Rabbi Jonah Pesner

Rabbi Pesner is the founding Director of the Just Congregations initiative of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). The URJ represents 1.5 million Reform Jews across North America, in more than 950 synagogues. Most recently, as a leader of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Rabbi Pesner was the chair of the GBIO effort in the Massachusetts “Affordable Care Today!” coalition that successfully secured health care for more than half a million uninsured residents of the Commonwealth.

As a congregational rabbi at Temple Israel in Boston, he developed the Fain Award winning “Ohel Tzedek / Tent of Justice” social action initiative. Engaging hundreds of members, Temple Israel joined other congregations and organizations in successful campaigns for health care access, affordable housing, public education, gay and lesbian rights, nursing care workers rights, and living wage. Rabbi Pesner serves on the board of the Jewish Memorial Hospital in Roxbury, is on the board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and serves on the Task Force on Congregation-Based Community Organizing of the Jewish Funds for Justice. Rabbi Pesner has written several journal articles, and wrote a chapter entitled “Redemption for Radicals” in the newly published anthology, “Righteous Indignation.” He was the Meyer W. Nathans Scholar at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he was ordained in 1997. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Rabbi Pesner is married to Boston attorney, Dana S. Gershon. Together they have four daughters, Juliet, Noa, Bobbie and Cate.

Rabbi Jamie S. Korngold serves as the spiritual leader of Adventure Rabbi, a program based in Colorado that combines the outdoors and Jewish practice. Rabbi Korngold received her ordination from Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion. She is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the international rabbinic association of Reform Judaism) Chaver (The Boulder Colorado Rabbinical

Council) and the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Association.  An avid hiker, skier, biker and runner, she has completed the Victoria Half Ironman Triathlon and the Leadville Trail 100, a 100 mile trail run.

She also bicycled the 4,020 miles from New York to San Francisco.  Her book God in the Wilderness was published by Random House in April 2008.

Jessica Ingram

Jessica Ingram received her MA in Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College in May 2009 and is now working to complete a MA in Religious Education from HUC's New York School of Education. Jessica grew up on Long Island, where she became involved in the Jewish community, participating in NFTY and studying abroad in Israel during her junior year of high school.

Jessica attended American University in Washington, DC, which is where she first started running. After helping to organize the second annual American Classic 5K, which raised money for AU's chapter of Habitat for Humanity, she joined the National AIDS Marathon Training Program, completing the Marine Corps Marathon in 2004 and then the ING New York City Marathon in 2005. She returned to NYC in 2007 to pursue her graduate education and running has remained a big part of her life, along with her passion for social change. She has since become the coordinator of the HUC Soup Kitchen and has achieved a PR of 3:55 in the 2008 NYC Marathon. Being part of a community that allows her to merge these two loves is such a gift and she is thrilled that more of her classmates and friends are getting out there and running for change!

Rabbi Andrew Goodman

Rabbi Andrew A. Goodman was born and raised in Woodbury, Connecticut and graduated with a BA in Psychology and English from the University of Michigan. He worked as Program Director and Youth Advisor at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, Michigan during college and full-time before attending HUC. While at HUC, he interned as Student Rabbi at Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New York, as Pastoral Care Intern at DOROT, and volunteered as head chef of the HUC Soup Kitchen for two years. During the summers, he pursued military chaplaincy with the Navy's Chaplain Corps.  Since being ordained in 2008, he has served as solo rabbi north of the Adirondacks at Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh, NY.
 

Rabbi Neil Hirsch

Rabbi Neil E. Hirsch joined the Temple Shalom staff in June 2010. He received his Masters in Hebrew Literature in 2009 and ordination in 2010 from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City.

Rabbi Hirsch was born and raised in Houston, Texas. There, he was involved in the Jewish community from a young age. Rabbi Hirsch attended Tufts University in Medford, MA, where he received his B.A. in Art History and Classics. While at Tufts, Rabbi Hirsch was involved in Tufts Hillel and in KESHER, the URJ’s college department. In his final year of school, Rabbi Hirsch brought two of his loves together--his Jewish life and art. He was a co-curator of an interfaith art exhibit that explored expressions of an artist’s spiritual journey. The show was awarded the Eli Wiesel Prize for Culture and Arts from the International Hillel foundation. Rabbi Hirsch was also a member of the first national KESHER leadership council.

After spending a year in Jerusalem, during his schooling, Rabbi Hirsch served student pulpits in Manhattan, Long Island, and Falls Church, Virginia. He was a chaplain intern at the NYU-Medical Center.

Rabbi Hirsch is an avid cyclist and runner. He was a member of the Tufts cycling team and has completed a number of long-distance charity bike rides, including two MS-150s: Houston to Austin and Boston to Provincetown. In New York City, on November 1, 2009, Rabbi Hirsch completed his first (and certainly not his last) marathon.

Rabbi Peter Rigler began his service as Rabbi of Temple Sholom in Broomall, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 2009.

He is looking foward to engaging with members in all aspects of Jewish living including: worship services, through officiating at weddings, funerals, b'nai mitzvah ceremonies and baby namings, and teaching in the Religious School and Lifelong Learning program. Rabbi Rigler's interests include social justice, youth work, teaching and Israel. He is passionate about making the synagogue warm, fun and inviting.

Rabbi Rigler was ordained by the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 2002. He served previously for seven years as the Associate Rabbi at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel of Elkins Park, PA.  He worked as an intern during Rabbinical school at Reform Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains and also at Rodeph Sholom in New York City.

He is an active member of the URJ Camp Harlam Board, where he serves on the faculty for two weeks each summer. He is involved at the Broad Street Ministry homeless shelter and in many social action projects throughout Philadelphia. He is also a graduate of the Synagogue Transformation and Renewal Program, a two-year leadership training course.

His wife, Rabbi Stacy Rigler, is the Religious School Director at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, PA. They have two  children: Maya (5) and Nathan (2).

Rabbi Seth Phillips

Rabbi Seth Phillips, a Navy chaplain since 1992, has completed 42 marathons in Asia, America and Europe. His BQ was in Edinburgh, Scotland in May, 2008. He ran Boston 2009 and BQ’ed for 2010. This will be his 3rd running the Marine Corps marathon and New York City Marathon on successive weekends. “I ran Marine Corps and New York in 2001 and 2003 when everyone had pictures of friends and relatives lost in 9/11. My fallen shipmates are my inspiration to stay the course and do the distance,” said Phillips. With a running nickname of “Buzz,” Phillips wears black and yellow and gold antenna. “I guess you can call me a Seabee [a reference to the Navy’s builders and constructionmen].” The Armed Forces Network did a feature story on him in 2009 preparing for Boston.

Rabbi Phillips is presently stationed in Annapolis at the US Naval Academy as one of eight chaplains providing counsel and inspiration for more than 4000 Midshipmen. “I’m used to running alone, but at the Academy, everyone runs.” He composed a unique Jewish running cadence for the Jewish Midshipmen whose chorus is “Hey Hey, Rabbi Jack. Meet me down at the tallis rack.” [words available on request] “I am honored to be running New York with the Running Rabbis Team and raising money for Team Hole in the Wall,” said Rabbi Phillips. “For all who are running and running toward the mitzvah of tzedakah [commandment for charity], may the verse in Isaiah 40:31 come true, ‘ they shall run and not grow weary.’”

Student Cantor David Frommer

David Frommer never had any interest in running until one fateful night in college. David had always showed more talent for singing than exercising, and on this night he was on a weekend retreat in Albany, NY with Magevet, Yale's Jewish a cappella group. One of the guys in the group, named Daver, did not particularly like David, but was desperate for exercising company, and invited him on a run. Eight years and countless runs later, Daver served as best man at David's wedding. Five months after that, Rabbi Mike Friedman convinced David to join the Running Rabbis for his first-ever marathon. David is entering his fourth year of cantorial studies at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion's School of Sacred Music. Prior to cantorial school, he served as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, where he learned that running is just as hard for him in Hebrew as it is in English.
 

Student Rabbi John Carrier

John Carrier is a rabbinical student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the American Jewish University and a religious school teacher at IKAR in Los Angeles. A wandering soul from an itinerant academic family, John grew up in Texas, West Virginia, and Connecticut, earned his BS in Economics from Towson University in Maryland, and worked as a financial analyst and consultant in Washington, DC, Tennessee, and Minnesota before moving to Los Angeles to follow a calling to the rabbinate.

John ran his first marathon in October 2008, the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota, though he had only started running a year before at the age of 31. As soon as he crossed the finish line, he was hooked. Since then, he has run marathons in Las Vegas, Knoxville, and Minneapolis. He is now training for his second run in Vegas in December to benefit Chai Lifeline, an organization that supports families with seriously ill children, and his first run in the Los Angeles Marathon in March to benefit Beit T'shuvah, a residential treatment center and congregation that brings psychological and spiritual healing to individuals and families suffering from addiction and other destructive behaviors.

Student Rabbi Anne Strauss

Anne Strauss was born in Dallas. She and her family are longtime members of Temple Emanu-El. She has a B.A. in English literature from Bates College (2005). Anne is currently in her third year of rabbinical school at the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is a student rabbi for Temple Israel in Marion, OH. During the summers, she has been completing training requirements for Navy chaplaincy. She is currently a commissioned ensign. Training for races is also a good way to stay in shape for those Marine physical fitness requirements. Last year she finished the US Air Force Half Marathon, and ran the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon in 1:42:02. She enjoys running almost every morning through the wild suburbs of Cincinnati before school.

Rabbi Brett Krichiver

Rabbi Brett Krichiver is currently the Senior Jewish Educator for Hillel at UCLA, and is training for his first marathon (LA) in March. He remembers running hurdles long, long ago in high school, but started running again in the early mornings when his young daughter Sierra insisted on waking up at 5:00 am.

Brett has lived in Kansas City and Denver, and received his ordination from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles in 2005. He and his wife, Tami have worked in Jewish communal life for ten years, and Brett is thrilled to bring his passion for creative Jewish expression and community building to UCLA.

Hope Chernak

Hope Chernak joined Temple Shaaray Tefila of New York City as Director of Youth and Informal Education in July 2007. Hope brings to us years of experience in the Reform youth movement. She was most recently managing director of NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth), with responsibility for, among other things, hiring all professional staff, supervising the regional advisors, and coordinating the leadership development of the NFTY Youth Officers. Hope was also responsible for updating the Temple Youth Group curriculum for the NFTY National Leadership Center of the Union for Reform Judaism. She has also served as the director of NFTY regions, as a regional advisor for NFTY, as regional director of youth and informal education for the URJ Southeast Council, as a synagogue youth group advisor, and as a religious school teacher.

Hope received her bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and management from Webber International University where she also played basketball, soccer, and cross-country on collegiate scholarship. Hope has a certificate in Youth, Adult and Family Learning from the New York School of Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and will receive her master's degree in religious education from HUC-JIR in May, 2011.