Meet the Staff
Josh Levine
Josh Levine, Executive Director of Santa Barbara Hillel, has extensive experience managing across the nonprofit, legal, and education sectors. He most recently served as Executive Director of Herzl Camp, a pluralistic Jewish overnight camp based in Minnesota. Previously, he was Vice President for the Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University and Executive Director of Camp Alonim in Southern California. Josh was selected for the first class of the Wexner Foundation’s Field Fellowship, is a graduate of the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Executive Leadership Institute, and has received training in creating meaningful and memorable Jewish experiences from the JCC Association and M2: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education.
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Josh received his A.B. from Brown University, where he was commencement speaker, and his J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, where he was Articles Editor of the law review. He was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs, worked as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and served as a federal law clerk at the trial and appellate levels. Josh enjoys the Dodgers, mockumentaries, design, and exploring new neighborhoods and trails.
Rabbi Madeline Anderson
Etty Yenni Assistant Director & Senior Jewish Educator
805-968-1280 x 118
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Rabbi Maddy Anderson is in her third year at Santa Barbara Hillel and serves as the Assistant Director and Senior Jewish Educator. Rabbi Maddy combines administrative skills with a focus on community-building and experiential learning opportunities. She also implements pastoral care into her work, offers support for students during exams, breakups, grieving, and more.
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Rabbi Maddy was ordained in 2022 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended the University of Indianapolis, where she received a BS in Global Leadership. Before rabbinical school, Rabbi Maddy served as an AmeriCorps member for one year, building homes in Indianapolis with Habitat for Humanity. She then worked in various nonprofit administration roles at Habitat for Humanity and Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation. As a rabbinical student, she served the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) as a fellow and then as the Interim Assistant Director. Rabbi Maddy also worked in two midwestern student pulpits in Petoskey, MI, and Kokomo, IN. She taught in multiple religious schools and served as a hospital chaplain in Cincinnati. In her free time, she likes to read, hike, kickbox, listen to podcasts, and spend time with her dog Malka.
Ally walker
Ally Walker is Santa Barbara Hillel's IACT Israel and Engagement Associate. She is a Los Angeles native growing up in the San Gabriel Valley. Ally graduated from California State University, Northridge with a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Gender Women’s Studies with a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies of Africa. She has a lot of experience in on-campus diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, student advocacy, and bridge building. Ally has held multiple internship positions within the California State Assembly and is deeply interested in American-Middle Eastern relations.
Ally enjoys politics, Taylor Swift, nuanced conversations, jewelry making, and finding the best place to get green tea and iced coffee.
Sasha Kaplow
Sasha, a graduate of the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Sociology, is ecstatic to serve as the Springboard Innovation and Engagement Fellow at Santa Barbara Hillel! During her time in Oregon, she wanted a place aside from home and school to unwind and get to know other students, and quickly discovered Hillel her freshman year.
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Sasha is from The Valley, outside of Los Angeles, and is stoked to be close to family again after four great years in Oregon. She is passionate about social justice, art, music, food, and her one-year-old pup (who will be hanging around the office), Oatie!
Rebekah is Santa Barbara Hillel's Development and Special Projects Coordinator. After growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Rebekah graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Rebekah also studied in Madrid at Complutense University, immersing herself in the Spanish language. Rebekah continued her global education as a business intern in Tel Aviv through Onward, where she marketed Sonovia's sustainable systems to manufacturers internationally. Motivated by the diverse backgrounds and meaningful connections she encountered abroad, Rebekah conducted research at UCSB’s Social Psychology Lab to explore the effect of cultural backgrounds on socially altruistic behaviors.
During her time at UCSB, Rebekah held many positions of student leadership: Co-President of Keshet, Multicultural Chair and Tzedek Vice President of the Hillel Student Board, and chair of the Associated Students’ Trans & Queer Commission. Rebekah has continued to nourish her love for community, music and adventure by playing the flute, backpacking through southeast Asia, and volunteering as a mediator for a local community organization.