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Natasha Goldman and her family, including her husband Joachim Homann and sons Tobias and Adam, moved to Brookline in 2019 and joined Temple Ohabei Shalom in 2020. Adam became a bar mitzvah at TOS in 2023. Natasha’s family had lived in Brunswick, ME for nine years, where they were active in the local Brunswick Havurah and members of Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland. On the professional front, Natasha is an art historian and president of WISSEN, Inc., a grants consulting firm that works with hospitals, municipalities, and institutions of higher education. She is also a visiting researcher at the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies at Boston University, where her research focuses Holocaust memorials. Her book, Memory Passages: Holocaust Memorials in the United States and Germany, was published by Temple University Press in 2020. She has twice co-directed a National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar, “Teaching the Holocaust through Visual Culture,” at Bowdoin College for teachers grades 8-12 from across the US.
Joshua lives in Brookline with his wife, Masha Kogan and their son, Toby. They have been members of Ohabei Shalom since Toby started pre-school at the Trust Center in 2012. Professionally, Joshua is a consultant, strategist, and investment analyst in sustainability and renewable energy.
Denise J. Karlin is an attorney who retired in 2022 from a 36 career with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where she was Legal Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care for 22 years and Complaint Counsel for the Board of Registration in Medicine for 14 years. Denise is a graduate of Harvard College and Havard Law School. Denise and her husband Bill Jarosz have been members of Temple Ohabei Shalom since 2010. Denise has served on the Temple’s Board of Trustees since 2012, serving as Recording Secretary since 2023. She has also served as President of the TOS Sisterhood since 2016. Denise has also served on numerous Temple committees over the years, both standing and ad hoc committees, and currently serves on the Finance, Human Resources, and Adult Education committees. Denise is also active with the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, where she serves as a Fellow, and serves as a Trustee on the Board of the Brook House Condominium Trust. Denise and Bill have lived in Brookline for over 40 years (together for 37 of those years). They live with their 16 year old miniature poodle Luna, and their 12 year old cat Tony.
Richard Stern grew up in Charleston SC, attending Sunday School at the US’s oldest Reform Temple, followed by attending middle school at Addlestone Hebrew Academy. He remains involved with his Southern Jewish roots via participation in The Jewish Historical Society of SC and the College of Charleston’s Jewish Studies program.
After graduating from the University of Florida, Richard moved to Atlanta to begin his accounting career with the largest regional CPA firm in Atlanta. Nearly a decade later, he founded Richard H Stern CPA PC, a tax and consulting firm, which recently celebrated 20 years of service.
In 2013, Richard and his Partner, Dr. Lance Goodman relocated to the South End section of Boston, where Richard quickly became involved in several non-profit organizations, including United South End Settlements (USES) and South End Business Alliance (SEBA). Lance and Richard became a members of TOS in 2014, followed by Richard joining the TOS Board of Directors in 2017.
Term Ending 2025
Jeff Berry and his wife Lori, residents of Brookline, have been members of Temple Ohabei Shalom since 2015. An avid traveler, Jeff had hosted the planning team for the synagogue’s trip to Israel before the COVID pandemic caused the trip to be cancelled. Jeff is a Professor at Tufts with a distinguished career of research, writing, and teaching in the university’s Political Science Department. His research has focused on policymaking in Washington, interest groups, Massachusetts politics, nonprofits, and urban government. Jeff’s non-profit board experience includes having been Treasurer and Chairman of the Massachusetts/New England chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Term Ending 2026
Leigha and her family joined TOS in the fall of 2017. Leigha and her husband Andy have two children; Josh and Zach. Josh had his bar mitzvah at TOS in November 2020 and Zach will have his bar mitzvah at TOS in May. Leigha served on the Nominating Committee in the spring of 2021 and on the Rabbi Search Committee in the fall of 2021. She joined other TOS members for tree planting last spring, sung in the chorus for the temple’s fall concert, and most recently had fun singing in the chorus for the Purim Shpiel. Leigha left her job as a clinical data manager when Josh turned one and since then has done a lot of volunteer work, usually at her sons’ schools, including sitting on school council, co-chairing the community service team, and helping organize the school book fair.
Term Ending 2027
Ted Feldman originally hails from Port Jefferson Station, NY. He grew up going to Temple Isaiah in Stony Book, NY and has many fond memories of the Temple as a second home (his mom was the religious school admin for a stretch so he was there a lot). He came up to the Boston area for grad school in 2007 and never left. He is a data scientist and investigator at the VA Boston Healthcare System and a Lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. His work spans improving oncology care for Veterans under the Cancer Moonshot initiative, identifying cancer therapy toxicity, understanding the relationship and progression of chronic liver disease to liver cancer and has included helping in the VA Boston response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. He earned a B.S. in Physics and B.E. in Engineering Science from Stony Brook University and an S.M. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University. You’ve seen him around ToS volunteering at the Muddy River clean-up, a few different ToS Young Adult events and playing the flute and sax in the ToS Band. In addition to music he enjoys cooking, biking (he still needs to lead a ToS ice cream ride) and running and ran the 2017 Marine Corps, 2019 NYC and 2022 Chicago Marathons with Berlin planned for 2024. He started tap dancing in the last year. Ted resides in Somerville where he serves as the Secretary and Engineering Team Lead of the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee.
Term Ending 2027
Nick Hunter and his wife, Helen, joined Temple Ohabei Shalom in 2015. Their son Nat (6th grade) and daughter Anna (3nd grade) both attended preschool at the Trust Center for Early Education and are now students at the Ansin Religious School. Nick especially values the sense of community he finds at TOS and is always amazed by the musical talent heard at every service. Nick was born and raised in the suburbs of Seattle, WA. He moved to Boston twenty years ago to attend graduate school at Harvard. He has lived within a mile of TOS ever since, the last ten in Coolidge Corner. By the time he finished his Ph.D. in neurobiology he knew that his real interest lay in teaching. He loves his job heading the science department at a small, majority Jewish, private school in Wellesley, MA where he teaches high school physics and 8th grade science.
Term Ending 2026
Jonathan and his wife, Jennifer, have been part of the TOS community since 2015, when their first of three children enrolled in the toddler room at TCEE. Since that time, Jonathan and has family have relished being members of the TOS community, having participated in many Shabbat B’yachads, Shul-ins, and other TOS community events. Jonathan originally hails from NY. He graduated from Yale University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MIT with an MS in Aeronautical Engineering, and has worked as an engineer in the aerospace and energy industries for about 20 years. Jonathan currently works for GE Aerospace on jet and helicopter engine design. He is honored to be considered for a role on the TOS Board and is hoping to contribute on physical plant and security issues, where he can leverage his technical acumen and expertise.
Term Ending 2026
Having always been appreciative of the values of Judaism, Stephanie Perrotti Kohn officially converted in 2001. The Jewish tradition appeals to her as it holds individuals accountable for their actions, in the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky, “here on this earth”. Stephanie and her husband David have been members of Temple Ohabei since they went shul shopping in 2014 so their sons, Caleb & Elio, could start their own journey. The warm and welcoming culture, across all backgrounds and perspectives, that they experienced upon even the first visit to TOS is what made them decide to join this community. After attending ARS, Caleb became a bar mitzvah– one of the first “Zoomitzvahs”– in May 2020, and Elio just this past November. The nonjudgment and creative, pragmatic environment TOS is known for is one of the reasons why Stephanie goes outside her comfort zone each year to participate in the Purim Shpiel. The Kohn family is grateful to have a deep connection with the clergy and staff at TOS as well as many other member families.
Outside of TOS involvement, Stephanie leads Marketing for a healthcare company in the diabetes space. Her expertise is in building brands and, ultimately, customer loyalty. She has an appetite for solving problems across industries affected by disruption– from health care and travel, to media and financial services; and a track record of reinventing the status quo to bring a vision to market in a scrappy way with optimal results.
Brotherhood Representative
Howard Koor joined Temple Ohabei Shalom in 1992, the year he married Ellen Mosner who was already a member. Both of their children attended Hebrew school at TOS. Howard has been a Brotherhood Board member for over 25 years. Some of his involvement with TOS has included being on five Gala committees, Concert committees, Rabbi Search committee, TOS Development committee and past Board Member of Family Table. His many experiences at TOS have added a rich meaning to his life. Outside of TOS: Presently a SCORE mentor, consulting small business owners. Howard and Ellen enjoy family vacations, dinner with friends, and ice cream dates!
Term Ending 2027
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rachel moved to Boston, where her roots were, in the mid 90’s. During the day Rachel works in the restaurant business. At night she comes home to Brookline where she live with her husband Alon and their two daughters Mira and Golda. They joined TOS in 2011, introduced by the Trust Center, and are so thankful to have this community in their lives.
Term Ending 2026
Fawn, her husband (Michael Mittelman), daughter, and son have been members of TOS since 2017. Fawn and Michael’s children attended ARS and both became b-mitzvah at TOS. She is deeply grateful for the community of support and connection her interfaith family has experienced at TOS. She celebrates the thoughtful work done by those before and those currently leading TOS to create a home under the dome for all who want to connect to Judaism and live the value of tikkun olam. Professionally, Fawn is an Instructor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) with a focus on leadership development and systems-level change grounded in dismantling systems of oppression. Previous to HSPH, Fawn had a 15-year legislative and regulatory advocacy career leading campaigns to improve the well-being of low-income and underrepresented populations.
Term Ending 2025
Elliott Puretz, CPA, is a Brookline resident, having moved to Brookline last year, after living in Newton for many years. He and his wife Linda has been members of Temple Ohabei Shalom since 2015. Elliott has served on the Board of Trustees since 2022 and served as Assistant Treasurer for two years. Elliott has been a practicing CPA for over 40 years and currently maintains an accounting practice where he advises clients in the areas of tax compliance and planning. He is also Associate Professor emeritus of Accounting at Merrimack College in North Andover. Elliott holds both a Bachelor’s’ degree in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration, with a focus in Accounting, from Boston University.
Term Ending 2025
With 24 year of experience in Marketing and Business Development for local architectural firms, Alisa currently works at studioMLA Architects in Brookline Village. A Brookline resident for 16 years and mother of a 9-year-old son, she is active on the Runkle School PTO helping with the Annual Fund and popular events such as the Halloween Fair. Other former longtime volunteer positions include serving on the alumni boards of The Winsor School and Wesleyan University among others. She and her family enjoy biking, skiing, sailing, cooking, volunteering and hosting parties!
Sisterhood Representative
Donna Silverman is a resident of Brookline and joined Temple Ohabei Shalom and the TOS Sisterhood in 2020. Shortly after joining the Sisterhood, she was nominated and elected to the TOS Sisterhood Leadership Board. In 2022 she joined the TOS Board of Trustees as TOS Sisterhood representative. Serving on the TOS Racial Justice Subcommittee, Donna moderated a temple-wide discussion on the documentary 13th. Upon becoming a member of the TOS Sisterhood Book Club, Donna served as the club’s discussion leader. Appointed Co-chair of Communications for the TOS Sisterhood, Donna is the writer for the publicity of its ongoing events. She founded and serves as head of the monthly TOS Sisterhood Ladies Who Lunch Club. Donna is on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Brookline and has written articles, published in the Tab, on voter education and voter empowerment. Previously Donna was Director of Guidance for METCO, where she fostered and developed partnerships with the Mayor of Boston. Through these partnerships, Donna was credited with providing opportunities for students in the METCO Program formerly granted only to Boston Public School students. Donna served on the Board of Directors and was Group Facilitator for Parents Helping Parents. She was awarded the annual statewide Parents Helping Parents Outstanding Group Facilitator Prize. Previously Donna taught English as a Second Language at Framingham State University.
Term Ending 2027
Michelle Simon grew up in the Southwest and moved to Boston to attend Boston University. Subsequently she attended Simmons College and earned a Masters Degree in Behavior Analysis and Assistive Technology. Michelle is a preschool special education teacher at Newton Public Schools. She has been a member of Temple Ohabei Shalom since 2018. Michelle is a mother to two boys, Judah and Jack.
