LEADERSHIP

Clergy and Professional Staff
Lay Leadership - Officers

LAY LEADERSHIP

Meet our officers! We take this opportunity to introduce our dedicated congregational leaders.

Edward Kopf President		Stephen Lachter Vice President for Administration
Ed and his wife, Nancy, have been members of Adas Israel since 1990. He has served on the Board of Directors for much of that time, been Chair of the Library Committee and a member of the Social Action, Strategic Planning and Personnel Committees. Ed is a principal of BMC Associates LLC, a mediation and consulting firm serving family business and closely-held partnerships and has over twenty years of senior management experience in rapidly growing public and closely-held companies. Ed has a doctoral degree in American Civilization from Brandeis University and has taught at Brandeis and Virginia Tech Commonwealth Universities.		Steve Lachter joined the Adas Israel Board of Directors seven years ago after serving as Treasurer and then President of the Men's Club, where he was able to greatly expand membership, participation and service to the community. Steve, his wife Sandy, and their daughter Amelia have been members of Adas Israel since 1995 although Steve confesses to have attended services at Adas Israel for some years before 1995. An active Keruv or "outreach" trainer and senior consultant for the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, Steve is involved in helping Conservative synagogues welcome and encourage member participation, including Jews by choice, and interfaith families. Steve is the founder and principal of a small law firm specializing in air transportation and antitrust issues. . He has served on the Membership, Budget & Finance and Nominating Committees, is a long-time member of Men's Club Board of Directors and is a member of the board of the Washington DCJCC.
Betty Adler Vice President for Membership		Cynthia Rosenberg - Vice President for Programs, Adult Education, and Ritual
Betty Adler and her husband, Mark L. Rosenberg, have been active members of Adas Israel since 1978. Their four children graduated from our Gan HaYeled Nursery School, celebrated becoming b'nai mitzvah and completed Religious School through Confirmation. Betty was the second Gan co-president and served on the Religious School Education committee for many years. She also taught Religious School for 5 years and coordinated the school's Madrichim program. Betty has been actively involved in Sisterhood activities for the last fifteen years as Communications Vice-President and as Sisterhood President for three years. She has also participated on the Budget Committee. Most recently, Betty has chaired the synagogue's Membership committee. Betty was born in Quito Ecuador and speaks fluent Spanish. She has worked with the synagogue's Hispanic Jewish community to develop programs. In her professional life, Betty received a Master's of Science in Public Health from the University of Missouri Medical School's Community Health and Family Practice Program. She and her husband own and operate The Kid's Place Early Learning Centers, a regional chain of child care facilities, along with a consulting company specializing in child care issues. Betty has also transformed a life-long passion for photography into a second career as a photographer.		Cynthia and her husband Joel have been members of Adas Israel nearly twenty years. Their two children, Kate and Alex, each celebrated becoming a bat and bar mitzvah at Adas Israel. Cynthia taught extensively in the Hebrew Literacy Program and celebrated her own adult bat mitzvah in 1994. Appointed to the Board of Directors in 2002, Cynthia is a member of the Strategic Planning and Ritual Committees. In 2003 she served on the Nominating Committee, which she Chaired in 2004 and 2005. She was also on the Board of Directors of the Sheridan School. Cynthia is a Board Certified Clinical Social Worker and has been a Psychotherapist in private practice for over twenty years. She treats individuals, couples and groups, with a special interest in pain management and stress related illnesses. Cynthia is a member of the Washington School of Psychiatry and the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.
Jeri Greenberg Vice President for Development		Amy Schwartz Vice President for Education and Youth Activities
Jeri Greenberg and her husband Edward are relatively new members of Adas Israel, having joined in 2001. Attending daily minyan was the catalyst that motivated them to join the Congregation. Since then, Jeri has joined Sisterhood, becoming its treasurer in 2006. She was a member of the 2007 Nominating Committee and is also a member of our Chevra Kadisha. Jeri and Ed's daughters, Alison and Jennifer, attended our Gan HaYeled Nursery School. Jeri has had a long career as a volunteer fund raiser. She has been a solicitor for over 25 year for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, where she has served as chair of the Lions of Judah. As president of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee, she was instrumental in raising funds for the university's libraries. She has also chaired campaigns for Edmund Burke School in the District and Dickinson College. In her current career as a professional Life Coach, Jeri partners with business owners and attorneys to identify their strengths and take actions to increase clarity, organization and confidence. She has also served as Executive Director of Tifereth Israel Congregation. A graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, Jeri also attended the Yeshiva Academy of Harrisburg, PA, of which her father was a founder. She is a member of the Capital Speakers Club.		Amy Schwartz has been a member of Adas Israel since 1992. She has served on the Ritual, Membership, Adult Education, World Affairs, and Religious School Education committees, on the Traditional Minyan Coordinating Committee, and, since 2003, on the Board of Directors. Her husband, Eric Koenig, is also active on many Adas Israel committees. Their children, Sandy, Daniel, and Miriam, are graduates of the Gan HaYeled Nursery School and attend the Melvin Gelman Religious School. Amy has also been the acting president, vice president, and a longtime teacher at the Jewish Study Center, an independent adult education institution that holds evening classes at Adas Israel and elsewhere. Professionally, Amy is a journalist specializing in cultural and educational topics, a contributing editor and regular book reviewer for the Wilson Quarterly, and a former editorial writer and op ed columnist for the Washington Post.
Jamie Butler Secretary		Brian Schwalb Assistant Secretary
Jamie and her husband Stuart have been active Adas Israel members since 1994. In addition to serving as an officer, Jamie is active on the Bereavement Committee, Ritual Committee and Social Action Council. Their daughters, Rachel and Fiona, became b'not mitzvah and were Confirmed at Adas Israel. Jamie and Stuart also co-chaired the Scholar-in Residence program for three years. She has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2000 and currently serves on the Rabbinic Search Committee. Jamie is a partner in Dietzel Butler & Associates, which provides neuropsychological and educational testing services for children, adolescents and adults. As an educational diagnostician she previously worked at The Kingsbury Center, William Stixrud & Associates, and with developmental pediatrician, Patricia Quinn. Prior to that, she developed special education materials at Macro Systems and was director of program development for The National Committee, Arts for the Handicapped, an educational affiliate of The Kennedy Center that funded innovative and model projects in the arts with disabled individuals. Jamie has taught low-income children in the DC area who have learning, behavioral and social difficulties. She has a Master of Science in Teaching from The University of Chicago and a Master of Education (special education and learning disabilities) from The American University.		Brian and his wife, Mickie Simon, have been members of Adas Israel since 1994. Mickie and Brian have three daughters, Jessica, Allison and Sydney, each of whom attended our Gan Hayeled Nursery School and now attend our Religious School. Brian has served on the Board of Directors of the synagogue since 2003 and was a member of our leadership development program. A native Washingtonian, Brian graduated from Duke University and Harvard Law School, worked in the justice department's tax division, and is now a partner in the lawfirm Venable LLP.
Robert Rubin Treasurer		Andrew Lipps Assistant Treasurer
Rob Rubin has been a member of Adas Israel since moving to the region in 1991. He and his wife, Rachel, have taught in the Melvin Gelman Religious School, have led the Machar youth group at the synagogue, and have been active members since they arrived. Rob has been on the Board of Directors for many years, has served on the Personnel Committee and the House, Grounds & Security Committee, which he has co-chaired for the past several years, and has completed an executive committee term as Vice President of Administration. Rob is the Principal Partner at Cyrus Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm focused on growth and development issues for emerging businesses. He and Rachel have 2 daughters, Amalia and Gabriela.		Andrew Lipps and his wife Eva Sereghy have been members of Adas Israel  since 1979. Their daughters, Jessica and Lauren, celebrated becoming B’not Mitzvah at the synagogue. Andy has been a member of the Board of Directors and active on the Personnel Committee for the last ten years and has served as Chair of the Committee. He has taught classes in Hebrew Literacy and on occasion reads Torah during Shabbat services. After graduating Stanford Law School in 1974, Andy enjoyed a career as a litigator for 24 years in Washington, DC. In 1998, he followed a lifelong passion for mathematics, received a Masters degree in Mathematics from George Washington University and became a math teacher. For the past seven years, Andy has taught math at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC.
Russell Smith Immediate Past President
Russell Smith and his wife Judy have been members of Adas Israel since 1974. Russell is Life Member of the Board of Managers, and has served as Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and Chairman of the Investment and Strategic Planning Committees. Russell is Special Counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a Washington and New York law firm, where he specializes in Government Relations. His professional career includes service with the U.S. Treasury Department, Conrail, the U.S. Commerce Department, and the United States Congress. Russell and Judy have one son, Harris, a graduate of the Gan who celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Adas Israel.

 

Synagogue Trustees:

Melvyn Cohen	Sheldon S. Cohen	Estelle Gelman
Jack Kay	Larry Nussdorf	Judy Linowes

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