Audrey Lichter, Executive Director- Audrey is a professional Jewish educator and community leader. She was the Director of the award-winning Yachad Jewish Community High School in West Hartford, CT, for fourteen years. Audrey is a founding member and past Board President of the Hebrew High School of New England. She is the recipient of a number of community awards including the Grinspoon Lay Leadership Award and the Charter Oak Vision Award. Audrey is a graduate of Kirkland College where she majored in philosophy and received a MA in special education from the University of Kentucky. She studied at the Academy for Jewish Religion for many years. She lives in West Hartford, CT, with her husband Arlen, where they have raised their three children.
Shari Cantor, Communications Coordinator- Communications Coordinator
Shari is the founder and director of the Jewish Family Services Kosher Food Pantry, which recently won an Agency Innovation Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. For 14 years, she was a teacher at Yachad, the Greater Hartford Community Jewish High School, during which time she specialized in both activism-related courses and Holocaust courses. She holds a Masters in Judaic Studies from the University of Connecticut, as well as a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a BS in Education from the University of Vermont Shari lives in West Hartford, CT, with her husband and her son.
Fanny Cohen, Celebrations Coordinator- Fanny Cohen graduated with a BA in Communications from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas, Venezuela. She has worked as a Court Interpreter for the State of Connecticut Judicial System and as a Special Events Coordinator at Yachad Hebrew High School in West Hartford, CT. She also worked as a reporter for El Universal, the leading newspaper in Venezuela. Fanny and her husband live in Simsbury, CT, and have three children.
Galya Greenberg, Greater Hartford Community Coordinator & Educator-
Galya is currently a doctoral student in Jewish Educational Leadership at Northeastern University and Hebrew College. She has extensive background in day school education as a teacher and administrator has taught Hebrew language, Jewish texts, and Jewish history to students ranging in age from kindergarten to senior adults. Galya graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and received an MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Galya and her husband live in West Hartford, CT, and have three sons.
Nina Lichtenstein, Chai Mitzvah Consultant- Nina is currently a Scholar in Residence at the Hadassah Brandeis Institute for Women’s Studies and is working on a book. She has taught languages, literature and Jewish Studies in the US and in Norway at high school and college levels, and she lectures and does research on various topics in Jewish Studies including Sephardic Women’s Writing, Memory and Identity, as well as Film and Holocaust Studies. Nina holds a Ph.D in literature from the University of Connecticut, an MA in French and a BA in Jewish Studies and French also from University of Connecticut. She has served on the Committee for the Hartford Jewish Film Festival and was the co-chair of the Festival’s new Tribute Film Competition. She is also a freelance writer. Nina lives in West Hartford, CT, with her three children.
Elaine Kleinman, Long Island Community Coordinator- Elaine is the project manager for The Jewish Education Project (formerly BJENY-SAJES) (Jewish Education Project is the adult Jewish learning initiative on Long Island, and has brought Me’ah, Melton, and other dynamic classes to L.I. communities). Originally a computer systems analyst and programmer, she initially made her career change to Jewish communal work as a SynaplexTM consultant for STAR (Synagogues Transition and Renewal.) Elaine has held numerous volunteer positions within the Jewish world, culminating in the presidency of the Huntington Jewish Center. Elaine is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, with a degree in political science and history. To further her professional development, she studied Organizational Dynamics at Hebrew Union College/ JIR, and is currently working toward a professional certificate at New York University in Organizational Development. She and her husband live in Huntington, NY, and have two sons.
Risa Starr, New York City Community Coordinator- Risa Starr joins the Chai Mitzvah team after a career hiatus spent raising her children. She has worked as a volunteer developing synagogue based family education programs, parenting seminars, parent-school liaison programs and fundraising events. Risa’s background is in marketing and business development for high technology companies. She graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Marketing and Decision Sciences and holds an MBA. from Columbia Business School. Risa lives in New York City with her husband and four children.
