Leadership - Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom

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Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom Board of Trustees 2022-2023

Nancy Burnett & Mark Huberman - Co-Presidents
Jason Bostocky & Booker Kessler - Co-Vice Presidents
Bob Rawl - Treasurer
Doug Abbatiello & Shari Della Penna - Co-Secretaries
Sally Blau- Sisterhood Co-President
Linda Davis
Phyllis Freedman
Elliot Legow
Alan Nathan
Tod Newman- Brotherhood President
Kandy Rawl- Sisterhood Co-President
Sam A. Roth
Florine Rusnak
Dick Shapiro
Bill Trachtman
Samie Winick
Kim Ziedenstein
Alex Zoldan

Rabbi Courtney Berman, Senior Rabbi

Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom welcomed Rabbi Courtney Berman as the inaugural Rabbi on July 1, 2022.

Rabbi Berman grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She earned her B.A. in Child Psychology and Jewish Studies from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and entered the Rabbinical Program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), where she started her studies with the Year in Israel program in Jerusalem. She spent the next few years at the Cincinnati campus before transferring to the Los Angeles campus, where she was ordained in May of 2015.

During her time at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Berman served congregations in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Piqua, Ohio. She was a chaplain intern at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland and a rabbinic intern at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Rabbi Berman spent her first year after ordination serving as a visiting rabbi for a congregation in Sherman, Texas. In 2016, Rabbi Berman moved to Ormond Beach, Florida and became the rabbi of Temple Beth-El. While in Ormond Beach, Rabbi Berman served the co-located Reform and Conservative congregations of Temple Beth-El and Temple Israel.

Rabbi Berman structures her rabbinate around the fundamental belief that every interaction provides an opportunity to form or strengthen meaningful connections, whether it is human connection, a feeling of closeness to God or one’s Judaism, or the experience of discovering the deep messages of one’s own soul. She shapes worship services, lifecycle events, classes, and pastoral interactions around this deeply-held belief and finds great meaning in giving a modern voice to ancient Jewish laws and traditions.

Rabbi Berman lives in Liberty with her husband Jeffrey and sons, Micah, Gavi, and Zeke.

Contact Rabbi Berman by emailing: rabbi@ohevbethsholom.org

Sarah Wilschek, MNP, Executive Director

Congregation

Rodef Sholom welcomed Sarah Wilschek as their first Executive Director in April 2019. In 2021, Sarah remained in her position as the executive director of Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom. Sarah received her bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in Business Administration. Following a career in financial services and insurance, she began working with the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown as their Youth and Family Director/ Camp Director in 2012 and remained there until March 2019; her final role with the JCC was as their Community Development Manager. During her tenure at the Jewish Community Center, Sarah decided to pursue a lifelong career in nonprofit management with a focus on the Jewish community. In 2018 Sarah completed her Master's degree in Nonprofit Management and Jewish Communal Service from Gratz College. Her graduate thesis focused on the history and strategic future of the Jewish Youngstown. Currently, Sarah lives in Liberty with her husband David, children Jacob and Shayna, family dogs, Maggie and Mando.

Contact Sarah by emailing: sarah@ohevbethsholom.org

Rabbi Franklin W. Muller, D.D. ; Rabbi Emeritus

Rabbi Muller served as Rabbi of Congregation Rodef Sholom from 1995-2020. Prior to coming to Youngstown, Rabbi Muller served for ten years as Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Roanoke, Virginia, preceded by two years as assistant Rabbi at Temple Israel in St. Louis.