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.

Shira Gabay is the Jewish Agency Israel Fellow (Shlicha) at The University of Maryland Hillel. Shira was born and raised in the center of Israel. After joining the Israeli Scouts Movement she served for two years as a commander in the Israeli Air Force. With a B.A. in Political science and Geography from the Hebrew University, Shira worked for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, in the marketing department, bringing tourists to experience Israel. In her free time, Shira enjoys traveling, camping, extreme sports, and dancing, and love bringing her love of Israel to all students UMD!

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, MJ knows the true value of excellent ketchup, a great football team, and a strong Jewish community. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 2010, MJ worked at the non-profit KaBOOM! prior to joining the Maryland Hillel team in August 2015. In his spare time, he enjoys running, traveling, and cheering for the Terps!

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!

Rabbi Elie Schwartz is originally from Cleveland, OH, and a die-hard Cavs fan. Rabbi Schwartz spent two years studying at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion and a third year at Yeshivat Keren B’Yavneh. After Israel, he attended Yeshiva University where he graduated cum laude with a BA in Philosophy. He then completed semikha at RIETS and completed his masters in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. He has served as the interim assistant Rabbi at Congregation Ohab Zedek on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and as an OU-JLIC Fellow at Queens College. For the past two years, he has been a Fellow of the YU Torah Mitzion Kollel in Chicago, where he has had the privilege to spend time furthering his learning while also creating innovative educational programming for the entire Jewish community. Rabbi Schwartz has many interests ranging from quantum physics to politics. In his spare time he enjoys reading and listening to podcasts at 2x speed, and is always looking to learn something new. Rabbi Schwartz looks forward to both learning and getting on the court with the rising stars of the UMD community!