Our Staff

Amy Weiss
Director of Jewish Communal Engagement and LearningAmy is originally from Boston and is currently based in Washington, DC. She has worked in experiential and informal Jewish Education for 13 years, focused on service learning and social justice programming. Amy has worked extensively with global Jewish organizations through her work with Hillel. She earned her BA in Political Science from The George Washington University, a Graduate Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from The Baltimore Hebrew Institute and spent two years studying at The Pardes Institute of Studies in Jerusalem. Amy enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her husband and two daughters.

Dyonna Ginsburg
CEOPrior to OLAM, Dyonna served as Director of Education and Service Learning at The Jewish Agency; Executive Director of Bema'aglei Tzedek, an Israeli social change NGO; and co-founder of Siach, a global network of Jewish social justice and environmental professionals. A frequent lecturer, she was named "one of Israel's 50 most inspiring women" by Nashim magazine in 2015. Dyonna was the recipient of the Schusterman Fellowship and the World Council of Jewish Communal Service’s Ted Comet Exemplar Award for Outstanding Leadership in Strengthening the Jewish People. She currently sits on the advisory boards of Yanshoof and the Global Jewry initiative. Dyonna has a BA in International Relations from Columbia University and an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University.

Naomi Lipstein
Communications ManagerNaomi began her career as a writer, editor, and producer of television news, before joining the Jewish communal field, as Director of Marketing and Communications at a Jewish Federation. After making aliyah, she spent several years focusing on formulating communications strategies for various organizations and companies. Prior to joining OLAM, Naomi served as the website manager for Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection. Naomi has a BA in Communications and Political Science from Queens College and an MA in Environmental Studies from Ben-Gurion University. She also spent a year studying at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.

Yael Shapira
Director of Network Engagement and ProgramsYael is from Jerusalem and is currently based in Washington, DC. She has worked to support international development programs through a variety of NGOs, with a focus on providing access to education for marginalized populations. She has lived in Niger, India, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Switzerland, in addition to working and traveling in other countries. Prior to OLAM, Yael planned Learning Tours for European Parliamentarians at CARE.
Yael has a BA in International Relations from Boston University and an MA in International Education and Development from the George Washington University.

Emma Weleminsky
UK Community ManagerEmma is based in London and has formerly worked at St Albans Museums, Willesden Jewish Cemetery, and Jewish Museum London. Emma began her career as a religious studies teacher for under-resourced schools, with the Teach First programme. She has previously been Shabbat co-chair for Limmud Festival. Emma, an alumnus of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme, is an active member of her local synagogue, supporting environmental initiatives. She is also an associate governor for a community primary school. Emma has a BA in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge.
In addition to Emma's responsibilities at OLAM, her role includes supporting the complementary work of OLAM partner - JDC Entwine - to engage young UK adults in global Jewish and humanitarian issues and to advance the global Jewish service movement.

Allison Cohen
Jewish Service Corps FellowAllison is serving as OLAM’s JDC Entwine Jewish Service Corps Fellow in Israel. Originally from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, the values of Jewish community and tikkun olam (repairing the world) were instilled in her from a young age. Allison studied Psychology and Entrepreneurship for Social Impact at Tufts University, where she also served as President of her university’s Hillel. After graduating in 2022, Allison spent a year teaching English at elementary schools in Nazareth and South Tel Aviv through the Masa Israel Teaching Fellowship. She loves to travel, hike, read, and try new ice cream flavors.