In the next weeks about 2,000 Jewish students return to Hillel of Colorado’s metro-Denver and northern Colorado campuses. We stand ready to assure every one of them can access Jewish culture, religion, learning and socialization through Hillel’s home-away-from-home and our weekly Shabbat dinners, social justice programs, Israel engagement and Birthright Israel experiences and leadership development opportunities.
New Staff at DU Hillel
The community’s generosity has enabled us to hire a new full-time DU Hillel Campus Director! Join us in welcoming Noam Dahary back to Denver. His interests and experiences have prepared him perfectly to join Team Hillel. Noam served as Israel’s shaliach (emissary) to our Denver JCC from 2011-13 after finishing his Israeli army service. He returned to Israel where he earned a BA in Israel studies at Kinneret College and founded an Outdoor Adventure company that specializes in Israel and Colorado hikes, tours and experiences – all with deeply Jewish themes. Noam joins Hillel as an experienced Jewish educator in his own right.
Noam describes himself as a people’s person, first and foremost. Like our organization’s namesake – Rabbi Hillel the Elder, two thousand years ago – Noam believes that a mentor must focus first on the learner’s style and interests in order to teach subject matter. While born and raised in Israel, Noam’s unique views of the Jewish religion, pluralism, spirituality, Jewish peoplehood, and Israel prepare him to tackle his challenges leading the DU Hillel. “As someone who is both Israeli and American, traditional and progressive, I bring a diverse approach to Hillel to enrich students’ Jewish lives, creativity, and perspectives,” he states.
Settled now in Denver and married to Jewish musician and future rabbi Kolby Morris (congrats on their first purchase of a home in central Denver!), Noam brings a decade of experience and leadership to Hillel of Colorado – including having led over a dozen Birthright Israel trips which has earned him the reputation as one of the leading tour educators for American groups in Israel. Contact Noam at (720)434-1131 or Noam@HillelColorado.org.
Returning for her first Full Year at CSU Hillel
Returning after leading CSU Hillel last winter and spring, Mariah DeGear will build on her successes this Fall – with increased hours and more community support. Mariah’s first Hillel exposure was growing up in Boulder where her family attended events at CU Boulder Hillel –one of keys to her spiritual journey; later Mariah was as a Hillel student at Emerson College in Boston, MA. Her Israel passion grew when she lived on Kibbutz Beit Hashita in Israel, and has returned many times to travel and visit friends and family.
Mariah brings her extensive business, marketing and entrepreneurial experience to Hillel, having worked in management and leadership in businesses and nonprofits in Boulder, Fort Collins, and Ouray, CO. She most recently owned a boutique near the CSU campus that offered health and healing services, handcrafted jewelry, Judaica, and holistic health education; her shop was open to everybody but geared especially to college-age young adults seeking a welcoming and empowered spiritual life. Mariah’s business background and her strong belief that happiness is a huge part of health – and that “we all need a place to be uplifted…to inspire our spirit” – serves Hillel students well.
Mariah’s family has deep roots in the Denver and Boulder Jewish Communities. She and her husband – with their two young daughters – love being part of the Fort Collins community where Mariah connects CSU Hillel students with community mentors and nonprofit networks in Northern Colorado. Contact Mariah at (970) 519-1925 or Mariah@HillelColorado.org.
For more information or to give us your input please contact Noam, Mariah, or Executive Director Daniel W. Bennett at (303) 818-8207or Daniel@hillelcolorado.org.
Working daily to inspire every Jewish student to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel.
