WHO WE ARE
Our small team is dedicated to providing a safe space for people to explore and question beyond the only Jewish community they know
Our small team is dedicated to providing a safe space for people to explore and question beyond the only Jewish community they know
Our Board
David Zerman
President
David Zerman has been involved in community and social justice issues as long as he can remember. His professional career in the health, science, education, community and environment sectors both in Australia and internationally has included work in the media, public relations, and Not-For-Profit sectors.
He enjoys working with organisations that help people achieve the freedom and skills they wish to. He is honoured to work with staff and volunteers who make the journey of Pathfinders what they want it to be. Other details about David can be found on his LinkedIn profile.
Naomi Swart
Vice President
Naomi has spent years in the social work industry, working across various multidisciplinary teams advocating for families and social justice.
She continues to be involved in various philanthropic organisations and has a strong passion for creating opportunities for marginalised communities.
Naomi sees the benefits of working across both the front line and at board level. This approach coupled with her strong interpersonal skills creates opportunity to establish connections, collaborative relationships and make an impact.
Naomi is also the Chair of the Fundraising Subcommittee
Dassi Erlich
Secretary
Dassi Erlich is an advocate for child sexual abuse survivors and has led the international campaign to bring Malka Leifer, the former principal of Adass Israel School, to justice.
Dassi left the ultra-Orthodox Adass community as a young adult and has a unique understanding of the obstacles that can challenge someone transitioning out of an insular community.
"I was so relieved when I learned of Pathways - the journey leaving my closed community while naive about the 'outside' world was overwhelming and dangerous. I feel privileged to have the capacity to contribute to a space to land that provides safety and warmth while questioning an alternate way of life".
Pathways Melbourne Board Directors
Gummy New
Treasurer
Gummy has over 15 years experience as a finance leader across corporate and private enterprises, locally and abroad.
Possessing insightful commercial acumen as well as holding a CPA and MBA (Melb Uni), Gummy has an impressive track record of success in business growth and is proactive in strategy development and execution. He served as a combat soldier in the IDF and worked with UJEB, independent Jewish schools to enhance governance relating to operations and financial management in pursuit of their strategic endeavours.
Gummy is also the Chair of the Finance Subcommittee
Leah Boulton
Founder
Educated at RMIT (Australia) and Harvard University (USA), Leah’s professional background is in advertising, marketing and PR.
With a secular upbringing, she has a deep respect for the ultra-Orthodox way of life.
It was a young Heredi woman who wanted to rollerblade, attend university and avoid re-marrying, who needed connection and therefore inspired Leah to create Pathways.
The support Leah gave that first woman led to the creation of Pathways Melbourne and has helped change lives, including her own.
Jackie has over 20 years of governance experience on not-for profit boards across community services, disability, sports and gender equality sectors. She works across organisational strategy and manages complex projects in governance, diversity and inclusion, social responsibility, leadership, shared value and societal impact.
Jackie sees Pathways Melbourne as an opportunity to support vulnerable, often invisible and underserved members of the community, so that they have access to the opportunities they want to pursue for themselves.
Jackie is also the Chair of the Governance Subcommittee
Havi Rubenstein
Havi grew up in a Lubavitch family and attended Beth Rivkah her entire schooling. She had a standard insular lifestyle in the Chabad community, with small doses of exposure to the secular world.
An extended gap year in Israel studying in seminary led Havi to become even more fervently religious with the Beth HaTalmud congregation - more so than her family and friends.
After a brief stint with a failed marriage, Havi completed her Pharmacy studies and began her path towards independence and self-determination.
Following a 20 year journey of gradually dropping her religious identity, she has finally come out of the closet. Havi enjoys life with her husband and two young kids as a proudly secular Jew.
Dr Daniel Dorevitch
Dan is a proud member of both the LGBTQI and Melbourne Jewish communities, after growing up in Perth and having moved across in 2018.
He has an extensive Jewish youth movement background, and works as a Paediatric doctor at the Royal Children's Hospital where he is currently completing training.
From these experiences Daniel brings to Pathways skills in group facilitation and counselling, as well as work with vulnerable individuals and families often at some of the most challenging times in their lives.
Dassi Herszberg
Dassi, the 5th of 8 children, was born into a Ger Hasidic family in Melbourne’s Adass community. With her questioning, inquisitive, inquiring mind, she didn’t fit the mould and didn’t stay in that world.
Mother to a delightful, questioning and inquiring 22 year old, Dassi is a qualified art therapist and counsellor.
Dassi is the founder and facilitator of Miriam’s Voice, an adventure therapy group for women who have been sexually abused.
Although Dassi left the Adass community, she has developed a comfortable sense of belonging and Jewish identity.
“I know that everything at Pathways is help in full confidentiality and the needs of the participants is at the centre of the organisation".
Pathways Advisory Panel
Dr Jackie King
Board Member
Leah Boulton
Founder & CEO
Educated at RMIT (Australia) and Harvard University (USA), Leah’s professional background is in advertising, marketing and PR.
With a secular upbringing, she has a deep respect for the ultra-Orthodox way of life.
It was a young Heredi woman who wanted to rollerblade, attend university and avoid re-marrying, who needed connection and therefore inspired Leah to create Pathways.
The support Leah gave that first woman led to the creation of Pathways Melbourne and has helped change lives, including her own.
Jacqui Dubs
Marketing Manager
Jacqui is an energetic marketing and communicational specialist with broad experience across the legal, retail and non-profit sectors. She has a passion for social justice, human rights and creating positive impact.
Jacqui’s community focus drew her out of the legal profession to take up roles with local non-profits (Stand Up: Jewish Commitment to a Better World and Our Kitchen Table). She also loves her coffee and works in the specialty coffee industry (The Coffee Company).
Her professional qualifications include: Monash Uni Bachelor of Laws (Hons) with International Law & Legal Studies (Leiden Uni - Netherlands) and a Monash Uni Bachelor of Arts (Politics).
Ravit Tidhar
Operations Manager
Ravit completed her Architectural degree at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and RMIT in Melbourne. She also completed further business and finance studies.
After immigrating to Australia in 1991 she worked as an Architect at the University of Melbourne and then with corporate and private architectural firms around Melbourne and Israel.
Ravit turned her focus to the Non-Profit world where her contribution combined volunteering with business and operations management. She incorporated her passion for equity, eye for detail and care for people and community with an endeavour to make a difference.
Our Staff Team
Leora Jacks
Volunteer Coordinator
Leora is versatile administrator with over 35 years experience across a multitude of industries. Leora now devotes her time to voluntary roles with organisations such as CISVic - Glen Eira, C Care, Caring Mums, and now Pathways Melbourne.
She is excited to be a part of the Pathways team, as the Volunteer Coordinator. She brings to the role her skills in office management and event co-ordination, together with her interpersonal and communication skills.
Leora has a great sense of fun, compassion, and a natural ability to connect and build relationships with others.
Eva Gross
Food Support Coordinator
Eva worked with war wounded and their families in Israel in 1973 and was instrumental in setting up the first Adoption Information Service in Australia, with work also done to get laws changed that allowed contact between adoptees over 18 and birth families if both parties consented.
She had many years experience working with people struggling with mental illnesses, including 17 years in the field of Aged Mental Health and Dementia.
Eva now supervises visits between noncustodial parents and their children, as well as volunteering with several organisations. She is a very proud grandmother of 5 grandsons.
Eva also loves assisting with anything involving food!