Staff
Amy Olson
Executive Director and Jewish Chaplain
Amy Olson has been the Executive Director of URI Hillel since the summer of 2005. She is the chair of the URI Chaplains Association and serves on the Equity Council, the Student Affairs Diversity Committee and the Diversity Week Planning Committee. Amy served as the Executive Director of Hillel at the University of Minnesota from 1998-2005. She worked at the University of Minnesota Hillel from 1986-1995 in a variety of capacities and served as the Executive Director of the Central States and Provinces Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism from 1995-1998.
Amy was responsible for establishing the Month of Kindness at the University of Minnesota and was a 2005 recipient of the “Breaking the Silence” award from the University of Minnesota GLBT Programs Office for her work on behalf of GLBT students. Among the many highlights of her Hillel work has been leading groups of Jewish students on trips to Israel, Buenos Aires and Prague.
A native of Rhode Island, Amy is a graduate of the New England Academy of Torah. She earned a BA in Theater from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Theater Directing from the University of Minnesota. An accomplished singer, Amy is the vocalist with the Klezphonics, a Rhode Island based Klezmer band.
Joie Schwartz
Program Associate
Joie Schwartz is Hillel's Program Associate. She is the treasurer of the URI Chaplains Association and serves on the Student Affairs Diversity Committee.
A NJ native, Joie comes to URI Hillel after working as the Director of Youth and Family Programming at Temple Reyim in Newton, MA. Joie is a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. During her studies she had the privilege of performing at such venues as Lincoln Center, the Trenton War Memorial and Carnegie Hall.