Meet our Dream Team.

Debbie Yunker Kail, Executive Director, Debbie@Hillelasu.org

Debbie Yunker Kail is eager to partner with students, campus professionals, and community members as we embark on this next chapter in Hillel at ASU’s story.  She is passionate about connecting with college students and loves talking with them about why Judaism is amazing, inspiring, and challenging.  Debbie comes to ASU with vast experience in current leadership development and student engagement strategies.  When connecting with students from a wide variety of backgrounds, her focus is always on building individual relationships and encouraging students to realize their own vision for Jewish life by considering the ‘big questions’ in life and accessing our rich tradition in new ways.

Debbie values innovation and collaboration and these values have been a huge part of her 10 years in higher education and Hillel settings.  Before her recent cross-country move, Debbie served as the Associate Director at Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania.  Over the course of her seven years at Penn Hillel, she worked with the staff team to develop a multi-tiered engagement approach to Jewish life on campus, developed a new website (pennhillel.org!), and completed Weinberg Accelerate: Hillel’s Executive Training Program. Debbie began her Hillel career at Washington University in St. Louis where she was a Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow for two years.  Originally from Framingham, MA, Debbie holds a B.A. in psychology from Emory University and an M. A. in Higher Education Administration from New York University, where she also worked in residential life and fraternity/sorority life and planned a national conference about the Jewish college student experience. Debbie lives in Tempe, AZ with her husband Ben and enjoys supporting the local food movement (buying, cooking, and eating!), working out, exploring the Valley, and traveling.  

Read about Debbie in the Arizona Jewish Life magazine

Reach about Debbie in Jewish News of Greater Phoenix here and here

Rabbi Barton G. Lee, Senior Educator, Bentzion@hillelasu.org

Rabbi Barton Lee came to Hillel at ASU in 1972. He studied at Stanford, Hebrew University, and the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati where he earned a doctorate. A native of Texas who still celebrates Texas Independence day with students, he loves the desert, the Grand Canyon, ASU students, classical concerts, Israel, politics and sports. But most of all, Rabbi Lee loves ASU students, schmoozing with them, helping with problems, or studying Torah as it relates to our lives. 



Apply to be a Hillel Engagement Intern!

Learn more about the Pew Study:

A Portrait of Jewish Americans