About Us

Hazzan Basya Schechter was ordained January 2016 by ALEPH Cantorial School, and has been the recipient of numerous compositional and project grants from NY State Council of the Arts and the American Music Center.  She is also known for her group Pharaoh’s Daughter, a seven-piece neohasidic world music ensemble that travels effortlessly through continents, key signatures, and languages with a genre-bending sound.

Growing up between Atlanta, GA, and a kibbutz in northern Israel, Sela was always drawn to music, spiritualism, and event production. He started playing the piano at the age of 6, and participated in cross religion workshops and projects through Israel, India, and the United States. While at the kibbutz, Sela worked as a Cultural Manager, producing events, holidays and musical gatherings for all ages. 

During his Bachelor’s degree at Tel Aviv University Sela continued to produce musical theater shows and live musical poetry events, and during his Master’s at NYU he produced live music concerts, recording sessions and had his music recorded with a full orchestra.

After graduation, Sela founded his own music label, where he produced countless songs, music scores, and live music performances. 

Sela currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids.

Mara Jill Herman is a Jewish activist and award-winning artist who endeavors to abolish antisemitism, advocates for gender equity, and helps protect human rights. Her work has been featured on CBS Mornings, NPR, New York Jewish Week, Moment, and more.

As an Event Producer, Mara orchestrates theatrical plays, benefit concerts, company launch parties, and panel discussions. Affiliations include: 92nd Street Y, Museum of the Moving Image, SheNYC Arts, Queens Theatre, The Tank, The Cell, The Green Room 42, and ART/NY.

Mara made her Carnegie Hall debut in We Are Here: Songs From The Holocaust and put her Hebrew vocals to work developing The Band’s Visit. She is a proud native New Yorker and alumna of Birthright Israel. Mara formerly sang in Temple Judea’s youth and professional choir for High Holiday services and is delighted to cultivate Jewish community with Romemu Brooklyn.

Stav Meishar is a stage artist and Jewish educator born and raised in Israel. Stav specializes in weaving her artistic skills into her teachings, creating meaningful experiences for children incorporating drama, music, circus, dance, yoga and more. She’s worked at synagogues, schools and private homes all over the Tri-State area, with children of all ages and denominations, for over 15 years. For her unique approach to Jewish education, Stav won the Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award (2014) and was selected for The Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 (2017).

Deborah Bernstein first experienced Romemu while living in Manhattan. The music, davening, and spirituality became a very important part of her life. Upon moving to Brooklyn, she searched for a like-minded spiritual community and has been involved with Romemu Brooklyn since its inception in 2017. She considers it an honor to serve on the leadership committee for both the Romemu Brooklyn and Romemu Manhattan with other dedicated and thoughtful members.

In her work life, Deborah is a semi-retired general internist most recently working as an in-house physician at residences for the unhoused. Prior to that, she worked in medical education for physicians and in Internal Medicine private practice for over twenty years. She is on the board of the Bellevue Association at NYU, issuing grants to medical departments for social services and recognition for medical student research. She also teaches health literacy at Literacy Partners in NYC, an organization which teaches non-English speakers to understand and speak English.

She is married to a retired physician, and has two grown sons and three grandchildren. She resides in Brooklyn and in the Catskill mountains, and enjoys biking, hiking, and music. 

Marcella Kanfer Rolnick is passionate about nurturing vibrant Jewish community in Brooklyn through Romemu Brooklyn (which she co-founded in 2017); The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life (which she co-founded in 2022), The Senesh School, and UJA Brooklyn. She believes in the power of a galvanizing vision, sense of possibility, collaboration, and strengths-based approaches to getting good work done.​ Marcella’s eldest was the first Romemu Brooklyn bar mitzvah; that Shabbat, and the Romemu Brooklyn bnei mitzvah of her other two sons have been three of the best days of her life. (She is so excited for her daughter’s Romemu Brooklyn bat mitzvah in 2028!) Marcella and her husband Josh are grateful to the Romemu Brooklyn community for adding uplifting spirituality and transformative belonging to their family’s lives.

Professionally, as the third generation of family leadership, Marcella creates meaning and value every day through her Purpose-driven family enterprise. She serves as Executive Chair of GOJO, makers of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, and Executive Chair of Walnut Ridge Family Office. She is a board member of both Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah and Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation.

Rick Kiley, with his wife Meital Waibsnaider, and children Asher and Lyla, has been actively in the Romemu community for several years. Both Asher and Lyla completed their B Mitzvah with Romemu in 2022 and 2023. Prior to joining the Kehilah committee of Romemu Brooklyn, for nine years Rick served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Luria Academy of Brooklyn, where his children attended elementary and middle school.

In his professional life, Rick is a 24-year experiential marketing veteran who co-founded Soho Experiential, a 20-year-old award-winning marketing agency based in New York. Rick has conceived and implemented groundbreaking experiential campaigns for clients such as Campari America, Rémy Cointreau, The Macallan Scotch Whisky, Citibank, Google Play, Proximo Spirits, Miller Coors, Godiva, NBC Universal, Barilla, and many more.

Outside of his work and time with Romemu, Rick serves on the advisory board of the tech-driven hospitality company VEMOS and sings with the Brooklyn Harmonics at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

Dina Lipkind discovered Romemu Brooklyn over six years ago, drawn to its beautiful and musical Kabbalat Shabbat services. She joined the Romemu Brooklyn Kehilah Committee soon after, driven by her passion for growing community.

Professionally, Dina is the Director of Nutrition Services for Yeled v’Yalda Early Childhood Center where she works with low -income children and their families. Dina is a founding parent of Luria Academy and dedicated to creating progressive Jewish learning environments. Dina has served as a board member in many roles including founding board member of Luria Academy, chair for NYCNEN, and the Haredi Health Coalition for NYCDOH.Dina resides in Prospect Heights with her husband, Marc, and they have 4 grown children between them. Dina is an avid urban gardener, and loves to spend time in nearby Prospect Park with her friends and family.

Andrew and his family are on a spiritual journey and thrilled to have been part of Romemu Brooklyn since its inception. This journey has also included many years as a parent and board member at Hannah Senesh Community Day School.  

Andy brings extensive experience in nonprofit management, urban resilience, and public service to his work on behalf of Romemu Brooklyn. He’s a Founding Principal at Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) and previously a key leader at 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), supporting cities globally. His 16 years in New York City government included high-level roles at the Department of Finance, the Department of Transportation, and the Taxi & Limousine Commission.