ABOUT THE MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE STREET

Francesca Azzolini, Visitor Services and Operations Manager

Francesca has several years of experience in visitor services and retail operations. Prior to joining the Museum, they were at Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens, where they assisted with merchandising and e-commerce. As a fluent Spanish, Italian, and French speaker, Francesca also worked previously as a freelance translator.

 

Veronica D. Ball, Director of Development

Veronica joined the Museum at Eldridge Street in March 2022 as the Director of Development and oversees all fundraising efforts to sustain and maintain the historic synagogue and support the educational and cultural programming of the Museum. She spent 15 years at The New York Landmarks Conservancy as Assistant Director of Development where her primary responsibilities included foundation and corporate giving, major gifts, and social media.

 

Over her nearly three-decade career as a professional fundraiser, Veronica has worked for several of New York City’s premier arts and cultural and educational institutions including Big Apple Greeter, Candid (formerly known as The Foundation Center), and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Veronica received her Bachelor of Science, Mass Communications and Public Relations from Boston University.

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Scott Brevda, Deputy Director of Education & Accessibility

Scott is a historian and museum educator who uses his understanding of his native city to bring its history to life. He first became involved with Eldridge in 2016 as a docent and joined the Museum’s staff in 2017. In the years since, he has held a variety of positions with the Museum, developing and managing the Museum’s school programs and day-to-day operations. 

 

In his current role, Scott plans and leads the intensive CASA program, creates new educational content and public programs, and has taken on the development of new access programs to ensure that the Museum bridges gaps and engages all audiences. Scott was formerly a Senior Educator at the Tenement Museum and holds a B.A. and M.A. in History from Fordham University.

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Jaime Cohen, Director of Education

Jaime is a seasoned educator with over 20 years of experience in museums and classrooms. She taught in private religious schools in Pittsburgh, her hometown, and was a docent at the New-York Historical Society for 5 years. Her time at the Museum at Eldridge Street began as a docent in 2019. Her role expanded in 2020 when she joined the staff of the museum.

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Jaime has helped grow the Museum’s education department. Her many responsibilities include scheduling private group tours, developing family programs, creating new walking tours, and leading tours and workshops for visitors of all ages. She also manages our docents, interns, and volunteers in addition to hosting our adult education classes. Jaime holds a B.A. from Brandeis University in Sociology with a minor in Art History and received an M.A. in Education from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Mercedes Correa, Accountant

Mercedes is an experienced financial professional with a B.A. degree in accounting from Baruch College. Over her three-decade career in accounting, Mercedes has advised a variety of businesses on bookkeeping and accounting, coordinated audits, managed payroll and a variety of other matters related to the financial health of an institution. She previously worked in the hotel and restaurant and printing industries, as well as in the garment district, which gives her a unique connection to the historical period that the museum explores.

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Bonnie Dimun, President & CEO

Bonnie brings a wealth of experience in the non-profit, corporate and university arenas. She founded and was president of Dynamics for Change, a management consulting firm focusing on client relations, business development, and alliance partnerships.

 

Bonnie also served as National Director of Education and Public Policy at Hadassah, the world’s largest women’s non-profit organization. There she created and managed the Leadership, Education and Training Center. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of Organization Advancement for Middlesex County College. Bonnie holds an Ed.D from Columbia University as well as two degrees from Rider University.

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Erin Flynn, Senior Digital Content Producer

Erin is a communications strategist whose background in marketing and expertise in video production and creative direction has been instrumental in expanding the Museum at Eldridge Street’s digital presence. As the founder of a freelance media business, Erin brings over six years of experience in video editing and leverages their knowledge of marketing and digital media strategy to craft compelling narratives in every project.

 

With an M.A. in Communications and Digital Media, focusing on Social Media and Public Relations from Pace University, and a BFA in Film from SUNY Purchase, Erin’s academic background fuels their creative vision. While earning their BFA, Erin collaborated with a student film crew in Benin to produce a short film about multilingual schools in West Africa, which screened at the (T)HERE Global Festival. Erin's research study, “Social Media Influencers: Impact on Consumer Purchasing Decisions”, earned them the prestigious First Place Graduate Paper Award from NYSCA, where they presented their original findings.​​

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Amanda Gordon, Director of Public Engagement

Amanda's experiences include working as a Development Research Assistant at Baribeau Consulting, serving as a Research Assistant for jMUSE, and her role as a Digital Producer for U.S. News & World Report. She is a passionate historian and storyteller with extensive experience in digital media strategy, collections research, public programming, and development. Amanda holds an M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies with a concentration in Museum Studies from New York University. She earned her Bachelor’s at Northwestern University, where she studied History, Journalism, and Critical Theory. In 2020, Amanda began studying Yiddish; she enjoys reading the Forverts and attending Yiddish music and theater events around the city.

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Franklin Heerasingh, Building & Maintenance

Franklin has a variety of professional training prior to working in the Museum. He worked on Wall Street for major brokerage houses and specialized in accounting. It is while working there, Franklin realized that success is achieved by being attentive to details and client needs are a priority. Franklin later developed an interest in technology and worked in the IT industry for various firms, including a forensic company. After working in the brokerage and IT industry for over twenty years, Franklin transition into the legal industry as an office manager, where he handled every aspect of the office including accounting and billing. Franklin later ventured into real estate while looking for his own family home, as he obtained his license and became an agent. He ventured into the Property Management industry when an opportunity to utilize his managerial and financial experience presented itself through an acquaintance. Franklin has a degree from Baruch College in Business Administration as well as an associate degree in information technology from TCI College.​​​

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Sophie Lo, Deputy Director

Sophie brings over a decade of experience working between the intersections of arts and culture and education. Prior experiences include overseeing programs and events at The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU and managing programs and communications at the Museum of Chinese in America. She has consulted on projects for Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and diversity initiatives for children’s education materials at Scholastic Inc.

 

Sophie sits on the Board of Directors for the Museum Association of New York (MANY), was an Art Commissioner for Queens Council on the Arts from 2021-2022, participated in New York Foundation for the Arts incubator for Executive Leaders of Color Program, an initiative aimed to foster equity and diversity in the arts. She earned her B.A. in Culture and Media Studies from The New School, her M.S. in Human Capital Management and Organizational Effectiveness from NYU, and has a certificate for Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace from Cornell University.

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Maya Locker, Senior Manager of Programming

Maya has worked in various museum capacities since 2017, from public-facing to behind-the-scenes roles. She holds a B.A. in Classics and Art History from Franklin & Marshall College and an M.A. in the History of Design & Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design, where she also worked as a Fellow at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

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In her position at the Museum at Eldridge Street, she manages every step of over 80 virtual and in-person public and private events annually from the early planning stages to post-event duties. Maya holds four certificates from Sotheby’s Institute in art law, valuation, research and provenance, and the inner workings of the art world. Prior to joining the Museum at Eldridge Street in 2022, she was an Assistant Fine Art and Personal Property Appraiser.