Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies

Janet Krasner Aronson, PhD, is the interim director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University. Janet has been part of CMJS/SSRI since earning her PhD in social policy at the Heller School for Social Policy. Janet has been Associate Director for Research at CMJS/SSRI since 2016 and led the local Jewish community studies research team. She has directed studies in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, DC, and Miami, among many other communities. She is interested in emerging trends in Jewish engagement and how best to measure, understand, and respond to these trends.

Before joining CMJS, Janet worked as a computer programmer, a graphic designer and religious school teacher. She was a member of the first cohort of the Barnard College/Jewish Theological Seminary double-degree program, in which she earned bachelor's degrees in computer science and Bible. She has an MA in applied sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Masha Sud Lokshin is the associate director for administration at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute. She is responsible for the administrative coordination of the institutes and manages budgets, personnel and office administration, as well as communication with other campus departments and outside collaborators. Masha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Brandeis University and an MBA from Bentley College. Prior to coming to CMJS, she worked in the financial and consulting industries. She is a native Russian speaker. In addition to her language abilities, she brings knowledge of Russian culture and history and organizational expertise to the institutes.

Ilana Friedman is the senior program administrator at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and a member of the Community Studies team. Originally from Palo Alto, California, Ilana graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Curry College magna cum laude where she majored in communication and concentrated in theatre. While at Curry College, she held several leadership positions on campus, including president of Hillel.