Meet The Team
At RootOne, we believe in the transformative power of experiencing Israel firsthand. Our dedicated team is passionate about connecting Jewish teens to their heritage through unique travel programs, engaging events, and unforgettable adventures. Join us on a journey that deepens your roots, builds lifelong friendships, and creates lasting memories. Explore Israel like never before with RootOne!
Simon Amiel
Executive Director & Manager, RootOne LLC
Simon Amiel
About Simon
As an executive leader in the non-profit space for more than 20 years, Simon has led a life of danger, romance, adventure and vision statements. After an initial stint in advertising, Simon served as a leader for Hillel, City Year, and MENTOR before helping launch RootOne in 2020. He grew up in Seattle and is still loyal to the city's sports teams, its great coffee and serious aversion to using umbrellas. Simon and his family live in New Jersey.
Favorite Israel Activity
- Digging through record stores in Tel Aviv looking for Israeli vinyl gold.
Allison Bernstein
Program Success Manager
Allison Bernstein
About Allison
Allison stated her journey in the jewish nonprofit world after college and never left. She has a thirst for adventure and a passion for making an impact on others. When not traveling you can find her exploring the tristate area, shopping or attending a music festival.
Favorite Israel City
- Tel Aviv!!
Miriam Braun
Director of Marketing and Communications
Miriam Braun
About Miriam
Miriam has spent the bulk of her career as a marketer in the Jewish nonprofit world, after a short stint working at The Food Network. When not thinking about social strategies and influencer content, Miriam is either chasing her 2 kiddos around Brooklyn or running in Prospect Park.
Favorite thing to do in Israel
- Meditate in the dessert.
Randi Charles
Senior Managing Director
Randi Charles
About Randi
Randi is an omni-channel marketing leader with experience spanning brand building, customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and product innovation. She has a passion for building high-performance teams and unlocking unique pathways to growth. Prior to joining RootOne, Randi held leadership roles at Talkspace, Blue Apron, Hilton and American Express. Randi holds a BA in Political Science from the George Washington University and resides in Manhattan with her fiancé.
Guilty Pleasure
- Binge watching entire seasons of 'Real Housewives' & anything Andy Cohen produces
Britty Cohen
Senior Manager, Digital Education
Britty Cohen
About Britty
Britty is passionate about digital education, having recently earned her master's degree in Learning Technology Experience Design from NYU, following her time at The Center for Educational Technology in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her expertise lies in crafting seamless user experiences for learners. Beyond her professional pursuits, she finds joy in hiking and traveling with her family and dog, and also enjoys playing soccer.
Favorite Israel Activity
- Hiking and exploring nature
Jonathan Fass
Senior Managing Director
Jonathan Fass
About Jonathan
Jonathan went to Israel for the first time as a study-abroad student in 1995. Since then, he has been dedicated to serving the Jewish community in ways that deepen and broaden a connection to Israel and the Jewish people. He lives in Connecticut, has two almost-adult kids, and a life-partner who shares his passion for Jewish education and engagement.
Favorite Israel Activity
- Walking Jerusalem Promenade
Nessa Geffen
Senior Manager, Program Incubation
Nessa Geffen
About Nessa
Nessa has devoted her career to the world of Experiential Jewish Education. After graduating from the Davidson School at JTS with an MA in Experiential Jewish Education, Nessa was an Associate Director at KIVUNIM, the Assistant Director at Camp Settoga, and the Director of Ramah Eastern Great Lakes. Nessa lives in Riverdale with her husband and two children, and can often be found enjoying anything Bravo has to offer.
The meal I could eat every day for the rest of my life
- Anything involving schnitzel.
Rebekkah Gold
Director of Israel Experiential Education
Rebekkah Gold
About Rebekkah
Rebekkah is a passionate educator with over a decade of experience in Jewish and Israel education, currently serving as the Director of Israel Experiential Education at RootOne within The Jewish Education Project. She is dedicated to crafting dynamic learning environments that help teens and the professionals with whom they work explore their Jewish identities, connections to Israel, and leadership development. A lifelong learner herself, Bekkah is also pursuing a Master's in Israel Education from The George Washington University while continuing to engage in meaningful community-building in her professional and personal life.
Favorite Israel City
- Tel Aviv - the sunset is my favorite view in this world!
Bobby Harris
Sr. Consultant, Jewish Camp Israel Experiences
Bobby Harris
About Bobby
Bobby's love for Informal Jewish and Israel Education led him to the Jewish camping field where he served as a Camp Director for 37 years. In addition to being the Sr. Camp Consultant for RootOne, he also is the Southeast Director for Foundation for Jewish Camp. Though he and his family have lived in Atlanta for the last 32 years, they proudly cheer for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Favorite Israel activity
- Nighttime swimming in the Mediterranean
Alana Hollander
Senior Manager, Continuing Engagement
Alana Hollander
About Alana
With an extensive background in engagement strategy and programs, prior to joining the RootOne team, Alana served at various organizations including The Jewish Education Project, Honeycomb, and Hadassah. A dedicated Jewish professional, she holds a Certificate in Jewish Leadership For Educators from Spertus Institute and Northwestern University and served as Chair of the Board for JPRO New York from 2020-2022. A native New Yorker and a talented artist and musician, in her spare time she can be found creating music, painting, or hiking through the woods with her husband and and trusty dog, Arrow.
Hidden Talent
- Being able to talk like Donald Duck. I can also sing Row Row Your Boat backwards.
Alexis Jaffe
Grantee Operations Manager
Alexis Jaffe
About Alexis
Alexis holds a Master in Public Administration from Baruch College with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. She is excited to bring her passion for Excel, systems, and financial literacy to the RootOne Team.
Meal you could eat every day for the rest of your life
- Whole wheat everything bagel toasted with sundried tomato cream cheese.
Miriam Lieber
Research Manager
Miriam Lieber
About Miriam
Miri has a background in social and legal psychology, fueling her passion for applied research. When she's not diving deep into a data file, you'll find Miri experimenting in the kitchen or tending to her ever-growing plant family.
Favorite Israel Activity
- Eating! Especially during sufganiyah season 🙂
Lily Mandell
Program Success Manager
Lily Mandell
About Lily
Lily has spent her professional life building relationships and creating transformational experiences in the synagogue, summer camp, and Israel travel spaces. In 2022 she obtained her Masters in Jewish Nonprofit Management from HUC’s Zelikow School. Outside of work, you’ll find Lily seeing the latest Broadway show, talking your ear off about Taylor Swift, or cooking Korean food from scratch.
Guilty Pleasure
- MTV reality shows
Rachel Oppenheimer
Program Manager, Teen Experiences
Rachel Oppenheimer
About Rachel
Rachel graduated from Lehigh University in 2022 with a BS in Marketing and began her professional career at RootOne. In her free time, Rachel loves exploring her Upper East side neighborhood and trying NYC restaurants trending on TikTok.
Go To Karaoke Song
- Valerie by Amy Winehouse.
Leigh Rapaport
Operations Manager
Leigh Rapaport
About Leigh
Leigh has cultivated a career in project management in a variety of industries, and is passionate about helping elevate her coworkers and the team culture through organizational development. Outside of her 9-5, Leigh enjoys exploring different NYC neighborhoods, testing out her photography skills, and trying new restaurants.
Guilty pleasure
- Ordering delivery from restaurants that are well within walking distance of my apartment...!
Hila Rosenmann
Director of Strategy and Program
Hila Rosenmann
About Hila
Hila has dedicated her career to strategy, design, and implementation of immersive Israel experiences for various Jewish organizations such as Hillel, Bina, and Masa. Hila can often be found trying out new restaurants around the city or spending time with her two toddlers at McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Favorite Israel City
- Tel-Aviv
Joshua Schwartz
Digital Outreach Project Manager
Joshua Schwartz
About Joshua
Josh has worked in the Jewish teen summer space for the past five years and is a Project Manager on RootOne's marketing team. Outside of work, you can find him eating something he just cooked while saying ""this is delicious!"" very loudly, updating his Goodreads account, or sneezing.
Go To Karaoke Song
- Tattoo, Jordin Sparks
Nadav Shachmon
Director of Israel Partnerships
Nadav Shachmon
About Nadav
Nadav oversees and cultivates strategic partnerships with official Israeli governmental ministries, NGOs, and Israeli tour operators, fostering collaboration and leveraging resources. In his previous position, Nadav was the senior Jewish Agency Shaliach (emissary) for Westchester, New York, where he developed and implemented Israel engagement strategy with 50 community partners and oversaw the local delegation. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Nadav served as an officer in the IDF medical corps. Before his arrival in the US, Nadav was the national director of the youth department of the Israeli Reform movement. Nadav holds a BA in Psychology from Tel Aviv Academic College and an MBA with a specialty in psychology from the College of Management Academic Studies. Nadav is married to his husband, Aylee, and lives in Connecticut with their two children, Aviv and Tal.
Hidden talent
- I’m actually a great chef
Danielle Stein
Foundation Relations Manager
Danielle Stein
About Danielle
Danielle has worked in Jewish nonprofit development and grant making for the last decade. She is passionate about securing strategic support for innovative Jewish organizations.
An avid reader, Danielle is only competitive when it comes to her yearly book count. She can be found frequenting hot yoga classes, experimenting with vegan recipes, cheering for the New York Rangers, and wearing lots of denim.
Favorite Israel City
- While Danielle’s favorite city in Israel is Tel Aviv, she loves Petach Tikvah more than most people!
Jack Wallace
Jack Wallace
About Jack
Jack has spent his career tweaking systems and processes to make them work for everyone, dabbling in accounting, marketing, copywriting, coding, until finally he landed with his favorite CRM; Salesforce!
A Salesforce and systems nerd extraordinaire, he spends his free time reading too much, taking long photo-walks around NYC, and thinking about volunteering at wild bird shelters wistfully.
Guilty Pleasure
- Anime. I love a good story and deep characters and I've been watching anime since it was in fat VHS cases subtitled by fans. I love big stories that teach you about togetherness or how to strive, or show you sides of people you would never otherwise know.
Jamie Waxman
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director
Jamie Waxman
About Jamie
Since graduating in 2020, I've taken on various roles across diverse fields until landing as an executive assistant, where I revel in the joy of checking off to-do lists and orchestrating plans. Outside the office, you'll spot me soaking up the sunshine, befriending every dog in sight, and most likely exploring a different city from where I live and work.
Go-to Kareoke Song
- Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi really gets me going.