Ari Soshtain grew up in Woodmere, Long Island and graduated from Queens College with a Degree in Economics. After graduation he spent a few years living the dream in Israel. He surfed all the best waves in Herzliya, Tel Aviv, and Netanya while studying with Jerusalem’s finest minds. After a few years, he decided it was time to return to Manhattan to get his career going. Ari was trading on Wall Street and doing some real estate investing when he knew the time was right to propose to his long time friend Cookie. A few years later, Ari started to wonder if a career in the Jewish world would be more fulfilling for him and his young family. He re-connected with a friend from his Israel days who also happens to be the Executive Director of the JEC, Matt Mindell. When Matt heard Ari was thinking of getting back into the Jewish Communal world he was thrilled and snatched him up quickly! You can find Ari teaching a class, learning with students or staffing any of our amazing Trips! Ari and Cookie live in Manhattan with their 3 beautiful children, Moshe, Haley, and Kira.