Join SLO HIllel director, Lauren Bandari, in a discussion about Jewish campus life at Cal Poly to understand more deeply the advocacy work on the ground from administration/faculty relationships to Hillel's Israel Fellow program. Find out about the surge of student engagement and all the Jewish joy that takes place on campus. And even more exciting, get a sneak peek of the first ever house for Cal Poly's Hillel, the SLO Bayit! Also come to exchange ideas and to hear about Lauren's vision about how we will work together to further connect SLO community members and Jewish Cal Poly students. Lauren Bandari has served for the past 3 years as SLO Hillel's Executive Director at the Cal Poly campus advocating and educating for its students and community. This position comes after twelve years as SLO's Executive Director of our local Jewish Community Center-Federation, where she still serves on its Board of Directors. There Lauren instituted such community measures such as the SLO Jewish Film Festival, Camp Shoreshim, the Jewish Festival of Learning, and its social services arm, Jewish Family Services of SLO. Lauren’s professional background also includes corporate roles at Harley Davidson Motor Company, Sotheby’s, Inc, University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in history and Jewish Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with a Master’s in Public Administration from University of Illinois-Chicago. Lauren has her para-rabbinic certificate from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and regularly leads services at her synagogue, Temple Ner Shalom. Lauren lives in San Luis Obispo with her husband, Dr. Armin Bandari, three boys, Arie, Isaac, and Simon, and their shiba inu, Maya. They love to hike, travel, and cook together and are grateful for their community here on the Central Coast.