Virginia Council BBYO recently elected three Richmond-area teens to serve on Eastern Region’s Regional Board for the 2026–2027 term, which is an incredible accomplishment for both our local community and Virginia Council as a whole.

Yegor Maliavin was elected as Virginia Council’s Regional Aleph Godol (President), where he will represent and support Aleph (male-identifying) chapters across Virginia. In this role, Yegor will help lead statewide initiatives, strengthen chapter engagement, and work closely with fellow teen leaders to continue growing and innovating Virginia Council throughout the coming school year.

Lily Katz was elected as Virginia Council’s Regional N’siah (President), serving as the lead representative for BBG and female-identifying chapters across the state. Lily previously served as President of Dr. Abraham Cohen BBG this past year and has already made a major impact within Richmond BBYO. She will now help guide and support teen leaders throughout Virginia Council and Eastern Region as a whole.

Additionally, Sammi Rubenstein was elected to Eastern Region’s fourth regional board as Regional S’ganiat (Vice President of Programming). In this position, Sammi will help oversee regional convention planning, support chapters in elevating their programming, and collaborate with Eastern Region’s leadership network to strengthen connections across the region’s four states (VA, NC, SC, and GA).

This year’s elections marked another major year for Richmond BBYO representation, with multiple local teens stepping into significant regional leadership positions.

On the chapter level, Richmond BBYO chapters also recently held elections for the upcoming term on May 17th. Monarchs AZA elected Eli Staffenberg as its new Godol (President), Zachary Lownstein as S’gan (Vice President of Programming), Charlie Shulman as Moreh (Vice President of Membership), Jack Isenberg as Mazkir (Vice President of Communications), Max Shane as Shaliach (Vice President of Jewish Enrichment), Nathan Krumbein as Gizbor (Treasurer), and Lucas Scherotter as Mekasher (Vice President of New Member Engagement).

Dr. Abraham Cohen BBG elected Carly Gerring as its new N’siah (President), Lainey Brooks as S’ganit (Vice President of Programming), Eva Sisisky as Morah (Vice President of Membership), Julia Salzberg as Mazkirah (Vice President of Communications), Iris Krumbein as Sh’licha (Vice President of Jewish Enrichment), and Riley Neuman as Gizborit (Treasurer).

 

Our newly elected chapter leaders will spend the coming months planning programs, strengthening community engagement, and creating meaningful experiences for Jewish teens throughout the Richmond area. We’re incredibly excited to see how this next generation of leaders continues to grow and shape our community.

The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond is proud to support the local BBYO Chapters with a programming grant.