Meet the Team
Rachel Darling
Executive Director
Rachel (she/her) 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
Stacy Spector
Stacy holds a Master’s in Education and a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Pepperdine University along with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Religious Studies from UCSB. After starting her career as an elementary school teacher, Stacy took time off to raise her three daughters, Aviva, Shira, and Daniella. Stacy has been an integral part of the Shalom School community since 2005 where she has served in various roles, including Accreditation Facilitator, Preschool and Pre-K teacher, Admissions Coordinator, and most recently, Advancement Director. In that role, she led key strategic initiatives in admissions, marketing, and development. Originally from Las Vegas and raised in Los Angeles, Stacy moved to Sacramento in 1998 with her husband, Robert. Outside of work, she enjoys family time, walking her dogs, Arlo and Tucker, and catching live concerts.
Assistant Director
Hallie Unger
Hallie (she/her) 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.
Seth Browner
Development Manager
Seth Browner (he/him) 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. When Seth was hired in 2019, he started off as the Engagement Associate and then was promoted to the Program Director after one year. 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.
Samantha valadez
Engagement Associate
Born and raised in California’s Central Valley, Sam (she/her) moved to the Sacramento region where she earned her degree in Business Finance from California State University, Sacramento. During her time at Sacramento State, Sam was actively involved in Hillel and her sorority, serving as both a Panhellenic Delegate and AΧΩ Chapter President. During her last year of college, Hillel at Davis and Sacramento was a crucial resource for Sam to engage actively in the Jewish community. This past summer, Sam participated in Birthright Israel where she instantly felt at home and left wanting to make a significant impact in her local Jewish community. In her free time, Samantha enjoys meeting new people, hanging out with friends, and spending quality time with her family.
Orit izilov
Israel Fellow
Orit (she/her) 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. In her free time, Orit loves to travel, hike, read books, and cook new recipes.
Dasha Pozdnikov
Springboard Fellow
Dasha (she/her) 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.
anja dingman
Office Assistant
Anja (she/her) was born and raised in Davis, though her passion for exploration took her across the country for college and lots of travel. She earned her B.A. in Dance Education from Columbia College in South Carolina and taught in schools in the Carolinas and the Greater Sacramento region for many years. After moving back to the West Coast in 2016, Anja spent the last eight years teaching dance and working as an administrative assistant, all while championing causes close to her heart: arts education, chronic illness and disability, neurodiversity, and the LGBTQIA+ community. Although she’s new to the Hillel team and only got hired in September 2024, she’s beyond excited to dive in and be part of this amazing community! When she’s not in the office, you can find Anja practicing her arts, diving into a good book or game, and being the proud “crazy black cat mama” to her three boys: Jasper, Jinx, and Jax.
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.