PLENARY Speakers
Jillian Best Adler
Board Vice President, Camp Havaya
Jillian Best Adler is an early childhood consultant who offers coaching and training to early childhood educators and facilitates workshops and support groups for parents of young children. All of her work, including her parenting, is values-based, informed by and rooted in a commitment to justice. She is a mixed-race Black Jewish mother of three children and the wife of a Reconstructionist rabbi. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Camp Havaya and is an active volunteer at her children’s progressive Quaker school. Jillian hosts a podcast called "Connecting the Dots: Not Just Another Parenting Podcast" where she, using a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, guides parents through the process of shifting their perspectives on everyday behaviors and commonly held beliefs about children and our interactions with them.
Rabbi Nicole Fix, RRC '23
Co-founder, Rabbinic Arts Company
Aaron Dorfman
Executive Director, A More Perfect Union
Aaron Dorfman is Founder and Executive Director of A More Perfect Union, an effort to mobilize the American Jewish community to protect and strengthen American democracy. Previously, Aaron served as President of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, Vice President for Programs of American Jewish World Service, and Director of Informal Education at Temple Isaiah of Contra Costa County. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in English and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Aaron and his wife Talia live in Brooklyn, New York, where they’re raising three fierce feminist daughters.
Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg
Senior Educator, BINA, The Home of Israeli Judaism
Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg is an American-Canadian-Israeli Queer Jewish educator-activist whose work focuses on the intersection of Judaism and human rights. Originally from Chicago, Elliot holds a B.A. from McGill University, an M.A. in Jewish Education and an M.A. in Jewish Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Since moving to Israel in 2011, Elliot has taught hundreds of groups from Israel and abroad and has volunteered and advocated for refugee rights, LGBTQ inclusion and other causes. Elliot currently serves as a senior educator at BINA: The Home of Israeli Judaism; as part of his work, he oversees the RRC-BINA Israel Summer Term on the ground. Elliot is also a student in the The Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis (by Hamidrasha at Oranim and Hartman Institute), a blogger at The Times of Israel and lives in Jaffa. Elliot is an affiliate faculty member at RRC.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer
Director of Virtual Content and Programs, Ritualwell, Reconstructing Judaism
Gabrielle Ariella Kaplan Mayer is an author, educator and spiritual director who works 1:1 with people, helping them find their inner wisdom through words. She currently works as the director of virtual content and programs for Ritualwell.org. Her personal essays have been featured in Tablet, Shondaland, NBCThink, Wisdom Daily, WHYY, The New York Times and many other publications. Gabrielle is currently working on a memoir about the power of intuition and ongoing conversations with her ancestors. She writes a weekly Substack with creative prompts and spiritual practices called “Journey With the Seasons.” Find her books, plays and essays at .gabriellekaplanmayer.com.
Rabbi Isabel de Koninck, RRC '10
Executive Director and Campus Rabbi, Hillel at Drexel University
Rabbi Isabel de Koninck has served as Executive Director and Campus Rabbi for Hillel at Drexel University since 2010. Complementing her role at Hillel, Rabbi de Koninck regularly serves as an adjunct instructor at Drexel University and at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Rabbi Isabel de Koninck is a graduate of Brandeis University, and received rabbinic ordination from the RRC where she also completed a graduate certificate in Jewish Gender and Women’s Studies. Her thought pieces have been published by the CCAR Press, Evolve, and eJewish Philanthropy among others. She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and of the Mandel Foundation’s Executive Leadership Program. Beyond her work at Hillel, Rabbi de Koninck is pursuing a doctorate in Leadership and Innovation at NYU’s Steinhardt School, serves on the boards of Reconstructing Judaism and Tribe12, and loves spending a week on faculty each summer at Camp Havaya.
Amanda Beckenstein Mbuvi, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Dr. Amanda Beckenstein Mbuvi is a scholar and teacher with expertise in Tanakh, Jewish ethics and multifaith studies. She serves as the director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she previously served as the vice president for academic affairs—the first African American to lead in that role at an American rabbinical seminary. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she earned her Ph.D. from Duke University, specializing in Hebrew Bible with minors in Literature and Judaic Studies. She is the author of the book Belonging in Genesis: Biblical Israel and the Politics of Identity Formation, as well as numerous scholarly articles. She is passionate about dynamic, inclusive Jewish communities that cultivate what she likes to call “blessed interdependence.
Helen Kim, Ph.D.
President & Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Sociology, Whitman College
Helen Kim is Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Her scholarship focuses on race and American Judaism in the contemporary era. Along with co-author, Noah Leavitt, she published JewAsian: Race, Religion, and Identity for America's Newest Jews in 2016 with University of Nebraska Press.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson, RRC '18
Executive Director, Carolina Jews for Justice
Rabbi Sandra Lawson is the Executive Director of Carolina Jews for Justice (CJJ), a statewide grassroots organization building power for electoral justice, immigrant rights, and community safety through coalition-based organizing across North Carolina. A 2018 Reconstructionist Rabbinical College graduate, Sandra has worked to transform perceptions of what a rabbi looks like. She tackles questions surrounding Jews and race, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and social justice through her writing, podcasts, media appearances, and keynote speeches. With more than 100,000 followers across social media platforms, she models what it means to teach Torah and build community in digital spaces. Sandra previously served as the inaugural Director of Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism and as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. Before entering the rabbinate, she served in the U.S. Army and as an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League. Her work has been recognized by The Forward, the Center for American Progress, and Out Magazine.
Rabbi Kelilah Miller, RRC '13
Rabbi, Congregation Ohev Shalom
Rabbi Kelilah Miller, RRC '13, is the rabbi at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Wallingford, PA. She grew up in Philadelphia and is proud to continue to call the city home. In addition to her pulpit work, Kelilah is also a visual and recording artist, working on both Jewish and general themes. Some of her Jewish visual art projects include a needle-felted interpretive Aleph-bet, A linoleum-printed Omer calendar, and a series of papercuts for each Torah portion. Her liturgical settings and other demos can be found on Soundcloud.com. At the writing of this bio, she is awaiting the release of her debut studio album, Not a Stranger.
Rabbi Isaac Saposnik, RRC
Executive Director, Camp Havaya
Rabbi Isaac is the Executive Director of Camp Havaya. He is a graduate of Tufts University and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He has served as Assistant Director of Camp JRF and as Director of No’ar Hadash. Under his guidance, JRF launched the successful No’ar Hadash Israel Experience. Rabbi Isaac is a long-time Jewish camper and youth worker, having worked previously for URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute and NFTY. He is a graduate of the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Executive Leadership Institute. Having grown up in the Reconstructionist movement, Rabbi Isaac is thrilled to share his passion for creative and engaging Judaism with a new generation of youth.
Rabbi Aliza Schwartz, RRC '24
Rabbi Temple Hillel B'nai Torah
Rabbi Aliza Schwartz is the rabbi of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah, a haimish, progressive Reconstructionist congregation in Boston, MA with about 165 member households. Rabbi Aliza was ordained by RRC in 2024. She worked for two years as a Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York. She spent one year of rabbinic training in Jerusalem, studying at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and doing protective presence and solidarity work, especially in Masafer Yatta, an area home to several Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank. Rabbi Aliza strives to always be part of bringing people toward one another and toward larger containers of “home.” In this particular world moment - and always - Rabbi Aliza fights for a deeply-rooted Judaism that stands loudly against racism, loudly against antisemitism, loudly against Islamophobia, and loudly against the systems that allow for dehumanization and that pit humans against one another.
Amy Spitalnick
CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Amy Spitalnick is the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the national convener of Jewish coalitions working across communities to build a just and inclusive American democracy.
A nationally recognized leader on countering antisemitism, hate, and extremism and protecting democracy, Amy previously served as Executive Director of Integrity First for America, which won its groundbreaking lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the Charlottesville violence.
Amy has extensive experience in government, politics, and advocacy, including as Communications Director and Senior Policy Advisor to the New York Attorney General and spokesperson and advisor to the New York City Mayor. She serves on the Boards of Directors of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Tufts University Hillel, and the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, as well as on Tree of Life’s Academic Advisory Council and Bedrock’s National Leadership Council.
Amy frequently appears in national media and has been awarded various fellowships and honors, including being named a Women inPower Fellow at the 92nd Street Y, a Truman National Security Project Fellow, a City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star, and a NY Jewish Week 36 Under 36 Changemaker. She graduated from Tufts University.
Justin Rosen Smolen
Vice President for Thriving Communities and Partnerships, Reconstructing Judaism (Moderator)
Justin Rosen Smolen is the Vice President for Thriving Communities and Partnerships at Reconstructing Judaism, where he oversees movement initiatives supporting nearly 100 congregations worldwide and builds partnerships to advance a deeply rooted, boldly relevant and co-creative approach to Jewish life. He is a member of the advisory board of Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations. Justin previously served as director of Jewish Emergent Network, where he led collaboration and strategy across seven pioneering communities throughout the United States to spark innovation in Jewish spiritual life. He also served as national director of youth programs at Keshet, where he expanded leadership programs and partnerships to support LGBTQ Jewish youth, and as associate director for community-based teen initiatives at The Jewish Education Project, where he advised a collaborative of funders launching new teen initiatives across the country. He has also consulted to a variety of organizations on inclusion, innovation and strategy. Justin holds an MPA in management and an MA in Jewish Studies, and is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. He lives in northern New Jersey with his partner and their two children.
Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature (Moderator)Rabbi Mira Wasserman, PhD, teaches Talmud and Midrash at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs of Reconstructing Judaism.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., RRC '99
President & CEO, Reconstructing Judaism (Moderator)
THE FIRST WOMAN RABBI to head a Jewish congregational union and a Jewish seminary, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., became president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism in 2014. She has drawn on her training as a rabbi and historian to become the Reconstructionist movement’s leading voice in the public square.
Rabbi Shawn Zevit, RRC '98
Rabbi Mishkan Shalom
Rabbi Shawn Zevit is a dynamic and widely known liturgist, teacher, singer, author and consultant to Jewish communities. He is a 1998 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and worked for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation for 14 years as the Director of Congregational Services, Outreach and Tikkun Olam. In 2023, Rabbi Shawn celebrated 25 years as a rabbi and 10 years at Mishkan Shalom. Rabbi Shawn has been a sought-after teacher and leader of spiritual practice programs, including co-director of the award-winning Davennen Leader’s Training Institute, where he coaches rabbis, cantors and lay leaders of all denominations.
WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
Joel Abramovitz
Director of the Wenger-Markowitz Family Education Initiative, Reconstructing Judaism
Joel Abramovitz is the Director of the Wenger-Markowitz Family Education Initiative at Reconstructing Judaism. He loves supporting Reconstructionist educators in creating meaningful and resonant Jewish educational experiences for students and families across the movement. With deep roots in California, Joel lives now in the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York. When not working, Joel can be found in his kitchen, baking or studying cookbooks as if they were sacred texts.
Josie Boskoff
Rabbinical Student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Josie Boskoff (née Felt) is in her senior year at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Josie relocated to Albuquerque this summer from Philadelphia, where she spent two years working as the Rabbinic intern at Kol Tzedek. Her deep love of prayer and ritual developed over three years living in Jerusalem, where she studied Torah and participated in Jewish-Palestinian solidarity work in Masafer Yatta in the West Bank with All That’s Left and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. While in Jerusalem, Josie co-founded Boneh Yerushalyim, an egalitarian anglo minyan for activists. Before turning towards the rabbinate, Josie graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in theater and worked as a stage manager in Washington DC and San Francisco.
Elizabeth Caplun
Mussar educator
Elizabeth Caplun earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences from the Free University of Brussels. She immigrated to the United States in her 30s. She spent many years in executive-level positions at Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the field of research ethics and compliance. More recently she retired and moved to Bishop, California, a rural area east of the Sierra Nevada, where she practices and teaches Mussar. She also writes poetry and ritual texts. Her work has appeared in The Jewish Literary Journal, Songs of Eretz, RitualWell, Dawn Horizons and Advot anthologies.
Rabbi Tamara Cohen, RRC '14
Chief of Program and Strategy, Moving Traditions
Rabbi Tamara Cohen is a Covenant award-winning Jewish educator, community builder and liturgist. She is Chief of Program and Strategy at Moving Traditions which creates Jewish educational experiences that help youth understand who they are and who they want to be while giving them tools they need to navigate a world that is constantly changing. Moving Traditions offers curricular programs and trainings for synagogues and camp educators, parent webinars, and Immersive Teen Experiences including a feminist fellowship, racial justice retreats, and JGirls+ magazine. Tamara lives in Philadelphia and serves on the Tikkun Olam Commission of Reconstructing Judaism.
Lev DePaolo
Musician, composer, rabbinical student
Lev DePaolo (they/them) is musician, composer, prayer leader, Jewish educator, and rabbinical student. A specialist in historical performance, they also have a versatile career as a vocal soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble singer. They have appeared with Tafelmusik, American Bach Soloists, Amherst Early Music, Society for Historically Informed Performance, Bloomington Early Music Festival, Gotham Early Music Scene, Washington Bach Consort, and the choir of the National Cathedral. Lev directs the musical ensemble MIRYAM, which is dedicated to bringing Jewish baroque music to new audiences. They have been featured in Washington Jewish Week for their work, and in 2019 they produced the East Coast premiere of Lidarti’s Esther, a recently-rediscovered Hebrew-language oratorio. Most recently, they premiered their new settings of Yehuda Halevi’s poetry at the Society for Historically Informed Performance in Boston in June of 2024 and piloted a new participatory concert experience at Society Hill Synagogue in April of 2025. Lev holds a Master’s degree in music from Indiana University and a Master’s of Jewish Studies and Jewish Education from Hebrew College. They currently study at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Rebecca Goldsmith
Spiritual Leader and Director of Music, Congregation Bet Haverim
Rebekka Goldsmith (she/her) believes in the sacredness of every person and in the transformative power of relationship, ritual, and song. Guided by Jewish tradition and informed by contemporary needs, she strives to nurture a spiritual life of radical belonging that honors both individual journeys and mutual responsibility. Rebekka serves as the Spiritual Leader and Director of Music at Congregation Bet Haverim (CBH) in Atlanta, GA.
Rabbi Monica Gomery
Music director and prayer leader, Kol Tzedek and co-founder of Let My People Sing!
Rabbi Mónica Gomery serves on the clergy team of Kol Tzedek Synagogue, a justice-oriented Reconstructionist community in Philadelphia. She stewards the synagogue's singing and tefilah culture as the Music Director and Prayer Leader. She is a co-founder of Let My People Sing! and a believer in the healing, transformative, and empowering possibilities of communal song.
Rachel Gordon
Director of Israel Campaigns, T'ruah
Rachel (she/her) is T’ruah’s Director of Israel Campaigns. Originally from Philadelphia, she spent over a decade living in Israel, where she built long-term relationships that continue to shape her work. Before joining T’ruah, she was part of the leadership team at Breaking the Silence, where she worked closely with Israeli and Palestinian partners and Jewish communities around the world. She’s grateful to be part of the T’ruah community and excited to support clergy in this work. Outside of work, Rachel loves reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors. She lives in Philadelphia with her partner and two children.
Rabbi Miriam Grossman
Director of Outreach and Partnerships, Tivnu: Building Justice
Rabbi Miriam Grossman is a Jewish educator, ritual leader, and writer. She serves as the Director of Outreach and Partnerships at Tivnu: Building Justice. Tivnu offers transformative gap year and youth programs, blending hands-on social justice work with Jewish community and learning. Previously, Miriam was the rabbi of Congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn and led innovative Jewish education programs at Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and the Institute for Jewish Enrichment. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Rabbi Maurice Harris, RRC '03
Associate Director of Thriving Communities, Reconstructing Judaism
Rabbi Maurice Harris (RRC '03) is Associate Director for Thriving Communities at Reconstructing Judaism. Previously, he served as Associate Rabbi and Head of School at Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, OR). Maurice is the author of three Jewish studies books: Moses: A Stranger among Us; Leviticus: You Have No Idea; and The Forgotten Sage: Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It. He blogs at .theaccidentalrabbi.substack.com.
Rabbi Melissa Heller, RRC '08
Director of Admissions & Recruitment, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Melissa Heller is the Director of Admissions and Recruitment at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. In this role, she has the great privilege of supporting prospective rabbinical students as they discern and enact their visions of service and leadership for the Jewish people and wider world. Prior to leading the admissions team, she was teaching and developing programs for emerging religious leaders within the Department of Multifaith Studies at RRC. She has worked as a teacher, chaplain and organizational manager in a variety of settings. She received her Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters and rabbinic ordination from RRC in 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a concentration in Jewish Studies, from Binghamton University.
Rabbi Josh Jacobs-Velde, RRC '13
Rabbi, Oseh Shalom
Rabbi Josh Jacobs-Velde has been the co-rabbi of RJ-affiliate Oseh Shalom in Laurel, MD since 2017. A graduate of RRC, he is also active in the Jewish Renewal movement. He is deeply interested in supporting contemplative Jewish practice for liberal Jews, as well as connecting Judaism to the natural world.
Professor Jenna Weissman Joselit
Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies & Professor of History, George Washington University
Jenna Weissman Joselit is the author of Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul, the hot-off-the-press biography just published by Yale University Press as part of its distinguished "Jewish Lives" series. A celebrated cultural historian and public intellectual, whose column on American Jewish history and culture had appeared monthly over the past 25 years in the Forward and Tablet, she's now a contributing writer for the Jewish Review of Books. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, the New Republic, and Gastronomica.
Ruti Kadish
Jewish education and resource development
Ruti Kadish was born in Israel, where she spent most of her childhood. After completing her military service, Ruti left Israel to study in the United States. She received a BA in Women’s Studies and a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley. Before a postdoc in Israel Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, Ruti was a Fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem, where she designed progressive Israel curricula for informal Jewish education. Through the early aughts, Ruti worked as a consultant in diversity education, primarily assisting primary schools in becoming more welcoming environments for all different kinds of families, including LGBT-headed families. For much of the past 15 years, Ruti has worked in the Jewish not-for-profit sector in education and resource development.
Michelle Katz
Rabbinical student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Michelle Katz is in her penultimate year at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and currently serves as the Rabbinic Intern for Reconstructing Judaism’s B’Yachad: Rekindling Light and Joy Convention (the one that you are reading about and/or enjoying right now!), as well as the Hendelman Rabbinic Intern at Or Haneshamah. She is excited about navigating the spaces between the written word and lived experiences, and creating opportunities to center liminality. Her passion for community building and religious ritual brought her to study Sociology and Jewish and Israel Studies at Wesleyan University, Modern Jewish History, Literature, and Culture at NYU, and Jewish Leadership at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership at Northwestern University. While at RRC, she has also served as Rabbinic Intern at Kol Emet, Bryn Mawr Hillel, and Reconstructing Judaism, worked as a summer fellow for T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and PhillyThrive, and completed a unit of chaplaincy at Jefferson Einstein Hospital. Prior to RRC, Michelle worked for the SAJ, the Association for Jewish Studies, and Judaism Unbound. For her work with the AJS membership community and annual conference, Michelle was named as one of the Association Forum’s Forty Under 40 in 2020. She is thrilled to be combining her deep love of Jewish learning with inclusive communal engagement at RRC and beyond. In her spare time, Michelle is an award-winning volunteer and writer, collects Haggadot and Jewish graphic novels, and will talk to anyone who will listen about both stitching and roller derby as sacred practices.
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, RRC '85
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Faith in Action (FIA), the largest faith-based community organizing network in the U.S. In 2025 he retired from working at POWER Interfaith, FIA's affiliate in Pennsylvania. Before that, he founded and directed the Social Justice Organizing Program at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College for ten years. Previously, he served as the executive vice president of Jewish Funds for Justice (now Bend the Arc); and was the executive director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation for 12 years. He leads workshops and retreats on Race, Antisemitism and Christian hegemony, and on the Work That Reconnects developed by Joanna Macy.
Rabbi Nathan Martin, RRC '06
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel of Media
Rabbi Nathan Martin (RRC '06) currently serves as the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel of Media, a community he has been serving for the last decade. He brings a passion to his work for creating spirit-filled, caring communities that are also dedicated to the important work of repairing the world and healing our planet. He has been active in the area of faith-based sustainability, completing a 2-year fellowship training with Greenfaith and having served for 6 years on the Board of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, a statewide interfaith environmental organization. More recently Rabbi Nathan has been serving as a rabbinic representative on Reconstructing Judaism's Tikkun Olam Commission and also serves as a spiritual director for RRC students.
Rabbi Scott PerloRabbi, Adat Shalom
Rabbi Scott Perlo (he/him) became Rabbi at Adat Shalom in August, 2024. He is a leader in the field of Jewish open outreach. He’s taught Torah to thousands of unaffiliated Jews, their partners and those interested in Jewish life of any background. Prior to coming to Adat Shalom, Scott worked primarily with Millennials, addressing the specific needs of the next generation of Jewish life. Rabbi Perlo was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2008, and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish Thought. He is a veteran of multiple cutting-edge Jewish communities, including as a rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, rabbi-in-residence at Moishe House and The Professional Leaders Project, and intern at IKAR in Los Angeles. Scott leads trips for Honeymoon Israel, was a founding member of the Jewish Emergent Network and is a Wexner Field Fellow. A regular writer, Rabbi Perlo has been published in The Washington Post, The Forward and The Huffington Post, among other publications. A California native, he gets back to his beloved Pacific Ocean to surf and to dive whenever he can. He lives with his partner, Yael Bromberg, a Constitutional Lawyer, and their two sons who are students in the Adat Shalom Limmud program.
Barb Richman
Facilitator of the Jewish Studio Process
Barb Richman is a facilitator of the Jewish Studio Process. An active member of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, she leads monthly creativity sessions and a women’s Torah study group. Barb and her husband Charlie are parents to Rabbi Bec Richman and writer Sarah Richman. Barb loves being Bubbie to 3 adorable grandkids.
Rabbi Sid Schwarz, RRC '80
Founding Rabbi, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
Rabbi Sid Schwarz is a social entrepreneur, author and teacher. Rabbi Sid founded and led PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values for 21 years; its work centered on integrating Jewish learning, Jewish values and social responsibility. He is also the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD where he continues to teach and lead services. Dr. Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in Jewish history and is the author of two groundbreaking books--Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue (Jewish Lights, 2000) and Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World (Jewish Lights, 2006). Rabbi Sid directs the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), a program that trains rabbis to be visionary spiritual leaders. He also created and directs the Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network which is identifying, convening and building the capacity of emerging spiritual communities across the country. Sid was awarded the prestigious Covenant Award for his pioneering work in the field of Jewish education and was named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in North America. Sid's most recent book is Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future (Jewish Lights, 2013).
Rabbi Elliot Skiddell, RRC '80
Interim Director of Rabbinic Placement and Employment, Reconstructing Judaism and Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Elliot Skiddell graduated from RRC in 1980. He received his BA in Philosophy and Religion from the University of Massachusetts and an MA in Religion from Temple University. In 1992, Elliot and his family made Aliyah and he joined the senior staff of the Jewish Agency. He previously served as Assistant Rabbi of Har Zion Temple, Penn Valley, Pennsylvania and then as Rabbi of Ramat Shalom Synagogue in Plantation, Florida. In August 2006, Elliot became rabbi of Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Emeth and led the congregation through the creation of a partnership with Central Synagogue of Nassau County that progressed from cohabitation to cooperation, collaboration and, finally, consolidation. In August 2020, Elliot was honored with the title of Rabbi Emeritus. In October 2021 he became Interim Director of Rabbinic Placement and Employment for Reconstructing Judaism and the RRA.
Laynie Soloman
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Laynie Soloman is a teacher and Torah lover who seeks to uplift the piously irreverent, queer, and subversive spirit of rabbinic text and theology. They serve on the faculty at SVARA, where they co-founded the Trans Halakha Project, an initiative that seeks to create new forms of halakhic (Jewish legal) expression shaped by trans and non-binary Jews. Laynie has taught Jewish text for over a decade in a wide range of spaces, including Yeshivat Hadar, the Academy for Jewish Religion, Pardes North America, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. They live in Philadelphia with their partner, Zahara, and their kid, Remez
Rabbi Hannah Spiro, RRC '17
Rabbi, Hill Havurah
Hannah Spiro is the rabbi of Hill Havurah, an independent congregation on Capitol Hill. Hannah is a DC-area native and a 2017 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Hannah serves on the board of directors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and is an alumna of the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI). The rest of the time, you can find Hannah parenting two little ones with her spouse in Northeast DC, practicing yoga and aerial acrobatics, learning daf yomi, and watching Survivor.
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, RRC '91
Rabbi Joshua Boettiger, RRC '06
Jewish Chaplain and Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities, Bard College
Rabbi Joshua Boettiger serves as the Jewish Chaplain and Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities at Bard College in the Hudson River Valley of New York. He is also the Rosh Yeshiva at the Center for Contemporary Mussar. He is the author of a book on Mussar, To Imagine Other Solitudes, which is due to be published by Monkfish Press in early 2027, and his poetry has appeared in the New Ohio Review, Missouri Review, B O D Y, the Southern Review, Image, and elsewhere.
Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay
Rabbi and Dean of Religious Life and Chaplain, Grinnell College
Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She serves as the Dean of Religious Life and Chaplain at Grinnell College in Iowa. She loves the diversity of her work with students; supporting them to figure out how to be the most authentic and powerful versions of themselves. She began at Grinnell College in August 2022 and has loved her time here. Beginning in 2019 she created The God Cafe Project with the goal of creating space for people to explore moments in their lives of Divine connection and grappling. She has a robust background in community organizing experience on a variety of topics. At the core of her identity as a spiritual leader and community organizer is the desire for people to get out of isolation and into connection.
Adva Chattler
Managing Director of Engagment and Innovation, Ritualwell, Reconstructing Judaism
Adva Chattler (she/her) is an Israeli-Mizrahi Jew, born and raised in Be’er-Sheva, Israel. She loves to create meaningful experiences through her cooking and baking that prompt sharing stories, teachings and rituals about Judaism, Israel and Mizrahi Jewish cultures and heritage. Her rituals, prayers and poems were published on Ritualwell. Adva is passionate about bringing people together in ways that spark relationship building and connecting to others on a deeper level, both in the challenging and ever-changing world of online gatherings, and in person. She holds a MA in conflict Resolution and Management from Ben Gurion University of the Negev and BA in Public Administration and Management from Sapir College in Sderot, Israel. With her experience in teaching and curriculum building, she support facilitators and presenters for Ritualwell and Reconstructing Judaism and encourage them to bring not only their best self, but best practices and tools for successful teaching online. Adva lives in Del Rio, Tx., with her husband, three daughters and their dogs.
Nora Chernov
Rabbinical Student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Advanced Intern for Community Life
Nora Chernov (she/her) is a student at the Reconstructist Rabbinical College where she serves as the Advanced Intern for Community Life and assists in the RRC Beit Midrash. She grew up at RSNS and attended Camp Havaya as both a camper and staff member. Nora is a passionate student and teacher of text, especially all things Talmud. When not at RRC she can be found going on long drives listening to podcasts and playing all manner of board games.
Dr. Barry Dornfeld
Barry Dornfeld is a filmmaker, organizational consultant, and scholar whose award-winning documentaries and research span public TV, cultural performance, and community history.
Wendy Elliott-Vandivier
Teaching Artist and Disability Activist
Wendy Elliott-Vandivier is a graduate of Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She has been making art since she was a young child growing up in Philadelphia. In college, she majored in sculpture and staged a funeral of a disabled poster child to lay stereotypes of pity and helplessness firmly to rest. Her paintings explore issues of family, memory and experiences as a disabled woman. Her autobiographical cartoons focus on attitudinal barriers and stereotypes regarding disabilities, and some of the micro-aggressions that disabled people experience while living normal, “un-inspirational” lives. She is also a photographer of micro-scale monuments in nature, and is often inspired by close-up images that people often do not notice in daily life – tree bark, dead leaves, flower anatomy, and water.
Wendy is also a life-long disability rights activist, and has held leadership positions at the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities, Disabled in Action of PA, American Association of People with Disabilities and United Spinal Association - Greater Philadelphia.
Wendy is a teaching artist, melding her art with her disability activism. She conducts art workshops on microaggressions and ableism, creating a welcoming and safe space for people of all ages to create cartoons of their own, and engage in meaningful discussions about racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism and other forms of discrimination. She tailors her programs for various age groups from kindergarten, elementary, high school students and beyond. She has also conducted training for universities, businesses and religious organizations. To Wendy, it is all about repairing the world, making it a better place for all!
To view some of Wendy’s work, visit her website at wendyevart.com.
Rabbi Adam Graubart
Director of Education and Family Outreach, SAJ
Rabbi Adam Graubart is the Director of Education and Family Outreach at SAJ in New York, NY. Recognizing that the wonders and wisdom of the tradition require an educational foundation, he seeks to guide children and their families to critically engage with the Jewish past, present, and future. In his role at SAJ, he helps folks move from curiosity and confusion to comprehension to creative contribution. Adam received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Literature and Rabbinic Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2025. Adam is a proud member of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ). He is also an alum of the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy overseen by the Interfaith Center of New York and the Crown Heights Leadership Cohort. In his free time, Adam enjoys cooking, running, reading, attending theater, following Yankees baseball, traveling, and exploring new museums and restaurants.
Rabbi Rayna Grossman, RRC '17
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Rayna Grossman serves as the Director of Field Education where they oversee students’ on-the-job training, ensuring that future rabbis are prepared to serve in a variety of settings and communities. RRC’s new Advanced field education program (which began in academic year 2023-24 and builds on the General internship program), further centers immersive fieldwork opportunities as a core component of students’ learning and development. Supervision is central to the deep learning students do in the field. As part of their role, Rayna teaches supervision groups and helps coordinate all aspects of student supervision. They bring to their role substantial experience in supervising rabbinical students and, thanks to a background in social work, possess a rich understanding of what supervision can look like and how powerful it can be.
Rabbi Solomon Hoffman '23
Associate Rabbi, Kehillah Synagogue
Rabbi Solomon Hoffman is the Associate Rabbi of Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, NC. He was previously the Rabbinic Leader of Mishkan Ha’am, and an educator and musical director at his childhood synagogue, the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore. Solomon graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2023, where he enjoyed researching early rabbinic attitudes toward music and convening the RRC Music Collective. Solomon is a multi-instrumentalist. composer and arranger who draws on a diverse musical background to bring Jewish music to life in many forms. An interdisciplinary video for his setting of Psalm 147, “Harofei,” has been played in services around the world and was profiled by the radio program Interfaith Voices. He has shared his music as a guest prayer leader in several communities, and has produced concerts and recordings for Reconstructing Judaism, Enofest and the Music Together Sing Shalom program. His first album, Psalms for the 2020’s, is available online.
Rebecca Hirschwerk
Director, RSNS Synagogue School, Plandome, NY
Rebecca Hirschwerk is an educator and community builder with a background in both museum education and Jewish studies. Her work sits at the intersection of art, Jewish thought, and lived experience, using creative inquiry and reflective practice to help learners of all ages engage Jewish ideas as a guide for personal meaning, ethical action, and communal life. Rebecca has taught at RSNS for over 15 years and currently serves as the Director of Congregational Education. She directs The RSNS Synagogue School, programming and designing meaningful educational experiences for children, teens, and adults that emphasize experiential learning and invite students to celebrate their Jewish identities out loud and with pride—engaging mind, body, and soul. She is especially passionate about cultivating moments of connection that spark curiosity, empathy, and shared meaning.
Lisa Jacobs
Director of Family Education and Engagement at Bet Am Shalom Synagogue, White Plains, NY
Lisa has served as the Director of Family Education and Engagement at Bet Am Shalom Synagogue (BAS) in White Plains, NY for just under five years. Before moving to Westchester, she spent over two decades in Boston working in various educational settings, from day schools to synagogues, and most recently as the Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Gann Academy, in Waltham. She has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University in Child Development and Comparative Religion, an MM in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory, an MA from Lesley University in Expressive Therapies and Mental Health Counseling, and an MA in Israel Education through George Washington University’s iCenter. Israel Dialogue work is at the intersection of many of Lisa’s passions! She is eager to help cultivate dialogue spaces in other interested RJ communities and to share her experiences, reflections, and learnings with workshop participants.
Tamar Kamionkowski
Professor of Biblical Studies, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Tamar Kamionkowski is professor of biblical studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She is currently completing a book which addresses Jewish biblical theology from a Reconstructionist perspective.
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Ph.D.,
RRC '82
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Religious Studies Emerita and the founding Director of the Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She is a 1982 graduate of RRC and earned her doctorate in Religion from Temple University in 1990.
Susan Levine
Board Member, Reconstructing Judaism
Susan Levine serves on the board of Reconstructing Judaism. She is also president of her synagogue, Ner Shalom, in Cotati CA. For entertainment, Susan runs a book club, rides a recumbent trike adapted for a one-armed, one- legged amputee, and watches movies. Susan lives in Sonoma with her husband Jim, who is also an avid cyclist.
Jonathan Markowitz
Executive Board Member, Reconstructing Judaism
Jonathan Markowitz is on the executive board of Reconstructing Judaism. He has also been on the Board for over 15 years, contributing to the strategic leadership and growth of the RJ. With a deep commitment to innovation and community engagement, Jonathan brings a forward-thinking perspective to organizational development. Although not formally trained in Artificial Intelligence, Jonathan actively integrates AI tools into everyday life and work, exploring practical ways these technologies can streamline communication, enhance creativity, and support congregational goals.
Ruth Messinger
Social justice advocate
Ruth Messinger is a former elected official and organization CEO currently teaching and working on social justice issues, most particularly on immigrants and immigration justice. She has a life time experience with organizing for social change in various settings and works on some of these issues in and with her SAJ congregation.
Professor Sharon Musher
Professor of History, Stockton University
Sharon Ann Musher is Professor of History at Stockton University. She is the author of Democratic Art: The New Deal’s Influence on American Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2015) and Promised Lands: Hadassah Kaplan and the Legacy of American Jewish Women in Early Twentieth Century Palestine (New York University Press, 2025), which was selected for the Jewish Women’s Archive’s Summer Book List and twice for Hadassah Magazine’s Shabbat Bookshelf. Sharon is also a granddaughter of Hadassah Kaplan Musher and a great granddaughter of Mordecai Kaplan.
Rabbi Dr. William Plevan
Assistant Professor of Contemporary Jewish Thought, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Dr. William Plevan is Assistant Professor of Contemporary Jewish Thought at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where he is director of its Israel program and served as the 2023-24 Democracy Fellow. He writes and teaches on contemporary Jewish theology, ethics, and political thought, and is currently working on a book on the ideal of community in Martin Buber's thought. He currently serves on the Board and is former Co-chair of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and is past President of Matan, an organization devoted to creating disability inclusion in the Jewish community. He received rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a PhD in Religion from Princeton.
Seth Rosen
Former chair, Reconstructing Judaism's Board of Governors, 2017-2025
Seth Rosen served as chair of Reconstructing Judaism’s Board of Governors, from 2017 to 2025, and currently serves a member of the board and its executive committee and as chair of the Development Committee, among other roles. Seth served for 8 years on the board of Camp Havaya. He is a past president of Bet Am Shalom Synagogue in White Plains, NY, where is currently a member of the Board of Trustees and co-chair of the congregation’s Israel Working Group. Seth also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, of Westhab, a New York nonprofit devoted to building affordable and supportive housing and delivering services that enable homeless households to transition to permanent housing, include job training and youth programs. Seth is a Retired Partner of the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from the NYU School of Law.
Rabbi Jeffrey Schein, RRC '77
Senior Consultant for Jewish Education, Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood
Rabbi Jeffrey Schein is the past executive director and current senior consultant for Jewish Education of the Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood. He has been a leading figure in North American Jewish Educational leadership for nearly 50 years authoring a dozen books and three dozen articles about challenges in Jewish living and learning. For twenty years he served as the national director of education for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. He is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (1977) and the Temple University doctoral program in curricular studies (1980). He is co-editor with Rabbi Sandy Sasso of “Kol Ha’No’ar: The Voice of Children.” He recently co-authored Oneg Shabbat: A Sabbath Evening Table Companion also with Rabbi Sandy Sasso.
Rabbi Shira Singelenberg, RRC '25
Rabbi, Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community and Director of Programs and Learning for LEAD STL
Rabbi Shira Singelenberg (she/her) is originally from Maryland and was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2025, where she was among the first cohort to participate in RRC’s Field Education Program. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, which helped shape her interest in paying close attention to the worlds we inhabit. She serves as the rabbi of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community in St. Louis and as the Director of Programs and Learning for LEAD STL. She loves teaching and reading Torah and is especially drawn to creating Jewish spaces that hold curiosity and care.
Holly Smith
Rabbinical Student, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Holly Smith (she/her) is a Year 2 student at RRC and a trained Creative Facilitator through the Jewish Studio Project. Her work is an ongoing exploration of how creative practice and play can help people navigate change, make meaning, and foster deeper connections to themselves, each other, and to the Divine.
Rabbi Toba Spitzer, RRC '97
Rabbi, Congregation Dorshei Tzedek
Rabbi Toba Spitzer has served Congregation Dorshei Tzedek since she was ordained in 1997 at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). She recently published God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine, a book of popular theology that is already transforming hearts, minds and lives. Rabbi Spitzer is a popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, Reconstructionist Judaism, new approaches to thinking about God, and the practice of integrating Jewish spiritual and ethical teachings into daily life. She served as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association from 2007-2009, and was the first LGBTQ rabbi to head a national rabbinic organization. Rabbi Spitzer has received the honor of being included in Newsweek’s Top 50 Rabbis in America 2008 list, the 2008 Forward 50 list, as well as the 2010 Forward list of 50 Female Rabbis Who Are Making A Difference. She is also a part president the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Spitzer has been involved for many years in American Jewish efforts to help foster a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as work in the U.S. for economic and social justice. She has served on the Board of Truah: The Rabbnic Call for Human Rights, and was a founding member of the Advisory Board of J Street. Rabbi Spitzer has a special interest in Jewish approaches to economic justice and the mindful use of money in daily life. Rabbi Spitzer’s writings on process theology, Judaism and social justice, and explorations of Biblical texts have been published in The Reconstructionist Journal and in the anthology Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. While a student at RRC, she organized a rabbinic delegation to Haiti to serve as human rights witnesses during the military junta. The trip and resulting Haitian-Jewish seder are described in her article “Of Haiti and Horseradish”, in The Narrow Bridge: Jewish Views on Multiculturalism, edited by Marla Brettschneider.
Elsie Stern, Ph.D.
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Elsie R. Stern, Ph.D. is Professor of Bible at RRC, where she has served on the faculty for twenty years. One of her current research project centers on representations of migration in the Hebrew Bible. She is also serving as the general editor of a new Torah Commentary produced by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Elsie lives in Philadelphia with her family and loves being part of the RRC and Reconstructing Judaism communities.
Rabbi Jacob Staub, RRC '77
Director of Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations, Reconstructing Judaism
Rabbi Jacob Staub is the director of Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations. He is Professor Emeritus of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he continues to direct the Program in Jewish Spiritual Direction. He served as editor of The Reconstructionist 1983-89. He co-authored with Rebecca Alpert, Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach.
Hadar Susskind
President and CEO, New Jewish Narrative
Hadar Susskind is widely acknowledged as one of the Jewish community’s leading progressive advocacy voices on both foreign and domestic policy. He has built strong relationships with members of Congress, administration officials, and progressive partners and allies from across the spectrum of American political life. Hadar has served as a senior professional leader at the Council on Foundations, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, the Tides Foundation, J Street, and the Jewish Council of Public Affairs. Hadar currently serves on the board of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. He has also served on the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives Task Force on the Environment, as well as the Board of Directors of the Coalition on Human Needs, the Public Policy Committee of Independent Sector, the Leadership Council of Nonprofit VOTE, and the board of Ameinu. In both 2024 and 2025, Washingtonian Magazine named him as one of Washington’s 500 Most Influential People. Hadar is a graduate of the University of Maryland and holds the rank of Sergeant First Class in the Israel Defense Forces.
Adina Vogel-Ayalon
Vice President and Chief of Staff, J Street
Adina joined J Street in 2015 as the Deputy Israel Director and in 2020, she served as J Street’s Israel Director before taking on the role of Chief of Staff in 2021. Prior to J Street, Adina worked at the Shimon Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in the Development and External Relations Department, where she gained extensive experience in developing and initiating Israeli-Palestinian people-to-people, peacebuilding programs in a variety of sectors, including peace education, healthcare, business, and environment. Adina holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Boston University and Master’s in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from Tel Aviv University. During undergrad, Adina served as the Vice President and President of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Alliance, a pivotal experience that led her to pursue a career in the promotion of Israeli-Palestinian peace. After making Aliyah in 2009, Adina worked and volunteered for several Israeli peacebuilding non-profits. In addition to her involvement in the Israeli peace industry, Adina, the daughter of a cantor and product of Jewish day schools and camps, feels deeply connected to the American Jewish community. Adina grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and lived on Kibbutz Givat Brenner in Israel for 12 years before relocating back to the United States.
JT Waldman
Illustrator and writer
JT Waldman is an illustrator and writer whose work can be uniquely described as “part Judaica, part comic book.” His first project to focus on this concept came about in the summer of 1998 when he wondered aloud what a comic book version of the Book of Esther would look like. Seven years later, his first graphic novel, Megillat Esther, was published by the oldest Jewish academic press in the United States. This opened the door for a career spent exploring Jewish visual history and folklore through a lens that is both academic and quirky, with projects ranging from a collaboration with Harvey Pekar for the New York Times best-selling graphic novel, Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me (Hill & Wang); a commission from Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, PA to create a site-specific comic book that decoded the monumental stained glass windows in their synagogue; and contributions to several edited volumes that detail the intersection of comic books and Judaism, including From Krakow to Krypton (JPS, 2008), Colonial Comics (Fulcrum, 2014) and The Jewish Graphic Novel: Critical Approaches (Rutgers, 2010). In 2025, the 20th anniversary and color edition of Megillat Esther was released. Waldman’s perspective has been shaped by the diverse cities he has called home throughout his life–Seville, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Vancouver, and Philadelphia among the most influential. Currently, he resides in the woods of Northwest Philadelphia with his husband and son.
Rabbi Rachel Weiss, RRC '09
Rabbi, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL
Rabbi Rachel Weiss is the rabbi of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, IL (where she grew up), and is known for her commitment to Jewish life that is creative, connective, and deep. She brings her warmth and energy to life cycle officiation and pastoral counseling, is an innovative teacher of Torah and a passionate spiritual leader. A 2009 graduate of RRC, Rabbi Rachel was a Ziegelman scholar, and the recipient of the Berger Prize in Practical Rabbinics. She holds a certificate in Congregational Life and has taken leadership roles within the Reconstructionist movement. A member of Clergy Leadership Incubator cohort 4, she integrates adaptive leadership, design thinking and innovation into the congregation. She regularly speaks in the Chicagoland community in Interfaith programming, at community social justice actions, and at trainings and communal observances within Jewish and secular spaces.
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman, RRC '03
Rabbi, Shaarei Shamayim
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman was ordained in 2003 by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and became Shaarei Shamayim’s second rabbi. In 2015 she published a curriculum for children and teenagers entitled Reframing Israel: Teaching Kids to Think Critically About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. She is currently active with Wisconsin's immigrant rights organization, Voces de la Frontera. Rabbi Laurie is an ex-officio member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Madison and Jewish Social Services of Madison. She served on the Board of Directors for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the professional organization of Reconstructionist rabbis, from 2008-2012 and was the Faith Co-Chair for the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin from 2006-2008. In 2006-2007 she completed the PEER Executive Leadership Program through STAR (Synagogues: Transformation And Renewal). While in rabbinical school, she served as a student rabbi in a variety of Reconstructionist and Conservative congregations, interned for Rabbis for Human Rights in Jerusalem and Philadelphia, and worked as an interfaith chaplain in a hospital trauma unit and as a Jewish chaplain at a geriatric center. Rabbi Laurie is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and was a member of Shaarei Shamayim during her years at UW-Madison. While a student she created the congregation's children's education program and taught its first kindergarten class. Shaarei Shamayim was her first introduction to Reconstructionism and played an important role in her decision to become a Reconstructionist rabbi. She and her partner, Rabbi Renee Bauer, have two children.
Rabbi David Teutsch, Ph.D.
Wiener Professor Emeritus of Contemporary Civilization, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi David Teutsch is the Wiener Professor Emeritus of Contemporary Civilization at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he was the founding director of the Center for Jewish Ethics after he served as president of the College for nearly a decade. He is the editor of the Kol Haneshamah Reconstructionist prayer book series and of the three-volume Guide to Jewish Practice as well as several other books and dozens of articles. He continues to do consulting and coaching, and has been a volunteer leader of JStreet since its founding. He earned his A.B. with honors at Harvard University, his ordination at HUC-JIR in New York, and his PhD at the Wharton School.
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, RRC '00
Former CEO of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman (RRC 2000) is the former CEO of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, MA, 2001 - 2013. Using her 25 years of experience in the Reconstructionist movement, Elyse coaches rabbis and consults with congregations across North America. She is also co-chair of Indivisible Greater Jenkintown and, in that capacity, is one of the lead activists supporting the immigrant communities of Montgomery County, PA. To learn more about Elyse and her work, visit her website at rabbielyse.com.
Amy Weiss
Senior Director of Field Activation Strategy, Repair the World
Amy Weiss is the Senior Director of Field Activation Strategy at Repair the World, where she oversees Repair’s national expansion strategy and the Jewish Service Alliance. In this role, she works to strengthen the Jewish community’s commitment to service and expand opportunities for meaningful volunteer engagement across the country. Previously, Amy served as the Director of Jewish Communal Engagement and Learning at OLAM, where she worked to engage the North American Jewish community in global causes and equip Jewish leaders to become champions of global service. Over the course of her more than 15-year career, Amy has established herself as a leader in experiential Jewish education and service learning. During her nine years at Maryland Hillel, she became a national leader in immersive experiences and service learning initiatives—sending more than 1,000 participants on immersive service-learning trips and engaging hundreds of students in ongoing local service. Amy earned her B.A. from The George Washington University, studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and received a Graduate Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University.
Rabbi Alex Weissman, RRC '17
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rabbi Alex Weissman (RRC '17) serves as the Director of Community Life and Mekhinah at RRC where he teaches classes in Mishnah, practical rabbinics, and Reconstructionism. He has previously served as Rabbi of Congregation Agudas Achim, Director of Organizing at T'ruah, and Senior Jewish Educator at Brown RISD Hillel.
Rabbi Ariann Weitzman
Rabbi Educator of Bnai Keshet
Rabbi Ariann Weitzman (she/her) serves as Rabbi Educator of Bnai Keshet in Montclair, NJ. She was ordained in 2011 by the Academy for Jewish Religion. Rabbi Ariann came to the rabbinate after a short career as a science and math educator. As an educator, Rabbi Ariann is dedicated to re-thinking Jewish education to build authentic, identity-building experiences for both adults and children, with a focus on intergenerational learning, text study, Tikkun Olam, and Hebrew as the living language of Jewish peoplehood and ideas. Rabbi Ariann lives in West Orange, NJ with her family, and enjoys long hikes, bird watching, reading science fiction, and sewing.
McKenzie Wren
Wren Consulting & Ma'ayan Spiritual Arts
McKenzie Wren (she/her) is an artist, facilitator and consultant who works in multiple arenas to support connection and growth. As Wren Consulting, she works with businesses and nonprofits to support inclusion and belonging. As Ma’ayan Spiritual Arts, she facilitates art, ritual and connection through Earth-based, embodied Jewish practices uplifting hidden voices and lost stories. At the heart of everything she does is the belief in the power of relationship, community and connection to nature - she is skilled in creating spaces where each person is seen, heard and valued.
