Romemu Staff

With his extensive experience of so many wisdom traditions, Rabbi David brings a unique depth and breadth of understanding to his rabbinic work. He is deeply committed to comparative religious studies and to integrating into Judaism practices which consistently prove effective in opening a connection with the Divine.

Rabbi Dianne was the first woman from the Syrian Jewish community to be ordained as a Rabbi. She graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1995, where she was awarded several fellowships and a prize for academic excellence. Since that time she has served as an educator, scholar-in-residence, and administrator for multiple organizations in the Jewish world, including CLAL, the Bronfman Youth Fellowship, The Curriculum Initiative and UJA Federation. In 2007 she was named one of fifty top rabbis by the Washington Post online. Besides leading education efforts at Romemu she currently co-teaches the Arts Beit Midrash at the Skirball Institute with Tobi Kahn, teaches courses at UJA Federation a nd writes and speaks regularly on Torah, Jewish values and family life, Jewish ethnicity and Judaism and disabilities. Rabbi Dianne and her journalist husband Larry live on the upper west side of Manhattan and have three children.

Rabbi Janice Elster runs Romemu’s Seekers Holistic Hebrew School, our B Mitzvah program and helps create meaningful Jewish experiences for kids and families at Romemu. Rabbi Elster was ordained at Hebrew Union College, and holds a certificate in Clinical Pastoral Education and a BA Honors in Jewish Studies and Women’s Studies. She is passionate about gender inclusivity and women’s empowerment in Jewish practice and making Jewish texts and tradition come alive. Before joining Romemu, Rabbi Elster served in synagogues, in a Jewish Federation and a Hillel and has dedicated her life to making Judaism and Jewish life rich, accessible and meaningful to adults, kids and families.

Rabbi Scott Perlo is a leader in the field of Jewish open outreach. He’s taught Torah to thousands of unaffiliated Jews, their partners and those interested in Jewish life of any background. For the last ten years, Scott has worked primarily with Millennials, addressing the specific needs of the next generation of Jewish life.

Rabbi Perlo was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2008, and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish Thought. He is a veteran of multiple cutting-edge Jewish communities, having served as a rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, rabbi-in-residence at Moishe House and The Professional Leaders Project, and intern at IKAR in Los Angeles. Scott leads trips for Honeymoon Israel, was a founding member of the Jewish Emergent Network and is a Wexner Field Fellow.

A regular writer, Rabbi Perlo has been published in The Washington Post, The Forward and The Huffington Post, among other publications.

A California native, he gets back to his beloved Pacific Ocean to surf and to dive whenever he can. He lives in New York with his partner, Yael, a Constitutional Lawyer, and two sons.

Rabbi Mira Rivera received ordination at The Jewish Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Jewish Studies. Previous to rabbinical studies, she earned a B.F.A. in Film at New York University Tisch School of the Arts., danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and Ensemble under Artistic Director Yuriko Kikuchi and studied with ballet master Gabriela Taub Darvash. While at chaplain residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital and DOROT, she came to Romemu for spiritual community. Following a two-year Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic fellowship, she continues to serve at Romemu as Board Certified Chaplain, social action organizer, and Morning Minyan prayer leader. She is Rabbi and mentor at  Ammud: the Jews of Color Torah Academy and a co-chair of the rabbinical council of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ). With  Dr. Renee Hill, she co-founded Harlem Havruta, “a brave space for Jews of Color, allies and co-conspirators” in partnership with St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.  She is an alumnae of Bend the Arc’s Selah Cohort 15 for Jews of Color and the first cohort of Jewish Women of Color Resilience Circle with Yavilah McCoy. Rabbi Rivera is grateful to Rabbi Mauricio Balter for mentoring her with grace and generosity in the spirit of Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer z”l.

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.

Jeff has been passionately involved in Renewal Judaism for over 20 years, serving on the board of Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal, studying in the Aleph Seminary, and participating as a founding member of two Jewish Renewal congregations. Jeff has served on the Board of Romemu since our inception, and co-founded and chaired our Seekers Holistic Hebrew School, and our first Financial Development committee.  Jeff believes that Romemu is on its way to becoming a world class center for Renewal Judaism and plans to do whatever he can to help make that happen.

Jeff has 30 years of experience managing non-profit and for-profit organizations of all sizes. Most recently, he was the Director of Development of Young Judaea Global, the largest pluralist Zionist youth movement, and before that was a Development Director at UJA-Federation of New York, the world’s largest local philanthropy. Previously, while living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years, he founded, grew, and sold the high-tech internet company, Netpulse. He has also worked at Intel, AT&T Bell Labs, and the Israeli telecom company, Telrad. A long time ago, Jeff got a BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell, and a Masters from Stanford.

Jeff is madly in love with his wife, Shelley, and his three kids, Simon, Isabel, and Sinai.

Natalia has spent the last decade providing high level support to synagogues in the New York area. Most recently she was the Executive Assistant to the Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel, and previously served as Office Manager and Senior Assistant at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue and Rodeph Sholom. She is also a freelance graphic designer, photographer and much more!

Gabi Barton is a fundraising professional with a background primarily in arts & culture and education.  She most recently served as Director of Development Operations at the Museum of the City of New York, and has also worked at eclectic institutions such as the Spence School, New York City Opera, and Putumayo World Music.  She is a graduate of Wellesley College with a major in Latin American Studies and a minor in music.  When not restricted by quarantine rules, Gabi is an active member of the New Amsterdam Singers, a 60-70 voice choir which normally rehearses at Columbia Presbyterian Church on Broadway and 114th Street.  She also enjoys taking advantage of her membership at the New York Botanical Garden and exploring the parks in central Harlem.

Emily grew up personally and professionally in shuls. A former youth director, she used her natural ability to connect with people and her love of Judaism to follow her passions. She (concurrently!) earned her Masters in Religious Education from HUC and her yoga teacher certification. A common theme in her life is mindfulness, and when not at work, Emily can be found reading in a cozy sweater, adding to her vinyl collection, and hanging out with her cats. She can’t wait to meet you!

Sarah Chandler is a Brooklyn-based Jewish educator, ritualist, artist, activist, and poet. During the year, she is a garden educator with Grow Torah. She teaches, writes, and consults on issues related to Jewish earth-based spiritual practice, farming, and mindfulness. Ordained as a Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess), she is also studying as a shamanic healer apprentice at The Wisdom School of S.O.P.H.I.A and Kabbalistic imaginal dream work at The School of Images.

Rebecca comes to Romemu after a decade spent working in the field of casting for Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatres.  She is an alumnus of Romemu’s June 2020 Yeshiva program, and holds a BA in Psychology from Oberlin College and an MA in Leadership, Policy, and Administration from the University of St. Thomas.  Rebecca is passionate about social justice and restorative justice work, queering and indigenizing community norms, and about theatre–especially in exploring the intersections between the way theatre, democracy, and religion operate in a society.  She is also an astrologer in training and a strong believer in the use of astrology as a tool for grace and understanding.

Maximillian is a New Jersey based content creator, whose passion for Torah and Judaism has enabled him to work on a number of fun and exciting projects with the goal of bringing the Jewish ideas and values he loves to the masses. From podcasting to video production to written content, Max is proud of what he has accomplished, and he is so excited to bring his enthusiasm for Judaism and creativity to Romemu. When he isn’t working on Jewish media projects, he is reading books on Jewish history, watching Netflix comedy specials, walking his dog Momo, and hanging out with his wife, Ruthie, sometimes all at once!

Ariel comes to Romemu with deep experience building our community and foundation since its inception. Ariel served as interim Executive Director of Romemu in 2008 when the organization went from a part-time concept to a full time dues-paying organization. 10 years later,  Ariel joins the team again having most recently served as the Chief Communications and Engagement Officer at Youth INC where she partnered with a Board of 40 corporate professionals to strategize and financially support capacity building services for nonprofits across the city.  Prior to that Ariel worked with Virgin and Richard Branson’s Foundation creating philanthropic, brand-aligned campaigns and initiatives. Ariel has built her career to marry resource with need, and now leads that effort for Romemu alongside Jeff Cahn, Rabbi David Ingber, and the incredible Board, staff and community of Romemu.

Ariel has an MBA from Notre Dame and a BA from Rutgers College. She is mother to three energetic and creative sons – Baer, Tal and Or – and wife to a clever rabbi who founded a shul on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Sebastian returns to Romemu with two decades of administrative and educational experience. A graduate of LIU majoring in psychology and art, he most recently was the Office Manager of 14 years for a pediatric therapy center, and previously served as Executive Assistant at West End Synagogue. When Sebastian isn’t serving the executive suite at Romemu, he is a blogger, husband and doggy daddy.

Aliza Rivka comes to the position of Program Manager with extensive experience in both retreat center management and clinical dance/movement therapy. A Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess), Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist and a Romemunik for 10 years, Aliza is honored to serve this community both in an administrative capacity and as a dance facilitator through Ravayah. Aliza is a graduate of Columbia University and earned her Master’s in dance/movement therapy at Sarah Lawrence College. She has spent the last decade sharing movement as a spiritual practice within the Jewish community and beyond. Aliza currently lives in Costa Rica, where she aspires to move as mindfully as the sloths.

Micali Morin is a religious school educator, Repair the World Manhattan teen service corps coordinator, and Serve the Moment service corps member. This past fall, she served with Met Council on Housing, a tenants rights organization. She believes in the power of mutual aid and the value of community support, and her own commitment to service is deeply ingrained in her Jewish values. Micali is a recent graduate of NYU and, in her free time, finds peace through writing, trying new teas, and pretending to know how to knit.

Debra has 25 years of experience in marketing and communication, most recently as the Executive Director of Academic Communications and Marketing at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Prior to joining Baylor, Debra held several positions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY. She has also held communications and marketing roles at the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science and Northwind Circus with a Purpose.

After earning a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Rhode Island, Debra completed an M.S. in Animal Science at Rutgers University. She served on the board of the Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society of New York and has also held lay leadership positions in the Jewish community, including serving as president of Kehilat Orach Eliezer in Manhattan and Congregation Netivot Shalom in Teaneck, NJ. She currently lives in Teaneck with her husband, Jonathan, and their sons, Sam and Boaz.

Aliza Rivka comes to the position of Program Manager with extensive experience in both retreat center management and clinical dance/movement therapy. A Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess), Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist and a Romemunik for 10 years, Aliza is honored to serve this community both in an administrative capacity and as a dance facilitator through Ravayah. Aliza is a graduate of Columbia University and earned her Master’s in dance/movement therapy at Sarah Lawrence College. She has spent the last decade sharing movement as a spiritual practice within the Jewish community and beyond. Aliza currently lives in Costa Rica, where she aspires to move as mindfully as the sloths.

Miriam Rubin comes to Romemu with experience in event planning, organizational development and spiritual Jewish Education. She first came to Romemu as a congregant while earning her BA in Environmental Science from Barnard College in 2007. Miriam’s current outlook and style has been greatly informed by training and association with JOFEE Programs (Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education). Miriam grateful to be bringing her skills and passions together in her role on the staff of Romemu.

Evie Shen-Tal joined Romemu as a Program Moderator. She grew up in Israel and moved to the USA after completing her service with the IDF.  When she is not providing tech support for video meetings, webinars and live streamed events, Evie prepares students for Bar/ Bat Mitzvah and teaches Hebrew classes.  In her free time, Evie enjoys improving her Spanish and Arabic language skills, developing new plant- based recipes for cooking, and spending time out in nature.

Avi Goldstein is a recent graduate from Northwestern University with a degree in Film and Holocaust and Genocide Studies. She is passionate about creating tight knit Jewish communities imbued with joy and compassion. Before joining Romemu, she co-founded an online Jewish summer camp for children whose summer camps were cancelled due to Covid-19 and later worked at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School as a Heschel Fellow, assisting the school with a new set of needs amidst the pandemic. In her free time, she finds joy in painting, crossword puzzles, trying to make the perfect challah, and challenging everyone she meets to a game of scrabble.