research and has professional experience leading financial management efforts in other non-profit health-care related service providers. He earned a BS from Syracuse University and a MBA from Bentley University.
David Mazower, research bibliographer and editorial director. David is the chief curator and writer of the Center’s landmark permanent exhibition, Yiddish: A Global Culture. Prior to joining the Center, he was a senior staff journalist with BBC World News in London and deputy curator of the Jewish Museum London. He writes for the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project and is the author of Yiddish Theatre in London. His dozens of published articles include several on his great-grandfather, Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, as well as explorations of Yiddish theater and popular culture, British Jewish history, Jewish art, and the Yiddish salon of Bronx poet Bertha Kling. He graduated in history from Cambridge University and has a postgraduate diploma in Russian.
Rebecka McDougall, director of communications and marketing. Rebecka brings over 20 years of experience working in marketing and communications to her role at the Yiddish Book Center. Most recently, she worked at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home creating and executing integrated communications plans to raise visibility and deepen engagement with visitors and donors. Prior to joining The Mount, Rebecka worked for Jack Morton Woldwide as a senior member of their digital and learning team. She is a graduate of Boston University.
Lisa Newman, director of publishing and public programs. Prior to joining the Yiddish Book Center, Lisa managed public relations and publishing projects for a variety of nonprofit and corporate clients. After moving to western Massachusetts to work for New England Monthly, she went on to work with numerous national magazine and book publishers. She has been an instructor at the Radcliffe Publishing Course and the Columbia Publishing Course and a panelist at industry events. She is a graduate of New York University.
Cole Norris, education program assistant. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, IL, Cole graduated from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA and holds a BS in Architectural Studies with a concentration in Historic Preservation. While studying, he worked as a resident assistant and course instructor, where he discovered a passion for programming and education.
Sylvia Peterson, associate director of education administration. Sylvia helps with onsite courses and education programs at the Yiddish Book Center. Prior to joining the Center, she interned and worked at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Sylvia holds a degree in classics from Mount Holyoke College and has a passion for language, art history, and museum studies.
Mia Pope, membership and visitor center assistant. Mia received a BA in liberal arts with a concentration in history and ethnic studies from Sarah Lawrence College. She has lived in western Massachusetts her whole life and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Prior to joining the Center full time, she worked at the Center as a museum assistant for two summers.
Jennifer Preuss, manager of finance and administration prior to joining the Yiddish Book Center, Jen worked in aerospace manufacturing and has over twenty years’ experience in small business management. Jennifer holds a BS in Accounting and an MBA from Western Governors University.
Carole Renard, NEH Oral History Project Manager. Prior to joining the staff, Carole was a Wexler Oral History Project intern and completed her training as an oral historian. She holds an MA in Jewish Studies from University College London and a BA in Anthropology and Jewish Studies from Smith College.
Suzanne Rubinstein, executive assistant to the president and executive director. Suzanne has over 15 years of experience working for Jewish nonprofit organizations. Prior to the Yiddish Book Center, she worked at the University of Wisconsin Hillel and the American Technion Society. She holds a BA in liberal arts from The Evergreen State College and studied photography at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.
Ollie Schmith, facilities manager. Ollie has over 30 years of experience in maintenance and construction, including roles as an equipment operator and general contractor. In addition, he has served as a regional director of environmental care in various healthcare and educational facilities throughout the northeast and was a volunteer emergency services responder for the American Red Cross for over a decade.
Asya Vaisman Schulman, director of the Yiddish Language Institute. Before joining the Yiddish Book Center, Asya taught Yiddish at Indiana University, where she was also the project manager of AHEYM, the Archives of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories. Asya holds a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a PhD in Yiddish from Harvard. Asya's PhD research was on the Yiddish songs and singing practices of contemporary Hasidic women.
Sebastian Schulman, director of special projects and partnerships. Prior to joining the Center in his current role, Sebastian served as the executive director of KlezKanada, a leading organization in Yiddish arts and culture located in Montréal, Québec. An alum of the Center’s Summer Internship Program, he has previously worked at the Center as the director of the translation fellowship program and as a development officer. Sebastian is also a writer, editor, and literary translator from Yiddish and other languages, with work appearing with independent presses and literary journals throughout North America. He holds degrees in Jewish Studies and History from McGill University and Indiana University, Bloomington.
Michelle Sigiel, metadata librarian. Michelle catalogs Yiddish books and materials and creates and develops metadata for digital collections. She received her MLIS with a concentration in Archival Management from Simmons College in 2017, an MA in History from the University of Vermont in 2013, and a BA with three simultaneous degrees in History, Political Science, and Holocaust & Genocide Studies from Keene State College in 2010. She has held various positions in several academic libraries and special collections where her work has focused on metadata, archival description and arrangement, and preservation.
Randi Silnutzer, director of operations. Randi oversees membership and online communications systems, as well as overall facilities operations. She has a background in arts administration and education and holds a BA from Hampshire College with a concentration in cultural studies and an MEd from the University of Massachusetts.
Catherine West, accounting clerk. Cathy grew up in the Amherst area and has worked in many different accounting environments, including co-owning an automotive garage and processing accounts payable for the University of Massachusetts. She has over 15 years of experience providing administrative and accounting support to several local businesses.
Christa Whitney, director, Wexler Oral History Project. Originally from Northern California, Christa discovered Yiddish while studying comparative literature, Jewish studies, and dance at Smith College. She has studied Yiddish at the Yiddish Book Center, Vilnius Yiddish Institute, and the Workers Circle. Through working at the Yiddish Book Center since 2009, she has traveled near and far in search of Yiddish stories, gained expertise in digital video archival processes, and produced several documentary films about Yiddish luminaries. Christa was named on the 2020 Forward 50 list of “people we needed in a year we definitely didn’t.” Her personal research focuses on Yiddish cultural transmission among descendants of Yiddish writers and Jewish history in the Samogitia region of Lithuania. Among other things, she is currently working towards an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.
Jennifer Young, education program manager. Jennifer served as the Director of Education at the YIVO Institute, where she also worked as Digital Learning Curator to produce YIVO's first online class, Discovering Ashkenaz. She has also worked at the Tenement Museum, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, and the New-York Historical Society. Jennifer received a B.A. in Anthropology and Jewish Studies from McGill University, and an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois. After completing doctoral studies in Jewish history at NYU, she received an M.Ed in Museum Curriculum and Pedagogy from the University of British Columbia. She also serves as part of a scholars' working group dedicated to research and scholarship of the Yiddish Left, sponsored by Cornell University.