Announcing Outstanding Faculty Lineup for Campus Commons, The Bronfman Fellowship’s Leadership Program for Jewish College Students

Posted on September 8, 2025

Eight leading Jewish educators to teach Cohorts 2 and 3 of Campus Commons,
a dynamic program designed to enhance social cohesion and cultivate pluralistic leadership on college campuses

September 2025 – The Bronfman Fellowship is pleased to announce its outstanding faculty lineup for the 2025-2026 cohorts of Campus Commons: Building Bridges with Jewish Wisdom. Launched by The Bronfman Fellowship in 2024, Campus Commons is an innovative leadership program for North American college students of all Jewish backgrounds, which empowers them to use Jewish wisdom to enhance social cohesion on their campuses and beyond. The diverse group of leading rabbis, scholars, educators, and artists will expose participants to a wide variety of Jewish texts and ideas, magnifying the program’s impact and enhancing students’ ability to communicate across difference.  

These talented faculty members include Rabba Yaffa Epstein, the Senior Scholar and Educator-in-Residence at the Jewish Education Project; Rabbi Or Rose, founding Director of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College and a senior consultant to Interfaith America; Arielle Rivera Korman, founding Executive Director of Ammud: Jews of Color Torah Academy and a Rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary; Dan Libenson, President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah and co-host of the Judaism Unbound podcast; Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Executive Director of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and University Chaplain at New York University; Rabbi Dr. ‬Erin Leib Smokler, the Director of Spiritual Development and Publications Editor at Yeshivat Maharat; and Dr. Evan Parks, The Bronfman Fellowship’s Director of Education and Visiting Scholar at NYU’s Center for the Humanities. Ruben Shimonov, visual artist and the National Director of Sephardi House and Education at the American Sephardi Federation, will serve as Visiting Educator and Artist.  To learn more about the educational team, visit www.campuscommons.bronfman.org/educators-staff. 

The diversity of the Campus Commons faculty reflects The Bronfman Fellowship’s commitment to Positive Pluralism – the understanding that a person can learn and grow from relationships with those who are different from them, and the recognition that this ability can and should be nurtured. The Bronfman Fellowship believes that building trust and mutual understanding works best when Jews can learn and engage together and with other communities, drawing on Jewish texts and tradition as tools for finding common language.  

“I’m thrilled that we’re bringing together such an inspiring and pluralistic team of educators for the next two cohorts of Campus Commons,” said Becky Voorwinde, CEO of The Bronfman Fellowship. “Participants will be enriched not only by the immersive cohort experience and the dynamic curriculum, but by the opportunities for mentorship and the wide range of perspectives they’ll encounter in our faculty.”

“I’m looking forward to engaging with the Campus Commons participants, young people who are passionate about bringing diverse groups together and having productive dialogue with those who have different points of view,” added faculty member Rabbi Yehuda Sarna. “I’m also excited about joining such a talented network of educators, each of whom brings so much to the table.”  

Earlier this year, The Bronfman Fellowship scaled up Campus Commons with a grant of $250,000 from UJA-Federation of New York. Following its impactful pilot program of 31 students from 27 campuses across North America, the program is expanding to include up to 80 students in two cohorts in 2025-2026.  

Designed by a team of top educators at The Bronfman Fellowship, Campus Commons is a powerful response to the rise in polarization, social instability, and isolation on college campuses, particularly for Jewish students.  Over 63% of college students report that the climate on their campus prevents people from saying things they believe because others might find them offensive.  At the same time, 88% believe that colleges should encourage students to be open to learning from people whose beliefs differ from their own. Campus Commons helps participants cultivate their own agency and gain real-world, actionable skills to foster environments where people can build relationships across differences.  

Campus Commons is currently accepting applications for its second and third cohorts (40 per cohort, in the fall and spring). This all-expenses-paid program is open to full-time college students who identify as Jewish and who have completed at least one year of college. The Bridge Builders will be student leaders who are and are not formally involved in Jewish life on campus. Preference will be given to students who are from New York and/or who attend a New York college. Students can learn more and apply at campuscommons.bronfman.org; they can be nominated at www.campuscommons.bronfman.org/nominate.  The deadline to apply is September 19th.  For questions about the program, please contact campuscommons@bronfman.org.