Our Clergy, Staff and Lay Leaders
Team Adas
Meet the Amazing Humans of Adas
Adas Israel is a sacred, collaborative undertaking made possible through the dedicated, loving, visionary work of our talented team of clergy, professional staff, and lay leadership. Here, you can learn more about some of the extraordinary humans who strive, day in and day out, to make the world of Adas GO. Clergy & Leadership Team | Staff | Lay Leadership
Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and recognized by the Forward as one of the “32 most inspiring rabbis,” has not only radically transformed Adas Israel and led it to a period of unprecedented success, but her influence extends far beyond the pulpit. As a key figure in spiritual leadership and national Jewish and interfaith engagement, she has welcomed two sitting U.S. presidents and numerous world leaders into our community, facilitating meaningful dialogue between them and the broader Jewish community. She has officiated at significant national events, including the funeral of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (z”l), a historic moment that held the nation in mourning, and has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Forward, and was honored on the “Forward 50” list. A proud senior fellow of the Schusterman Fellowship and a member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet at JTS, she also serves on the national board of Avodah and the joint steering committee of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). At Adas, she has revitalized our caretaking (Hesed) and bereavement efforts, co-created the acclaimed MakomDC adult learning curriculum, launched wildly successful worship services, and directs the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington, recognized as a top innovative Jewish project. Previously, she served as the Hillel Foundation Director of Campus Initiatives, Associate Rabbi at Yale University Hillel, and was a rabbinic fellow at B’nai Jeshurun in New York. Rabbi Holtzblatt is married to Ari Holtzblatt, and they have two children, Blumah and Elijah. Rabbi.Holtzblatt@adasisrael.org.
Rabbi Aaron Alexander served for ten years as Associate Dean and Lecturer in Rabbinic and Jewish Law at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, where he also received his ordination. He is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on Halacha (Jewish law)--he has long sat on the prestigious Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) for the Conservative movement, the governing body determining Jewish law and practice for our entire movement. Currently he is the Chair of the Kashrut Subcommittee on the CJLS. Rabbi Alexander served on the Board of Jews United for Justice, was appointed as a Rabbi Samuel T. Lachs Fellow of LEAP, a joint program of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and Clal-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He now serves on the Leadership Circle of One America, the D.C. Attorney General’s Faith-Based Advisory Committee, and the City Council’s Interfaith Working Group. Among his achievements here at Adas, Rabbi Alexander has elevated our Social Action work to a high level of recognition throughout the Washington, DC community, and has reinvigorated our adult learning, bringing it to a level and quality that now serves as a model for synagogues across the country. Rabbi Alexander and his wife, Rabbi Penina Alexander, have three young sons, Ariel, Eliav and Amos. Rabbi.Alexander@adasisrael.org
Cantor Arianne Brown loves her work in this dynamic community, where she has a large musical, educational, and pastoral portfolio. Arianne’s primary goal is to inspire our people to love and connect to Judaism through prayer, education, and the beautiful music of our tradition. Fluent in Hebrew and Yiddish, Cantor Brown is an expert Torah and Megilah reader, pianist, composer and arranger, and theatre director. A renowned specialist in Yiddish music, Cantor Brown performed in off-Broadway productions of the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Safra Hall, Disney Hall, the Krakow Jewish Music Festival, and Warsaw’s Ida Kaminska State Theatre. Cantor Brown previously served at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. She graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Voice/Music Education, and JTS with a Master of Sacred Music and Jewish Education. She is featured in the Cantors Assembly’s New Voices of the Cantorate video series. Arianne’s recordings include a Yiddish theater album entitled Eternal Flame¸and her trio Ashira’s Suddenly Spirited - available at www.cantorari.com, and Shabbat Sing! with our very own Gan students. She is married to Rabbi Randy Brown and loves spending time with her three young sons! Cantor.Brown@adasisrael.org
Rabbi Kerrith Solomon joined Adas Israel as Director of Education in the summer of 2014, overseeing and directing all aspects of congregational education for members age 0-18, and their families. She has a rich and varied background in education and Jewish learning and her educational practice and philosophy is based on her experiences working in synagogues, day schools, camps, campus, Federation and Israel. She previously served as Senior Jewish Educator at Tufts University Hillel and Director of Teen Programming and Family Life Educator at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York and has worked in a variety of other formal and informal settings. Kerrith completed the Hartman-Hillel iEngage Fellowship for Campus leaders and is currently a participant in the second Senior Educators Cohort of M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education. She enjoys sharing her learning with the Adas community. Rabbi.Solomon@adasisrael.org
Rabbi Sarah Krinsky received her ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in the spring of 2018, and holds a BA from Yale University. Most recently, she served as the Rabbinic Fellow at B’nai Jeshurun in New York City, where she co-led a wide variety of musical prayer services throughout the year for adults, families, children, and teens. She also managed the synagogue’s conversion process, and was involved in teaching, counseling, and mentoring Jews by choice. Her work with teens and young adults included teaching and curriculum development for religious schools, B’nai Mitzvah preparation, and summer camp. Rabbi Krinsky has served as a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Social Justice and Public Policy Staff, and a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. She has developed social justice programming, including community engagement opportunities, for all age groups. She is the recipient of several awards from UJA and JTS. Rabbi Krinsky is thrilled to be part of the Adas Israel community along with her husband, Rabbi Daniel Novick. Rabbi.Krinsky@adasisrael.org
Barry Feil, Executive Director, joins the Adas Israel family with a passion for building and celebrating communities, for educating and engaging, and for creating incredible experiences. With a 35-year career in the nonprofit and event sectors, including previously serving as the CEO of Celebrate Fairfax, Inc, as Director of Special Events at Virginia Tech, and almost 15 years in building and event operations at The George Washington University (GW), Barry most recently launched Foundation Events ECC, a unique 501(c)(3) nonprofit capacity-building and management consulting services agency to support community-focused organizations and businesses. Barry holds a Master of Nonprofit Management from the University of Central Florida and first came to the DC area to earn his undergraduate degree from GW. He has been a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences, has been an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University since 2006, and successfully completed the 3-year senior executive symposium program jointly produced by the International Association of Venue Managers and Cornell University. Along with his professional experiences, Barry is most proud to be a part of a smaller community: his family, including his wife Julia, their children Claire and Ethan, and their very spoiled pug, Lexie. Barry.Feil@adasisrael.org.
Photography by Washington DC Headshots
Stanley Rabinowitz, z"l
Rabbi Emeritus
Jeffrey A. Wohlberg
Rabbi Emeritus
Avis D. Miller
Rabbi Emerita
Arnold Saltzman
Cantor Emeritus
Gil Steinlauf
Immediate Past
Senior Rabbi
Marcy Spiro, Senior Director, Marcy joined the Adas Israel family in 2013 after working in theatre education at Shakespeare Theatre Company and Round House Theatre. In her role, Marcy oversees all building operations and leads our programming team, ensuring that every aspect of our synagogue runs smoothly. She also works closely with lay leaders, clergy, and staff to create a welcoming environment for members, potential members, guests, and school parents, helping each person find their pathway or niche within our large and diverse synagogue community. Marcy is a warm, talented, creative, and entrepreneurial team player, dedicated to enhancing the overall experience at Adas. Feel free to reach out to her at Marcy.Spiro@adasisrael.org to learn more about membership, upcoming events, or to grab a cup of coffee and chat.
Noah Hichenberg, Gan HaYeled Preschool Director. Noah has served as a preschool director since 2013, first at JCC Manhattan and since 2019 at Adas Israel; he was a 3s classroom teacher at JCC Manhattan from 2009-2013. Noah received his MA in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Fordham University and earned his Doctorate in Early Childhood Teaching and Curriculum at Teachers College, Columbia University. For his dissertation he spent a year conducting an ethnography of a two-year-old child throughout her daily life at home and school, from which he developed novel and critical insights into how children experience the social construction of early childhood. He has used this work to highlight the transformative power of a young child's agency in the face of adult expectations; his work includes a chapter on this topic (“I Don’t Want You to Say No, I Want You to Say Yes”) as well as a forthcoming book, A New Vision for Early Childhood (Routledge, 2025). Noah has hosted regular Coffee Chats for preschool parents for several years as well as written a regular newsletter about preschool, parenting, and community. Noah currently serves as an adjunct professor at the American Jewish University, where he teaches a doctoral class on current research trends in ECE and has served as the ECE Faculty for the New Director’s Institute of USCJ (United Synagogue of Conservative Synagogue) since 2021, a role in which he teaches and coaches Jewish preschool directors across the country. Noah lives in Maryland with his wife and four children.
Leilah Mooney Joseph, Director of Schools, K-12, A seasoned nonprofit manager and education advocate, Leilah most recently served as Senior Director of Communications at Hillel International, where she led both external and internal communications, managing Hillel’s public voice and supporting the work of Hillel professionals and students at more than 850 colleges and universities around the world. She also previously led communications for the Institute of Educational Leadership and worked in communications and educational policy roles with the American Federation of Teachers. Leilah is a graduate of Barnard College and earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from The George Washington University. A Cincinnati native and the daughter and granddaughter of teachers, Leilah lives in the 16th Street Heights neighborhood of DC with her husband David, and their sons Tom, Elijah, and Ronan. Reach Leilah at Leilah.Mooney.Joseph@adasisrael.org.
Hazzan Rachel Goldsmith, Ritual Director, joined Adas Israel in the summer of 2015. She was invested as a Hazzan by the H. L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary where she also received an MA in Sacred Music. She also holds degrees from Bryn Mawr College and the University of Michigan. Hazzan Goldsmith has extensive experience as a Hazzan and Ritual Director and has taught all ages from pre-school through senior adults. In the Washington Metropolitan area, she taught at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, the Jewish Primary Day School and was a service leader at The Hebrew Home of Greater Washington. Hazzan Goldsmith brings impressive administrative, organizational, and Jewish skills to our congregation – as well as a deep love for Torah, Jewish life, history and community. Hazzan Goldsmith and her husband, Howard Ungar, are the parents of three emerging adults. Reach Rachel at Hazzan.Goldsmith@adasisrael.org.
Rabbi Elianna Yolkut, Rabbinic Scholar, strives through challenging questions, dynamic study and meaningful engagement to help Jews at all life stages reach a deeper understanding of and connection to Judaism. Raised with three brothers in her native St. Louis (go Cardinals), where as a toddler she would often lose herself in the folds of her father's tallit. Elianna is a connector, writer and educator who seeks to help create intersections and integrations between wisdom texts, human beings and ritual. She serves throughout the metro DC area helping people with a diverse set of backgrounds and interests engage with Jewish wisdom, practice and study of Jewish texts. Rabbi Yolkut is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Hartman Institute North America. Elianna is also the co-host of the podcast Not Your Jewish Mother. Ordained as a Conservative Rabbi in 2006 by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, she later served an adjunct faculty member, while serving as Assistant Rabbi at Adat Ari El in nearby Valley Village. Elianna, who holds a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Sociology from Brandeis University, now lives with her wife and their three children in Washington D.C. When she isn’t parenting or teaching Torah she is likely to be found mixing a new cocktail, dripping a high quality cup of coffee or on her Peloton. rabbi.yolkut@adasisrael.org
Synagogue Staff
Accounting & HR
Chloe Chemla
Controller
Rita Nicholls
Accounting Manager
Jane Baldinger
Accounting Assistant
Lynn Forkell Greene
Human Resources & Administrative Director
Programming and Administration
Melissa Adler
Chief of Staff to the Rabbis and Ritual Programming
Bianca Saget-Matthews
Administrative Site Coordinator
Juliana Nieto
Food & Beverage Manager
Alexx Bowles
Operations Manager
Jessica Lefkow
Administrative Assistant to the Rituals Department
Eli Bass
Jewish Education Specialist
Communications
Brenah Srour
Director of Marketing and Communications
Education Department
Lindsay Kagin
Director of Youth and Family Programs
Darci Lewis
Gan HaMishpacha Family Center Director & Gan HaYeled Preschool Senior Educator
Stephanie Slater
Gan Director of Early Childhood Development
Lizzie Mintz
Education Department Manager
Robin Jacobson
Library & Literary Programs Director
Operations Team
Deron DaCosta
Operations Staff
Andrew Cooper
Operations Staff
Roxana Fajarda de Cruz
Operations Staff
Security Team
Diamond Calhoun
Security Officer
Stephanie Brown
Security Officer
Craig Gaddy
Security Officer
Kortez Anderson
Security Officer
Herbert Montague
Security Officer
Beth Heifetz, President
Bio Coming Soon
Ian Halpern, Vice President of Administration
As unlikely a synagogue officer as there could be, Ian grew up in New York. He is quite sure his Hebrew school teachers (and principal) would plotz if they could see him now. An active congregant, member of the Board of Directors and Co-chair of the Gan HaYeled Director Search Committee and member of several others, Ian and his family are incredibly thankful to call Adas their Jewish home. Ian is the co-founder of Larkspur Energy Group and lives in Washington, D.C. with his partner, Sarah Wildman, and their two daughters both graduates of the Gan.
Daniel Rosenthal, Vice President of Membership & External Affairs
Bio Coming Soon
Alan Ronkin, Vice President of Development & Financial Affairs
Bio Coming Soon
Tali Stein, Vice President of Development & Financial Affairs
Bio Coming Soon
Sarah Dovere, Vice President of Education & Youth
Bio Coming Soon
Liz Scheier, Secretary
Liz Scheier and her family joined Adas in 2017. Originally from New York City, Liz is now Sr. Manager of Product Strategy at the International Baccalaureate and a freelance writer.
Emilie Hyams, Assistant Secretary
Bio Coming Soon
Andrew Herman, Treasurer
Bio Coming Soon
Andrew Ackerman, Assistant Treasurer
Bio Coming Soon
Janice Mostow, Immediate Past President
Janice Mostow is a native Washingtonian who belonged to Adas as a child along with her parents, grandparents, and a host of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She rejoined the Adas community 4 years ago and has served on the Board of Directors and on the JMCW Task Force. During her career with Montgomery County Public Schools, Janice served as a a middle school and high school English teacher, an assistant principal at Quince Orchard High School, and the principal of both Briggs Chaney Middle School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. She also served as the Director of Secondary Administrator Training and the President of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals. After retiring, Janice tutored students, served as a parent advocate, and coached new principals in MCPS. Janice and her husband John live in Chevy Chase and spend joyful time with her son and daughter and their spouses and their four wonderful grandchildren all of whom live nearby.
Board of Trustees
Judith Bartnoff
Steve Himmelfarb
Herlene Nagler
Melanie Nussdorf
Betsy Strauss
Elected Board Members
Life Board Members
Arielle Beer
Bill Begal
Sharon Burka
Harry Chauss
Jill Chessen
Blanche Cotlear
Jon Cutler
Rachel Farbiarz
Lois Fingerhut
Rachel Gayer
Laura Ginns
David Harris
Gilbert Holland
Terry Leach
Nechama Liss-Levinson
David Olson
Tedi Osias
Oz Papados
Lauren Queen
Mike Ravvin
Mikaela Seligman
Greg Shron
Healey Sutton
Jared Sutton
Lauren Tuchman
Cameron Wheeler
Dr. Clement Alpert (z"l)
Alvin Bernstein (z"l)
Norman Bernstein (z"l)
David Bubes (z"l)
Leonard Burka (z"l)
Jeffrey Cohen
Sheldon S Cohen (z"l)
Stanley Cohen (z"l)
Eric Fox
Rhoda Ganz
Bernard Gewirz
Bernard Glassman (z"l)
Arnold Hammer (z"l)
Tamara Handelsman
Estelle Jacobs (z"l)
Dr. Irving Jacobs (z"l)
Melvin Jacobson (z"l)
Jack Kay (z"l)
Martin Kirsch
Jacob C. Lish (z"l)
Dr. Sander H Mendelson
Annette Morchower
Donald Saltz
Bernard Segerman (z"l)
Margaret Siegel
Judith Strauch
Donald Wolpe (z"l)
Adas Israel Presidents
Beth Heifetz
Current President
Janice Mostow
2021-2023
Laurie Aladjem
2019-2021
Ricki Gerger
2017-2019
Deborah Joseph
2015-2017
Arnold Podgorsky
2013-2015
Johanna Chanin
2011- 2013
Robert Peck
2009-2011
Ed Kopf
2007-2009
Russell Smith
2005-2007
Patty Perkins Andringa
2003-2005
Reneé Fendrich
2001-2003
Jordan Baruch
1999-2001
Toni Bickart
1997-1999
Dr. Sander Mendelson
1993-1997
Bernard Segerman
1991-1993
Dr. Stuart Fidler
1987-1991
Jack Lish
1983-1987
Max Goldberg
1979-1983
Leon Shinberg
1977-1979
Donald Wolpe
1973-1977
Joseph Mendelson
1969-1973
Milton Baldinger
1967-1969
Samuel Lebowitz
1964-1967
Joseph Blumenthal
1961-1964
Stanley Wiener
1960-1961
Julius H. Wolpe
1956-1960
Fred S. Kogod
1956
Isaac Jacobson
1953-1955
Joseph Wilner
1929-March 1953
Fred Gichner
1928-1929
Louis Rosenberg
1924-1928
Simon Oppenheimer
1888-1924
Felix Greenapple
1887-1888
Jacob Rich
1882-April 1887
Manassas Oppenheimer
1880-1882
Julius Baumgertan
July-October 1880
Bernard Rich
April-June 1880
Jacob Rich
1877-1880
John Jacob Boyer
1874-1877
Nathan Gotthelf
June-July 1874
Jacob Rich
January-June 1874
Nathan Hotthelf
1872-1874
Bendiza J. Behrend
1869-1872
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