“Jacob is one of my favorite characters in the Book of Genesis, and I am particularly intrigued by his dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder reaching up to heaven. What makes a ladder unique is that ascending it requires you to step up AND reach out and stretch, in tandem. That is precisely what our Trustees do in their tireless service on behalf of AJR.”
– Dr. William Liss-Levinson, Chair of the Board
William Liss-Levinson, Ph.D. (Chair) has been a trustee of the Board since 2016 and became Chair in August 2018. He retired in May 2020 after a 45- year career in healthcare in executive and corporate positions, including being the founding director of one of the first hospice programs in the nation under Jewish auspices (1979-1987). Bill is the author of In Search of Theological Modesty: Biblical Lessons (Resource Publications, 2015), and various chapters and journal articles on topics in healthcare. He has also lectured and taught across North America on issues related to both Jewish philosophy and theology and healthcare. In addition to AJR, he is very actively involved with 5 other organizations as a volunteer.
Rabbi Bruce Alpert (Chair Emeritus) worked in manufacturing and sales of dental restorative materials before attending AJR. He served as AJR’s Board of Trustees student representative from 2007 until his ordination in 2011. He served as Board Chair from 2012 to 2018. Bruce is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and he has a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. He is the rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue in Wallingford, CT where he has served since 2007.
Rabbi Stephen Axinn was ordained by AJR in 2022. Although AJR is his first love, he is also a graduate of Columbia Law School (1962) and practiced antitrust law for more than 50 years, first as a partner in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and then at Axinn Veltrop Harkrider LLP, a law firm he founded in 1997. He served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both NYU and Columbia Law Schools. He was the author of an antitrust textbook and the monthly columnist on Antitrust for the New York Law Journal for many years. He was also a special assistant Attorney General at the US Department of Justice in 1999-2000. He served as a Trustee and Treasurer of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. But his proudest achievement are his three children and his five grandchildren.
Robert Einhorn received his BA and MA in American History from the University of Pennsylvania. He then worked and became the owner of Columbia Can Co Inc., a distributor of plastic and metal containers and corrugated cartons, in Astoria, New York. Currently, he is a key account manager at Champion Container Corporation in Edison, New Jersey.
Tamara Fish is the co-founder of KHAZBAR: an Oasis in Deserts of Jewish Diversity for Jews of Color and Serious Allies. What delights Tamara to her core is creating interactive racial justice workshops to explore race relations kindly, constructively, intensely, and creatively as a tool for organizational cultural change. In a former life, Tamara served as Assistant Director of the Office of the University Chaplain at Columbia University; professor of religion at Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY and interim president of Jewish Multiracial Network (JMN). She and her family are members of Congregation Ansche Chesed (NYC) and Congregation Tehillah, Riverdale, NY where she served as president and board member. Co-chair of JPRO 2022 and the author of “Ahead of Yom Kippur, How Can You Repair Relationships With African-American Jews?”, Tamara lives with her partner Matthew and two small but very loud children. Harvard U., AB; Union Theo. Sem., MA; Columbia U., MPhil, ABD.
Amit Goldman, EMBA has a diverse background in healthcare, venture capital, and human rights advocacy. Amit’s career spans roles in healthcare technology, venture capital, and leadership positions. She is currently Head of Partnerships at Lapsi Health. She is also a Member of the Council of the Jewish (Litvak) Community of Lithuania and Chair of the Board of Doctor Janusz Korczak Centre, a charitable organization with the mission to advance children’s rights and well-being. Amit was previously Vice President and member of the Board of the European Union of Jewish Students and led the Lithuanian Union of Jewish Students. She is one of the co-founders of the MedTech Club, the largest medical community on Clubhouse with almost 100k followers.
Rabbi Jill Hackell, M.D. (Alumni Liaison to ARC) is the rabbi of a small non-affiliated congregation in Rockland County, NY. She received her ordination from AJR, along with an MA in Judaic Studies from Gratz College. She received a BS from Tufts University and an MD plus pediatric residency training at Johns Hopkins. She practiced general pediatrics before going on to a career in the pharmaceutical industry in clinical research on new vaccines. She has combined these two paths through an interest in bioethics, teaching this subject on the graduate level. She also teaches subjects of general Jewish interest at the Jewish Federation of Rockland County.
Rabbi Michael G. Kohn (Trustee Emeritus) is Rabbi Emeritus at the former Temple B’nai Abraham in Meriden, CT, and was ordained at AJR in 2009. Prior to entering rabbinical school, he was engaged in a national practice of law in Cincinnati, OH, primarily litigating Antitrust, Securities, and other complex commercial matters. He holds an A.B. degree in Biology from Emory University, an S.M. degree in Microbial Genetics from the University of Chicago, and a J.D., cum laude, from the Seton Hall University School of Law. While living in Cincinnati, he was very active in service to, and as a member of, the Boards of numerous Jewish organizations and institutions. He has two grown daughters and five grandchildren.
Rabbi Enid Lader (Secretary) and her husband, Harry, have lived in Lakewood, Ohio for over forty years, and are longtime members of Beth Israel – The West Temple. With a background in music therapy and music education, she transitioned to Jewish Education, and was in the Cleveland Fellows Program and received a graduate degree in Judaic Studies from the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. Originally serving as volunteer principal, Enid then served as the Director of Congregational Education for Beth Israel-The West Temple for twenty years. She then became the lay Spiritual Leader and Educator for Knesseth Israel Temple in Wooster, Ohio. It was during this time that she started her rabbinic studies at AJR in 2005. In 2010, Rabbi Enid was ordained from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and completed her work in Wooster in 2012. She began her position as the rabbi at Beth Israel -The West Temple in August of 2012. Rabbi Enid is very active in interfaith programming in the Cleveland area. She served as the president for ARC for six years, and as treasurer and president of the Greater Cleveland Board of Rabbis. Enid and Harry have two married daughters and four grandchildren.
Ora Horn Prouser, Ph.D. (CEO & Academic Dean) received her BA and PhD from The Jewish Theological Seminary, as well as a BA from Columbia University. She has published widely on the Bible focusing on disability studies, gender issues and literary analysis. She has also worked with the Melton Center for Jewish Education, the Davidson School of Education at JTS, and various educational institutions to develop curricula and approaches to Bible pedagogy for all levels and learning styles. Her book, Esau’s Blessing: How the Bible Embraces Those with Special Needs, was recognized as a 2012 National Jewish Book Council finalist and as a Gold winner in the 2016 Special Needs Book Awards.
Ian Rosen (Treasurer) is the CEO of Financial Answers, and a Partner at The TIFIN Group. Financial Answers acquires and adds value to financial media firms, combining audiences with high quality tools and data. He has over 20 years’ experience as a media and fintech executive having founded and/or run several successful firms including Even Financial, Inc., MarketWatch, Inc., and Stockwits, Inc. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two boys.
Rabbi Simon Rosenbach graduated from Rutgers College and Rutgers Law School and embarked on a 35-year career in law enforcement. The stops included the Somerset County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office, a four-year stint in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, and a 30-year tenure in the Middlesex County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office, ending in 2010. In 2005, he enrolled at AJR and was hired by Congregation Ahavas Sholom in Newark, NJ (a USCJ affiliate), to be their spiritual leader. He was ordained as a rabbi in 2014, and has never left Ahavas Sholom. Simon and his wife, Gayle have three married children and two grandchildren.
Pavel Vaynshtok, CFA, is a Portfolio Specialist at Jacobs Levy Equity Management. Pavel’s career in investment management includes roles as Managing Director, Global Head of Innovation Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst at JPMorgan Investment Management, and Head of Quantitative Research and Portfolio Manager at Voya Investment Management. Pavel is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Michigan. He is a board member and former President of the Society of Quantitative Analysts. Pavel lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children.
Naomi Wittlin has a Masters in Jewish Studies from Gratz College and is currently a rabbinical student at AJR. She is a long-time Mussar facilitator and facilitates a va’ad in Houston, where she lives with her husband and 16-year-old daughter. Naomi is a writer and mixed-media artist and incorporates themes of Jewish texts into her artwork. Her passion is watching people grow toward their spiritual potential and make lasting transformations in their lives.
Leah Zimmerman owns Stepping Stool Coaching and makes hard conversations easy. She is a sought after advisor for CEO’s and Business leaders who want to be honest with themselves, reflective and own their integrity. Her expertise has developed through her experiences as an educator, theatrical performer, life coach and family business advisor. She has been listening to the way people talk to each other since she was a child and perpetually investigating ways to build more connection, resolve conflict and have more influence. She lives in the space between having a powerful voice and being overpowering, having control and being controlling. She helps her clients speak and be heard so that they can have the conversations with themselves, with their families and with others that will enable them to reach their goals. More than a life, leadership, conflict, or communication coach, she blends conflict resolution and communication expertise with a deep awareness of human behavior, positive psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness and skilled coaching technique.
