Temple Shalom Board of Trustees
Officers
President – Erica Neufeld *
Treasurer - Lynda Schwartz *
Membership Secretary – Ellen Nussbaum*
Vice-President – Samuel Brenner*
Vice-President - John Duberstein*
Vice-President – Valerie Pirri*
Vice-President – Emily Sienkiewicz *
* Members of the Executive Committee
Trustees
Charlie Brenner
Elizabeth Connolly
Allan Cole
Mitchell Dickerman
Christine Fisher
Barbara Hecht
Rachel King
Liz Kleinerman
Evan Leventhal
Averi Price
Laura Scharf
Adam Sterns
Susan Yospin
Trustees ex-officio
Past President - Carol Berlin*
Past President - Judy Levin-Charns*
Past President - Fred Kraus
Erica Neufeld
Erica is a Newton native who moved to Washington, DC for undergrad and stayed another 20 years. Erica and her daughter joined Temple Shalom in 2018 not long after moving back to Newton. Professionally, Erica has spent her career in healthcare marketing communications at various hospitals and non-profit organizations and personally, she loves to swim, bike, travel, read, try new restaurants, and spend time with family and friends.
Lynda Schwartz
As treasurer of Temple Shalom, Lynda works with our Finance Committee, clergy, and staff to present an annual budget for approval by the Temple Board. Throughout the fiscal year, Lynda and the Finance Committee work with the temple staff and clergy to oversee our financial operations. Lynda is a CPA and a lecturer in accounting at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Lynda is also a former board chair and treasurer of InterfaithFamily, now known as 18Doors, a national non-profit supporting interfaith families exploring Jewish life. Lynda and her family have been members of Temple Shalom since the early 1990s.
Ellen Nussbaum
Ellen spent her career in technology, with focus on building and running software companies and teams. She is currently a Lecturer in the Finance department at Bentley University, and serves on two non-profit boards in addition to Temple Shalom: GBH (Board of Advisors) and the Boston chapter of Hadassah. Ellen lives in Newton with her husband, two sons and many pets, and is an avid Boston Celtics fan.
Samuel Brenner
Sam and his wife, Claudia Arno, joined Temple Shalom in 2017, after living variously in Providence, RI, Ann Arbor and Lansing, MI, Pasadena, CA, and Lexington and Cambridge, MA. They have two daughters, one of whom is in SHACHARIT, and one of whom is in the Temple Shalom Nursery School, and two dogs, one of whom is a 20-lb Havanese (Maverick) and one of whom is a 100-lb Great Pyrenees (Gavin). Professionally, Sam, who has a Ph.D. in modern U.S. History from Brown and a J.D. from the University of Michigan, has spent his career as an Intellectual Property and Appellate litigator at Ropes & Gray, LLP.
Valerie Pirri
Valerie has been a member of Temple Shalom for over 10 years. During this time, she's been involved in various committees such as Interfaith, Finance, and Families of Young Children. Professionally, Val is an IT Director at Brandeis University and lives in Newton with her husband, two children, and their dog named Finley. She enjoys biking, swimming, skiing, and traveling.
Emily Sienkiewicz
Emily and her family have been Temple Shalom members for ten years. Both of Emily's children attended the Temple Shalom Nursery School and are now enrolled in SHACHARIT and MINCHA. Professionally, Emily has spent her career in development and fundraising at various non-profit organizations and, personally, she loves to play pickleball, read, eat ice cream, and hang out in her backyard with family and friends.
