About Us

Nathan Brodsky is thrilled to bring his passions for teen engagement and Israel experiences to JumpSpark as the new Director of JumpSpark. Nathan has worked as the Family Impact Manager at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta for the past six years where he grew the PJ Library initiative by instituting new initiatives like PJ microgrants and programming for the Russian-speaking Jewish community, doubling subscription numbers, and deepening opportunities for community partnership. Originally from Sarasota, Florida, he previously worked at the boarding high school American Hebrew Academy (AHA) in Greensboro, North Carolina and was on staff at Ramah Darom for six years. Nathan is currently pursuing his MBA from Kennesaw State University and has a BA in Anthropology and BS in Psychology and Jewish Studies from Tulane University. He looks forward to connecting with you about how JumpSpark can support your teen engagement initiatives.

Amanda Budd is a programming and communications professional excited to join the JumpSpark team in a combined role with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Birthright/NextGen department. Previously, Amanda worked as the Communications and Programs Associate for The Council of State Governments Southern Office, where she oversaw professional development programs and communications efforts for state government officials and staff across the Southern region. She is excited to take on this new role with JumpSpark and the Jewish Federation to build strong relationships with teens and young adults in the Atlanta Jewish community and explore new ways to grow our community engagement.

Amanda is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications where she received her bachelor’s degree in public relations. She is a former camper and longtime staff member of Camp Yavneh in Northwood, New Hampshire and is a 2019 Atlanta Community Birthright participant.


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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.

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Amy is no stranger to the challenges of parenting Jewish teens in Atlanta today. She is the mother of boy/girl twins who graduated from The Epstein School and are currently in their junior year at Riverwood International Charter School. She is also deeply rooted in the Atlanta Jewish community serving as a Wexner Heritage Fellow, Lion co-chair for Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy division, member of the ACT (Agents of Change Training) Cohort for the Jewish Women’s Fund, and an alumna of the Frank Mission to Poland and Israel. In 2019 she was able to connect with many of the parents in the community through her work as co-Chair of Administration for the JCC Atlanta Maccabi Games.

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Susie has been involved in the Atlanta Jewish community for many years in a variety of professional and volunteer roles. She is also the mom to three teens and is helping them navigate different experiences available to teens in our community. Susie worked as a professional at Jewish Federations North America, chaired the religious school at Congregation Shearith Israel, participated in the Jacobson Leadership Institute, and served in various roles for many school PTA's. Susie is excited to be bring her programmatic and organizational experience to JumpSpark, as well as being a voice for the intown Jewish population.

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