Meet the team
Rachel Darling
Executive Director
Rachel is thrilled to be the Executive Director of the Hillel at Davis and Sacramento! Rachel earned her BA in Communication from UC Davis, where she also served as a Hillel Koret Fellow, founded the UCD Challah for Hunger chapter, and played Division I field hockey. She began her professional career working for HealthCorps, a nonprofit committed to educating students on physical and mental health in Sacramento, and then returned to Davis to serve as Hillel’s program director. Most recently, Rachel worked as the Talent Acquisition Manager for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. In this role, she advised and coached leaders on all facets of outreach, recruitment, and selection strategies to support the organization's vision. Rachel lives in Woodland with her husband, Russell, her daughter, Daniella, and her dog, Kugel. In her free time, Rachel enjoys traveling, hiking, and playing ping pong.
Operations Director
Debbie Gritts
Debbie has been with Hillel since 2008. She has a B.A. from UCLA and an M.A. from Cal State Northridge, both in Sociology. She has worked in various fields including escrow, the software industry, and ran a family business with her father and husband when she moved to Davis in 2000. Over the years she volunteered for many deserving programs including USA Swimming, Davis Aquadarts Swim Team, Davis Masters Swimming, LMU Swimming, Davis schools, and Adult Literacy. Now that she’s an empty-nester, Debbie continues to enjoy spin and swimming, spoiling her rescue dog Charlee, and trying out local micro-breweries with friends and family. She thinks dogs are furry people and better behaved than most children, is a vodka snob, and loves to bake but always shares so she doesn’t eat them all.
Seth Browner
Development Manager
Seth Browner is very excited to be the Development Manager at Hillel at Davis and Sacramento. Originally from Thousand Oaks, California, Seth graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 2017. He majored in History and French and was an active member of Hillel at Trinity. After making his triumphant return to the west coast, he worked at Temple Etz Chaim in his hometown where he managed the synagogue’s social media forums and assisted with community outreach.
He’s thrilled to be back in the Hillel world getting to know the northern half of his home state. Outside of the office, Seth likes to spend time going for runs, cooking homemade Indian food, and learning Spanish.
Orit izilov
Israel Fellow
Orit is the Israel Fellow. She was born and raised in the south of Israel in a small town called Ofakim. Orit has a B.A in Management, Government, and Law from the Academic Center of Law and Science in Hod Hasharon. She has worked in different kibbutzim in the informal education departments as well as managed a Zofim scouts tribe. During her work in the informal education systems she studied art (sculpture, drawing, and painting) at Sapir College in Sderot.
Orit has served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years as a logistics NCO in the Gaza Strip District Coordination and Liaison. In her free time, Orit loves to travel, hike, read books, and cook new recipes.
Hallie Unger
Assistant Director
Hallie recently graduated from Oregon State University where she studied Human Development and Family Sciences. She actively participated in Hillel at Oregon State and worked as the Greek Life Engagement Intern. Through the support of the Hillel community, she further developed organizational and program development skills and found a second Jewish home on campus in Oregon.
Additionally, Hallie has extensive experience working with teens at B'nai Brith Camp where she developed inclusive and engaging programming. She recently spent a year in Israel with a group of high school students. Hallie is excited to bring the same level of drive and passion to this job and looks forward to facilitating and leading a diverse array of programs and initiatives that enrich the lives of Jewish students across the UC Davis and Sacramento State campuses. She currently lives in Sacramento and is excited to embark on this step in her professional journey.
Dasha Pozdnikov
Springboard Fellow
Dasha is a recent graduate of UC Davis where she earned her bachelor's degree in Sociology of Law and a minor in Public Health. She was born in San Francisco, California before moving to Moscow, Russia when she was six years old. She moved back to the United States when she was in high school. Some of you may remember her from last year when she served as our Communications Intern at Hillel. In addition to serving as the Communications Intern, she was very involved in planning other events like Israel Week, the Matzah Ball, and Russian cultural and cooking events. Her dedication to Hillel and her passion for connecting with Jewish students in the Davis and Sacramento region make her the perfect fit for the Springboard Fellow role.
One of Dash’s top priorities will be to engage and support the Jewish students at Sacramento State. When she’s not tabling at Sac State, you can find her around Davis exploring the cafes and restaurants downtown.
Ariana Andino
Office Assistant
Ariana Andino is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of California Davis, where she is pursuing a double major in International Relations and Managerial Economics with an emphasis on international business. In her role as an Office Administrator at Hillel, Ariana is eager to assist with front desk operations and various financial tasks. She is thrilled to contribute to the smooth functioning of the organization and is excited about the opportunity to interact with and support the diverse community at Hillel.
When not immersed in her academic pursuits, she spends her Sunday mornings as a childcare provider at the Davis Community Church. Ariana is passionate about landscape photography, journaling her adventures, and attending concerts and festivals in her spare time. Her desire to travel, capture special moments, and meet new people is deeply rooted in her upbringing in the Central American country of Honduras.
Kugel
Hillel Mascot
Kugel has been part of Hillel’s team since 2020. Kugel is a rescue dog and the proud pet of our Executive Director, Rachel Darling, and her husband, Russell. Rachel and Russell adopted Kugel during the pandemic after he was found as a stray wandering on the highway in Kern County, California. He won the doggy lottery!
His main responsibilities around Hillel include helping to cheer up the staff when they need a break from work, chasing the tennis ball in Hillel’s backyard, and licking the faces of anyone who taste delicious. When Kugel’s not at Hillel, he loves spending time at home with his family, chasing lizards in his garden, and going for walks around his beautiful neighborhood in Woodland.
Charlee
Hillel Mascot
Charlee comes to Hillel from a life on the road. She wandered near and far and in June 2023 decided to settle down in Davis with Hillel’s Operations Director and her family. She spends her day protecting the staff from myriad threats like delivery people with a special hostility for the Amazon truck. She also thinks squirrels are a blight on the earth and does her best to rid the world of these gray balls of fur (although she has never had the pleasure of catching one). Charlee has a pretty serious belly rub and treat addiction and is not ashamed to get her fix whenever the craving arises. So be warned, you will be expected to fulfill that need when you visit Hillel!