Roman Shmulenson is the Executive Director of COJECO. Roman came to the United States with his family in 1993 from Simferopol, Ukraine. He holds a BA in Judaic Studies from Brooklyn College and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Roman is a graduate of the Institute of Non-Profit Management at Columbia University School of Business. He also serves as a Board Treasurer of JPRo and is a Senior Fellow of Humanity in Action.

Yigal Kotler, EdD, is a Jewish educator and historian. Yigal, a native of Odessa, Ukraine, became actively involved in the reawakening of Jewish life in the Former Soviet Union as the founder and director of the first Jewish school in his native city. Throughout his career, he has obtained extensive international experience in Jewish education and community development, working for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Hillel International, Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, as well as other organizations in Israel and the U.S. Yigal joined the COJECO team as a Director of Jewish Education after successful years as a Director of Russian-speaking and Israeli outreach at the Global Day of Jewish Learning, the educational initiative of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. Yigal earned a Doctor of Education degree at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, William Davidson Graduate School of Education. He is a recipient of the 2022 Covenant Foundation Award for excellence in Jewish education. Yigal lives in Queens with his wife Inna and has three children Anya, Maya, and Jonathan.

Monica Kleyman is joining COJECO as the newest Program Director. Monica is a recent graduate of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies (IIJS) at Columbia University. Her master's thesis focused on the untold stories of Soviet Jewish emigration during the collapse of the Soviet Union from 1989-1993. Before joining COJECO, Monica spent a year in Netanya, Israel teaching English to elementary school students on a MASA program and helped pilot the successful Russian Speaking Jewish cohort inside of the Changemakers program at Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Monica holds an undergraduate degree in history and economics from the University of Denver and a master's degree in Jewish Studies from Columbia University. Monica's own family fled Soviet Kiev in 1991 to Denver, Colorado, making her work, research, and interests on the future of Russian-speaking Jews personal.