Our Team
Meet the individuals who make it all happen behind the scenes
David Berger
Founder & Board President
David was born in Vienna, Austria, and spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn before moving to Bergen County, New Jersey. David is the visionary behind Adopt a Neighbor; he has always had a commitment to helping others and constantly seeks to make an impact on his community in innovative ways. He devotes much of his time to charitable activities including JYEP, Sinai, and peer tutoring, and has done extensive volunteer work with children. In his own studies, David has scored in the 99th percentile on his ACT exam, has a near perfect GPA, is excelling in a college-level math course, and has leadership roles in numerous teams, clubs, and organizations. He is passionate about academic excellence, and instills a love of learning in each of the students he works with. David tutors in a wide range of subjects, but specializes in STEM and college-exam preparation.
Jonah Elzweig
Co-Founder
Jonah is a born and bred New Yorker. He has always had a strong feeling of appreciation for tutors and has close bonds with the teachers who supported him over the years. He helped to launch Adopt a Neighbor to help families who are sheltering at home and needed more support for their school-aged children. Jonah has extensive experience working with children, as a camp counselor, babysitter, and group leader at his local synagogue. Along with being an avid athlete who plays varsity floor and ice hockey as a starting goalie, Jonah has coached soccer and taught ice skating. Jonah’s other passions include mastering the 7x7 Rubik’s cube and medical training; he is certified in Wilderness First Aid and aspires to train as an EMT. At Adopt a Neighbor, Jonah particularly enjoys helping match families to the right tutors, recruiting teens to the program, and thinking of other ways to support families during the pandemic.
Charles Covit
Founding Member & Co-Director
Talia Namdar-Cohen
Board Member
Charles was born in London but has lived in New York City for most of his life. He has three younger siblings and regularly volunteers at daycares and with tutoring programs, giving him extensive experience working with children. Charles is passionate about the humanities and world affairs and has traveled extensively, including on a volunteer-abroad program to serve refugee children in Costa Rica, and Charles also takes part in extracurriculars such as Model UN and Mock Trial. Aside from being a hard-working and straight A student, studying English, Hebrew, and Arabic in school, Charles is also an avid tennis player, and always looks forward to his tutoring sessions, which he ensures are dynamic and fun. Charles specializes in tutoring English and Social Studies.
Talia Namdar-Cohen has lived in New York City for all of her life with her older sister and parents. She loves working with children and regularly volunteers at daycares and with tutoring programs. She also loves working with elderly people in the Jewish community, and volunteers through Dorot and Adopt a Neighbor. In school, Talia is the Vice President of student government and is very active in her Model UN and Mock Trial teams. Talia is also a straight A student, and has a passion for languages, studying Arabic, English, and Hebrew. Talia also loves to play tennis in her spare time.
Jamie Covit
Co-Director
Jamie Covit has lived in New York City for all of his life with his three siblings and parents. Jamie has participated in various programs that serve to bring long-term change to the world through education, economic development, cultural exchange, and humanitarian aid. After realizing the urgent need for conversations about world events and the importance of student involvement in various matters, Jamie founded the Global Current Events Club at his school. Jamie is also a member of student government at his school, in addition to his leadership on the Model UN and Debate teams. Jamie loves to travel the world and has visited many countries with his family.
Sivan Levine
Co-Director
Sivan Levine was born in New York City as the youngest of three daughters and enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends. With a passion for the sciences, Sivan is part of numerous STEM clubs at school, including the Math Team, WISE, (Women in Science and Engineering) and is the vice-president of the Coding Club. She interned in medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital and aspires to become a doctor. At Adopt a Neighbor, Sivan is best at working with students one-on-one and works tirelessly to provide the best assistance she can. When she is not busy with her studies, you can find Sivan solving puzzles or playing tennis.