Board & Staff

Veronica D. Ball, Director of Development

Veronica joined the Museum at Eldridge Street in March 2022 as the Director of Development and oversees all fundraising efforts to sustain and maintain the historic synagogue and support the educational and cultural programming of the Museum. She spent 15 years at The New York Landmarks Conservancy as Assistant Director of Development where her primary responsibilities included foundation and corporate giving, major gifts, and social media. Over her nearly three-decade career as a professional fundraiser, Veronica has worked for several of New York City’s premier arts and cultural and educational institutions including Big Apple Greeter, Candid (formerly known as The Foundation Center), and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Veronica received her Bachelor of Science, Mass Communications and Public Relations from Boston University.

Jaime Cohen, Senior Educator & Docent Coordinator

Jaime is a seasoned educator with over 20 years of experience. She taught in private religious schools in Pittsburgh, her hometown and was a docent at the New-York Historical Society for 5 years. Her time at the Museum at Eldridge Street began as a docent in 2019. Her role expanded in 2020 when she joined the staff of the museum. Currently you will find Jaime at the front desk performing various visitor services, teaching a school group, giving a tour, or being a docent coordinator. Jaime holds a B.A. from Brandeis University in sociology with a minor in art history and received an M.A. in education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is also a certified integrative nutrition health coach.

Bonnie Dimun, Executive Director

Bonnie brings a wealth of experience in the non-profit, corporate and university arenas. She founded and was president of Dynamics for Change, a management consulting firm focusing on client relations, business development, and alliance partnerships. Bonnie also served as National Director of Education and Public Policy at Hadassah, the world’s largest women’s non-profit organization. There she created and managed the Leadership, Education and Training Center. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of Organization Advancement for Middlesex County College. Bonnie holds an Ed.D from Columbia University as well as two degrees from Rider University.

Scott Brevda, Senior Educator & Visitor Services Operations Manager

Scott develops, leads and coordinates programs for the Education Department. As an historian, and lifelong New Yorker, Scott uses his understanding of his native city to bring its history to life. He first became involved with Eldridge as a docent; giving tours of the historic site to members of the public. Since becoming an Educator, Scott has led the Museum’s Cultural Afterschool Adventure (CASA) Program for second grade students. Scott has additionally developed new programs for all grades base on state curriculum standards. Currently, he is also an Educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and was formerly an intern at the Queens Historical Society and the New-York Historical Society. Scott holds a B.A. and M.A. in History from Fordham University.

Mercedes Correa, Accountant

Mercedes is an experienced financial professional with a B.A. degree in accounting from Baruch College. Over her three-decade career in accounting, Mercedes has advised a variety of businesses on bookkeeping and accounting, coordinated audits, managed payroll and a variety of other matters related to the financial health of an institution. She previously worked in the hotel and restaurant and printing industries, as well as in the garment district, which gives her a unique connection to the historical period that the museum explores.

Nancy Johnson, Archivist & Curator

Nancy has been curating the Museum’s temporary art and history exhibition series since it began in 2016.  As the Museum’s archivist, she looks after its historic documents, objects and art collection.  Favorite projects since coming to Eldridge Street in 2009 include editing Beyond the Façade, an illustrated history of the Eldridge Street Synagogue and its restoration, developing the permanent exhibition in 2014, and curating exhibitions ranging from the art of Kiki Smith to Harbin, China/Past-Present, combining both history and contemporary art. Nancy has worked as an archivist, curator, editor and writer for longer than she cares to admit. She has been a consultant on major projects at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Montclair Art Museum, Alan Lomax Archives, Lotos Club and many other arts-related organizations. She holds an M.A. in art history from The Institute of Fine Arts at NYU and B.A. degrees in history and art history from Stony Brook University.

Sophie Lo, Deputy Director for Public Engagement 

Sophie brings over a decade of experience working between the intersections of arts and culture and education. As a champion for diversity and inclusion, Sophie was an Art Commissioner for Queens Council on the Arts from 2021-2022 where she and her co-commissioners collectively awarded $40,000 to Queens-based artists from underrepresented communities. She was among 16 participants selected for New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Incubator for Executive Leaders of Color Program, an initiative aimed to support people of color in leadership roles at arts and cultural institutions in NYC to foster greater equitability and diversity in the arts industry. Prior experiences include overseeing public programs at The Institute of Fine Arts at NYU, and managing public programs, marketing, and press relations at the Museum of Chinese in America. She has freelanced for Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), consulted on diversity initiatives for young adult novels and children’s education materials at Scholastic Inc., and freelanced for Social Distance Powwow, a community space that grew out of the COVID-19 Pandemic to create a platform for cultural preservation and cultural knowledge through indigenous songs, dance, and art. Sophie earned her B.A. in Culture and Media Studies from The New School, her M.S. in Human Capital Management and Organizational Effectiveness from New York University, and received a certificate for Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace from Cornell University.

Maya Locker, Public Programs & Special Events Coordinator

Maya has five years of museum experience working in various capacities, from public-facing to behind-the-scenes roles such as cataloging museum objects, researching material for exhibitions, and assisting in event execution. Maya holds an M.A. in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design, where she also worked as a Fellow at The Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, and a B.A. in Classics and Art History from Franklin & Marshall College. While earning her Bachelor’s, she spent a summer abroad in Europe to study museology and art history. She also conducted an independent study program in Croatia to focus on how institutions and cities present historical and cultural information to the public. These experiences fueled her desire to pursue museum work and engage with different audiences. Maya holds four certificates from Sotheby’s Institute in art law, valuation, research and provenance, and the inner workings of the art world. Prior to joining the Museum at Eldridge Street, she was an Assistant Fine Art and Personal Property Appraiser.

Ruby Stenhouse, Outreach & Partnerships Coordinator

As Outreach & Partnerships Coordinator, Ruby supports Eldridge Street’s efforts to grow its group tours and tourism strategies. She came to the Museum with a background in arts administration and management, curation, and bookkeeping for galleries, art fairs, and individual artists. In 2019, she worked for Look at Art. Get Paid., a socially-engaged project that aims to examine and disrupt the structural inequalities of art museums by centralizing the voices of marginalized visitors. The experience solidified her interest in museology, art, and access. Ruby received her B.A. in the History of Art and Architecture and B.A. in French and Francophone Studies from Brown University. She is currently a Certificate of Fine Arts candidate at New York Academy of Art.