PAST CONFERENCE 2024

Rabbi Judith Beiner serves as the Community Chaplain at Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta. Rabbi Beiner has a Rabbinic Ordination and Masters in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College in New York City. She holds a Master of Arts in Education from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan. She earned a certificate in Gerontology and Palliative Care from Yeshiva University.  Rabbi Beiner has served congregations in Colorado, Kansas and Georgia.  As  Community chaplain, Rabbi Beiner provides pastoral care to those encountering illness or crisis, information and resources to staff in care facilities to support the spiritual and religious needs of their Jewish residents,  trainings and workshops in a variety of community settings, geared towards increasing understanding about Jews and Jewish practices.  Rabbi Beiner also facilitates support groups for those experiencing grief and loss, and family estrangements.

Dr. Norman Blumenthal is a licensed clinical psychologist who serves as the Director of Trauma Services for Ohel’s Zachter Family National Trauma Center and Adjunct Professor at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology both of Yeshiva University. In private practice in Cedarhurst, New York, Dr. Blumenthal is also a Dayan/Arbitrator for the Beth Din of American, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Education for CAHAL and a past Vice President of NEFESH.

Shelly Christensen, MA, FAAIDD, is the Senior Director of Faith Inclusion and Belonging at RespectAbility.

Shelly has been at the forefront of faith community disability inclusion for 23 years. 

Shelly co-founded Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). Through Shelly’s leadership, JDAIM is recognized around the world by local, national, and international Jewish organizations.

In her groundbreaking book, From Longing to Belonging—A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community, Shelly uses personal and professional stories to teach faith organizations to create cultures of belonging and inclusion. 

Shelly received the Reimagining Spirituality Leadership Award from the Religion and Spirituality Network of AAIDD in recognition of her leadership, innovation, and contributions.

Shelly holds a Master of Arts degree in Developmental Disabilities from St. Mary’s University. She is a graduate of the National Leadership Institute on Developmental Disabilities. 

Fingerhut was appointed Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents on March 14, 2007 by Governor Ted Strickland. This position is a member of the Ohio Governor’s Cabinet. On February 22, 2011, he submitted his resignation to Gov. John Kasich, effective March 14, 2011, after serving four years of his five-year term. Chancellor Fingerhut earned a reputation as an innovative leader and ardent advocate of the value of higher education. (Wikipedia)

Miriam has worked for the Jewish Board , the  largest NYC social services agency in New York, for 9 years, focusing on bereavement, mental health and  spirituality support. She facilitates Holiday bereavement programs for Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, and Passover, does individual bereavement support, and runs bereavement groups for spousal loss, adult child loss, sibling loss, and an “Over 80s” support group. She also supports clergy and congregants in two synagogues in, to help them with a variety of social service and mental health needs.

Miriam holds a social work master’s degree from Columbia University and, prior to working at The Jewish Board, worked at Citigroup for 28 years in a variety of positions, ending as a VP Project manager for technology initiatives. She has worked as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital System for 4 years .

She attended the Academy for Jewish Religion rabbinical school.

Dr. Namdar is an educational psychologist and holds a doctorate in education from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, where she studied the mental health impact of the pandemic on Jewish day school students, and predictors of resilience, wellbeing and post-traumatic growth. Carly was awarded the Robert M. Sherman Young Pioneer Award from the Jewish Education Project in 2020 for her work in the field of social-emotional learning. Carly is passionate about bridging moral and character education and positive psychology to introduce students, families and faculty to ideas related to building resilience and breaking down stigma associated with mental health. In her work in the Jewish educational community, Carly has worked toward fostering a school environment that promotes resilience, inclusion and social cohesion as students build the skills and agency to navigate their everchanging world. Carly has extensive experience delivering and coordinating social-emotional learning, professional development and implementing counseling and interventions to address students’ social, emotional and academic needs.

Dr. Namdar is the Resilience Programs Coordinator for Ohel Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services, coordinates Ohel’s School-Based Services and oversees Ohel’s Helpline for educators and youth support professionals.

Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn is a Board Certified Chaplain at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She specializes in Palliative Care, Critical Care, and Emergency Psychiatric Care, and she is the current president-elect of NAJC (Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains). Rabbanit Alissa is the Rabbanit at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Teaneck, NJ. A prolific writer and speaker, she received her ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brandeis University with a degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Classical Studies Archaeology and Ancient History. She lives in Teaneck, NJ with her husband Akiva and daughter Ella.

Rabbi Dr. Joseph S. Ozarowski is Rabbinic Counselor and Chaplain for JCFS Chicago. He is also an adjunct professor at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership as well as the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles.  Rabbi Ozarowski was cited by Chicago Jewish News as a “Top Jewish Chicagoan of 2013,” and received the “Rabbi Mordechai Simon Award” from the Chicago Board of Rabbis in 2014.   He served as president of the Board of Rabbis from 2015 to 2017 and now serves as President of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC).  An engaging, nationally known teacher and speaker, Ozarowski has served congregations in Pennsylvania, California, Minnesota and the New York area.   

Rabbi Dr. Ozarowski is a Board-Certified Chaplain.  He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University of Chicago, his rabbinic ordination from Skokie’s Hebrew Theological College and his doctorate from Lancaster (PA) Theological Seminary.  He has served on the Jewish Federation of Chicago (JUF) Board and on the North Shore University HealthCare System Institutional Ethics Committee. 

A prolific author, Rabbi Ozarowski co-authored Common Ground, (1998, Jason Aronson) and has written numerous articles.  His first book, To Walk in God’s Ways – Jewish Pastoral Perspectives on Illness and Bereavement, (hard cover 1995, Jason Aronson, paperback 2004, Rowman and Littlefield) is considered a standard in the field of Judaism and Pastoral Care.

Rabbi Ozarowski is married to Ashira (nee Rapoport), has four children and nineteen grandchildren.

Rabbi Isaiah J. Rothstein, MSW serves as Rabbinic Scholar and Public Affairs Advisor at Jewish Federations of North America. Prior to JFNA, Isaiah was rabbi-in-residence at Adamah, Isabella Freedman, and Be’chol Lashon, and served as rabbi for youth at Carmel Academy, Young Israel of Stamford, NCSY, and Camp Yavneh.  Isaiah studied at Kushner Yeshiva High School, Lev HaTorah, Machon Lev, and Binghamton University, and received rabbinic ordination and a masters of social work from Yeshiva University. Raised in a multi-racial Chabad family from Monsey, NY, he sees himself as a human bridge, connecting disparate parts of the Jewish community and America.

Marjorie U. Sokoll, M.Ed. is the founder and director of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Jewish Healing at Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Boston (JF&CS). Marjie has presented locally and nationally on topics such as Jewish healing, end-of-life, and bereavement. In July 2021, she began cofacilitating a suicide loss survivor support group with Rabbi Suzanne Offit, under the auspices of JF&CS. They both have been trained by Samaritans of Boston and bring relevant professional and personal experience in the Jewish community.

 Marjie is a contributor to the book, “Blessings for the Journey: A Jewish Healing Guide For Women With Cancer” and the author of

“The Healing Circle: A New Model for Nurturing Spirituality in Jewish Family Service Agencies” published in the Journal of Jewish Communal Service.

 Marjie earned degrees in sociology and social work from Boston University and Tel Aviv University respectively, a graduate degree in counseling from Northeastern University, and holds a certificate of thanatology from the National Center for Death Education.

Rabbi Mychal B. Springer is the manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She founded and directed the Center for Pastoral Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in Manhattan and was the first Conservative rabbi to be certified as an Educator by ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education. Her publications include Sisters in Mourning: Daughters Reflecting on Care, Loss, and Meaning (Cascade Press, 2021) with Dr. Su Yon Pak,“Presence in a Time of Distancing: Spiritual Care in an Acute Care Setting” in Jewish End-of-Life Care in a Virtual Age: Our Traditions Reimagined, Friedman D, Levin D, Raphael SP, ed. (Albion Andalus, 2021) and “Interpersonal Competence in Contextualizing Power Dynamics in Socially Just Spiritual Care” with Richard Coble in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century, Cadge, W & Rambo, S, ed. (University of North Carolina Press, 2022).

Mychal received her BA in Judaic Studies and Religious Studies from Yale College magna cum laude. She was ordained a Conservative rabbi and received her Master’s in Judaic Studies and a Doctor of Divinity at JTS. Mychal is a certified Jewish chaplain in Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains and an adjunct instructor of Pastoral Care & Counseling at JTS.