National Staff Directory
A full staff directory is coming soon, in the meantime please find our administrative staff bios below and please visit our Find JSU Near You page for more details on your local JSU.
Susan Holzman Wachsstock, Executive Director -
Prior to joining JSU, Susan served as the Executive Director of Matan: Jewish learning IS for every child. She is also the former Director of Accreditation, the Associate Director for Campus Strategic Services and the Director of Campus Advancement New York for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. At Hillel in particular, Susan was responsible for working with individual Hillel Foundations in all areas of not-for-profit development. Susan began her career at UJA-Federation of New York serving in various capacities including Director of Partnership Programs, Commission on the Jewish People, as well as serving as a loaned professional to UJC’s Large City Executives group and as the project manager for the merger process creating UJC (now called The Jewish Federations of North America). Susan received UJA-Federation of NY’s Michel Fellowship and was a FEREP recipient. Susan received a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University and a Masters in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Brad Sugar, Director of Operations –
Prior to becoming the JSU Director of Operations, Brad piloted JSU’s expansion as its Chicago Director for several years. Before joining the organization, Brad worked for the JUF in Chicago on college campuses in the area of Israel advocacy. It was within this framework that he realized the need for Jewish teens to be meaningfully engaged in a larger Jewish conversation during high school and before college. Placing heavy emphasis on inter-agency cooperation and sharing of resources, Brad focuses on ways that organizations can help and work with one another. He has a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan and received his Masters in Jewish Professional Studies from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. Brad is also on the board of directors of Kehilat Chovevei Tzion, a dynamic and vibrant synagogue in Skokie. He lives in Chicago with his wife Shaina and two boys, Ethan and Ami.
Eillene Leistner, Director of Development–
Prior to joining JSU Eillene Leistner was Sr. Vice President, External Affairs for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, supervising its Development, Education and Training and Public Policy and Advocacy divisions. Before that she served as Executive Director of Sharsheret, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing support services for Jewish women experiencing breast cancer, and as Associate Director of Development at DOROT, NY, where she focused on donor cultivation, major gifts and planned giving. As the Vice President of Development for the Youth Consultation Service Foundation in NJ, she founded and advanced its fundraising, public policy and strategic planning. Ms. Leistner holds a Masters of Arts from Northwestern University, a Masters of Arts from the City University Graduate Center, and a Bachelors of Arts from Lehman College.