JUFJ is made up of thousands of Jews and allies who work for change in the DC-Maryland region. We are governed by Leadership Councils from each of our local jurisdictions, as well as by our Board of Directors.

Thanks to all of our fantastic former staff:

Katie Ashmore, 2012-14
Jonah ben Avraham, 2017-18
Joanna Blotner, 2015-21
Sarah Brammer-Shlay, 2012-16*
Lizzie Busch, 2010-11*
Emmanuel Cantor, 2018-20*
Emily Carnevale, 2022-23*
Chase Carter, 2018-22
Isaac Deitz-Green, 2017-18*
Nathaniel Eisen, 2013-14*
Rebecca Ennen, 2010-20
Hannah Garelick, 2020-23*
Joseph Gelula, 2021-23*
Eliana Golding, 2014-16
Carla Hashley, 2014-21

Elizabeth Heyman, 2016-19*
Sam Jewler, 2014-15
Monica Kamen, 2011-14, 2019*
Melanie Kesner, 2015-16*
Andrew Kirschner, 2015-16
Lori Leibowitz, 2006-07
Holli Levinson, 2014-17
Amy Lieber, 2019-22
Rianna Lloyd, 2019-22
Rudy Malcom, 2022-23
Shoshana Maniscalco, 2021-22*
Darya Mattes, 2007-09
Liat Melnick, 2015-16
Robin Metalitz, 2009-10

Ashley Morse, 2019-20
Sarah Novick, 2015-22
Aimée Pohl, 2018-19
Rabbi Elizabeth Richman, 2009-22
Roberta Ritvo, 2015-16
Avi Rosenblit, 2004-06
Rakhel Silverman, 2019-20*
Liz Simon-Higgs, 2016-17
Jevera Temsky, 1999-2004
Anya van Wagtendonk, 2015-17
Hannah Weilbacher, 2014-17*
Zach Weinstein, 2019-20
Allison Wessells, 2014-15*
Matan Zeimer, 2020-23

* denotes Avodah Corps Member

Thanks also to all of our former part-time and temporary staff, who are just as fantastic:

Adwoa Akyaa-Tandoh
Laura Allen
Rabbi Laura Bellows
Julie Blain
Sam Blau
Riley Blaugrund
Ariana Brenig
Sam Cheslock
Rabbi Shahar Colt
Chloe Dinman
Rianna Eckel
Jayme Epstein

Sarah Feinberg
Corey Feuer
Melissa Goemann
Yona Gorelick
Camille Harris
Daryll Jackson
Kavitha Kasargod-Staub
Rabbi Talia Laster
David Mackoff
Alli McCracken
Ethan Miller
Jordon Monk

Shelley Moskowitz
Jessie Posilkin
Andy Ratto
Arno Rosenfeld
Colby Sangree
Noa Schleifer
Sophie Schoenberg
Michelle Sternthal
Josh Swanner
Janelle Treibitz
Yosef Webb-Cohen
Olivia Zachry

Board of Directors

Thanks to all of our fantastic former Board members:

Rabbi Aaron Alexander, 2019-20
Rabbi Erica Asch, 2013
Jim Auerbach, 2001-04
Robert Barkin, 2014-23
Maude Bauschard, 2004
Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein, 2011-15
Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, 2015-18
Jill Cohen, 2000
Emily DeVoto, 2000-02
Lee Diamond, 1999-2000
Jacob Feinspan, 2006-07
Anna Levine Fink, 2016-18
Elissa Froman, z”l, 2006-13
Rabbi Josh Ginsberg, 2004
Alisa Glassman, 2002
Dan Gordon, 2014
Simon Greer, 1999-2001
Roberta Hantgan, 2004-07
Rabbi Doug Heifetz, 2006-07
Carolivia Herron, 2004-05
Evin Isaacson, 2006-07

Rabbi Marc Israel, 2003-04
Stephen Jascourt, 2000-01
Robin Katcher, 1999-2001
Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, 2006-09
Rabbi Jessica Kirschner, 2014
Sharlene Kranz, 2008-10
Deena Feinstein Krulewitz, 2014-18
Claire Landers, 2018-23
Laureen Lazarovici, 2002-04
Revital Levi, 1999
Abigail Levine, 2011-15
Ilana Lipsett, 2006
Danielle Lutterman, 1999
David Mackoff, 2008-14
Sarah McKenzie, 1999
Rabbi Sarah Meytin, 2009
Joshua Mintz, 2014-2023
Minna Morse, 1999-2001
Shelley Moskowitz, 2001-13
Brianne Nadeau, 2011-14
Joelle Novey, 2003
Rabbi Jessica Oleon, 2010-13

Rachel Pentlarge, 2000
Lilah Pomerance, 2021-2023
Carrie Port, 2004-05
Ed Rehfeld, 2002-06
Harvey Reiter, 2013-17
Roberta Ritvo, 2010-17
Adina Rosenbaum, 2006-17
Michael Rubin, 2009-18
Rabbi Bob Saks, 2008-14
Lenny Sapozhnikov, 2004-6
Erin Scharff, 2007
Susanna Shapiro, 2004-06
Rabbi David Shneyer, 1999-2000
Marilyn Sneiderman, 2002-03
Sy Sokatch, 2006-09
Lauren Spokane, 2016-23
Eli Staub, 2004-07
Rabbi Shira Stutman, 2013-21
Rabbi Alana Suskin, 2004-06
Ericka Taylor, 2018-20
Jevera Temsky, 2007-10
Jon Wheeler, 2008-10
Eric Wiesner, 2000

Baltimore Staff

Baltimore Leadership Council

Samantha Blau

Samantha Blau (she/her/hers) is the chair of the Baltimore Leadership Council. A resident of Baltimore’s Patterson Park neighborhood, she currently works for a land trust protecting urban green spaces. She has volunteered with JUFJ since 2016, in that time giving testimony in Baltimore City Hall and Maryland State committee hearings, completing a Jeremiah Fellowship, and serving on the Maryland Core Team. When she’s not organizing, Samantha can be found pursuing the perfect scoop of ice cream.

Michele Headshot

Michele Levy, vice chair (she/her/hers) was captivated by possibility she felt at JUFJ’s first Baltimore community meeting and is grateful to have since found her organizing home. She is a member of Baltimore’s Leadership Council and former co-chair of the Rent Court campaign team. Michele works as an organizational consultant, serves as president of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, and is constantly dreaming of her next cycling adventure.

Daniel Burg headshot

Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg (he/him/his) has been rabbi of Beth Am Synagogue since July of 2010. Prior to his position at Beth Am, he served at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago. Ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles (now American Jewish University), he holds an M.A. in Rabbinic Studies and another in Jewish Education from there and a B.A. in Hebrew Studies and Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin.

Rabbi Burg has helped to articulate a congregational mission and vision for Beth Am’s community engagement initiative (See New Jewish Neighborhood Project) and “In, For Of, Inc.” a 501(c)3 organization affiliated with Beth Am.  He serves on the board of the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies (ICJS) and IFO, and on the Baltimore Advisory Board of Jews United for Justice. He has been a vocal supporter in Annapolis and Baltimore of marriage equality, police reform, legislation to curtail gun violence and other important social and societal issues affecting Beth Am’s city and state.

Rav Daniel is a senior fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a member of the Maryland Task Force on Reconciliation and Equity. His writing has appeared in eJewish Philanthropy, the Jewish Review of Books, The Forward, The Times of Israel, the Baltimore Jewish Times and the Chicago Sun-Times.  He was featured in the Cover Story for Conservative/Masorti Judaism’s international publication and in Baltimore Magazine and has appeared in The Atlantic, the Baltimore Sun and on MSNBC and several local Baltimore media outlets. He is a contributing author to Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation about Rabbinical Education (Ed. Herring and Roscher) and Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays (Ed. Steinberg). He blogs at www.theUrbanRabbi.org

Rav Daniel lives near Beth Am in the historic Reservoir Hill neighborhood with his wife Rabbi Miriam Cotzin Burg and their two children, Eliyah and Shamir.

Ruth Crystal Headshot

Ruth Crystal (she/her/hers) is a transplanted New Yorker who has lived in Baltimore for 45+ years. Prior to retiring, Ruth  worked in the fields of affordable housing, alternative education, and workforce development. She has directed two housing mobility programs and served as Executive Director of Maryland Low Income Housing Coalition and government liaison for the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development. 

Ruth has an MBA in Information systems from the University of Maryland, an MA in teaching from Antioch College, and a BA in urban studies from Hunter College. 

Her community work has included serving on the boards of National Low Income Housing Coalition, Coalition for Low Income Community Development, Maryland Alliance for the Poor, Maryland Affordable Housing Trust, Maryland Alliance for Responsible Investment, Baltimore League of Women Voters, Maryland League of Women Voters and Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. She currently is editor of LWVMD Report from State Circle; serves on the Leadership Council of Baltimore Jews United for Justice; is a volunteer tutor with the Dyslexia Tutoring Project and a mentor with the International Rescue Committee.

She is happily married to David Cramer (the Cramer in CramerCrystal) and has a daughter Lissaivy who is an expressive arts therapist in San Francis.

Jeremy Gombin-Sperling

Jeremy Gombin-Sperling (he/him/his) is co-chair of the Community Building and Education Team for JUFJ-Baltimore and joined the JUFJ Leadership Board in early 2019. He became involved with JUFJ starting in summer 2018 and has truly enjoyed and learned so much from his experiences being part of the organization. As a White Jewish man, Jeremy comes to this work with a desire to utilize local issues and systemic struggles in Baltimore to enter discussions of power and oppression within larger global historical contexts. Outside of JUFJ,  Jeremy is a Ph.D. Candidate in the International Education Policy (IEP) program at the University of Maryland-College Park where he focuses his research at the intersection of initiatives for inclusion and social justice, and work on international education and exchange programs. Jeremy’s passion is food and whenever he can you can find him in his kitchen cooking up a storm!

Jen Cheslock headshot

Jennifer (Jen) Cheslock (she/her/hers) holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University. Jen worked as a youth organizer, program director, and religious educator in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and New York before moving back to her hometown of Baltimore in 2012. Jen brings more than 15 years of non-profit management experience supporting children, youth, and their families. Each of her professional roles has included strengthening relationships with stakeholders and developing policies, programs, and people. Jen was a Jeremiah Fellow in 2018-2019, served as Maryland District 41 captain in 2019-2020, and serves as the co-chair for the Baltimore Community Building and Education team. 

Jen loves a good cup of coffee, duckpin bowling, and doing her part to build a more just and resilient Baltimore for all its residents.

Tracie Guy-Decker Headshot

Tracie Guy-Decker (she/her/hers) is the co-chair of the Baltimore Fundraising Team. Tracie has been engaged in JUFJ’s Baltimore work since the protests that emerged after Freddie Gray’s murder in 2015. Born and raised in Baltimore County, Tracie moved back to the city of her birth in 2013. She lives on the city’s west side with her Navy Chief husband, their elementary-aged daughter, a petite cat, and 2 poorly-behaved dogs.

Jody Harburger Headshot

Jody Harburger is retired from a 50 year career in Jewish Communal Service primarily as an Executive Director for several Jewish Federations, Israel Bonds, and the American Jewish Committee. He is a graduate of UCLA in Hebrew Literature and graduate of the Hebrew Union College Graduate School of Jewish Comminal Service. 48 years ago he married Sheila, his life partner, and has 5 grandchildren here in Baltimore. Their parents are involved with JUFJ as well. In addition to serving as Chair of the Baltimore JUFJ Fundraising Committee,  Jody serves on the boards of The Good People Fund and Chizuk Amuno Congregation where he chairs the Stuhlman Adult Education program and is a member of the Social Justice Advocacy Committee. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Marketing Committee of Na’aleh, The Associated’s new Hub for Leadership Learning and sits on the Advisory Council of The Darrell Friedman Institute. Jody recently completed a term on the Board of Hillel at Goucher College, and actively supports JPride Baltimore. ACLU, Southern Poverty Law and Jewish Volunteer Center.

Ethan Hasiuk headshot

Ethan Hasiuk (he/him/his)joined the Baltimore Action Team in 2018 and formerly served as its co-Chair. He was a 2019-2020 Baltimore Jeremiah Fellow, and was also part of the JUFJ Campaign Fund Leadership Council for the 2020 Baltimore City elections. He worked for three years as a transportation planner in Baltimore City and is currently the Strategy & Streets Manager for Baltimore City Councilmember Zeke Cohen. Ethan is a member of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, where he plays drums in the klezmer band. He lives in Charles Village with his fiancée, Judy, and cat, Moon.

Sarah Hiller headshot

Sarah Hiller (she/her/hers) was born and raised in Baltimore County, was a 2019-2020 Baltimore Jeremiah Fellow and is a co-chair of JUFJ’s Labor and Housing Justice Team. Her interest in economic justice issues began with her study of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Scripps College in Claremont, CA, where she wrote her senior thesis on how parental leave and childcare policies impact working mothers and women’s economic security. After college, Sarah lived in Jerusalem for a year, where she participated in the Israel Government Fellows program and worked for the Israel Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ Department of International Relations. She currently works at Adeo, a strategic communications and advocacy agency. In addition to her work with JUFJ, Sarah serves as the President of Camp Louise Circle, the alumni organization for the Jewish sleepaway camp. She enjoys dancing, making and drinking coffee, attending live concerts and theater performances, and saying “hi” to dogs.

Rabbi Ariana Katz headshot

Rabbi Ariana Katz (she/her/hers) couldn’t separate joy from Judaism if she tried. Jewishly educated and grown within an 11 mile radius, Ariana was born and raised just north in Philadelphia, PA. She was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College June 2018. Ariana received her B.A. with distinction in Sociology with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from Boston University. Rabbi Ariana has served congregations Kol Tzedek and Tikkun Olam Chavurah in Philadelphia. She has worked at T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, at college campus Hillel centers, online journals, and as a chaplain at Planned Parenthood. She completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, MA.

Rabbi Ariana created and hosted Kaddish, a podcast about death and identity. Rabbi Ariana has collaborated on dynamic Jewish ritual projects at the intersection of justice and Judaism, like Soul Candles for the Days of Awe kits and workshops, and the Years of Radical Dreaming Jewish calendar. Rabbi Ariana is the founding rabbi of Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, and is honored to nurture and serve this community from its very earliest dreaming phases to now. She lives in Charles Village with her partner, Ever Hanna.

Jews United for Justice: Think Jewishly. Act Locally.

Stuart Katzenberg (he/him/his) joined the Leadership Council in 2017 and lends support to variety of JUFJ initiatives.  A lifelong organizer, Stuart is the Director of Collective Bargaining and Growth at AFSCME Council 3 which represents State, University, and private sector workers. Born and raised in Baltimore City, Stuart enjoys spending time with his extended family locally and then getting away to explore new places through traveling.

Lauren Kelleher Headshot

Lauren Kelleher joined JUFJ as a volunteer leader in 2020. She has participated in organizing efforts around police reform and paid family medical leave and now serves as a co-chair of the Baltimore Action Team. Lauren moved to Baltimore in 2018 with her husband and small dog; all three of whom are proud residents of the Hoes Heights neighborhood. Her day job is as a consumer protection attorney and she has previously worked on issues ranging from employment discrimination to prisoners’ rights. Lauren received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern and a J.D. from Georgetown. She is an active member of Bolton Street Synagogue and a devotee of all things Baltimore.

Laura Menuyk

Laura Menyuk (she/her/hers) graduated with her BA in French and Hearing and Speech Science with a focus on linguistic anthropology from the University of Maryland in 2005. Following graduation, she spent a year in DC’s Avodah: The Jewish service corps, an entrée into non-profit leadership and a study of Judaism, community building, and urban anti-poverty work. Since then Laura has studied and taught literacy, Chesapeake Bay ecology, civic engagement, team building facilitation, disaster relief, early American studies and Indigenous-Jewish farming practice to students from age 3 to adults. Laura is a facilitator and experiential educator. Raised bilingual in one of the most diverse regions of our nation, she has always sought to uplift the rich diversity which makes up the fabric of a thriving, resilient, and just global society. Laura is currently a farm to school specialist for Baltimore City Public Schools, and volunteers as chair of Baltimore Jews United for Justice’s education and community building team.

Andy Miller headshot

Andy Miller (he/him/his) has been an active member of JUFJ since 2016. He is a past president of Chizuk Amuno Congregation and is chair of Chizuk Amuno’s Social Justice Advocacy Committee, and he currently chairs JUFJ’s Social Justice in the Synagogues Roundtable and serves as a member of the Leadership Council. He grew up in northern New Jersey, completed his bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences at Brown University and his PhD in Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He has been a faculty member at UMBC since 1983 and is a professor in the Dept. of Geography & Environmental Systems with research and teaching interests in water and watersheds. He is a member of the Baltimore County Commission on Environmental Quality and is a past chair of the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee. He lives in Baltimore County with his wife Sandra Dzija and they are the proud parents of Ben Miller and Ezra Miller and grandparents of Sophie and Lily, all of whom live just an hour away in Washington, DC.

dan richmond

Dan Richman (he/him/his) started volunteering with JUFJ in 2017. He has served as the Maryland Labor and Housing Justice Team co-chair, participated in the JUFJ cohort of ‘Don’t Kvetch, Organize!’ training, and is currently a Maryland District Captain and co-chair of the statewide District Organizing program. Dan works as a biophysicist and lives in Baltimore’s Patterson Park neighborhood from which he loves exploring the city by foot and bus.

Evan Serpick headshot

Evan Serpick (he/him/his) is a communications professional with backgrounds in journalism and social justice activism. “He is currently Director of Communications for the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, and previously served as the editor-in-chief of Baltimore’s weekly City Paper, senior editor at Baltimore magazine, and associate editor at Rolling Stone. Evan has also been a lifelong community activist, serving in a wide range of roles, including as an Ambassador for Baltimore Ceasefire and Social Action Committee Chair for Beth Am Synagogue. He is a member of the United Way of Central Maryland’s Regional United Network Advisory Board for Baltimore City. He lives in Baltimore City with his wife Brenda, an English teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and his sons Jack and Benny.

Gabriel

Gabriel Stuart-Sikowitz (he/him/his) Originally from Gaithersburg, Gabriel grew up at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase. After graduating Thomas Wootton High School, he then attended, and graduated from, Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. After graduating with a degree in history in 2013, he interned for two different Congressmen, interned at the Center for Responsive Politics, and worked on several campaigns culminating on Councilmember Shannon Sneed’s successful election in 2016. He then served as her Chief of Staff through her time in City Council, and is now the Legislative Director for Councilmember Odette Ramos. In his spare time Gabriel likes watching the Orioles and Capitals as well as reading about history, Steinbeck, and Roth.

Eli Getzoff headshot

Elizabeth ‘Eli’ Getzoff Testa, PhD (she/her/hers) became an active member of JUFJ during the pandemic. She is an active board member for Bolton Street Synagogue, co-chairing the Social Action Committee. She is a reformed “Valley Girl” from California who works as a pediatric psychologist. Eli earned a Ph.D from University of Cincinnati in Ohio, completed a pre-doctoral internship at Mailman Center for Child Development in Miami, Florida, and postdoctoral fellowship at Mt Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has continued to work as a pediatric psychologist. She is passionate about health equity spending her free time engaged in advocacy. Eli is married to Marc Testa, PhD, a neuropsychologist at LifeBridge Health. They live in Baltimore County with their 2 sons and dog.

Yosef Webb-Cohen headshot

Yosef Webb-Cohen (he/him/his) served as the 2019/2020 Jeremiah Fellowship
Co-Coordinator in Baltimore after participating in the fellowship in 2018/2019. Yosef is an educator committed to supporting individuals and communities in their journeys for personal, social, and cultural growth and change. Yosef is the Senior Educator of the Calico Hill Collective, developing experiences to support individuals and communities who are seeking to strengthen their capacity to live out their justice values and to engage effectively, ethically, and authentically across identity differences, including race, gender, sexuality, religion, class, immigration status, and disability/mental health among other differences. Yosef received his Masters of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in NW Washington, DC where he focused his studies on interfaith (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) dialogue for peace, a BA in Anthropology with an emphasis on the experiences of indigenous Native American peoples, from California State University, Sacramento. He successfully completed 5 units of Clinical Pastoral Education and is trained as an interfaith and mental health chaplain. Yosef is currently pursuing an MSW at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

DC Staff

DC Leadership Council

head shot of rebecca barson

Rebecca Barson (she/her/hers) is a self-employed health policy and advocacy strategist, focused on reproductive and sexual health. She first became involved with JUFJ after attending a house party during the summer of 2016 and quickly joined JUFJ’s advocacy efforts for paid family leave, affordable housing, and an equitable DC budget. Rebecca has served on and chaired several JUFJ core teams and working groups and has been a part of the DC Leadership Council since it began in the summer of 2017. She is a resident of Woodley Park in Ward 3, a founding member of the New Synagogue Project, and loves reading, yoga, and being an aunt.

Ariel Drehobl headshot

Ariel Drehobl (she/her/hers) was one of the founding co-chairs of the Housing Security Working Group. She first became involved in JUFJ in 2018 when she joined the DC Campaign Fund Core Team, where she supported JUFJ’s DC electoral work and community meetings with Councilmembers. Ariel also supported JUFJ’s DC Just Recovery Core Team in the summer of 2020, where she worked to ensure a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for all residents of DC. Ariel has lived in DC since 2014, and for her day job she works for a federal agency on equitable access to renewable energy. She enjoys attending theater and storytelling shows, reading memoirs, and hosting Shabbat dinners.

Michelle Engelmann headshot

Michelle Engelmann (she/her/hers) is the co-chair of the Under Three Working Group. She first became involved with JUFJ as part of her grants work at Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation (TOWF). She started advocating for early childhood education through her work with the Reproductive Health and Rights Working Group at Temple Sinai. In 2020 she joined the Tax and Budget (TAB) Working Group and served as the Under 3 liaison. She enjoys going to the theater and art museums, playing the cello, traveling and especially being a grandmother.

Michaela Friedman Headshot

Michaela Friedman (she/her/hers) grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and in 2016 she moved into DC after completing her masters in social work. In 2020 Michaela first got involved with the  JUFJ economic justice and housing security working groups. Michaela’s experience in social work and her Jewish values inform her passion for social justice and JUFJ community organizing. She worked on the JUFJ budget justice working group that supported the successful 2021 campaign to raise revenue on dc’s highest income earners in order to fund vital dc social programs. In 2023 she joined the JUFJ DC leadership council. As an organizer Michaela seeks to elevate the voices of dc residents and organizers who are most directly impacted by local policies and activism. In her free time she volunteers with her local mutual aid group, attends Jewish young professional programs, goes to concerts and enjoys being an aunt!

Charlotte Hovland headshot

Charlotte Hovland (she/her/hers) is excited to be serving as a chair of the Housing Security Working Group. Charlotte is a native Washingtonian and resident of Ward 4. An alum of the Avodah Jewish Service Corps, she first became engaged with the Housing Security Working Group while serving as a case manager at Miriam’s Kitchen in DC. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys learning Yiddish, wandering in Rock Creek Park, and hanging out with her cat, Calvin Kleyn.

Katharine Landfield Headshot

Katharine Landfield (she/her) is a past co-chair of the Economic Justice Working Group and of the Tax and Budget Working Group. She is passionate about economic justice for workers and particularly interested in the DC tax system as a lever for racial equity. She works as a budget advocate after a long career as a direct-services social worker. Katharine loves spending time with her family, cooking and eating well, and wandering trails in Rock Creek Park.

head shot of shira markoff

Shira Markoff (she/her) is co-chair of the DC Campaign Fund core team. She first became active with JUFJ in 2018 and joined the DC Leadership Council in July 2019. Shira has lived in DC for more than six years and works for Prosperity Now. She enjoys reading, travel, and spending time with her nieces and nephews.

Mo Pasternak headshot

Mo Pasternak (he/him) grew up in New Jersey, but is proud to call DC his forever home. He came here to study at George Washington University (Raise High!) and fell in love with DC and Margarita, his wife. He works for a private foundation and previously served as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Dupont Circle. An active member of DC Minyan, he loves audiobooks, high-arc softball, and justice.

Ben Sharp holding his dog, who is wearing a birthday hat

Ben Sharp (he/him) grew up in Teaneck, NJ, home to Temple Emeth, where he developed a Jewish identity rooted in Tikkun Olam. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Ben moved to DC. He’s worked for three congressional candidates and most recently served as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union’s Colorado state lead for the 2022 elections. He’s currently a legislative associate for a federal advocacy firm. Ben’s proud to call DC home and enjoys exploring its eclectic culinary offerings, playing volleyball, and taking his dog, Benson, on long walks.

Montgomery County Staff

Montgomery County Leadership Council

Melissa Goemann headshot

Melissa Goemann, Co-Chair (she/her/hers): Melissa has been part of the Leadership Council since the spring of 2019 and was co-chair of the Racial Equity and Policing Team prior to becoming co-chair of the Leadership Council in 2023. She is the Senior Policy Counsel for the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN), a membership-led organization that works to demand change in youth justice systems both locally and nationally. Melissa was appointed to the Montgomery County Commission on Juvenile Justice in 2021 and currently serves as Vice Chairperson. She is a longtime member of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation. Melissa and her husband and daughter live in Silver Spring and enjoy visiting their grandchildren in Atlanta as often as they can.

Heidi Rhodes headshot

Heidi Rhodes, Co-Chair (she/her/hers): Heidi is originally from Michigan, but spent most of her life in Maryland; except for 6 years in Britain, where her daughter was born and where she picked up the annoying love of bagpipe music. She worked for the federal government for 36 years primarily researching, writing, and briefing, and teaching others how to do the same. Now that she’s retired, she’s loving volunteering with JUFJ in addition to her other passions of the Capitals, Nationals, and Shakespeare.

debbie amster head shot

Debbie Amster (she/her/hers): Debbie became active with JUFJ in 2014, and has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018. She is the co-chair of the Community Building and Education team. Retired from a career in Jewish Communal Service, she is currently a culinary coach providing healthy cooking demos in the workplace. Debbie’s daughter, Molly Amster, is the Baltimore Director of JUFJ.

bob barkin head shot

Bob Barkin (he/him/his): Bob has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018. He has been a leader in Jewish non-profit organizations for 25 years and is currently a Board member and Treasurer for Jews United for Justice. He is also a board member for JCRC and a former president of Adat Shalom. Professionally, he was Vice President, Corporate Communications, for ICMA-RC, a financial services corporation, based in Washington, DC that provides retirement plans for public sector employees.

Karen Caplan headshot

Karen Caplan (she/her/hers): Karen has been active in JUFJ since 2019, joining the Montgomery County Leadership Council and the Maryland Core Team in 2023. She is the co-chair of the Maryland Justice System Reform and Immigrant Rights platform team and a member of the Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policing team. Karen is a professor and university Dean who researches and teaches the history of Latin America. She has been active in the Silver Spring Justice Coalition since its inception, serving on its policy committee and helping maintain its social media presence. Karen lives with her husband and family in Silver Spring.

Rafi Glazer headshot

Rafi Glazer (he/him/his): Rafi has been a volunteer with JUFJ since 2016 and joined the Leadership Council in 2022. He has been involved in the Community Building and Education Team, and has been the District Captain for JUFJ’s trips to Annapolis. Outside of JUFJ, Rafi is the Director of Operations at ShalomLearning, an organization that provides Hebrew school materials and training to synagogues across the country and world. Rafi started his professional career running civic engagement and service learning programs for Jewish high school students, and has been involved with social justice organizations ever since. Rafi and his wife Lauren live in Aspen Hill and are registered foster parents.

Jesse Glickstein headshot

Jesse Glickstein (he/him/his): Jesse became active with JUFJ in 2018 and joined the Leadership Council in 2022. He is a lawyer working for a Fortune 500 company and advises on a wide range of environmental, energy, conflict minerals, and human rights compliance, supply chain, and legal issues. Jesse has a deep commitment to public interest and pro bono work. He serves in the Rainforest Alliance’s Ambassadors Circle to support the organization’s mission of creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.  He also serves as a mentor in the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Law Fellows Mentorship Program and has completed thousands of pro bono hours over the past several years for a wide range of organizations, including Law4BlackLives DC, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Community Purchasing Alliance.

Headshot of Deedee Jacobsohn

Deedee Jacobsohn (she/her/hers): Deedee became active in JUFJ in 2020 and joined the leadership council in 2022. She is co-chair of the MoCo Housing Team. Deedee has a PhD in American Studies and spent most of her professional life developing content and writing text for museum exhibits, NPS visitor centers, and nature centers. She is an active member (and past president) of B’nai Israel Congregation. She and her husband Jeremy live in North Bethesda.

smiling man

Jerry Kickenson (he/him/his): Jerry has been active in JUFJ since 2017 and part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018, and is the Migrant Justice chair. He is also the cluster leader of the Montgomery County chapter of the Congregation Action Network, which is an organizing network of congregations in the DC/MD/VA region that provide support and solidarity to neighbors, friends, and family who fear being detained, deported or profiled. Jerry also helps organize the annual Sukkot in Spring project for his synagogue’s social action committee. When not working, Jerry enjoys listening to blues and classical music, hiking, kayaking, and walking with his dog Eko.

Anita Lampel headshot

Anita Lampel (she/her/hers): Anita has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018 and is the co-chair of the Community Building and Education team and the JUFJ Campaign Fund’s Montgomery County team. She is a founding member of JUFJ’s Maryland Core Team. She is a psychologist whose practice has included managing a major child-adolescent mental health program and providing court-ordered evaluations in criminal and civil cases. At her synagogue she co-chairs the Social Action committee.

Anna Tubiash Levy headshot

Anna Tubiash Levy (she/her/hers): Anna has been part of the Montgomery County Leadership Council since fall 2019. She has been the co-chair of the statewide Labor and Housing Justice team since 2021 and is a member of the MoCo Housing Team. Anna is retired from a career at the National Cancer Institute, which included work in strategic science planning, and on cancers in women and minorities. She is active in her synagogue, Tikvat Israel in Rockville. Anna enjoys time with her children, grandchildren, friends, and likes to cook, read, and spend time outdoors hiking and cycling.

Jeff Rubin headshot

Jeffrey Rubin (he/him/his): Jeff became active with JUFJ in 2014. He has been a member of the Leadership Council and JUFJ’s Maryland Core Team since their founding. He is a former co-chair of the Maryland statewide Labor and Housing Justice team, and he has been part of the MoCo Housing Team since its inception. When not working on JUFJ activities, Jeff serves as Scientific Advisor for a cancer drug development company (Paradigm Shift Therapeutics) and enjoys exercise (jogging, swimming, hiking), photography, reading and time with his family. In recent years, he has published two collections of photographs and matching poetry, Visions in Photos and Poems (vol. I and II).

Jo Shifrin headshot

Jo Shifrin (she/her/hers): Jo lives in Bethesda, MD in District 16. She has been part of the Leadership Council since Fall, 2019. She is a member of a number of JUFJ teams (Economic Platform, Equal Justice Platform, Community Building and Education, Racial Equity and Policing, and Heschel). She is also very involved in getting the Time to Care Act (paid family and medical leave) passed. She has given testimony in Annapolis during the 2019 and 2020 sessions of the General Assembly. Before moving to Bethesda, she worked for 25+ years as an administrator in medical schools and teaching hospitals. Now retired, she enjoys time with her grandchildren, cooking for friends, participating in two book clubs, and taking exercise classes.

Carol Stern in JUFJ shirt

Carol Stern (she/her/hers): Carol has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018. Carol is also on the Maryland Core Team and is very committed to writing testimony, being a testimony mentor and testifying in Annapolis. Over the years she has built solid relationships with District 16 state legislators. She was co-chair of the Marriage Equality effort at Adat Shalom that brought together 100 members to canvass, phone bank, and advocate in Annapolis for the passage of the law. After the successful fight for marriage equality, Carol married her longtime partner, Miriam Eisenstein. When not working with JUFJ, being a Bubbi to her grandkids, reading lots of novels and cooking gourmet meals are her favorite activities.

bruce turnbull head shot

Bruce Turnbull (he/him/his): Bruce has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018 and serves on the Board of the Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund. He is a lawyer in private practice, representing major technology companies and multi-company consortia in the negotiation and deployment of licensing regimes for cutting edge technologies that deliver entertainment content to consumers, before opening his own practice. Bruce is a co-founder of, and pro bono counsel to, the Bolechow Jewish Heritage Society, an organization founded by Jewish descendants of a town in what is now Ukraine. He also serves on the Lawyers’ Committee of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Bruce is married to Susan Wolf Turnbull, and they reside in Bethesda, Maryland. They are the parents of two adult sons (and their wives) and the incredibly proud grandparents of three grandsons.

mark head shot

Mark Wolff (he/him/his): Mark became active with JUFJ approximately five years ago and has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November 2018 as an at-large member. He is an active member of Congregation Adat Shalom. Mark is a retired biostatistician, having worked mostly on vaccine clinical trials. In addition to JUFJ, he spends his time doing pottery and photography.

Fran Zamore (she/her/hers): Fran became active with JUFJ in Fall of 2016, and has been part of the Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018 and is the co-chair of the Racial Equity & Policing Reform team. When not involved with JUFJ she is involved with her Jewish spiritual journey through study with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. She is an active member of her synagogue, co-chairing their committee that promotes and facilitates contemplative practices (Makom) and the racial justice sub-committee of the Social Action committee. Fran also hikes, plays bridge, knits, and bakes.

Maryland Statewide Staff

Maryland Core Team

Karen Caplan headshot

Karen Caplan (she/her/hers): Karen has been active in JUFJ since 2019, joining the Montgomery County Leadership Council and the Maryland Core Team in 2023. She is the co-chair of the Maryland Justice System Reform and Immigrant Rights platform team and a member of the Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policing team. Karen is a professor and university Dean who researches and teaches the history of Latin America. She has been active in the Silver Spring Justice Coalition since its inception, serving on its policy committee and helping maintain its social media presence. Karen lives with her husband and family in Silver Spring.

smiling man

Jerry Kickenson (he/him/his): Jerry has been active in JUFJ since 2017 and is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team. He has also been on the Montgomery County Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018, and is the Migrant Justice chair. He is also the cluster leader of the Montgomery County chapter of the Congregation Action Network, which is an organizing network of congregations in the DC/MD/VA region that provide support and solidarity to neighbors, friends, and family who fear being detained, deported or profiled. Jerry also helps organize the annual Sukkot in Spring project for his synagogue’s social action committee. When not working, Jerry enjoys listening to blues and classical music, hiking, kayaking, and walking with his dog Eko.

Anita Lampel headshot

Anita Lampel (she/her/hers): Anita is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team, has been part of the Montgomery County Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018, and is the co-chair of the Montgomery County Community Building and Education team and the JUFJ Campaign Fund’s Montgomery County team. She is a psychologist whose practice has included managing a major child-adolescent mental health program and providing court-ordered evaluations in criminal and civil cases. At her synagogue she co-chairs the Social Action committee.

Claire Landers Headshot

Claire Landers (she/her/hers) has been an active member of JUFJ-Baltimore since its first community meeting in early 2015. She has been Co-Chair of JUFJ’s Police Accountability Campaign Team and Baltimore Leadership Council. After working in Washington, DC for AIPAC and the Women’s Legal Defense Fund, she earned her M.A. in Jewish History from Baltimore Hebrew University and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She helped establish CHANA, Baltimore’s domestic violence program for Jewish women, as its first Assistant Director and has been an active community volunteer as a board member for agencies of The Associated, including the JCC, CJE and DFI. Claire serves as a Legislative Aide for Baltimore County Councilwoman Vicki Almond. Originally from Boston, MA, Claire received a B.A. in Government from Harvard. With her husband, Steven Falk, and her daughter, Felice, Claire is an active congregant at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.

Anna Tubiash Levy headshot

Anna Tubiash Levy (she/her/hers): Anna is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team and has been part of the Montgomery County Leadership Council since fall 2019. She has been the co-chair of the statewide Labor and Housing Justice team since 2021 and is a member of the MoCo Housing Team. Anna is retired from a career at the National Cancer Institute, which included work in strategic science planning, and on cancers in women and minorities. She is active in her synagogue, Tikvat Israel in Rockville. Anna enjoys time with her children, grandchildren, friends, and likes to cook, read, and spend time outdoors hiking and cycling.

Anna Rubin Headshot

Anna Rubin (she/her/hers): Anna devotes her time to her two main loves – social justice work and music. She is a retired professor who taught Composition at UMBC until 2018.  She has been involved with JUFJ since 2018 and is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team.  She is also active in immigration issues in Howard County.

Jeff Rubin headshot

Jeffrey Rubin (he/him/his): Jeff became active with JUFJ in 2014. He has been a member of the Leadership Council and JUFJ’s Maryland Core Team since their founding. He is a former co-chair of the Maryland statewide Labor and Housing Justice team, and he has been part of the MoCo Housing Team since its inception. When not working on JUFJ activities, Jeff serves as Scientific Advisor for a cancer drug development company (Paradigm Shift Therapeutics) and enjoys exercise (jogging, swimming, hiking), photography, reading and time with his family. In recent years, he has published two collections of photographs and matching poetry, Visions in Photos and Poems (vol. I and II).

Evan Serpick Headshot

Evan Serpick (he/him/his): Evan is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team and a communications professional with backgrounds in journalism and social justice activism. “He is currently Director of Communications for the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, and previously served as the editor-in-chief of Baltimore’s weekly City Paper, senior editor at Baltimore magazine, and associate editor at Rolling Stone. Evan has also been a lifelong community activist, serving in a wide range of roles, including as an Ambassador for Baltimore Ceasefire and Social Action Committee Chair for Beth Am Synagogue. He is a member of the United Way of Central Maryland’s Regional United Network Advisory Board for Baltimore City. He lives in Baltimore City with his wife Brenda, an English teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and his sons Jack and Benny.

jo shifrin head shot

Jo Shifrin (she/her/hers): Jo lives in Bethesda, MD in District 16. She is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team and has been part of the Leadership Council since Fall, 2019. She is a member of a number of JUFJ teams (Economic Platform, Equal Justice Platform, Community Building and Education, Racial Equity and Policing, and Heschel). She is also very involved in getting the Time to Care Act (paid family and medical leave) passed. She has given testimony in Annapolis during the 2019 and 2020 sessions of the General Assembly. Before moving to Bethesda, she worked for 25+ years as an administrator in medical schools and teaching hospitals. Now retired, she enjoys time with her grandchildren, cooking for friends, participating in two book clubs, and taking exercise classes.

Joanna Silver headshot

Joanna Silver (she/her/hers):  Joanna has been active in JUFJ since 2018 and is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team, a member of the Maryland Justice System Reform and Immigrant Rights team, and a member of the Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policy team. Outside of JUFJ, Joanna also focuses her advocacy on criminal legal system reform and immigrant justice. She founded the Montgomery County Deportation Defense Coalition and serves as co-chair of the Policy Committee for the Silver Spring Justice Coalition. Joanna is a career public defender, working first for the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender and for the past 19 years at the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Maryland. Joanna is a 2021 JUFJ Heschel Vision Award Honoree and the 2019 recipient of the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition Community Advocate Award. She lives with her husband Harry, and sons Eli and Solomon in Silver Spring.

Carol Stern in JUFJ shirt

Carol Stern (she/her/hers): Carol is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team and has been part of the Montgomery County Leadership Council since its founding in November of 2018. She is very committed to writing testimony, being a testimony mentor and testifying in Annapolis. Over the years she has built solid relationships with District 16 state legislators. She was co-chair of the Marriage Equality effort at Adat Shalom that brought together 100 members to canvass, phone bank, and advocate in Annapolis for the passage of the law. After the successful fight for marriage equality, Carol married her longtime partner, Miriam Eisenstein. When not working with JUFJ, being a Bubbi to her grandkids, reading lots of novels and cooking gourmet meals are her favorite activities.

Ioana Stoica Headshot

Ioana Stoica (she/her/hers): Ioana has been active in JUFJ since 2018 and is a founding member of the Maryland Core Team and the District 21 Captain. As a JUFJ leader, Ioana has written testimony and organized community members around a wide range of issues, from the Time to Care Act to immigration bills including Dignity Not Detention and the Maryland Driver Privacy Act. Ioana also serves on the Oseh Shalom Social Justice Team, the Bend the Arc Maryland Core Team, and the Board of Pro-Choice Maryland. A long-time former high school math teacher, Ioana has recently transitioned into full-time policy advocacy work, and is currently working on campaigns to decriminalize poverty and to increase economic opportunities for low-income workers with the Job Opportunities Task Force.

sue tafler headshot

Sue Tafler (she/her/hers): Sue lives in Odenton, MD (Anne Arundel Co.). She is a founding member of the JUFJ Core Team and had been co-captain for District 33 until redistricted to District 21. She and her husband Chuck Koplik moved to Maryland in early 2019 to live near their granddaughters. In Massachusetts, she was president of her Sisterhood and participated on many synagogue committees and teams, especially those focused on social justice advocacy, navigating the challenges of aging, and Israel action, and she was very active in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, including the GBIO Health Care Team. In Maryland, she has been on the Sisterhood Board of Temple Isaiah as communications chair and has recently joined the Temple Board, she is a co-founder of TI’s Tzedek Isaiah Team (focused on political advocacy for social justice), and she heads the TI Reproductive Health and Rights group. Sue retired from a career in textbook editing and development, which followed careers teaching high school and college biology and working in research labs.