Staff

After moving back home to South Africa for a few years, Elan returned to the Washington DC area in 2014 where he was working as the Director of Planned and Major Giving for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. In 2016, he decided to “return home” and assumed the role of Capital Campaign Director for Maryland Hillel, steering financial resource development efforts for our new building. Elan completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, majoring in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Cape Town. He holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Communal Service with an emphasis in fundraising from Brandeis University. In 2016, he completed his Masters in Information Systems degree through Northwestern University. He is married to Jackie and is the proud father of Dina and Ariel. In his spare time he enjoys cooking (well eating actually), swimming, reading biographies and current affairs, and volunteering.

Maddie is a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em), where she received her B.S. in Public Relations with a Business Minor. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, she spent her time involved in the local Jewish community, as well as her summers at URJ OSRUI. Maddie is excited to be joining the team at Maryland Hillel as the Special Events and Catering Coordinator. Maddie previously served as a Public Relations Intern at Beck Media & Marketing, working with technology clients on media outreach and awards nominations. In her free time you can find Maddie in the aisles of Trader Joe’s, front row at a country concert, or looking up plane fares for her next big adventure. Maddie looks forward to becoming a part of the Maryland Hillel community, and cannot wait to see what being a Terp is all about!

Noa grew up in the small town of Greensboro, North Carolina. She was very involved in Hillel during her time at UNC Chapel Hill, where she graduated in 2017 with degrees in Exercise & Sport Science, and Psychology. Noa is a college basketball fanatic, coffee addict, and all-star meal prepper. You can almost always catch her Yelping DC’s newest foodie places. Noa is incredibly passionate about Jewish camping, especially her home away from home tucked away in the mountains of Georgia, Camp Ramah Darom, and is so excited to bring her passion for Jewish life to UMD!

Rabbi Yonaton Hirschhorn was born and raised in Neve Daniel, Israel. After high school he joined the Hesder program, and studied at Yeshivat Otniel and Yeshivat Bat Ayin. Yonaton joined the IDF in 2008, and served as part of the Golani Brigade. When Yonaton finished the 5 year Hesder program, he began teaching at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in the Old City. After teaching at Netiv Aryeh, Yonaton went on to teach at MATARA, a Jewish therapeutic boarding school for teenage boys, Bnei Chayil High School for boys, Midreshet Darkaynu, and Midreshet Moriah. For the past two years, Yonaton has been running and teaching an evening Beit Midrash program for youth in Neve Daniel, “Mevakshei Panecha”. When Yonaton is not learning or teaching Torah, he enjoys watching and analyzing movies, watching TED talks (one day he will be giving his own!), and hiking the beautiful land of Israel. Yonaton loves being behind the grill and cooking up delicious meals for students almost as much as he loves teaching! Yonaton is the proud husband of Avital, and his two beautiful girls, Nava and Tamar.

Hannah is beyond excited to be back at her old stomping grounds at Maryland! Originally from small-town Wisconsin, where the Jewish population was sparse, She found a home at Maryland Hillel as a student and is so excited to help provide the same for students now! Before joining the team, Hannah worked at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and is still a huge advocate. She coordinates alumni engagement and fundraising and can’t wait to connect with fellow Terps. If she’s not on campus, you can probably find Hannah at Cava!

Talia Orencel is the Director of Engagement and Social Justice at The University of Maryland Hillel. Originally from Argentina, but grew up in Maryland, Talia is a proud Terp Alumni who joined the Maryland Hillel team in 2015. She runs the Tzedek and Hillel Greek Life Fellowship, coordinates small and large scale social justice programs, and has staffed several Alternative Break and Birthright Israel trips.  After receiving an MPA in Non-Profit Management from George Mason University, Talia served 2.5 years in the Peace Corps in Ecuador working on women and youth empowerment projects. She has always been a strong activist for social change in the local and global community, and enjoys bringing that energy for Tikkun Olam to her students here at Maryland Hillel!

Benjamin grew up in Baltimore, and recently moved to the Kemp Mill area where you can usually find him walking his adorable Border Collie mix, Patches. He graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2018 with a degree in Sociology. During his time at Maryland he was as an undergraduate teaching assistant for animal science courses, and was involved in many extracurricular activities such as DUNK, and other programs hosted by Maryland Hillel. Benji is so grateful for all the opportunities that Maryland Hillel provided him during his time at UMD, and he is so excited to be able to provide the same experiences to current UMD students