Undergraduate Leadership

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee (SC), the student governing board of Hillel, consists of six undergraduate students who work closely with Hillel staff members to facilitate Jewish life on Harvard's campus. Through weekly meetings and a range of other activities, SC is charged with developing a unified vision for Hillel's undergraduate program and representing Hillel on campus.

The President (Rebecca Gillette '10, rdgillet@fas) oversees the Hillel student leadership structure and works to ensure that the various facets of Hillel's student life work collaboratively towards fulfilling Hillel's mission. As the elected representative of the Hillel undergraduate community, the President chairs meetings of Steering Committee and of Coordinating Council and is the official student spokesperson for Hillel to the media, student groups, and other outside organizations. The President is elected to serve for a calendar year term.
The Vice President for Communications (JJ Goldstein '11, jgoldst@fas) facilitates the interaction among Hillel's student leadership, the Jewish community and Harvard's community at large. The VP for Communication leads the Communications Committee and coordinates Hillel's publicity. This vice president and the programmers that form the Communications Committee coordinate Hillel's publicity scheme as a whole and take charge of the most central communication media (including website, email lists, print publications, other occasional creative displays), as well as provide assistance to other programmers for special publicity projects. The Vice President for Communications also serves as Hillel’s historian and parliamentarian.
The Vice President for Community Building (Emily Shire '11, eshire@fas) leads the Community Building Committee. This vice president and the programmers that form the Community Building Committee work to create opportunities for Jewish students at Harvard to pursue their passions and interests within a Jewish context—inside and outside of the Hillel building. This includes Jewish life in the houses, social programming, arts programming, drama programming and much more.
The Vice President for Community Relations (Carolina Kupferman '11, ckupferm@fas) leads the Community Relations Committee. This vice president and the programmers that form the Community Relations Committee build relationships with groups outside of the Harvard Jewish community (i.e. other groups at Harvard and Jewish groups outside of Harvard) and focus on programming that looks outward from the Jewish community. This includes social action programming, interethnic/interfaith programming, and building relationships with other Jewish organizations and colleges in the area.
The Vice President for Education (Rachel Levy '11, rlevy@fas) leads the Education Committee. This vice president and the programmers that form the Education Committee work to create opportunities for students at Harvard to learn about and gain access to different aspects of Judaism and the Jewish tradition. For example, this committee works to promote an atmosphere of Jewish learning in the Hillel building, sponsor ongoing classes with Jewish themes, and bring guest lecturers into the Harvard community.
The Vice President for Shabbat and Holidays (Reyzl Geselowitz '10, geselow@fas) leads the Shabbat and Holidays Committee. This vice president and the programmers that form the Shabbat and Holidays Committee coordinate all Shabbat and Jewish Holiday programming for Harvard undergraduates, both within and outside the Hillel building, and are responsible for programming that pertains to religious observance of Shabbat and Jewish Holidays. This includes communal meals, Sukkah building, Hanukkah candle-lightings, holiday parties, Shabbat post-dinner events, and learners’ activities. This vice president communicates with Harvard Hillel’s prayer groups about issues concerning undergraduate programming for Shabbat and Jewish Holidays. The committee seeks to create a warm, inviting atmosphere within the Hillel building on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays.
From Hillel's staff, the Steering Committee includes: Executive Director, Dr. Bernard Steinberg; Director of Undergraduate Programming, Gabi Soble; and Associate Director, Michael Simon.

Please feel free to contact the Undergraduate Steering Committee members individually or as a group at hillel-sc@hcs.harvard.edu.

Coordinating Council

Coordinating Council (CoCo) serves as Hillel's governing body and is open to all undergraduates. It addresses issues facing the Jewish community at Harvard, drafts resolutions and public statements, oversees the Steering Committee, and is an open forum for the discussion of all aspects of Jewish life on campus. Meetings are run by the Steering Committee President.

Any undergraduate can become a voting member of CoCo by attending two meetings. We encourage you to drop by for an engaging community-wide conversation and to voice your opinions on communal Jewish life at Harvard.

For more insight into CoCo activities, see the by-laws.

The Programmers

The programmers are undergraduates who work with the vice presidents and their respective committees to create the heart of the undergraduate program at Harvard Hillel. With their different backgrounds, experiences and skills, they provide activities and programming that span the breath of Jewish student life. They work together in the following five broad committees:

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