Downtown
Daniel Kraus
Director of the Crew, Educator, Inspirer, Networker, Rabbinical Student & More
Born and raised in Australia, Daniel studied at Monash University before relocating to Yeshiva University where he completed his BS in Management. Daniel led Birthright missions to Israel & Poland and was actively involved in the Australian Union of Jewish Students elected as VP for two years. He taught at Leibler Yavneh College in Melbourne and at the Jewish Youth Connection at Kehilath Jeshrun on the Upper East Side.
Rachel Kraus
Co-Director, Educator, Mother to Eitan & Kira, Shining Smile & Much More
Rachel completed her B.S. from Stern College with a major in marketing and a minor in music including extensive study at The Juilliard School. She is currently the Director of Partnership Marketing for Westfield and is pursuing her MBA at NYU. Rachel has been involved in teaching and informal educational programming for the past 9 years teaching in Australia, Belarus and throughout the US. Rachel served as Assistant Director of a Sunday school program at KJ as well as teaching the MaTaN Bat Mitzvah Program.
Dovid Green
Shofar Blower Extraordinaire, Torah Reader & Much More
Dovid Green is currently a doctoral student of clinical psychology at Fordham University with a focus on spirituality and religiousness. Originally from Boston, Dovid came to New York to attended Yeshiva University, where he met Daniel and Rachel. This will be Dovid’s fourth High Holidays with MJE DOWNTOWN.
Shawn Levine
Cantor, Spiritual Mover & Shaker, Maestro
Shawn is the oldest of five children, growing up in the Flatiron district. He has a strong passion for music, co-founding the Jewish a cappella group “Kol Ish” and singing with, among others, The Miami Boys Choir, Ramaz Chamber Chorus and Shlock Rock. Shawn graduated with a B.S. in Operations Management from the University of Maryland,
College Park and is now working as the 5th generation of J. Levine/Levine Judaica. This will be Shawn’s fourth year leading High Holiday Services to young professional audiences.
Molly Leader
Downtown Program Coordinator, Voted Best Accessories at MJE
Molly loves entertaining but hates baking…and anything else that require exact measurements. She may be known as the resident foodie at MJE and is responsible for all the fun menus but here’s a little Rosh Hashana secret…
Pick your favorite Spice Cake Mix (Duncan Hines is mine!) and add 1 cup of honey and a dash of ginger powder. Even Martha Stewart would be impressed.
