For Queens’ Bukharian Jewish community, the appointment of Diana Rachnaev as Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council is more than a change in leadership. It is a milestone.
A daughter of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Rachnaev now takes the helm of one of Queens’ longest-standing Jewish communal organizations, bringing more than two decades of experience in human services, mental-health advocacy, government relations, and community outreach.
For a Bukharian community that rebuilt itself in Queens within a generation—establishing shuls, schools, businesses, social-service organizations, and a growing civic presence—seeing one of its own entrusted with leading a borough-wide Jewish institution carries particular nachas.
Rachnaev’s professional foundation was shaped during 12 years at Ohel, where she gained extensive experience in human services, program leadership, and supporting individuals and families. She later served as Community Outreach Coordinator for Assembly Member Nily Rozic, working with elected officials, nonprofit organizations, faith leaders, schools, businesses, and residents throughout Queens.
Much of Rachnaev’s public work, however, grew out of problems she saw within her own community.
She has spoken openly about intergenerational trauma among immigrant families and the stigma that can surround mental-health treatment, addiction, domestic violence, and asking for help. Rachnaev has also discussed her own emotional struggles as a teenager and the difficulty of knowing where to turn.
Those experiences helped lead her, together with her siblings Daniel and Ilana, a licensed master social worker, to establish Yesodot in 2019. The Hebrew name means “foundations,” reflecting its goal of helping people rebuild their lives while making assistance easier to seek in communities where sensitive personal problems were too often kept private. The late Alan Sirowitz is recognized as a legacy co-founder.
Yesodot has focused on mental-health awareness, advocacy, special-needs support, domestic-violence resources, and connecting families with professional services in ways that respect the culture and needs of the communities being served.
Rachnaev’s work has extended beyond mental health. She was involved in expanding the Kosher Summer Free Meals Program, which gave more than 30,000 children across New York State access to government-funded nutritious kosher meals during the summer. In 2021, she helped organize a COVID-19 antibody-testing initiative at the Bukharian Jewish Community Center with State Senators Joseph Addabbo and Toby Ann Stavisky and Valhalla Medics.
Her work increasingly brought Bukharian concerns into the broader civic life of Queens. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards appointed Rachnaev to Community Board 6 in 2022, representing Forest Hills and Rego Park, where she now co-chairs the Aging/Health/Recovery Services Committee.
She has also participated in borough-wide leadership efforts, including the One Queens Fellowship Against Hate, and helped create opportunities for Bukharian leaders to speak directly with public officials. Among them was a first-of-its-kind meeting between Bukharian rabbis and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
In 2024, Rachnaev ran for State Committee in the 28th Assembly District and was elected a Judicial Convention Delegate. That same year, she was honored as a Power Woman of Queens and named by the New York Jewish Week to its “36 to Watch.”
Yet behind the titles, Rachnaev has described herself in simpler terms: a mother, wife, sister, and daughter. Family has remained central to her life and work, with Yesodot itself built alongside her siblings.
QJCC is also familiar territory. Before becoming Executive Director, Rachnaev served on its Board of Directors, giving her firsthand knowledge of the organization, its work, and the communities it serves.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of QJCC,” Rachnaev said. “QJCC has a tremendous legacy of bringing people together, advocating for the needs of our community, and serving as a trusted resource throughout Queens.”
She said she looks forward to building on that legacy, strengthening partnerships, expanding opportunities, and ensuring that QJCC remains a strong voice for the diverse Jewish communities of Queens.
Hon. Barry Grodenchik, president of QJCC, pointed to Rachnaev’s nonprofit experience, local relationships, and knowledge of Queens.
“Diana brings a unique combination of nonprofit leadership, community relationships, and a deep understanding of Queens,” Grodenchik said. “Her ability to bring people together and create meaningful partnerships will be a tremendous asset as QJCC continues to grow.”
QJCC Executive Vice President Zev S. Berman likewise praised her commitment to service, while Assembly Member Nily Rozic noted Rachnaev’s ability to build bridges between communities, government, and organizations.
Rachnaev begins her tenure as QJCC itself enters a new chapter. The organization is finally moving its operations from its longtime home at Ezra Academy in Forest Hills to 69-69 Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills, just off Main Street and Jewel Avenue. QJCC had worked toward establishing a dedicated home for more than two decades, and the Main Street building was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting in 2023.
The timing carries special meaning for Bukharian Jews.
When QJCC was founded in 1968, the large Bukharian community that today stretches through Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows, and surrounding neighborhoods had yet to take shape. Families arrived from the former Soviet Union, rebuilt their lives, raised children, established institutions, and gradually became an important voice in Jewish and civic Queens.
Today, a daughter of that community leads QJCC as the organization itself settles into a permanent home in Central Queens.
Bukharian Jews are no longer merely being invited to the communal table; one of their own has been entrusted with leading an institution that has helped set that table for Jewish Queens for more than half a century.
That is a source of genuine communal pride. At the same time, Rachnaev’s responsibility extends far beyond the community from which she comes. QJCC serves Jewish Queens in all its diversity, along with residents of every background who turn to the organization for food, services, advocacy, guidance, or help when they need it.
There is something fitting about the moment. A woman whose career grew from helping people build stronger foundations now takes charge as QJCC begins operating from a permanent foundation of its own.
As Diana Rachnaev begins this new chapter, we extend our warmest congratulations and wishes for much hatzlachah as she carries the pride of the Bukharian community into her service of all Jewish Queens.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
A Proud New Chapter: Diana Rachnaev Takes the Helm at QJCC
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