| Conference Participants and Speaker Biographies |
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| Tuesday, 04 January 2011 16:57 |
Participant ListRabbi Richard Address Ms. Jenny Aisenberg Dr. Brian Amkrut Rabbi Justus Baird Ms. Susan Berrin Rabbi Kenneth Brander Rabbi Rachel Cowan Ms. Ilana Dean-Schmidt Ms. Jane Eisner Rabbi Ellen Flax Rabbi Steven Foster Rabbi Deborah Glanzberg-Krainin Rabbi Jason Herman Rabbi Hayim Herring Rabbi Richard Hirsh Dr. Maury Hoberman Rabbi Jeff Hoffman Dr. Leora Isaacs Rabbi Jan Kaufman Rabbi Elie Kaunfer Mr. Steven Kraus Assistant Director, Rabbinic Placement, Yeshiva University This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer Mr. Amichai Lau-Lavie Ms. Rika Levin Rabbi Joy Levitt Rabbi Dov Linzer Ms. Ada Maradiaga Rabbi Natan Margalit Rabbi Marc Margolius Rabbi Richard Marker Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum Rabbi Cheryl Peretz Rabbi Deborah Prinz Dr. Ora Horn Prouser Dr. Bill Robinson Ms. Na’ama Rosenberg Rabbi Eric Rosin Dr. Evie Rotstein Rabbi Sid Schwarz Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu Rabbi Moishe Steigmann Dr. Donald Sylvan Rabbi Philip Warmflash Rabbi Jerry Weider Ms. Cyd Weissman Rabbi Nancy Wiener Rabbi Marc Wolf Dr. Jonathan Woocher Mr. Mishael Zion
Speakers’ BiographiesRabbi Richard F. Address directs the programs for Caring Community and Family Concerns for Union for Reform Judaism.Ordained from HUC in 1972. Served pulpits in CA and NJ. URJ Regional Director 1978-2001 1997 Founded URJ Department of Jewish Family Concerns 1999 Doctor of Ministry from HUC and Post Grad Center for Mental Health Teaches classes in Jewish Family Issues at HUC in rabbinic and Doctor for Ministry programs Founder and editor of www.jewishsacredaging.com Ms. Jane Eisner, a pioneer in journalism, became editor of the Forward in June 2008, becoming the first woman to hold the position at the influential Jewish national weekly newspaper. Under her leadership, the Forward has won numerous regional and national awards for its original journalism, in print and online. Before joining the Forward, Eisner held executive editorial and news positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 25 years, including stints as editorial page editor, syndicated columnist, City Hall bureau chief and foreign correspondent. In 2006, she joined the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where she served as vice president for national programs and initiatives, with responsibility for all adult programming, the Liberty Medal, and the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution. She also has deep roots in academe, serving as the first Koeppel Fellow in Journalism at Wesleyan University in 2010, where she taught journalism and non-fiction writing. From 2002 through 2006, Eisner was a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Robert A. Fox Leadership Program, as well as an adjunct professor in the school’s political science department. In 2006, she was one of three women chosen to be the first fellows of the new Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center at Bryn Mawr College, where she led conferences and workshops and was the college’s 2007 commencement speaker. In 2009, Eisner was selected to be one of 20 fellows in the Punch Sulzberger Executive News Media Leadership Program at the Columbia School of Journalism. Her book, “Taking Back the Vote: Getting American Youth Involved in our Democracy,” was published by Beacon Press in 2004. Eisner also serves as host of The Salon, the first-ever women’s program produced by The Jewish Channel, which debuted in 2009. In addition to her Inquirer column “American Rhythms,” which was syndicated to 100 newspapers, Eisner has also written for the Washington Post, Newsday, Brookings Review, Columbia Journalism Review, Ma’ayan and the Reconstructionist, and served as a regular panelist on the WPVI television talk show “Inside Story.” An active member of her local community, Eisner is a board member of the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, a past president of the Pennsylvania Women’s Forum, a former trustee and secretary of The Philadelphia Award, and a mentor with Philadelphia Futures. Nationally, she is a member of the Columbia School of Journalism Alumni Board, the National Conference on Citizenship’s advisory committee, and the Encore Leadership Network. Eisner received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and graduated from Wesleyan University cum laude in 1977, where she was the first female editor of the college newspaper and was a member of the board of trustees. She recently was the first woman to win Wesleyan’s McConaughy Award for contributions to journalism and public life. Jane Eisner can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Rabbi Hayim Herring, Ph.D., is President and C.E.O., Herring Consulting Network, LLC. Herring Consulting Network is an executive leadership development firm, with a specialty in “preparing today’s leaders for tomorrow's organizations.”™ Prior to founding Herring Consulting Network, Hayim was executive director of STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal), a national foundation whose mission was congregational innovation and executive leadership development. Hayim has also served as congregational rabbi and associate director of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Known as a national thought leader on Jewish life, Herring has pioneered local and national innovative initiatives for 25 years. He has a proven ability to take "big ideas" and bring them to scale. He was cited in 2007-2009 in Newsweek Magazine and has published over 30 articles and studies about the contemporary American Jewish community. He is currently writing a book about non-profit and faith-based leadership (learn more at www.toolsforshuls.com). Herring holds degrees from Columbia University (magna cum laude) and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he was ordained, and received his doctorate in Organization and Management from Capella University's School of Business. Herring serves on several national and local boards and volunteers for a number of causes in Minneapolis, where he has resided since 1985. Amichai Lau-Lavie, Founder and Executive Director of STORAHTELLING, is an Israeli-born teacher of Judaic Literature, described as 'one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world' by the NY Jewish Week. Amichai studied at various yeshivot, including the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Elul Center in Jerusalem. Between 1992 and 1996 he directed the summer programs at Melitz: the Jewish Zionist Centers in Jerusalem, focusing on the integration of Jewish education via the arts. His theatrical experience as a writer and performer includes the Theatre Company Jerusalem, The Acco Theatre Group in Israel and the Avodah Dance Ensemble in the U.S. Between 1997-2000 he served as Artist-in-Residence at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York City. Amichai was a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Israel (2008-2009) and is a consultant to the Reboot Network, a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network, serves on the Advisory Council for the Six Points Fellowship, the Advisory Board for Faithhouse Manhattan, and the Board of Directors of Nehirim. Rabbi Joy Levitt is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan and was formerly a rabbi at the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore. She is the editor, along with her husband Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, of the A Night of Questions Passover Haggadah published by JRF’s Reconstructionist Press. Rabbi Levitt was a featured commentator in the 2008 PBS series The Jewish Americans. Rabbi Marc Margolius is the spiritual leader of West End Synagogue, a Reconstructionist congregation in Manhattan. He also currently directs alumni programs for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, a center for the cultivation of Jewish contemplative practices among rabbis, cantors, educators and lay leaders. For the past five years, he directed the Legacy Heritage Innovation Project, an initiative supporting systemic educational transformation in congregations across North America, Europe and Israel. Rabbi Margolius previously served as Director of Jewish Life and Identity for the Jewish Community Centers of Philadelphia. As spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania from 1989-2003, Rabbi Margolius helped develop a national model of the synagogue as a Shabbat-centered community constucted around intergenerational learning. Ordained in 1989 at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbi Margolius is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School. Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, is the Executive Director and Co-founded Kavana in 2006, together with Suzi LeVine. Rachel was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2004. She is a past recipient of both the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Bronfman Youth Fellowship. In 2008 and 2009, she was named to Newsweek Magazine's "Top 25 Pulpit Rabbis in America." In 2009, she was honored with an AVI CHAI Fellowship (the Jewish "genius award"), and in 2010 she received the Joshua Venture Group Fellowship for Jewish social entrepreneurs. Rachel's passions include teaching rabbinic texts (particularly Midrash), serving as a pastoral counselor, leading spirited and musical prayer services, and challenging people to see Judaism as a catalyst for change. Rabbi Moishe Steigmann is the Associate Rabbi of Westchester Jewish Center in Mamaroneck and is the acting Senior Rabbi while the Senior Rabbi is on a seven-and-a-half month sabbatical. He received his rabbinic ordination and a master's in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York, in May 2006. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Rabbi Steigmann has taught in both formal (Solomon Schechter High School) and informal (Camp Ramah, Panim -- Summer JAM, adult education) settings and designed curricula. Rabbi Steigmann is committed to tikkun olam (repairing the world) and gemilut hasidim (acts of kindness). Rabbi Steigmann is a big sports fan, especially of the Green Bay Packers. He also loves games and puzzles. He is married to Rabbi Hannah Greenstein and is the father of Matan. Jonathan S. Woocher is Chief Ideas Officer of JESNA and heads its Lippman Kanfer Institute: An Action-oriented Think Tank for Innovation in Jewish Learning and Engagement. He served for 20 years as JESNA’s President chief executive officer before assuming his new position in 2007. JESNA fosters excellence in Jewish education by working with local, national, and international partners to identify, disseminate and implement today’s successful educational models and solutions and tomorrow’s innovative policies and practices. Prior to coming to JESNA in 1986, Dr. Woocher served on the faculty of Carleton College in Minnesota and Brandeis University, where he taught in the Benjamin S. Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service. Dr. Woocher is the author of Sacred Survival: The Civil Religion of American Jews and numerous articles on Jewish education, community, and religious life. He earned a B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in religion from Temple University. He serves on the boards of the Covenant Foundation and Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas and as a volunteer in his synagogue and local Jewish community. |