Alina Bitel is the Program Director of Engagement Initiatives at the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC). Prior to joining FJC, Alina spent 10 years as the Director of Teen and Israel Education Departments, and later, the Director of Leadership Development at the Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst. Alina earned her BA in Psychology/ Russian and Slavic Studies at New York University and her Masters of Social Work at Columbia University. She also is a graduate of the JCC Association Merrin Fellowship, and holds a certificate of executive education from the UJA Federation of New York and Columbia University SIPA Muehlstein Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership.

Avraham Infeld during his four years as interim president and president of Hillel, Avraham significantly increased Hillel's commitment to Israel, enlarged its presence in the FSU, and made tzedek, social justice, a cornerstone of its work. As a community leader and lecturer, Avraham has shared his passion for Israel, the Jewish people and social Justice with generations of students of all ages. He has inspired many to work for the "significant survival of the Jewish people", and taught how to be "distinctively Jewish and universally human. Today, Avraham's students are teachers and leaders themselves. They are spreading his message around the globe.

In the 1970s, Avraham founded Melitz, a non profit educational service institution that fosters Jewish identity rooted in a pluralistic understanding of Jewish life and the centrality of Israel. He also served as chairman of Arevim; founding chairman of San Francisco Federation's Amutot program in Israel; and chairman of the Board of Israel Experience, ltd., an independent company created by the Jewish Agency. A native of South Africa, Avraham's father was a Hebrew linguist and a Jewish educator who raised his son in an ardently Zionist atmosphere. Naturally, Avraham immigrated to Israel as soon as he graduated from high school in 1959. He attained a degree in Bible and Jewish History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a law degree from Tel Aviv University. He married Ellen Infeld, originally from Woodbridge, N.J., and they share four children and 14 grandchildren.

Dr. Michael Kipnis is the author of 16 books on the art of acting, coaching, informal education. He is well known in Israel for his drama improvisation. Michael worked in the Israeli Ministry of Education, directs the Maya parenthood and family center in Kibbutzim College (Tel Aviv), as well as being the general director of the "Keitar" association. Mr. Kipnis lives in Israel since 1991. Eight years ago, he founded the non religious and apolitical community of Russian speaking émigrés in Ashdod called "Keitar." Today, "Keitar," is a multivariate community organization with approximately 500 participants, over 120 registered members, 15 programs of various types for ages 5-80.  Since living in Israel, Michael has changed professions many times and was the author and artistic director of the Israeli program Drama. He has led hundreds of seminars and training sessions in Israel, Ukraine, Moldova and the US as a group leader, facilitator, and trainer. He is also a director and initiator of various projects in the sphere of absorption, informal education and culture, both in Israel and abroad.  Between 1994 until 2011, Michael wrote 16 books in Israel and Russia, among them "In our own eyes" (a book about Israeli Kibbutzim), and series of author training books published in Moscow 1989. Today actors training, leadership training, communication, creativeness, cross-cultural dialogue, family relations, written by Michael Kipnis, published by "ACT-Prime-Euroznak" (Moscow-St. Petersburg) in the series "Best Trainings of the World" "Best Psycho-technology of the World", "Golden fund of the actor's art".

Simon Klarfeld is Executive Director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel. As a consultant, he has assisted organizations ranging from the Joint Distribution Committee to birthright Israel, and communities from Australia to Ukraine. He has written and presented on various themes including: Jewish Youth and Students; Experiential/Informal Jewish Education; Israel Education/Engagement; Jewish Peoplehood; and Leadership.

Yigal Kotler, a native of Odessa (Ukraine), studied at the Odessa State University (MA in History and Archeology). Since 1990, he became active in the reawakening of Jewish life in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). He founded the first Jewish supplementary school in Odessa and the Jewish family school.  At the same time, Yigal began researching the history of Odessa's Jewry and led the first Jewish tours of Odessa.  His book “Essays on the History of Odessa Jews” was published in Jerusalem in 1996. In 1994, Yigal was invited to Israel to study in the Jerusalem Fellows program for Jewish education leaders. He made Aliya together with his family and upon completing the program, Yigal started to work for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's (JDC) Russian Department. On behalf of JDC, he worked in various FSU countries, first as a field office director and then as a coordinator of Jewish educational and youth programs.  During these years, Yigal presented at various conferences in Jewish education, Jewish history and academic Judaica in the FSU, Israel, Europe and the US. Throughout his career, he has also worked as a teacher and lecturer on Jewish subjects. In 2006, Yigal relocated to New York and worked as an Associate Executive Director of the Shorefront Y at Brighton Beach where he developed programs for the Russian speaking Jewish population.  Currently, Yigal is a doctoral candidate at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Davidson School of Jewish Education. He was nominated to receive a special William Davidson Fellowship and his dissertation is concentrated on the Jewish Russian- speaking community of North America, its identity, leadership and education. As a lay leader, Yigal is Chairman of the Limmud conference for Russian-speaking Jewish Americans and an observer of the Executive Board of the UJA Federation of New York, Russian Division.

Mitbachon Team

Alona Stavans immigrated to Israel from Latvia with my parents 16 years ago. Since then she have "struggled" very hard with my “Russian” origins in order to fully integrate into the Israeli society. It took her over 10 years to realize how unique her Russian-Jewish roots are and since then, in the past 7 years she have been specializing in the field of Jewish Informal Education, with emphasis on Russian Jewry in Israel, FSU and America. She have worked at different organizations such as: The Jewish Agency for Israel, “Gesher” foundation and Israeli Industrial Union as an educator, staff trainer and program developer for immigrants and native Israelis. In each one of those positions she felt that she got to know herself better and have an amazing opportunity to influence and share her experience with other Jewish immigrants who deal with similar issues and difficulties. She has a B.A in Psychology and Sociology and she is trying to engage her knowledge and experience of those fields in her work as a Jewish Educator. She is married to Eyal Stavans who is a native Israeli from a South American Jewish family.