Leadership & Board

Karen Sim

WRJ President

Elected in June 2024, WRJ President Karen Sim is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and a member of Isaac M. Wise Temple. She is the second WRJ President to hail from both Cincinnati and Wise Temple in WRJ’s 111 year history. She has held many positions on the WRJ District and North American levels. My WRJ

Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch

CEO

Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch (she/her) serves as the CEO of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), a position she has held since 2023. Prior to leading the WRJ, she served as the rabbi of Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield, MA. Rabbi Hirsch was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC

Judy Wexler

First Vice President

Judy Wexler is the WRJ First Vice President. She joined the WRJ North American Board in 2015 and is proud to promote WRJ’s pillars of sisterhood, spirituality, and social justice to our supporters. Judy began her WRJ journey as a sisterhood co-president with the Women of North Shore Congregation

Andrea Gingold

Vice President of Leadership

Andrea Gingold was elected to the WRJ North American Board in 2015 and is serving her third term on the Executive Committee, now as VP of Leadership. Andrea was most recently an At Large Member and chair of the Budget Committee. She previously chaired the YES Fund Grant Allocations Committee, the

Michelle Scheinkopf

Vice President of Social Justice

Michelle Scheinkopf serves as WRJ Vice President of Social Justice. She also serves on the Heartland District Board's nominating committee and is a past Midwest District president. She is also active in her women's group, Women of North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois where she is

Karen Goldberg

Vice President of Member Services

Karen Goldberg is the WRJ Vice President of Member Services. A past sisterhood president of Women of Isaiah in Lafayette, California, she joined the WRJ Board in 2015 and has served in a variety of roles since then, including, most recently, as WRJ Secretary and Chair of WRJ’s Committee on

Sherri Feuer

Vice President of Programs

Sherri Feuer is a the Vice President of Programs. She was a previous WRJ VP of Affiliate Services (2016-2018) and is an active board member. Sherri is a past president of the Midwest District and Temple Israel Sisterhood in Minneapolis, MN, and a past congregational president. She currently sits on

Jane Karlin

Secretary

Jane Karlin is WRJ’s Secretary. She has held leading advancement positions in higher education and Jewish communal organizations, including New York University, The New School, Hadassah, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and The Jewish Agency for Israel. In 2019 she retired to teach

Cheryl Barenberg

Treasurer

Cheryl serves as the WRJ Treasurer. She is a member of Congregation Temple Emanuel in Beaumont, Texas where she has served in various Sisterhood and congregational positions including sisterhood and congregational president. Cheryl and her husband Andy have been married for 42 years and have 2

Sara Charney

Immediate Past President

Sara B. Charney is the Immediate Past President of WRJ and the organization’s first Canadian President. Sara joined the WRJ Board of Directors in 2005 and thereafter held many positions on the District and North American levels. Some highlights along the way include being the Co-Chair of Local

Susan Singer

Executive Committee

Susan Singer is an at-large member of the WRJ Executive Committee. She previously served the WRJ Treasurer beginning in 2021 and has been a member of the WRJ North American Board since 2018. She serves on the Budget Committee, Finance Committee, and Investment Committee. Susan served as Treasurer

Shoshana Dweck

Executive Committee

Shoshana Dweck is a WRJ Executive Committee Member-at-Large, co-chair of ARZENU, (the International Federation of Reform, Progressive, Religious and Liberal Zionists) and serves on the Executive Board of the URJ. A second-generation activist in the worlds of WRJ and Reform Zionism, Shoshana is on

Betsey Hurwitz-Schwab

Executive Committee

Betsey Hurwitz-Schwab has an MSW, has worked in the field of family violence and has served on numerous boards of nonprofits dealing with family violence. In addition, she spent 18 years as the VP of Human Resources at a global childrens’ apparel company. She is a founding member of the local Child

Alyse Kirschen

Executive Committee

Alyse Kirschen joined the WRJ Board in 2020 after serving on the URJ North American Board for eight years. In 2024, she became a member at large on the Executive Committee. She is involved with the Pacific District Action & Advocacy Team, the URJ Congregational Ethics Team, Israel Leadership Network

Deborah Lelchuk

Executive Committee

Deb Lelchuk is a Member At Large on the WRJ Executive Committee. She has served on the WRJ Board since 2019. With a co-chair, Deb originated Film, Fiction & Fine Wine. She co-chaired the Civil Rights Journey, chaired L’Atid, and served on a Board Nominating and the Microgrants committees. Deb also

Jane Taves

Executive Committee

Jane Taves is a member at large of the WRJ Executive Committee. She is an active member of Temple Beth El in Madison, Wisconsin, where she serves on the sisterhood Executive Committee and the congregation Executive Committee. Jane has been a member of the WRJ North American Board since 2013. She

Julia Wackenheim

Executive Committee

Julia grew up in gambling towns: Reno & Atlantic City and is a first generation Scottish American. She received her BFA in Acting (Cum Laude) from Emerson College in Boston. Julia has performed and trained at all the top LA Comedy spots (iOWest, UCB, and more); with over 1,000 live comedy shows

District Presidents

WRJ Atlantic District
Jan Shaw
Rodef Shalom
Pittsburgh, PA

WRJ Mid-Atlantic District
Andrea Stillman
Temple Rodef Shalom
Vienna, VA

WRJ Heartland District
Rozan Anderson
Temple Beth El
Madison, WI

WRJ Northeast District
Yvette Bergman
The Community Synagogue
Port Washington, NY

WRJ Pacific District
Carol Schuster
Temple B'nai Torah
Bellevue, WA

WRJ Southeast District
Faith Alexander
Congregation Schaarai Zedek
Tampa, FL

WRJ Southwest District
Phyllis Strasberg
Temple Israel
Memphis, TN

District First Vice Presidents

WRJ Atlantic District
Abby Gilbert
Congregation Beth Or
Maple Glen, PA

WRJ Heartland District
Cheryl Stern
Congregation Beth Am
Buffalo Grove, IL

Marci Delson
Congregation Beth Tikvah
Columbus, OH

WRJ Mid-Atlantic District
HarrietAnn Litwin
Congregation Beth Emeth
Wilmington, DE

WRJ Northeast District
Marsha Moller
Temple Beth Shalom
Needham, MA

WRJ Pacific District
Lillian Burkenheim-Silver
Women of Temple Beth Hillel
Valley Village, CA

Flo Cohen
Temple Sinai
Glendale, CA

WRJ Southeast District
Amy Ahmed
Temple Emanu-El
Tuscaloosa, AL

WRJ Southwest District
Debra Goetz
Temple Emanuel
McAllen, TX

District Immediate Past Presidents

WRJ Atlantic District
Lori Motis
Congregation Beth Or
Maple Glen, PA

WRJ Central District
Lizabeth McOsker
Isaac M. Wise Temple
Cincinnati, OH

WRJ Mid-Atlantic District
Marilyn Morrison
Temple B'nai Shalom
Fairfax Station, VA

WRJ Midwest District
Zabe Williams
Temple Beth El
South Bend, IN

WRJ Northeast District
Sharon Sobel
Temple B'nai Chaim
Georgetown, CT

WRJ Pacific District
Cher Krichmar
Temple Beth Ohr
La Mirada, CA

WRJ Southeast District
Madelyn Davidson
Congregation Beth Am
Tampa, FL

WRJ Southwest District
Cheryl Barenberg
Temple Emanuel
Beaumont, TX

WRJ Past Presidents

Sara B. Charney
Holy Blossom Temple
Toronto, ON

Susan C. Bass
Congregation Beth Israel
Houston, TX

Lynn Magid Lazar
Temple Sinai
Pittsburgh, PA

Blair C. Marks
Temple Kol Emeth
Marietta, GA

Judith O. Rosenkranz
Congregation Shaarai Zedek
Tampa, FL

Rosanne M. Selfon
Congregation Shaarai Shomayim
Lancaster, PA

Judith Silverman
Cape Cod Synagogue
Hyannis, MA

Helene H. Waranch
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
Baltimore, MD

Dolores Wilkenfeld
Congregation Emanu El
Houston, TX

WRJ Board Members

Kadie Black
Temple Beth Am
Pinecrest, FL

Andrea Blain
Temple Beth Israel
Skokie, IL

Ruth Bohm
Shirat Miriam
São Paulo, Brazil

Leslie Brier
Main Line Reform Temple Beth Elohim
Wynnewood, PA

Janet Buckstein
Makom Solel Lakeside
Highland Park, IL

Leslie Coff
Temple Beth El
Madison, WI

Nancy Cohen
Temple Kol Emeth
Marietta, GA

Rabbi Carlie Daniels
Temple Israel
West Palm Beach, FL

Madi Pimentel Diaz
Spanaway, WA

Naomi Estrada
Temple Mount Sinai
El Paso, TX

Gail Feldman
Garden City Jewish Center
Garden City, NY

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman
Temple Shaaray Tefila
New York, NY

Sandi Firsel
Temple Chai
Long Grove, IL

Kathryn Fleisher
Washington, DC

Joanne B. Fried
Congregation Gates of Prayer
Metairie, LA

Suzy Gelman
Central Synagogue-Beth Emeth
Rockville Centre, NY

Tamara Glick
Toronto, ON

Elizabeth Goertzel
Temple De Hirsch Sinai
Seattle/Bellevue, WA

Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman
Garden City Jewish Center
Garden City, NY

Rozzie Graber
Temple Bat Yam
Berlin, MD

Sally Greenberg
Temple Sinai
Washington, D.C.

Shelley Niceley Groff
Temple Beth Sholom, Temple Israel of Greater Miami
Miami, FL

Shayna Han
Washington, DC

Mandee Heinl
Baltimore, MD

Morgan Helfman
Yonkers, NY

Rabbi Rachael Houser
New York, NY

Dr. Patricia Joseph
Isaac M. Wise Temple
Cincinnati, OH

Ally Karpel-Pomerantz
Los Angeles, CA

Wendy Kohlenberg
Temple Israel
West Bloomfield, MI

Marci Kops
Congregation Beth Am
Buffalo Grove, IL

Judy Enteles Landis
New York, NY

Estelle "Giddy" Lief
Bet Menorah
Pretoria, South Africa

Robin Lilien
Temple Israel of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

Cheryl Marks Young
Temple Emanu-El
Westfield, NJ

Sabrina Miller
Temple Israel of the City of New York
New York, New York

Yaffa Muhlbaum
Congregation Mishkan Or
Beachwood, OH

Luisa Narins
River Vale, NJ

Bernice Porrazzo
Temple Rodef Shalom
Falls Church, VA

Michelle Rosen
B'nai Israel
Southbury, CT

Ellen Y. Rosenberg
Riverdale Temple
Bronx, NY

Addie Schneider
Temple Kol Emeth
Marietta, GA

Pattie Schreiber
Congregation Schaarai Zedek
Tampa, FL

Simona Seiderman
Temple Israel
West Bloomfield, MI

Celia Seigerman-Levit
Temple Israel of the City of New York
New York, NY

Jane Shook
Adat Chaverim
Plano, TX

Vai Subash
Queens, NY

Sharon Lore Weiss
Congregation Schaarai Zedek
Tampa, FL

Lisa Wise-Wolk
Congregation Emanu El
Redlands, CA

Sharon Zydney
Temple Emanu-El
Westfield, NJ