Our Team
Interesting in joining our team? Check out job openings here.
Shira Koch Epstein
Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein is the Executive Director of the Center for Rabbinic Innovation at the Office of Innovation and is a member of the faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.
Previously, Rabbi Epstein served as Executive Director of the 14th Street Y in Manhattan, and has served as scholar-in-residence for the National Women’s Philanthropy program at the Jewish Federations of North America. Her past roles have included serving as Rabbi-Educator at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and as Associate Director/Reform Zionist Think Tank Manager at ARZA. Rabbi Epstein has served at various congregations, Jewish youth groups and summer camps as an educator, is a certified Storahtelling "Maven," and has studied improvisational comedy and acting in various programs including the Upright Citizens Brigade.
A Wexner Field Fellow, she received the 2011 Pomegrate Prize for Jewish Education from the Covenant Foundation. Rabbi Epstein received her BA from Wesleyan University, has attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received her rabbinic ordination and MA in Religious Education from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Epstein lives in a lively household in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which includes her husband, Dr. Jason Epstein, their two teenagers, and their two dogs.
Brittany Kahn
Brittany Kahn is the Program and Operations Manager at Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
Prior to joining the CRI team in 2022, Brittany spent 5 years building and developing BBYO in the Big Apple Region. She also managed the communications and community building projects for the 700+ global Advisor team within BBYO. Using her diverse background of skills and projects, Brittany is excited to combine her passions for innovative programming and high-level operational effectiveness in this role. Born and raised in New Jersey, Brittany earned her BA in Public Affairs with a specialization in Nonprofit Management from The Ohio State University and her MA in Jewish Professional Studies at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership.
Brittany lives in Manhattan with her dog Hermione (who also goes by the name Challah), and enjoys music and songleading, learning new fun facts on the internet, and exploring the city - she’ll never say no to brunch.
Dan Smokler
Rabbi Daniel Smokler is the Chief Innovation Officer for the Office of Innovation, an innovation laboratory with expertise in rabbinic and spiritual leadership, Jewish learning, and community building.
Dan served as the inaugural Chief Innovation Officer for Hillel International. Funded by a major grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, he founded the Senior Jewish Educator Initiative in 2008. In 2011, the Jewish Week named Dan one of the 36 under 36 changemakers in Jewish life.
Dan grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan and graduated Cum Laude from Yale University with a BA in the History of Art. Following college, Dan worked as a labor union organizer for the Service Employees Union and the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union in Connecticut and Los Angeles. Later, Dan would go on to found Organizational Solutions, a labor consulting firm that helped reorganize the Writer’s Guild of America.
Dan went to Israel for his rabbinical education and was ordained in 2005 by Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, of Jerusalem’s highest rabbinic court. He also completed a PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU. Dan has worked for Hillel at Occidental College, UCLA, and NYU. He is also a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Dan lives in New York with his wife Dr. Erin Leib Smokler, the director of Spiritual Development at Yeshivat Maharat, and their children, Shalev, Nadiv, and Tair.
Dr. Rebekah Tokatlilar
Dr. Rebekah Thornhill Tokatlilar is the Chief Program Officer at Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
Prior to joining CRI, Dr. Tokatlilar served as the Managing Director of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University, where she worked for 11 years, training and developing emerging Jewish leaders all over the world. She is an adjunct professor at NYU, the faculty lead for the Intrapreneurship track of Hillel International’s Springboard Fellowship, and co-founder of Chutzpanit Consulting.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Dr. Tokatlilar earned her BA in history and Jewish Studies and her PhD in Education and Jewish Studies from NYU, where she studied the professional preparation of rabbis in the United States. Dr. Tokatlilar has participated in several prestigious fellowships including the UJA/Columbia Business School Institute for Jewish Executive Leadership, the Shalom Hartman Institute Hillel Fellowship, and the UJA-Federation of New York Shapiro Fellowship. She is a recipient of NYU’s Hallmark Award and Give-A-Violet Award. In 2018, she was named a Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence by Hillel International. Dr. Tokatlilar and her husband, Max, live in Chelsea where you can find them drinking coffee and singing along to Omer Adam and Taylor Swift with their children, Sami and Zelda.
Danielle Leshaw
Rabbi Danielle Leshaw is the Fellowship Consultant at Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
In her current role as a Senior Educator and Campus Support Director for Hillel International, Rabbi Danielle Leshaw consults with over 70 campuses nationally, focusing on student engagement, fundraising initiatives, donor relations, Jewish education, and campus climate. Danielle joined the Hillel movement in 2002 as the executive director for Hillel at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she served for 14 years. Danielle has developed a keen understanding of how to successfully lead and build a small campus Hillel and has strengthened Hillel International’s relationship with college chaplains and administrators.
A lover of all things related to Talmud, Danielle created the Hillel Daf Yomi cohort, leading weekly sessions for Hillel professionals to pursue greater appreciation and knowledge of our ancient texts. Find her these days in NYC – she’s always up for a walk, a cup of coffee, and/or the nearest garden.
Ariel Moritz
Ariel Moritz is the Chief Operations Officer at Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
Ariel joins CRI with over a decade of experience directing and designing immersive and educational programs. Previously, she served as the Director of Jewish Learning at Congregation Beth El in San Diego where she redesigned the traditional Jewish education program into a holistic and experiential model. Prior to that, she worked for Global Leadership Adventures developing and directing international service learning programs for teenagers across four continents. Ariel is a JDC Jewish Service Corps alumna (she served in Izmir, Turkey) and began her career in Jewish social justice at American Jewish World Service. Ariel serves on the board of the Global Leadership Adventures International Foundation. Originally from Philadelphia, Ariel earned her BA summa cum laude in sociology and politics from New York University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She is Wilderness First Responder certified and has a Teaching Certificate from Gratz College.
Ariel has a deep passion for traveling and connecting with other cultures and her work has taken her throughout South America, Africa and Europe. In San Diego, she spends her time hiking and camping with her husband and son, singing, and training her puppy, Tuxedo.
Tamara Tweel
Dr. Tamara Tweel is the Dean of Faculty for Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation.
Dr. Tweel has spent her career educating faith leaders, college students, and professionals on the value of civil society and civic leadership. Dr. Tweel began her career at the Interfaith Center of NY, building civic coalitions. She served as the Director of Strategic Development for Hillel International's Office of Innovation, where she founded and directed Civic Spirit, a multi-faith civic education initiative. She currently works as the Director of Civic Initiatives at the Teagle Foundation.
Dr. Tweel received her Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and a master’s degree in theological studies from the Harvard Divinity School. She serves as a Fellow at the Kogod Research Center at Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and on the Advisory Council of The Princeton University Office of Religious Life. Her work has been published in numerous academic and popular journals, magazines, and newspapers, including The Washington Post, The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, The Journal of World History and Inside Higher Ed.
Dr. Tweel currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children, and sometime pet, Muffin the Axolotl.