MEET THE TEAM
Jillian Juni
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
315.443.4853 | jijuni@syr.edu
Jillian Juni was born and raised in New City, New York. She received a BA in sociology, with a minor in Jewish Studies, from Rutgers University where she was an involved HIllel student and leader. Growing up Jillian spent her summers at URJ Eisner Camp, and following college she worked for Eisner year round. While working, she received a MA in human rights from Columbia University, focusing on women and religion. Jillian met her husband, Mordechai, at Hillel and together they moved to Santa Barbara in 2012. Jillian worked at Santa Barbara Hillel for seven years and in 2017 was awarded Hillel International’s Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award. She has two children, Lev and Aviva, who love Hillel, Otto, and running around. Jillian is passionate about Judaism, women, singing songs for fun, and making the world a better place.
Rabbi Joel Goldstein
CAMPUS RABBI
315.443.4836 | jgolds13@syr.edu
Rabbi Joel Goldstein has been the Campus Rabbi since July 2019. He received his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College in June 2019. He served as the Rabbi for Temple Beth Sholom, a small synagogue in Hull nestled by Nantasket Beach on the South Shore of Massachusetts and was the religious advisor for the Egalitarian/Conservative minyan at Yale University during the 2017-2018 academic year. Previously, he taught Talmud and Rabbinics at Charles E. Smith Jewish High School and Rochelle Zell Jewish High School. With his wife, Rachel Jacobson, he served as a Yeshivat Hadar Campus Scholar at the University of Michigan. Joel has studied at Yeshivat Hadar and the Kollel at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He received an AB in Physics from the University of California Berkeley and an MS in Physics from the University of Washington. He has worked as both a Systems and Software Engineer and spent time working on a submarine for the US Navy. When not studying Torah, Rabbi Joel spends time listening with delight to his two children.
Jessica Lemons
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
315.443.4831 | jmlemons@syr.edu
Jessica Lemons is originally from Long Island, NY and graduated Cum Laude from the University at Buffalo with a BA in Communication and a minor in English. During her time in Buffalo she held numerous leadership and internship positions within the Buffalo Jewish campus community. She has interned at the Teen Department of The Jewish Education Project in New York. In 2015 she was named a Woman of Distinction by the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. She worked as the Coordinator of Advancement for Syracuse Hillel for two years and then served as Interim Executive Director for two years while Syracuse Hillel embarked on a national talent search. Jessica is passionate about lattes, alpacas and travelling the world. Jessica is based in New York City, but makes frequent appearances on campus.
Ronen Tzadok
JEWISH AGENCY ISRAEL FELLOW
Ronen is a recent graduate from Tel Aviv University with a BA in Film and Television with a concentration in screenwriting. During his last year at university, he was part of "Masa Acher" program at TAU Hillel, promoting an open dialogue about Jewish identity and the place of Israel in the Jewish world. He is a former HR Officer in the Manpower Directorate and the GOC Army headquarters of the IDF. In his free time, he likes to write short stories and scripts, enjoy cinema's classics and to travel. He is from Holon, Israel.