Rabbi Max is thrilled to be joining the Texas Hillel family in late July 2023. Born in Dallas and raised in Rochester, New York, Rabbi Max has a love for hot summers and snowy winters – but she’ll survive without the latter.
Rabbi Max has served as the Associate Director at Brandeis Hillel for the past five years, working alongside students and staff to transform the organization, growing student engagement and programming, strengthening university partnerships, expanding the professional staff, and launching new program initiatives. She recently participated in fellowships with the Avodah Institute for Social Change and the Shalom Hartman Institute.
Rabbi Max previously served as Associate Director & Director of Content for Convergence on Campus, Program Director of the Interfaith Youth Initiative, and Rabbinic Fellow at Tufts Hillel. Rabbi Max received ordination in 2019 from Hebrew College.
During rabbinical school, she spent two years in Israel, studying at the Conservative Yeshiva, Pardes, the Shalom Hartman Institute, and BINA, where she also taught in their post-college program. Rabbi Max holds a BA in Sociocultural Anthropology and Hispanic Language and Literature from Boston University.
Prior to attending rabbinical school, Rabbi Max was a chef in Boston, Austin, and Upstate New York. She is always happy to share recipes and stories! Rabbi Max and her husband, Andrew Max, are excited to get to know the Austin Jewish community. Andrew is an avid football fan and is eager to cheer on the Longhorns and help the rabbi understand what’s happening during the game.
She looks forward to getting settled in Austin and working with our students, staff, lay leaders, and community members.
Email: smax@texashillel.org
Jordenne grew up in Southern California, but considers Austin to be home. She served as the Operations Manager with Texas Hillel for almost two years before transitioning to Assistant Director in July 2020. Jordenne has an extensive background in student affairs, operations, and event planning, and is excited to use this knowledge to continue serving students at Texas Hillel!
Jordenne earned both her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and her Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from UT. She began her professional career as an Academic Counselor in the Athletics Department at UT, where she was responsible for operations, event planning, student resources, programming, and academic advising for student-athletes. She then went on to serve as part of the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows 2017-2018 cohort in Netanya, Israel, where she was able to participate in Masa’s leadership programming and the Masa Hillel Fellowship.
Jordenne completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in June 2019 and loves helping others connect with yoga in a way that helps them feel good. In her free time, you’ll find her spending time with her husband, Chris and their dog, Pancake, swimming laps, practicing pilates and yoga, trying to speak Hebrew, cheering on the Longhorns, and appreciating all the breakfast tacos Austin has to offer.
Email: jparker@texashillel.org
Ayala grew up in Houston, Texas and is a proud Texas Ex. She studied Government and Middle Eastern Studies before graduating from UT in 2019. She previously served as the Shabbat chair on our Student Executive Cabinet and as the Jewish Student Life Intern during her time as a student at Texas Hillel. Ayala has been active in the Austin Jewish community since her time as a student and looks forward to the opportunity to continue to serve the community through Hillel.
Email: ahuber@texashillel.org
Aviva grew up in Netanya, Israel and just finished her third year studying Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya. During her studies, she completed a two-month internship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. It was a very interesting and special experience for her. In the course of her time at IDC, she has taken part in a number of clubs including the Language Club, the Ambassadors Club, Women’s Entrepreneurship, the Forum for the Advancement of Political Students, and more. She is a graduate of the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement and also worked for them, and she credits many of her values, especially for Zionism and Judaism to the movement.
Her hobbies are reading, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and meeting new people. Aviva really wants to learn a variety of languages and is a big believer that food is something that can connect and bring people together. She is very excited to be in Austin and can’t wait to learn from the students and staff at Texas Hillel!
Email: amangista@texashillel.org
Helaine is a proud second generation Longhorn. Fourteen members of her family have attended the University of Texas at Austin, including all four of her sons. Helaine holds a B.A. in marketing from McCombs and had a long career in mall marketing and management before starting her own customer service and mystery shopping company. After years of extensive volunteering for various Jewish organizations, PTAs and Booster Clubs, Helaine joined Texas Hillel in 2018. She can often be found at Shabbat spoiling our students with extra challah. Plus, her brownies are legendary at Hillel.
Email: hwolf@texashillel.org
Texas Hillel is thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with Jewish Family Service in Austin, with the hiring of Emily Siegler as the JFS/Hillel Counselor. Emily will be available to students for one-on-one therapy, by appointment, and will be offering group sessions and educational workshops as well. If you are a current student in the Austin area and are interested in scheduling a session with Emily, please complete this interest form: JFS/Hillel Counseling Interest Form
This partnership is made possible with the generous support from the Jarrell and Shirley Rubinett Family Foundation, the Houston Jewish Community Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.
More about Emily: Emily Siegler completed her undergraduate education at the University of Kansas and received a Master’s degree in Human Development Counseling at Vanderbilt University. Emily has experience working with adolescents and adults struggling with chronic pain, severe mental health concerns, as well as facilitating mindfulness-based psychoeducational group therapy. Emily utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and a sensorimotor approach in her work with clients as well as relational and mindfulness-based techniques.
Emily is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate and is receiving supervision from Emma Howitt, LPC.
Emily recently moved to Austin from Nashville, TN. She enjoys Barton Springs, playing tennis and good ice cream. Emily is excited to join the JFS/Hillel community!
Texas Hillel
2105 San Antonio Street,
Austin, TX 78705
P: 512.476.0125
F: 512.476.0128
E: info@texashillel.org
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