Ellie Cohen speaks at the Jewish Federation’s National Cabinet Leadership Retreat in 2024 about her experience as a Jewish college student. Credit: Orly Feldman

Ellie Cohen, a 2025 graduate of UCLA, spent her college years deeply engaged in understanding how Jewish communal life changes lives. As co-president of Hillel at UCLA, she helped lead and support a vibrant Jewish student population of over 2,000 with 24 internal organizations.

Born and raised in Austin, Cohen’s love for Jewish community was nurtured by Congregation Agudas Achim. While studying Public Health at UCLA, she became fascinated by how community shapes well-being and quickly found her passion in building transformative, meaningful Jewish life.

Recognized for her leadership, Cohen was selected by Olami as one of twelve student leaders nationwide to represent American campus voices in Israel, where she shared her experiences directly with high-level officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following graduation, Cohen returned to her Austin hometown to pursue her passion for Jewish community building. She now works in her dream role as Community Connector for Young Adults at Shalom Austin.

Recently, Cohen shared with The Jewish Outlook a little more about her journey.

Q: What does it mean to be coming back to Austin to work in your hometown?

I’ve always known that Jewish life is brimming with potential here. It’s a city like no other. It’s a city with a vibrant and engaged Young Adult population that’s itching to get involved in everything. Harnessing this energy to create Jewish meaning is the dream job, and I’m pinching myself every day. Also, my Jewish mother is cooking for me like crazy, so life is good.

Q: You were Hillel Co-President at UCLA, working with 2,000 students and 24 internal student organizations.

What was that like?

Transformative. Leading in a huge, engaged, diverse, and passionate Jewish community taught me what is possible in Jewish life. Jewish life was immersive. Knowing what a life-altering community can look like has given me a vision for what I want to continue to build in Austin.

I’m asked often about my experience on a college campus during and after October 7th, and it was absolutely challenging—but I learned how to build a community in the hardest of times. It made me passionate about the theory and intention behind Jewish communal work, and it gave me an understanding of the tremendous power of Jewish life.

Q: Hottest take about young Jewish life?

That it exists and is just as vibrant as any other stage of Jewish life! Our Austin young Jewish community remains committed to growing Jewishly, and our job is to provide the necessary resources, connections, encouragement, and spaces for Jewish joy. It’s about how we can meet and fulfil needs in innovative ways—interest isn’t our problem.

Q: Where do you see YAD growing?

Jewish life consists of programming and relationships, and it’s the intertwining of these aspects that builds a community. Our board created a program called PoweredByYAD, where folks can create informal micro-groups that meet frequently over a shared interest, like paddleboarding or two-stepping. It’s absolutely brilliant and transforming our community.

Additionally, I’m excited to explore how we build communities asynchronously. For Gen Z, the digital world blends seamlessly into how we conceptualize community. Building a marketing strategy for YAD—through social media, communications, and our WhatsApp—where you can feel the impact of our love and work before you even arrive at a program is a huge goal of mine.

Q: What’s one lesson you’ve learned from working with young Jewish adults?

Say yes more than you say no. It’s not hard because Austin is exploding with brilliant young adults, and it’s vital to the innovative spirit of YAD and Shalom Austin.