Youth Director: Ariella and Mendel Lazaros

About the Youth Directors:

Ariella and Mendel Lazaros have lived in Manhattan for over six years and on the Upper West Side for the last three. They are both graduates of Yeshiva University and carry a combined 10+ years of experience in developing fun and engaging youth programs for Jewish children. Ariella and Mendel have run Youth Programming and Teen Clubs for Pesach in the Bahamas, Cancun, Mexico, and San Diego, California. Together, they are loving parents to an 18 month old daughter.

Mendel is a graduate of Yeshiva University, Accounting (14’). Mendel is a recipient of the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship and received the Meyer E. Shatz Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in Judaics Studies at YU. When he’s not co-directing the youth department, Mendel works for Smartling, a cloud-based technology business, using data to improve translation outcomes. Mendel has helped organizations such as The Boston School’s Fund to grow the number of school seats available so that every child can attend a great school.

Ariella is a graduate of Yeshiva University, Sociology (14’) and minor in Early Childhood Education. Ariella was the assistant director for the Playmakers JCC Camp in Cleveland, OH for three years and worked as TA, Special Education for the Park Synagogue School. Ariella has taught fourth grade at the 92nd street Y Hebrew School and Montessori based preparatory curriculum at the Goddard School of Manhattan. When she’s not co-directing the youth department, Ariella teaches 6th grade students of Chabad Hebrew School, and 3rd-grade students of Kivun, an after school Jewish educational experience for students of Harlem Hebrew Charter School.

Ariella and Mendel can be reached at youth@lss.org