Who We Are at Hillel
The people and the values behind Muhlenberg’s Hillel
Ira Blum ’10, Hailey Smilowitz, Hagar Avichai, and April Cunningham
Meet Our Staff
Director Ira Blum ’10 (he/him)
Over the last decade, Ira has engaged one-on-one with thousands of college students, supporting them along their paths of Jewish self-authorship. Before Muhlenberg, Ira served as Assistant Director at Penn Hillel, helping to shape a vibrant and dynamic Jewish life on campus.
Ira holds dual master’s degrees in Jewish Professional Leadership and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. He is committed to the ongoing work of building enduring relationships with students, nurturing leadership, and provoking emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual growth during critical years of young adulthood.
Alongside students, Ira continues to learn and grow in areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, engaging students across difference. In his work empowering student exploration, he has also traveled internationally with students to Israel, Rwanda, Poland, and Germany.
Ira is committed to continued professional development and has participated in courses and certifications addressing anti-violence advocacy, mental health and wellness, and restorative practices. Additionally, Ira advances the Hillel movement by mentoring colleagues, contributing to field-wide learning materials such as “Jewish Sensibilities,” and teaching Springboard Social Justice and Ezra cohorts.
Ira lives in Allentown with his wife, Risa, their cat, Pumpkin, and their dog, Daffy.
Assistant Director April Cunningham (she/her)
April has more than a decade of experience working with Jewish students at Muhlenberg Hillel. She joined the staff in 2008 as the office manager before being promoted to assistant director of The Leffell Center for Jewish Student Life. April is honored to have had the privilege of engaging with so many students throughout her time at Muhlenberg. The relationships she has fostered with students, parents, alumni, and community members have been integral in creating experiences and opportunities for our Hillel as well as enriching the diversity of Jewish life on campus.
April is a proud Alvernia University alumna holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Before coming to Muhlenberg, April worked at her alma mater, first in institutional research and later in community engagement, helping to connect college students with local youth in an after-school program focused on outreach, mentoring, and creating a safe haven for young people.
April lives in Reading, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Josh, and their two children, Benjamin and Brenna. She enjoys traveling, kayaking, and photography and will never turn down chocolate. She is an all-star cheer mom, a dog mom, and the Hillel mom. Above all, April wants students to know that they always have a space in her office to come and chat, laugh, cry, or just be.
Springboard Fellow Hailey Smilowitz (she/her)
Hailey is from Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2024, where she studied mass communications and Jewish studies. She started her Hillel journey as the public relations chair at UofSC, taking photos at events and managing various social media pages. When she moved up to the vice president of communications and media, she realized how much she loved collaborating and creating connections with students.
In the summer of 2022, after traveling to Israel on Birthright, she began her two-year internship as a digital marketing intern at Hillel International. She learned many different communication techniques and was a vital part of unique marketing campaigns. She was inspired by all the connections she made working with college students and encouraging them to create their own Jewish stories.
In Hailey’s free time, you can find her out in nature, playing board games with friends and family, trying new coffee shops, and listening to Taylor Swift.
Israel Fellow Hagar Avichai (she/her)
Hagar was born and raised in Ramat Gan in central Israel. During high school, she was a group leader in the scouts and took theatre as her major. Hagar finished her degree in early childhood education and dialogue education from Kibbutzim College of Education in 2025 and joined the Israel Fellow program shortly after.
For her whole adult life, Hagar has worked with children in summer schools and camps, kindergartens, and youth movements. She’s very passionate about creating personal and meaningful relationships.
Hagar is a big theatre fan and tries to go to shows at least once a month.
The Values That Inform Our Work
בצלם אלוהים
B’tzelem Elohim (In the Divine Image): We welcome every student as their whole self, honoring their unique Jewish journeys as we empower their growth as individuals and Jews.
“Every human being is created in the image of the divine.”
—Genesis 1:27
חברותא
Chavruta (Relationships): Authentic relationships grounded in respect and kindness are the foundation of Hillel’s work and the basis for facilitating growth, learning, and community. Our primary relationship is with students, whom the organization is here to serve. We also value key relationships that advance our mission — with our professional colleagues, our institution and organizational partners, and our supporters.
“Holiness is found in the space between two people in authentic encounter.”
—Martin Buber
קהילה
Kehillah (Community): Jewish life at its core is a collective experience, encompassing the multifaceted connections that bind us together as a Jewish people. We are committed to creating diverse, supportive, sustaining communities, in which students and professionals can celebrate, explore, learn, take risks, and grow. Our commitment to pluralism is strengthened when these communities are given space for active expression in respectful encounters with one another.
“Our journeys are personal, distinctive, and unique, but they are not solitary. They do not begin and end with us. We are part of something larger, older, deeper, and more enduring than ourselves.”
—Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
אהבת עם ישראל / אהבת הבריות
Ahavat Am Yisrael/Ahavat HaBeriyot (Love of the Jewish People/Love of All Humanity): Our work is informed both by our love of the Jewish people and a commitment to be engaged global citizens dedicated to amplifying the good and repairing the broken in the Jewish community and the world.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
—Anne Frank
תורת חיים
Torat Chayim (A Living Torah): Hillel is a learning organization. We ground our work in tradition and cultivate a vibrant Judaism attuned to the ever-changing experiences of students in college. The evolving nature of our work requires us to be self-reflective and to work with a spirit of agility and innovation.
“The old shall be made new and the new shall be made holy.”
—Rav Abraham Isaac Kook