NFTY Southern Area is governed by a board of teen leaders who are elected by their peers that serve a one-year term. Regional board members play a critical role in all aspects of running the region including event planning and marketing, and mentoring teen leaders from our local youth communities. The regional board is mentored by a Regional Advisor who oversees all programs and administration.

Meet our Regional Board

Lily Ragals, President Email Lily

Hi everyone! My name is Lily Ragals and I am so excited to be the 2021-2022 NFTY-SAR Regional President! I am a senior at Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, GA and am a proud member of TEFTY at Temple Emanu-El in Atlanta. Outside of NFTY events, you can find me working on art projects, cooking, or hanging out with my dog, Bosco. I am so thrilled to be leading this region on board for the second time and I cannot wait to see all of the amazing things our movement accomplishes!

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Stella Smolowitz, Programming Vice President Email Stella

Hi! I’m Stella Smolowitz and I’m your 2021-2022 NFTY-SAR Programming Vice President! I’m a senior and I live in the Queen City: Charlotte, NC! I’ve been involved in NFTY since 6th grade and I’ve fallen in love with the community. Some things I like to do outside of NFTY are scrapbooking, running, watching sunsets with friends, and playing with my dog!

Lola Bessoff, Social Action Vice President Email Lola

Hey, SAR!  I’m Lola Bessoff and I’m super excited to be serving as your social action vice president this year! I’m a Senior at River Ridge High School in Woodstock. (Go Knights!!) When I’m not at school or with NFTY SAR, I’ll probably be hiking, jamming out to One Direction, or rewatching the entire series of New Girl. I can’t wait to work with you all in discovering our passions and creating the magic of Camp Jenny! Feel free to reach out to me at any point this year! I love you, SAR!

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Nikki Skyer, Membership Vice President Email Nikki

Hey SAR!! My name is Nikki Skyer and I am a senior from Johns Creek, GA. I am so pumped to be serving as your regional MVP, but I can’t forget my roots as a proud member of CDTTY. Aside from all things NFTY, I love to spend my time listening to music or hanging out with friends. I am so excited for all of the amazing things to come this year!

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Emily Adamo, Communications Vice President  Email Emily

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Meet Our Regional Staff

Rabbi Andrew H. Terkel

NFTY South Area Manager

254-410-6703

Rabbi Andrew Terkel was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and grew up active in his synagogue, NFTY-TOR, and URJ Greene Family Camp….

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Team Members

Rabbi Andrew H. Terkel

NFTY South Area Manager

254-410-6703

Rabbi Andrew Terkel was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and grew up active in his synagogue, NFTY-TOR, and URJ Greene Family Camp. His experiences with Jewish youth organizations inspired a lifelong love of Jewish communal work, songleading, and all things camp and NFTY related. Rabbi Terkel attended the University of Kansas for his undergraduate degrees in Political Science and International Studies, then worked as a traveling Jewish educator at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, MS before beginning his rabbinic studies at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem and Los Angeles. After being ordained in 2014 Andrew served as the first assistant rabbi at Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) synagogue in Charleston, SC, it’s first assistant rabbi since its founding in 1749. There he focused on youth engagement, education, and NFTY, serving as NFTY-SAR’s Rabbinic Liason and on faculty at URJ Camp Coleman. In 2016 Rabbi Terkel moved to Dallas to serve as the Director of Year Round Programs at URJ Greene Family Camp, planning and running immersive Jewish experiences for all ages of youth, families, and adults, and enhancing the Jewish educational aspects of summer camp and year round events. In June 2020 NFTY reorganized and Rabbi Terkel became NFTY’s South Area Manager overseeing NFTY-TOR, NFTY-SO, NFTY-SAR, and NFTY-SAR from his home base in Dallas, Texas.

Rabbi Terkel is married to Hannah Rubin-Schlansky, a Jewish educator at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas. They met during their HUC-JIR Year in Israel studies and now have two children, Avi and Micah, and a goldendoodle, Mollie.

Jessie Schwartzman

Atlanta Teen Engagement Coordinator

212-452-6515

Jessie Schwartzman is an engagement professional excited to take on a brand-new combined position with JumpSpark and the URJ. She is a recent graduate of Florida State University’s school of…

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Team Members

Jessie Schwartzman

Atlanta Teen Engagement Coordinator

212-452-6515

Jessie Schwartzman is an engagement professional excited to take on a brand-new combined position with JumpSpark and the URJ. She is a recent graduate of Florida State University’s school of communications and is excited to dive into the thriving Atlanta Jewish Community. Jessie worked at FSU Hillel as an Engagement Associate for the last 2 years and has spent 3 summers working at URJ Camp Coleman.

From camp to different youth organizations, Jessie’s true passion lies in learning the fascinating stories of today’s Jewish teens, and she’s very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the change that is youth engagement. In her Engagement Coordinator role, Jessie will be meeting with community members to learn new ways to engage Jewish teens. She is also launching a new URJ teen fellowship program funded by a Spark Grant that allows teens to learn important peer to peer engagement skills.