Enriching Jewish Life at Towson University
Since 1997, Towson Hillel student leaders, professionals, and lay leaders have been dedicated to creating a pluralistic, welcoming, and inclusive environment for Jewish college students, where they are encouraged to grow intellectually, spiritually, and socially.
Meet Our Towson Hillel Professional Staff
We’re here to support and uplift our community. Meet the friendly faces dedicated to making a difference.
Rabbi Alex Salzberg
Executive Director
Rabbi Alex Salzberg (MA ’11) is excited to be back on campus as the Executive Director of Towson Hillel. He grew up in Baltimore, about 15 minutes from TU’s campus. He left to spend a gap year in Israel and earn an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. He then came back to Baltimore and began his relationship with Towson University. After earning his master’s degree in Jewish Education from the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University, he was ordained a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary. For the next six years, he was the rabbi of the Pelham Jewish Center in New York, where he focused on education for all ages and building relationships within the synagogue and between the synagogue and the wider community. Ten years away from Baltimore was enough, and Rabbi Alex and his family decided that it was time to come home.
Rabbi Alex believes that community is the essence of Jewish life and sees his role at TU Hillel as helping students find their place in the Jewish community, both on campus and for the rest of their lives. When not on campus, Rabbi Alex is home with his spouse and 3 children, baking bread, or woodworking.
Sean Levy
Director of Jewish Life
Sean Levy is excited to return to his alma mater as the Director of Jewish Life for Towson University Hillel. Sean is proudly from Delaware County, PA, and graduated with a degree in sociology & anthropology. During his time in undergrad, he was an active member of Hillel, a brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and a counselor at Camp Airy. Since graduation, he has spent time as the Springboard Fellow at University at Albany Hillel, the IACT Coordinator at TU Hillel, and received a certification as an End of Life Coach. Sean looks forward to continuing to lay down roots in the Baltimore Jewish community, further supporting students’ development, and expanding the impactful offerings of Towson University.
Izzi Rosenstark
IACT Engagement Coordinator
Izzi will be starting her first year as an IACT Engagement Coordinator this year and can’t wait to begin! She is a New Jersey local who is new to Maryland and is looking forward to continuing her journey with Hillel. For undergrad, she studied film & television with a minor in mythology at Montclair State University. She also held many student board positions within Hillel and other Jewish organizations during her time there. Izzi is passionate about religious learning and promoting diversity through community building, and can’t wait to meet everyone new to TU.
Meet Our Towson Hillel Student Leaders
Ethan Seldin
President
Ethan Seldin is a junior studying music technology. He is excited to be the president of Towson Hillel, after spending the previous year as Shabbat Intern. He is a proud member of the Jewish community at Towson, being involved with many of its Jewish organizations, including the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Ethan is thrilled to be working with such a great group of people and cannot wait to see all the amazing things they will do this coming year!
Mishel Raskin
Vice President
Mishel Raskin is a senior studying communications with a minor in business. In her free time, she enjoys making bracelets, taking Polaroids, and binging reality tv. She is stoked to to join Hillel’s board this year as the vice president.
Kayla Lasson
Social Media Intern
Kayla is this year’s social media intern! When she’s not adding to the club’s insta page, you can find her at the gym or at home with her rabbits (who occasionally make an appearance in the lounge). She is a Theatre Studies major, and has prior experience in business management. Kayla is excited to implement her ideas for TU Hillel’s social media pages!
Arin Langholt
Outreach Intern
Arin is so excited to be an Outreach Intern for the ‘26-’27 school year! At Towson, Arin is studying Early Childhood Education as well as Voice Performance. In her free time, she loves to play piano, spend time with friends and family, practice songs with her competitive collegiate A Capella group, as well as do various arts and crafts projects. Arin is so excited to make more friends in Hillel!
Sarah Wilcox
Social Programming Intern
Sarah Wilcox is a junior Art and Design Major with a minor in Marketing. She is the Social Programming Intern this year for Hillel and is very excited for her role. Sarah always attended the Hillel events during her first two years, so she is knowledgable of how they are supposed to run and has developed ideas on how to make them even more exciting. Sarah loves to create art, go on walks, hang with friends, read, and shop in her free time.
Daniel Dressin
Israel Programming Intern
Daniel Dressin is a sophomore majoring in Mass Communication with a concentration in Advertising and a minor in Judaic Studies. He will serve as Towson Hillel’s Israel Programming Intern for the 2026–2027 academic year. Daniel is also proud to be a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow. In his free time, Daniel enjoys 3D printing, listening to music, watching TV, and spending time with friends in the Hillel lounge. He also teaches Hebrew school at Beth El Congregation in Baltimore. Daniel is excited to create engaging and meaningful Israel focused programs that strengthen connections and bring new opportunities for students on Towson’s campus.
Coorper Sunshine
Shabbat Intern
Cooper Sunshine is a Junior studying Sport Management and will be the 2026-2027 Shabbat Intern. He is excited to interact with new and returning students who visit the Hillel Lounge this year! One of his favorite things to do on campus is workout with friends during the week. He is ready for a fresh school year and for all of what Hillel plans to do for Shabbat as well!
Board of Directors
The Towson University Hillel Governing Board is a group of dedicated volunteers (alumni, faculty, students and community members) who further the mission and work of Towson University Hillel. Board members are selected for their specialized knowledge, experience, skills and desire to enhance Jewish life for Towson University students. The roles of the Board are to hire and oversee the work of the Executive Director, provide guidance to the staff, help set policies, ensure the fiscal health of the organization, serve as a connection between TU Hillel and the community, and connect with students.
BOARD CHAIR
Neal Shaivitz ’96
VICE CHAIR
Jonathan Havens
TREASURER
Diane Seegull ’90
SECRETARY
Sheryl Cooper
DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
Deena Dermer ’89
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Emily Levin
BOARD MEMBERS
Larry Amsterdam
Jennifer Berman
Hana Bor (faculty)
Brett Gelfand ’22
Jenna Heisman ’23
Andrew Horowitz ’01
Matthew Lipsky ’96
Judy Macks (faculty)
Sydney Marantz ’21
Greg Terry ’04
Amanda Wise
Michelle Zarren
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
2024-25 Annual Report
This was a year of building and growth. Secure in the foundation that we have built, we have reimagined what is possible, building new relationships and growing our profile on campus. This year, it was clear that our students would benefit from broader and deeper campus relationships.
At its heart, Towson Hillel is all about our students. We met students where they were, buying 300 cups of coffee. We fed students when they came to us, serving nearly 1,000 meals. We ran learning cohorts, helping our students deepen their understanding of and connection to Judaism and Israel. And we invested in our students as leaders and creators of their Jewish lives through internships and student driven programs.
Past Annual Reports
2020-21 Annual Report
This year, once again, Towson University Hillel and the rest of the world experienced a time like no other. In spite of Corona 19 and its challenges, our extraordinary staff exhibited heretofore unknown talents to embrace the new realty by creating and implementing cutting edge virtual programs and services. Students appreciated every effort we made to build on relationships made on campus in our newly hatched online world. Our Cohort learning was at an all-time high, participants choosing between Jewish Learning Fellowships, Israel Learning Fellowships (launched for the first time ever, virtually nonetheless) and Jewish Learning Fellowship 2.0 offering a deep dive for our students continuing with their Jewish identity and exploration. Our focus on deep relationship building and engagement resulted in an all-time high engagement rate this year—in a virtual world! This year Towson University Hillel was recognized in three very notable ways. We were applauded for our Homing Shabbat Innovator program with the Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Jewish Education Vision at the Hillel International Global Assembly in December, 2021. This Spring, Lisa Bodziner received the Neely Tal Snyder Community Impact Award honoring the work she has done since her time in Baltimore, building community and innovative ways to engage families, students and alumni. Adam Baumwald was the recipient of the annual Associated Harry Greenstein Award which honors exceptional lay leadership and commitment to the Baltimore Jewish community. While obviously more challenging than we could have ever imagined, the year also brought inspiration, recognition and joy for our students, staff, alumni, board, community leaders and stakeholders. Come this Fall, we are prepared—and excited—to personally welcome our incoming freshmen and their parents, celebrate our seniors, and continue to cultivate relationships with all of our students, stakeholders, partners, parents and leaders.
Most sincerely,
Adam Baumwald, Board Chair
Lisa Bodziner, Executive Director
2019-20 Annual Report
This year, Towson University Hillel and the rest of the world experienced a time like no other. Our strongest year on campus was cut short with our transition to virtual programming on March 11th, two days before Spring break, creating a metamorphosis of face to face programs, student engagements and transformative experiences into a 21st century virtual reality. Although this year has thrown the world for a ride we never expected, our extraordinary staff has exhibited heretofore unknown talents to not only embrace the challenge but use the obvious limitations to design and implement cutting edge virtual programs and services. Our students appreciated every effort that was made to build on the relationships made on campus in our newly created online world. Our senior send-off Shabbat was one of the most touching events Lisa has attended in her nearly three years of executive leadership. Adam believes that our Jewish Learning Fellowship Shabbat was a testament to what Hillel is doing by giving students ways to connect, learn, and be inspired Jewishly. While obviously more challenging than we could have ever imagined, the year also brought incredible inspiration. Shachar, our Israel fellow, was featured on the global Yom Ha’atzmaut livestream sponsored by the Jewish Federation of North America, cooking with a famous chef in Israel. Our student leaders rallied to address the needs of their fellow classmates and friends. Our staff called every student we have in our database simply to check in and say “hey, this is really hard, we are here for you.” Despite what lays ahead, we are prepared to be hybrid— in person and/or virtual to warmly welcome our incoming freshmen and their parents, celebrate our seniors, and continue to cultivate relationships with all of our students, stakeholders, partners, parents and leaders.
Most sincerely,
Adam Baumwald, Board Chair
Lisa Bodziner, Executive Director
2018-19 Annual Report
This year, Towson University Hillel turned 21 and we celebrated our growing success in serving our Jewish community. For 21 years, Towson Hillel has been a home for students on their religious, spiritual and personal journeys. This year was no exception. We thank those who made Hillel at Towson, from it’s inception, a safe haven 21 years ago and look forward to continuing to grow Jewish life on campus by widening our established base and making more and more lasting impressions on a greater number of students and our supporters on and off campus. From more frequent Shabbat dinners to the launch of an inaugural leadership circle of donors to engaging over 750 students through 155 programs throughout the year, we are proud to say our students can, and do, engage in unique and customized touch points during the week that nourish and enrich their experiences as Jewish students, participants and leaders. We are so proud to serve nearly half of the Jewish population on campus and look forward to increasing our talent, staff, programming, engagement and story with you. We hope you enjoy this year’s annual report. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch.
Sincerely,
Lisa Bodziner, Executive Director
Towson Hillel is an agency of The Associated
Towson University-Hillel is proud to be an agency of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore along with 26 other agencies. We harness the strength of our agencies to form ONE network. This allows us to serve you, our community, and the world better. Each of our agencies receives a significant portion of their funding from The Associated. Each of our agencies also has access to many services provided by The Associated, such as: finance, human resources, information technology, marketing, and more. This approach allows us to collectively meet the needs of today’s Jews and tomorrow’s leaders.
Supporting The Associated has direct benefit to Towson University-Hillel and to the other agencies in our network. A donation to The Associated embodies the phrase “kol areyvim zeh b’zeh” — all Jews are responsible for one another — and makes you an important part of the collective strength of our community.
Your financial support of The Associated ensures that, together, we can create engaging educational experiences that will strengthen our Jewish future, provide critical social services to those who need a helping hand, advocate for social justice and equality for all, and connect to Jews in Israel and around the world.
Every dollar you give to The Associated is used wisely to make a positive impact on our agencies like Towson University-Hillel, the Jewish Baltimore community, and the world. We believe together we can make the world a better place.
Donate now to The Associated and ensure agencies like Towson University-Hillel continue to thrive.
You can give with confidence because The Associated has received the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 7 years in a row. Nearly ninety cents of every dollar that you donate goes directly to benefit our agencies, programs, and services.