2025- 2026 Board Members
Rabbi Elan Babchuck – Elan and his wife, Lizzie, are the proud parents of Micah (a recent JCDSRI graduate), Nessa and Ayla (current JCDSRI students). Elan is a rabbi and entrepreneur who is committed to leaving behind a world that is more compassionate, connected, and just than the one he found. In pursuit of that commitment, Elan serves as Director of Innovation at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Founding Executive Director of Glean Network, an incubator and network for entrepreneurs who are building new models of faith in action, which partners with Columbia Business School. He has incubated over 150 successful startups over the past 10 years, and built four of his own during his 20 years of entrepreneurship. A sought-after keynote speaker, Elan publishes regularly, including in The Wisdom Daily, and is the co-author of Renewable Energy (2023), a book exploring emergent leadership models for legacy religious organizations. In addition to all that, Elan has served as a founding board member for numerous organizations, including Sympara – an organization that repurposes religious buildings into sacred/civic spaces and the Beloved Network – a network of startup, home-based Jewish communities. Elan is also a member of the Research Advisory Board of Springtide Research Institute which focuses on spirituality and Gen Z and is on the Board of Advisors of the Changemaker Initiative.
Lesley Bogad, President –Lesley Bogad is the proud, single parent of Micah J, a JCDSRI graduate. For the past 20 years, she has made a career in teacher education at Rhode Island College where she is professor of Educational Studies, affiliated faculty in Gender and Women’s Studies, and the Director of the Youth Development program. Her academic work focuses on schooling for social justice and building community. Lesley is a California native, a hobby potter, and a Jewish day school alum. Her superpowers include making beautiful tables in Google Docs, helping teachers and students find their “why,” and quoting Hamilton lyrics.
Rachel Friedberg – Rachel and her husband, David Weil, are the proud parents of three JCDSRI alumni. Rachel has served on the Board for a dozen years or so, including as Treasurer and Vice President. Originally from Illinois, she has also spent about seven years living in Jerusalem. Rachel holds a PhD in economics from MIT and is a teaching professor in the economics department at Brown University.
Robyn Furman – Robyn has been connected to the school since the days it began as Solomon Schechter Day School. She is the parent of four Alperin Schechter Day School alumni. Previously, Robyn worked in early childhood and elementary education. Now she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, five of whom attend JCDSRI and one who recently graduated!
Kenny Hersh – Kenny returns to the JCDSRI Board after a long hiatus. He previously served on the Board of Alperin Schechter Day School, two years as Treasurer. Kenny’s three children graduated from ASDS and all are sending, or going to send, their children to Jewish Day School as well. Kenny and his wife, Leah are the proud grandparents to 10 grandchildren, 3 of whom attend JCDSRI.
Shoshana Jacob, Immediate Past President – Shosh is the proud parent of 2 JCDSRI alumni. Shosh and her husband, Josh, moved to Providence to be closer to the JCDSRI community. She grew up in Providence and attended the Alperin Schecter Day School (now JCDSRI) for 9 years. Shosh loved this school and attributes her love of Judaism and fondness for Jewish day schools to JCDSRI. She is thrilled that her children get to attend the same school (albeit more innovative) that she attended. Shosh is a Jewish Communal Professional and has worked at many synagogues doing various things from teaching in religious schools, to being a youth director, and even a young family outreach coordinator. She is currently the Interim Youth and Family Program Director at Temple Emanu-El in Providence.
Lauri Lee is a Realtor with Residential Properties Ltd, who moved to Providence from the DC area in 2008. Prior to becoming a real estate agent, Lauri spent 28+ years working in education, including a few years with JCDSRI in various roles (Development, Admissions, Marketing, even Photography). She has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology & Fine Arts (with a concentration in Contemporary African Art) from Amherst College and a Masters in Education from the University of Maryland. She serves on the Board of the Community Libraries of Providence, the Development Committee of the RI Center for the Book, and as a wildlife transporter for the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of RI. She also holds alumni leadership roles at both of her alma maters, Holton-Arms School and Amherst College. Lauri lives on the East Side with her husband Terry, their Golden Mountain Dog Fergus, and their rescue cat Cosette. Her two grown children live in Boston and Denver, and she is the proud grandma (“Lalee”) of two adorable granddaughters.
Susan Leach DeBlasio – Susan is a life-long member of Temple Emanu-El and community admirer of JCDSRI. She is President of the Classical High School Alumni Association, a past president of URI Hillel and Jewish Seniors Agency, a former Vice Chair of The Miriam Hospital, a former Vice Chair and Secretary of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and past chair of the Rhode Island Foundation Professional Advisory Council. A past president of both the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation, Susan practices corporate, health care, and construction law in Providence and Boston and is a frequent presenter on the topics of business law, practice management, and legal ethics. She graduated Wheaton College, phi beta kappa, and Boston University School of Law, and has an MBA from Providence College.
Susan loves the beach, the outdoors, life in Providence with her husband, an eye surgeon, and spending time with her daughter and her family, especially being Bubbe to Leo (current JCDSRI student), Eli and Max (future JCDSRI students)!
Rachel Mersky Woda, Presidential Appointee – Rachel Mersky Woda has spent the past 30 years working with a wide variety of non-profit organizations at the local, regional and national level. She has experience with all aspects of communal service including fundraising and development, strategic planning, and leadership development, while spending significant time in areas of experiential Jewish education. Rachel is currently the Director of Youth and Family Engagement at Temple Beth-El and lives on the East Side of Providence with her husband, Craig and their sons, Jordan and Elias who are both JCDSRI alumni.
Rabbi Preston Neimeiser is the associate rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Providence, RI where he has served the congregation since receiving his ordination from HUC-JIR’s New York campus in 2021 after earning a Master’s of Hebrew Literature there in 2020. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Rabbi Neimeiser received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University, the capstone of his formation by the public education system. His educational journey before rabbinical school was also heavily influenced by summers spent at URJ camps and two opportunities to study abroad in Israel: first, as a junior in high school on a program formerly known as NFTY-EIE; then, as a junior in college as one of the original Nachshon Project fellows at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A child of the American labor movement, Rabbi Neimeiser seeks to be defined by his solidarity and service. He does so in formal capacities beyond his congregation as the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis’ Rabbinical Representative on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, a member of the board of the New England Jewish Labor Committee, Vice Chair of the Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice and Bias, and 2025 recipient of the Norman D. & Flo Tilles Community Relations Council Award. He now lives in Rumford, RI with his wife, Victoria Litman, their son, Levi Benjamin, and their dog, Deli.
Mara Ostro, Secretary – Mara’s three children all attended JCDSRI and are now attending the Wheeler School. She is a speech pathologist and a graduate of Jewish day school herself. She previously served as JCDSRI Board President and the Chair of the Head of School Support Committee.
Hanina Rosenstein – Hanina is the proud mother of Meira (JCDSRI student!) and Briah (future JCDSRI student). She and her husband, Avi, love living in his hometown of Providence. They are both committed to being active participants in building vibrant, local Jewish life. During her working hours, Hanina is a program manager for UCLA Health.
Judy Rosenstein – Judy grew up in Providence and after college settled here with her husband, Jay. Judy is the parent of three Providence area day school alumni – two from PHDS and one from JCDSRI/ASDS. She is the grandmother of five granddaughters all of who attend (or will attend) Jewish day schools, one at JCDSRI. Judy is a former board or officer of JCDSRI, the JCC, Jewish Alliance and others. She is retired as Benny’s Toy Princess and now is a Baby Cuddler at Women and Infants Hospital.
Jessica Schuster, Vice-President – Jessica is the proud parent of Ava, Sadie and Charlie all of whom attend JCDSRI. Jessica moved from New York City to Providence for graduate school and has been here ever since! She received her PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, where she uses computational biology to study the genetics of reproductive disorders. In her free time, she loves going to the beach with her family, cooking, and party planning.
Howard Voss-Altman – Rabbi Howard has been a rabbi in Rhode Island since 2015. For the past five years, he has served as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth-El, and is now proud to be the rabbi of Temple Habonim in Barrington. Rabbi Howard grew up in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, and graduated from Duke University in 1982 with a B.A. In Political Science and received his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1985, where he was an Associate Editor of the Law Review. As an attorney, he specialized in labor relations and employment discrimination. Rabbi Howard was ordained from the Cincinnati Campus of HUC-JIR in 1999 and served as an Assistant Rabbi of North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois from 1999 until 2002. He then became the rabbi of Temple B’nai Tikvah in Calgary, Alberta, where his rabbinate focused on building a strong spiritual community, pastoral care, and community and social justice issues. Rabbi Howard serves on the Board/Steering Committee of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty and is active in local community and justice initiatives. Rabbi Howard and his spouse, Annie, have been married since 1992. Annie is a practicing attorney, currently working as a public defender for the State of Massachusetts. They have three children, Emilie, Judah, and Adi. As a family, they enjoy theater, cinema, travel, music, and, especially, visiting Disney World.