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Ira Blum ✉
Director
he/him
Ira is honored and grateful to return to his alma mater at Muhlenberg College as Director of Hillel at the Leffell Center for Jewish Student Life.
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. He currently advises a student-run initiative called HABIBI (the Hebrew Arabic Buddies Interfaith Berg Initiative) that brings together Hebrew and Arabic speakers, Jews and Muslims to foster learning, understanding and relationship building. 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 has advanced 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.
Please click here to find a time to connect.
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April Cunningham ✉
Assistant Director
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 afterschool program focused on outreach, mentoring, and creating a safe haven for young people.
April lives in Reading with her husband, Josh and their two children, Benjamin and Brenna. She enjoys traveling, kayaking, photography, and will never turn down chocolate. She is a swim 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. “Being with students is what fills me up. It is what surpasses all of the other work that I do. Meeting a student where they are and being with them in their best and most challenging moments, humbles me to my core.” Please click here to find a time to connect.
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