Meet Our Team

With his extensive experience of World 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.

Email: david@romemu.org

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.

Email: dianne@romemu.org

Born in South Korea (yes really!), raised in Hoboken until the age of 5 and then moved to Israel until a year ago, Shimon moved to NYC with his wife Rebecca, daughter Lily and dog Lucy to be part of the Romemu family.

After serving in the IDF as an officer he spent 2 years in Alabama working as a Jewish Agency Shaliach. He studied music at the Rimon School for Music and Jazz and holds a BA in Jewish Studies and History. Shimon is one of the leading Songleaders / Cantorial Soloists in Israel, he was Cantorial Soloist and head of the B’nai Mitzvah program at The Daniel Centers for Reform Judaism in Tel Aviv for 13 years. He was also the spiritual leader of Tlamim, the Israeli Reform movement’s young adult chapter, the Israeli Reform movement’s gap-year Mechina program and Youth Group.

He was co-music director of IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism) biennial, And the musical director for the Jewish Agency’s Summer Shlichim program for years. He writes original Jewish music (look for him on music streaming platforms), and was featured in Transcontinental music publications and PJ Library.  He is also the host of “Best in Israeli Rock” on Jewish Rock Radio. For the past year, since their return to the States, Shimon was the Artist in Residence at Temple Emanuel in Westfield, NJ. Shimon voice dubs characters in the Israeli versions of cartoon movies and TV shows. Some notable ones are Scar, Thanos, Hefty Smurf, and Peppa Pig’s Dad.

Email: shimon@romemu.org

Andrea is a Rabbinic and Cantorial Student at the pluralistic seminary The Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, New York. She is the Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Beth Israel in Bellingham, WA. She has taught all ages in synagogues for over twenty years, and provided spiritual inspiration through her music and prayer leadership for ten. Andrea feels drawn to aspects of many Jewish denominations, and has worked for Conservative, Reform, and Renewal synagogues. She is a singer/songwriter and Maggidah, a Jewish storyteller, and is currently working on her first album. This musical modern midrash lifts up the voices of women in the Torah. This past year Andrea studied at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where she was selected as an Arts Fellow. She will be traveling to Romemu each month to participate in person, and will be teaching remotely in the weeks in between. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband Josh and their two sons.

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.

Email: sperlo@romemu.org

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.

Email: jeff@romemu.org

Eden Sidney Foster is passionate about Jewish practice and transformation, justice, and service. She comes from a creative background in filmmaking and theater, with years of experience in hospitality and the Jewish world. She feels privileged to bring her skills to bear to contribute to connection and evolution in the Romemu community.

Noa Gendler has worked in children’s programming and education in a range of Jewish organisations, including at the New North London Synagogue, Noam and Ramah. She has studied as a year fellow at Hadar and the Conservative Yeshiva, and a past life she was a journalist (but luckily escaped). In her spare time she enjoys reading and being outraged by things on the internet.

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.

Dalia Horowitz  is our designated social worker from the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. She is a Licensed Social Worker at the Jewish Board where she is dedicated to helping individuals lead a productive life by developing tools and skills to navigate life’s challenges and improving relationships. She has experience working one on one and in groups with adults and children of all ages in a mental health clinic setting.  Dalia works closely with the Chesed Committee to support congregants needs. She was born and raised in New York and now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.