Meet the Hillel Professional Staff
Hillel's staff is here to help you! Don't be a stranger; if you'd like to talk with a staff person call 612.379.4026.
Sarah Routman, Executive Director
Mike Kann, Engagement Associate
Annamarie Ronning, Office and Facilities Manager
Kevin Watson, Communications Consultant
Student Staff
 Sarah Routman, the Executive Director at Hillel, has spent years exploring what she calls the ‘blue thread’ that connects Jewish people to one another. She recognizes that as Jews we often feel linked to one another despite each person’s unique relationship to the culture and religion. Asked what Judaism means to us, most will have a hard time coming up with a clear answer. Sarah believes that through dialogue, shared experiences, and learning, we can understand the blue thread, and the many shades of blue that bind together to unite us all.
Sarah has a BFA in Photography and a BA in English/Creative Writing from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She taught high school English and drama for 10 years in Florida and Georgia and then received her Masters in Adult Education from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her inexplicable attraction to places named Athens is even more serious than it appears above as she also announced her engagement to Brent, (her husband of almost 30 years) while in Athens, Greece.
While working with teens for 10 years as the BBYO Director, Sarah developed quite a penguin collection. She has traveled extensively throughout Bulgaria and visited over 15 countries. She loves travel, reading, knitting, and anything in the arts. Chocolate chip cookies are a definite favorite, and she is happy for anyone to join her for a cooking adventure in the Hillel kitchen at any time!
sroutman@umn.edu
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 Mike Kann is the Engagement Associate at Hillel. Mike is a graduate of Northern Michigan University (yes, the town of Marquette, MI gets more snow than the Twin Cities, crazy!) He is excited about the opportunity to help continue the growth of the University of Minnesota Hillel, along with providing a welcoming environment for all students who enter Hillel’s doors. Mike will be responsible for a range of activities and events throughout the academic year. He is an avid Chicago sports fan (But confesses he will cheer for the Twins), eats way too much pasta and is currently having fun exploring his new home – Minneapolis. Please stop by, say hi and introduce yourself!
If you want to chat or have hot apple cider/hot chocolate (Free to you of course) send an email to mike@ujews.com
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 Annamarie Ronning is the Office and Facilities Manager at Hillel.
AnnaMarie Ronning uses her energy and her passion to provide administrative, coordination and management support to Hillel and its important mission.
Prior to joining Hillel, AnnaMarie has held positions in public affairs, broadcasting and small business enterprise. AnnaMarie says she is honored to have been present with others during the most joyous and also, the most difficult times of their lives. To her delight, she has performed well over five-hundred marriage ceremonies as a licensed Wedding Officiant. An additional challenge was serving individuals in crisis as a law enforcement chaplain with the Minneapolis Police Department.
AnnaMarie has held a lifelong personal and professional commitment to helping create a better community for all people. Passionate about making a difference for others, AnnaMarie is gratified by volunteerism.
She makes her home with her family near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When she is not at Hillel she is probably at a wedding or one of the many Minneapolis neighborhood parks where her three well behaved kids like to play. AnnaMarie is a University of Minnesota Alumni from the College of Liberal Arts and likes her coffee strong with lots of milk.
aronning@ujews.com
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 Kevin Watson is the Communications Consultant at Hillel. He is responsible for Hillel's event promotions, graphic and web-design, and brand development, among other things. A graduate of Hamline University, he serves on the board of Rainbow Rumpus, an online web-magazine for youth of LGBTQ parents, and owns Aidan Web Services. He loves penguins, knitting, robotic seagulls, and reading almost anything.
aidanwebservices@gmail.com
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 Michelle Brauer is a Front Desk Intern at Hillel. She is an undergrad in the School of Journalism studying Advertising and Leadership. She loves watching sports and playing them when she gets the chance. She is also involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters and plays Intramural volleyball. She loves quoting movies, hanging out with friends, traveling, and trying new foods!
Jordan Edelstein is a Front Desk Intern from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He is currently a Junior and has been working at Hillel for three years. Jordan is also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
 Angie Gaszak is the Community Health Coordinator at Hillel. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin—Madison in Dietetics and is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Health—Nutrition. She is responsible for the coordination of the Soup For U Project, helping out in the kitchen, and other projects to get people to eat better and feel better. She likes staying fit, cooking, reading cheesy romance novels, dancing, and watching movies. Have a question about food, nutrition, or health? Email her at gasza002@umn.edu.
 Lauren Gillman is a Front Desk Intern at Hillel as well as an ambassador on Hillel's student board. She is a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Food Science and minoring in Nutrition. You will often find her with a cup of coffee in hand listening to Lady Gaga no matter where she is, which is most often at Hillel. She loves biking, cooking healthy vegetarian food, and doing crosswords among many other things.
 Mariya Leyderman is a Front Desk Intern and third year student at the University of Minnesota. She is a psychology major and pre-med with a track of psychiatry. Don’t worry, she does NOT know what you are thinking nor is she analyzing you. It is her third year as a student intern at Hillel and second year as an ambassador on our student board. She was one of the students on the 2009 Birthright trip to Israel and highly encourages everyone to go! Outside of Hillel she finds pleasure in spending time with her friends and family, traveling, and the small subtleties of life...such as the feeling of brand new socks, Spanish music, and the smell of leaves. Stop by and say hello!
 Phil Meyer is Front Desk Intern who has the exciting position greeting and assisting people as they walk into Hillel. He is a sophomore Applied Economics major and pursuing a minor in Political Science. Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, he is a huge Packers fan and avid golfer. He has been to Israel twice, once with his family and a participant in the Taglit Birthright program. He is a very active member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI). If you have any questions about Hillel, Birthright/Israel, Wisconsin sports, or Greek Life on the UofM campus feel free to e-mail him at meye1107@umn.edu.
Kaveh Shabtaie is a Front Desk Intern at Hillel. He is a native of Madison, Wisconsin, going into his senior year af the University of Minnesota purusing a Biology, Society and Environment. Recently, completing the Maimonedes Jewish Leader fellowship has taught him the importance of what's important to Jews not only on campus, but throughout the world! Keeping Hillel a warm and inviting atmosphere is of great importance to him. His favorite part of the job is meeting the new faces that stop in and the continuing engagement in the Hillel community. Kaveh loves, sports, chinese food, traveling (especially to Israel), music and quoting movies when he can He would love to see YOU stop and say hi!
 Alla Tashlitsky is a Front Desk Intern at Hillel. She is currently a University of Minnesota senior and will be graduating with a Bachelors degree in Economics. Her future plans include graduate school and lots of traveling. Alla enjoys working and hanging out at Hillel. She has gone on the Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel and looks forward to visiting the country again some day.
 Danny Uhlemann is a Front Desk Intern. He is a junior and is majoring in Human Resources Development with a minor in leadership. Danny is the youngest in his family with two older brothers. He is obsessed with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters and video games. This is his first year working at Hillel and although he was not deeply rooted in the Jewish community before, he feels he has been accepted with open arms.
Raquel Zilka is the Volunteer and Mentorship Coordinator Intern at Hillel. She is originally from north of St. Cloud and is studying strategic communication and French at the U. Jewish culture events are her favorite part of Hillel and she is always willing to help out with them. She enjoys eating shawarma, reading romance novels in French, and learning about different cultures.
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