Alex Goldfarb (he/him)- Executive Director, Board Chair
Alex has been with Amir since shortly after its founding, and has served in the organization in a variety of leadership roles. Alex is a second-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College, which is nourishing his love for hevrutah (paired) learning that he developed in Amir garden beds. Prior to rejoining Amir’s staff in 2021, Alex lived in Hargeisa, Somaliland where he co-founded DK Fishing, a social enterprise seeking to accelerate the growth of the country’s nascent fishing industry. Alex is based in Cambridge, MA.
Contact Alex at alex@amirproject.org
Meet the team
Staff
Sasha Fraser (she/her) - Recruitment Coordinator
Sasha is an Amir Farmer alum from Summer 5782 / 2022, student, cook, home gardener, and aspiring teacher. She grew up in Massachusetts but has made her second home in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan. She cares deeply about nature-based learning and nurturing children into healthy and happy humans. Judaism is a strong piece of her identity and is so happy to have found an avenue that combines all of her passions - Judaism, farming, food and teaching. She could not be more excited to connect youth with Jewish learning and agriculture opportunities in her role as Recruitment Coordinator.
Contact Sasha at recruitment@amirproject.org.
Rel Brender (they/them) - Marketing Coordinator & 2022 Mentor
Rel's farming & education career began in 2014, when they apprenticed to Amir Farmers at URJ Eisner Camp. The following year, Rel completed the Amir Training Seminar and returned to Eisner as an Amir Farmer! Since then, Rel went on to pursue educational farming at their alma mater's community garden, the New York Botanical Gardens, a public school in rural Panama, and beyond, as well as commercial farming in rural New Jersey (Lenni-Lenape land). Rel has since merged their loves for earth-based Judaism, food & medicine cultivation, and storytelling by joining the Amir team in early 2022 as the Marketing Coordinator.
2022 Mentors & Support Team:
Taylor Cohen (she/her) - 2022 Mentor
Taylor was an Amir Farm Manager in 2016. This opportunity to share her passion for the Earth, Judaism, food justice and equity with youth was moving and inspiring. She has since gone on to open a food business for the clean vegan meat alternative she invented, provide private vegan culinary experiences for groups and individuals, and host dinners, retreats and coaching containers for female identifying persons looking to deepen their self love, awareness and connection to self and others. She was honored to serve as a Mentor in Summer 5782 / 2022 supporting Farmers at Amir’s partner camps.
Brenden Jackson (he/him) - Mentor & Program Advisor
Brenden likes to think of himself as an urban agriculture enthusiast, but really he is just a big kid that likes to play in the dirt. Brenden was born in Virginia where he camped, explored, studied literature and eventually earned a graduate degree in education. Through a series of fortunate events he married his best friend, and spent the next five years moving and traveling around the country. During these travels he met a diverse range of food growers who planted in him the seeds of food justice. In 2017 he joined forces with Amir and moved to Houston to inspire youth to embrace the joys of gardening and help create a more sustainable food culture. In addition to his work with Amir, Brenden is a farmer and farm educator in Richmond, VA.
Board of Directors
STEF BUGASCH SCOPOLINE - Board Secretary
Stef has been farming with Amir since 2013, as a Farmer, then Mentor, Program Director, and now Board Member. Stef has a BA in Environmental Studies and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Wisconsin, and is dedicated to working towards providing opportunities for people to have access to delicious, fresh food.
YAN DIGILOV - Board Treasurer
Yan is the Chief Local Advisor at Firestarter, a Houston-based firm that focuses on active management of charitable portfolios and strategic project development. He graduated from Rice University with B.A. degrees in Mathematics and Economics. After spending time working in money management and as a technology consultant, his present role combines his professional experiences with a passion for nonprofit work. Focusing on efficient allocation of capital and human resources, Firestarter deploys active management techniques to ensure clients’ charitable portfolios capture maximum amounts of social alpha. Yan founded Amir with David in 2010, and was instrumental in laying the institutional foundation for the organization.
Board of Advisors
David Blumenstein is President and CEO of Segal, a benefits, compensation and investment consulting firm with more than 1,000 professionals throughout the U.S. and Canada. During his almost 35 years with Segal, Mr. Blumenstein has served in a number of national and regional leadership roles, including multiple terms on The Segal Group’s Board of Directors. David has also served on the Board of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and is a longtime practitioner and teacher of Jewish chant and meditation. As a former Ramah camper and parent, he is excited to help Amir expand its work in Jewish garden education at summer camps.
Hannah Catt is an attorney with The Law Group of Northwest Arkansas LLP in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, with certificates in Health and Environmental Law. She also holds an LL.M. in Agricultural & Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Hannah worked with Amir as a Farmer and Mentor at Capital Camps in 2014 and 2015.
Yosef Gillers is the founder and Co-Executive Director of GrowTorah. Having served as one of the first Amir Farmers in 2011, Yosef fell in love with Jewish farm education, and founded GrowTorah in 2015 which now brings experiential and environmental Torah education programs to over 20 Jewish day schools. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in environmental studies and a concentration in education, Yosef pursued Rabbinical Studies at RIETS while teaching in Yeshiva University High School for Boys. In 2017 he earned a certificate in Experiential Jewish Education from M2, and in 2019 he received The Jewish Week’s “36 under 36” award. Yosef is the Vice Chair of the Teaneck Environmental Commission, a state-appointed position. He is a PSIA certified Telemark Ski Instructor, which he uses on winter Sundays to teach skiers of all ages at Plattekill Mountain, NY.
Saul Goldfarb is a proud grandfather, father and husband of 37 years to Elissa Goldfarb. In 1998, he started Goldfarb & Associates, an international diesel engine parts business. An avid gardener, Saul’s garden is located in the parking lot of his business. Over the past few years, he has been involved in rehabbing houses for low-income families, working with people with abilities and helping to relocate Afghan refugee families.
Socio-psychologist Bethamie Horowitz has conducted research about major issues and problems facing the Jewish people for more than two decades. She has an active research and consulting practice, working with a wide range of audiences: decision-makers, organizational and communal leaders, strategic planners, and the scholarly community. Bethamie is a Visiting Scholar at New York University and Brandeis University.
Jonathan Kaufman is a Co-Founder and Principal at Third Plateau, where he collaborates with nonprofits, foundations, and social entrepreneurs all over the world, helping them expand and deepen their social impact. He cut his teeth on the front lines of the nonprofit sector, working to address hunger in Chicago, homelessness and mental health in Los Angeles, and refugee rights in Athens, Greece. In these roles and through Third Plateau, Jonathan has built a knack for challenging long-held assumptions, imagining a better future, and building meaningful programs that can deliver. Jonathan previously served on Amir's Board of Directors and has been a supporter of the organization since its founding.
Jack Kellner started with Amir as a Farmer in 2013 and has held a variety of roles supporting Amir's programming. Jack is a resident steward at Yesod Farm + Kitchen, a Jewish community farm and land project in southern Appalachia, where they tend goats and chickens, fruits and vegetables, and 10+ acres of healing meadow and early-succession forest, along with hosting events, tours, and programs at the farm. In 2022, Jack brought their experience and love for place-based Jewish farm education rooted in ancestral Jewish agricultural practices and values as Amir's Director of Programs and Education. They are passionate about bringing the blossoming Jewish farming movement to mainstream Jewish spaces and supporting beginning farm educators.
Shannon Lijek is an executive at Freeport McMoRan, where she brings expertise on issues including digital strategy, advanced analytics, product strategy and design. Shannon previously served on Amir’s Board of Directors where she was instrumental in helping the organization through executive leadership transitions and other operational transformations. Shannon serves on the Board of the Valley Youth Theatre.
