SHJ - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Aaron Zober works in production for documentary and reality television series in Los Angeles, CA. He is a member of the Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, which is based out of Phoenix, AZ and reaches everybody globally via its Zoom platform. Aaron has been involved with Humanistic Judaism for over 10 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of Kol Hadash, Northern California Congregation for Hum
Alana Shindler is a member of Kol Hadash, Northern California Congregation for Humanistic Judaism and its ritual leader. She is a former member of the Board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of or Emet
Allan Malkis is the president of Or Emet, Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. Allan is a retired social researcher, a cat lover, an avid reader of ancient history and has been an Or Emet member for nearly 30 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of Congregation Beth Adam
Allen Gorrelick is a member of Congregation Beth Adam in Boca Raton, FL. He grew up in New York, spent most of his adult life in Maryland and now lives in Florida. Prior to retiring, he was president of an actuarial consulting firm specializing in the pension field. He also worked a number of years on Wall Street as a security analyst.
Ari Lazer grew up in Seattle, WA going to the Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound. During high school she participated in Conclave during 2019 and was influenced to become a youth representative on the board for 3 years. Now she goes to Sarah Lawrence College in New York, concentrating in psychology and dance. Ari is currently working for SHJ on building a club for Secular and Humanistic Jews at Sarah Lawrence called HuJews On Campus.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- TREASURER of the Executive Committee
Arthur Liebhaber, a retired librarian, is currently administrator/moderator of the SHJ Discussion Facebook group and the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit Facebook page. His volunteer work keeps him busy and fulfilled.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Barry Swan is a Madrikh and Sr. Leader in the Secular Humanistic Jewish Movement, serving Beth Haskalah, Rochester, NY. A retired social studies teacher and teacher's union advocate, he represents his union and Beth Haskalah in the Labor Religion Coalition.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President of or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Phoenix, AZ
Bill Parsons is the president of Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Phoenix, AZ and a newcomer to the Executive Committee of the SHJ.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of Kahal B'Raira
Carolyn Schneyer is a member of Kahal B'raira in Massachusetts where she previously served on the Sunday School Committee. She grew up at CHJ of Metro Detroit.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dana Preis is a lifelong Connecticut native. He and his wife Deirdra are the parents of 3 wonderful daughters. He is a Financial Advisor and has been on the CHJ Board of Directors for more than 20 years, serving as President and Treasurer. His true passion, wife and daughters aside, is the guitar.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Darlene Basch is a past president of Machar and current rabbi committee chair. Retired from the State Department, where she worked as a Russian Foreign Policy analyst, she now enjoys volunteering at an animal shelter and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit
E. Ronald Milan, a member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit for many years, also served as treasurer of the SHJ for several years. He maintains the Library for Secular Humanistic Judaism. A life-long secular Jew, his Milan Press has published numerous works with the SHJ and the IISHJ.
Jerid Morisco is an IISHJ rabbinical candidate. After retiring from a 30-year teaching career in Atlanta, he currently serves as a principal in Seattle. He is active in the Secular Jewish Circle of the Puget Sound.
Job Titles:
- Social Media and Communications Associate
Emily Cohen is a virtual marketing and business development professional. In a past life she was a social worker, completing her MSW at Florida Atlantic University. After over a decade of working in non profit and community advocacy, she found her talents were better served on the marketing side, creating diversity strategies to reach a broader community. Emily is a mom, wife, business owner, and proud queer Jew living in Central Florida! She has recently found Humanistic Judaism and is excited to continue implementing cultural Judaism into her life. Look for her work on SHJ's Blog, Facebook Page, and Instagram.
Job Titles:
- Member of Oraynu Congregation
Evelyn Goldstein is currently a member of Oraynu Congregation in Toronto, Ontario. She is the SHJ Chair of the Humanistic Jewish Role Model Committee. While living in San Jose, California, she was a former principal of Congregation Sinai's Religious School and is also a past-President of that congregation. Prior to retiring, she taught high school level history in San Jose, CA.
Job Titles:
- Humanistic Judaism Magazine Editor
- Member of the SHJ and of Temple B'Nai Israel
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
James McDevitt-Phelps is currently studying theatre at Florida State University, working on entrepreneurial projects, and trying to revise his small stack of novel drafts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound
Jeffrey Treistman is a member of the Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound, WA and enrolled in the IISHJ Leadership Training Program.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Rabbi and Director of the Machar, Congregation
Jeremy Kridel is the rabbi and director of the Machar, Congregation for Secular and Humanistic Judaism and its Jewish Cultural School in Washington, D.C., a member of the board of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, past president of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis, and former editor of Humanistic Judaism magazine.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Kol Shalom
Karen LaMorticella is a member of Kol Shalom, Community for Humanistic Judaism in Portland, OR.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant
- Administrative Assistant of the Society for Humanistic Judaism
Job Titles:
- National Director, Jews for a Secular Democracy ( JFASD )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Lee Jacobi has served on the board of the Pacific Community of Cultural Jews in Orange County, CA for over 2 decades.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
Libby Otto is the former Chair of the HuJews Leadership Council and a lifelong member of the Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, and lives in Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of or Emet
Lisa Gardner-Springer has been a member of Or Emet, Minnesota's congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism since 2008 and has served on SHJ's board since 2016. Lisa has served in several leadership roles at Or Emet, among them as its co-President and Jewish Cultural School Director.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Kol Haskalah in North Carolina
Marcia Gumpertz is a member of Kol Haskalah in North Carolina. She is their designee on the SHJ Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- SECRETARY of the Executive Committee
- Member of Machar
Marlene Cohen is a long-time member of Machar and serves as chair of the SHJ Youth Education Committee. She is a retired professor of Communication and was director of the International Education Center at Prince George's Community College, Maryland. She is currently a part-time professor at University of Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Michigan Director of Jews for a Secular Democracy
- Michigan Director, Jews for a Secular Democracy ( JFASD )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
Paul Caradonna is past president of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit in Farmington Hills, MI.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of Oraynu Congregation
Paula Bass is a member of Oraynu Congregation and is their designee on the SHJ Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- PRESIDENT of the Executive Committee
- Rabbi of Cultural Synagogue
Rabbi Mary Raskin is the rabbi of Cultural Synagogue serving Portland, Oregon and Southwest Washington. She was ordained by the IISHJ and holds a master's degree in Jewish Studies from Spertus Institute in Chicago. Rabbi Mary has been enthusiastic about Humanistic Judaism since 2006. She has served as a director on the SHJ Board since 2014 and as president since 2020.
Wine was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1928. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute for Religion, the rabbinic seminary of the Reform movement.
In 1957 and 1958, Rabbi Wine served as a chaplain in Korea, bringing the comforts of home to the Jewish soldiers he met. His work had more to do with Jewish culture than Jewish religion. Reflecting on his time in Korea, Wine said, "The boys came not to pray but to talk - and for the chicken soup and salami." He continued, "I didn't do the traditional thing, as you might expect. I did a kind of intellectually-based series of lectures on subjects of interest and concern to the troops. I think some of them became pretty interested in a chaplain who was caring about some of the not-necessarily-religious matters they were caring about."
In 1963, Rabbi Wine founded the Birmingham Temple in suburban Detroit, the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism. In 1965, Time Magazine quoted Wine as declaring, "I am an atheist." With Rabbi Wine as its leader, the congregation eliminated the name of God from services, creating humanistic rituals focused on humanistic values and people's responsibility for their actions and their world. The article attracted significant attention, leading to the birth of a new denomination within Judaism. The Humanistic Jewish movement has grown from these early beginnings, having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013.
In 1969, Wine helped establish the Society for Humanistic Judaism to serve as the North American outreach vehicle for the Humanistic Jewish movement. In 1986, he helped to create the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, a worldwide association of national organizations in North America, Israel, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Rabbi Wine was Dean and Provost of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, the movement's seminary.
Wine was instrumental in organizing the Leadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews, the Center for New Thinking, the North American Committee for Humanism, the Humanist Institute, and the Conference of Liberal Religion.
The American Humanist Association selected him Humanist of the Year for 2003. The Humanist of the Year award was established in 1953 to recognize a person of national or international reputation who, through the application of humanist values, has made a significant contribution to the improvement of the human condition. As Humanist of the Year, Rabbi Wine joined such notables as Stephen Jay Gould, Betty Friedan, Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Margaret Sanger, among others.
Rabbi Wine is the author of Humanistic Judaism, Judaism Beyond God, Celebration, Staying Sane in a Crazy World, and A Provocative People, which was published after his death. In addition, he was a principal contributor to Judaism in a Secular Age: An Anthology of Secular Humanistic Jewish Thought.
Job Titles:
- HuJews on Campus Representative
Rachel Himelhoch is the HuJews On Campus representative on the University of Michigan Campus. Majoring in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience, and minoring in social class and inequality from the University of Michigan, Rachel plans to be a child psychiatrist. While Rachel thought her parents were Jewish, her mother was actually Christian. She begged her father to enroll her in Sunday school at the Birmingham Temple. After many years of questioning, Rachel identifies as a Secular Humanistic Jew.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Richard D. Logan is past president of Or Emet, Twin Cities, MN. He is an author and retired professor of Psychology. He also serves on the Board of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Founder and Principal of Secular Strategies
- Strategy Director, Jews for a Secular Democracy ( JFASD )
Sheila Malcolm wears many hats at Beth Ami - Colorado Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, including as a Madrikha, ceremonial officiant, Adult Ed facilitator and Program Committee member. Although a long-time Board Member, Sheila is a newcomer to the Executive Committee of the SHJ.
AT LARGE: SUSAN HERSCHMAN Susan Herschman grew up at the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit, founded as the Birmingham Temple and was married by Rabbi Wine. Once she had children, she realized that only a Humanistic congregation would be the right fit and helped to found Kahal Chaverim, Morris County, NJ.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Social Worker
Susan Rubin, a social worker, married to Marshall Rubin, has spent the majority of her professional life working for the Jewish community. The Rubin's are members of the founding group of the Secular Humanist Jewish Circle in Tucson, AZ.
Susan Ryan is on the Humanistic Jewish Role Model Committee and is the Secretary of the City Congregation in New York City. She and her family hav e been members of The City Congregation for over 25 years, and her son grew up with Humanistic Judaism. Susan has served on City Congregation's board since 2009 and on the SHJ boa rd since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism
Suzie Friedman is a member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit in Farmington Hills, MI.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- VICE PRESIDENT of the Executive Committee
Victoria Ratnaswamy, an active long-time member of Kol Hadash, IL, serves as the chair of a KH group called String Theory and is on their Steering and Youth Education committees. She is the parent of three children, who have attended Sunday School, two of whom are current HuJews participants. Victoria is a former high school history and social studies teacher and is involved in a variety of volunteer efforts including voter registration.