CASJE Leadership: Staff & Affiliated Partners
The administrative home of CASJE is the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University, which is responsible for executive management and financial oversight of CASJE. In addition to our Advisory Board, CASJE's work is guided by a group of administrators that oversee day-to-day operations, manage research fellows and projects, and more. Our affiliated faculty, staff, and organizational partners serve as fellowship mentors, researchers, and volunteers.
Dr. Arielle Levites, Managing Director
Dr. Arielle Levites is the Managing Director of CASJE. Her research focuses on contemporary American Jewish education. She has conducted a number of applied studies on behalf of American Jewish educational enterprises, with a focus on young adults and teens. Her work has been recognized with awards from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Network for Research in Jewish Education.
Dr. Levites has served as the Golda Och Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a visiting assistant professor at Hebrew College in the Shoolman Graduate School, and an affiliated scholar at Brandeis University’s Mandel Center. She holds a BA from Brown University in Religious Studies, a MSEd in Religious Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD from NYU in Education and Jewish Studies.
Dr. Levites is also an affiliated faculty member of the Global Food Institute at GW.
Naomi Gamoran, Program Manager
Naomi oversees CASJE's operations and administration. Naomi is passionate about using evidence to improve Jewish education.
Prior to her work at CASJE, Naomi served as the DC Senior Program Director at Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, where she developed the leadership skills of young Jewish adults and connected them to community-based organizations working for social justice. Naomi worked as a social studies teacher at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School, teaching world history, psychology, and sociology. Naomi holds a BA in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland-Baltimore. Additionally, Naomi has been involved in formal and informal Jewish education at synagogue and camp settings.
Dr. Sasha Volodarsky, Research Analyst
Dr. Sasha Volodarsky earned his PhD in political science from Northeastern University. His research focuses primarily on antisemitism at US campuses, the impact evaluation of educational programs, and American Jews’ relationship with Israel.
Dr. Volodarsky has authored academic papers on various topics, including operational ideology in the United States, perceptions of antisemitism, the impact of COVID-19 on students' mental health, and the effectiveness of online education. Before joining CASJE, he worked as a researcher at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute for Applied Research in Israel. Dr. Volodarsky holds an MA in government from Reichman University (Israel) and a BA in sociology and anthropology from Tel Aviv University. He is fluent in Hebrew, Ukrainian, and Russian.
GW Affiliated Faculty and Staff
The George Washington University
The George Washington University
Co-Chair, Advisory Board | The George Washington University
The George Washington University
The George Washington University
