Submitted by OU Hillel
Meet Juli Goodman, the new Executive Director of Hillel at Ohio University (OU) in Athens, and a brand-new Bobcat fan who sports her spirit wear with Ohio Bobcats spelled out in Hebrew.
“I am so excited to be in Athens working with our wonderful students and community,” said Goodman, who joined the OU Hillel in July. “I can’t wait for more. I love Athens. It’s a wonderful town with really kind people who support our Hillel. Go Bobcats!”
The Hillel at Ohio University (OU) serves the OU campus and Athens. There are about 200-300 Jewish students at OU and a thriving local Jewish community.
Goodman and her staff offer Friday night Shabbat dinner and services, weekly group activities, special events, a Hot Soup Hotline, and trips to Israel. The Hillel building at 21 Mill Street also serves as a communal space where students can socialize and study.
Since the recent unrest in Israel began, Goodman has focused on ensuring the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of students and community members by providing a safe space for discussion, community-wide gatherings, and counseling through OU.
Goodman has a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Rutgers University (Douglass College) and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Jewish Communal Settings from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is also certified as an Israel Educator. Goodman is an alumna of Hillel International’s Weinberg Executive Training Program and the Shalom Hartman Institute Campus Fellowship.
Prior to joining OU Hillel, Goodman served as the Director of the Hillel at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In this position, Goodman transitioned the Hillel from a college department to a fully independent non-profit and revitalized the Jewish student community on campus.
She began her career with Hillel at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale (Yale Hillel), where she served as the Assistant Director for Programming. While at Yale, Goodman and her team won the 2019 Hillel International Campus Partnership Award for their outstanding work in the campus community.
“Goodman is an experiential educator, inclusive relationship-builder, and dynamic and thoughtful leader,” said Renée Goldfarb, chair of the OU Hillel Board of Directors. “She is excited to continue her work to inspire the next generation of Jewish leaders through Hillel. We are excited about the impact Juli is making on OU Hillel, its students, and the Athens community.”
Outside of work, Goodman spends her free time playing rugby, eating tacos, falling behind on podcasts, discussing the formation(s) of Jewish Identity, and watching basketball (the OU Bobcats basketball team just started their season!).
