Cind is happy to be back at Stephen Wise! She was previously Rabbi Hirsch’s executive assistant for seven years before assisting the senior clergy at Temple Shaaray Tefila and Park Avenue Synagogue. After graduating from Oberlin College, and prior to her work in Jewish nonprofits, Cind was a professional stage manager for 18 years, primarily at regional theaters in the United States.
Brittany graduated from The Ohio State University and earned a master’s in Jewish professional studies at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership.
She is passionate about connecting Jewish people to Jewish life, whatever that looks like for them. She spent five years building and developing BBYO Big Apple Region and managed the communications and community-building projects for the 700+ global advisor team within BBYO. Later, she served as the program and operations manager for Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, supporting rabbis in redefining their rabbinate to meet the needs of the modern, ever-changing Jewish community.
Brittany is the director of admissions and recruitment for the Early Childhood Center and the Religious School at Stephen Wise. In addition to her professional work, she assists with her family’s frozen yogurt business and enjoys creating resin casting art — ask her about handmade Judaica. She lives in Manhattan with her chihuahua named Challah.
Ally joined Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in 2023 as our marketing copywriter and coordinator. She was born and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. She attended Binghamton University, where she earned her bachelor’s in English literature and rhetoric and a minor in Judaic studies. She has been trying to read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in Hebrew and loves listening to podcasts at the end of each day.
Daniel Pensante is graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College, with a bachelor’s in accounting and over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Daniel has always preferred working in service organizations, and most recently worked for Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine, which publishes a magazine for the AA community; and Camelot of Staten Island, a drug rehabilitation and social services organization. Daniel was born and raised in Brooklyn and lives in Marine Park with his wife Sheila, daughter Sofia and niece Elizabeth.
Isaiah Benedek brings over a decade of nonprofit experience to Stephen Wise, where he is the director of membership engagement. Isaiah began his career in admissions at the International School of Brooklyn and was part of its founding development team. Later, he worked in principal giving at Memorial Sloan Kettering and at an education nonprofit, where he developed and executed strategic initiatives to steward and engage friends of the organization. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he earned his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Vermont and lives in Brooklyn with his dog Roka.
Mira has over 25 years of administrative experience. Previously, she worked in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Mira earned her bachelor’s in education from Hakibbutzim College in Israel.