Arielle’s paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Germany; they arrived in New York in 1937, after a long boat trip across the Atlantic. Her father later immigrated to France, where he met her mother, and Arielle was born and raised in Paris.
Arielle holds a Master’s Degree in Law with a specialization in Humanitarian Action and International Law from the University of Aix-Marseille III, in France.
Arielle’s long-time involvement in the nonprofit sector began during her law studies, when she interned as a legal assistant at an association of help for victims of crime. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree, she volunteered for several months at a local nonprofit in northern India, teaching English and basic computer skills to young Tibetan refugees. In Israel, she worked as a legal assistant at the African Refugee Development Center, a grassroots nonprofit providing support and advocacy to African asylum seekers and other migrants. She also served for nearly four years as a Fellow at a Jerusalem-based think tank, conducting research and analysis and developing key assessments and action strategies for decision makers on foreign policy and issues related to diaspora and transnationalism.
Arielle founded New Women New Yorkers in 2014 as the first nonprofit organization in New York City dedicated to empowering immigrant women, through workforce development and networking programs, community building, and storytelling. As a daughter and granddaughter of immigrants and refugees, and as an immigrant herself, Arielle believes in the vast potential that every immigrant woman has to contribute to our city, regardless of her national origin, cultural background, or educational level.
Arielle is a 2015 Agents of Change of the Centre for Social Innovation in Chelsea, a 2016 Fellow of PresenTense NYC, and a 2018-2019 Fellow of Coro’s Immigrant Civic Leadership Program.
Arielle lives in Brooklyn with her husband Yoav and their children Nitzan, Zohar, and Tal. She enjoys good conversation and stinky French cheese, adventurous travelings, and is a dance and theater lover.
Read interviews & profiles of Arielle
Women’s Empowerment in the Workplace: Q&A with Arielle Kandel, Visit.org, May 2019.
Immigration: A Life’s Story and A Passion, Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York, December 2018.
New Women New Yorkers, by Alexandra Felhausen, The Morningside Post, February 2018.
Profile for 36 Under 36, by Tova Ross, The New York Jewish Week, May 2016.
Helping Immigrant Women Make the Most of Their New Home, ZipSprout.
First Generation of Queens – Arielle Kandel, presented by Noran Omar, Queens Public Television.