Become a Leader in Our Community
Together we are building a congregation of thought-leaders, spiritual seekers, and engaged Jewish change-makers. Temple Emanu-El is infused with the dedication and hard work of its members.
Executive Committee
Robert Wittenstein
Robert Wittenstein grew up at The Temple in Atlanta and is a fourth generation native. He and his wife, Susan, joined Temple Emanu-El in 1989. Robert has served as co-chair of the Adult Education committee, taught Religious School for four years when his children were growing up, helped establish Temple Emanu-El’s Chevra Kaddisha (Jewish burial society), co-chaired Garden Isaiah for several years and served on the Temple Emanu-El Executive Committee as Assistant Treasurer. Robert previously served a term on the Temple Emanu-El Board of Trustees in the mid-1990’s.
In addition to his volunteer work at Temple Emanu-El, Robert has served on the executive boards of the Anti-Defamation League (Southeast Region), Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, the Dunwoody Homeowner’s Association and the Dunwoody Nature Center. Robert was a key member of Citizens for Dunwoody, the group that worked to establish the City of Dunwoody and served on the inaugural Dunwoody City Council. Before retiring in 2018, Robert was an IT executive who devoted his career to working to improve healthcare through the application of technology.
Edye Disner
Edye Disner is originally from Memphis and has lived in Atlanta for over 30 years. Here at Temple Emanu-El, Edye sounds the shofar at High Holidays for our several services, has served on the Membership Committee, the Ritual Committee, the Board of Trustees, and the Executive Committee as the First Vice President. She has participated in leadership programs with both Hadassah and The American Jewish Committee and is a Florence Melton Mini School graduate. She has served as a board member for the Georgia Association on Young Children, chair of the Jewish Early Childhood Council of Atlanta, and board member of the Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism. She volunteered with the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival for over 10 years including many years on the Film Selection/Evaluation Committee. Edye is a life-long early childhood educator and is the Director at Dunwoody Prep. Edye and her husband, Rob, were married by Rabbi Spike in 2016. She enjoys time with her Temple Emanu-El Chavurah, playing mahjongg, reading, cheering on the Vols during football season, and spending lots of time with her niece and nephew (Diamond Family Religious School Students).
Wendy Frank
Wendy is a clinical social worker and has had a psychotherapy practice for 20 years in Sandy Springs. She and her husband, Nick, have been married 17 years and have 3 sons who have all gone to Schiff preschool at Temple Emanu-El. They have been active members at Temple Emanu-El for over 15 years.
Bill Kellert
Bill grew up in Hollywood Florida where he met his wife Elyse. He moved to Atlanta to go to school at Emory and has never left. Out of college, he joined The Temple and was active with the young adults group there. In 1993 Elyse and Bill, along with their two boys Greg and Bryan joined Temple Emanu-El. Both Greg and Bryan had their bar mitzvah and confirmation at Emanu-El.
As a member of Temple Emanu-El, Bill has, among other things, participated in the leadership training program, served as a Jr. TEFTY advisor, gabbai, board member, Brotherhood treasurer, financial secretary, vice-president and treasurer.
Bill has been a CPA for 35 years and has had his own practice for 20 years. Outside of work, Bill enjoys running, horses and as of March 3 – spending time with his first grandchild – Collin Kellert.
Jeff Priluck
Ben Stone
Ben is an employment lawyer, practicing at Munger & Stone in Midtown Atlanta. Along with his wife Peggi and his three teenage daughters, Ben has been a member at Temple Emanu-El since 2006 and has served in various positions on the Board and the Executive Committee. In addition to working with the Board, Ben loves travel, cooking, and anything having to do with the water. Temple Emanu-El is home for Ben and his family. He's had children at Schiff, in the Diamond Family Religious School, and all three of his daughters became Bat Mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El.
Eric Warshal
Eric and his family have been members of Temple Emanu-El for 12 years. He and his wife Stephanie have lived in Atlanta since 1995 and in Dunwoody since 2005. They have a daughter at the University of Georgia and two sons at Dunwoody High School, all of whom attended religious school and had their B’nai Mitzvot at Temple Emanu-El. Eric graduated from University of Florida with a degree in Marketing, and earned an MBA from Emory University. He spent 12 years with Cox Enterprises before starting a hedge fund administration services firm, Fund Associate, more than 10 years ago. He also started a second company, Emjan Services, a merchant credit card processing firm, in 2015. Eric grew up in South Florida, where his father was a Rabbi and Jewish Federation Director and instilled in him the importance of involvement in the Jewish community.
Tracey Baylin
Tracey joined the Temple Emanu-El family in 2012 and is actively involved as our Financial Secretary. She serves on the Executive Board of Directors, the Board of Directors, and the Financial Council. Tracey’s professional background includes positions in accounting and finance with Ernst and Young LLP, Physicians Planning Group/HealthCare Automation, and MedStar Health. She is currently employed as Director of Accounting by Southern Medical Linen Service. Since moving to Atlanta in 2011, Tracey has served in a variety of volunteer roles within the community including Co-President, Treasurer and Communications Chair for The Davis Academy PTO, Vice President of Hospitality and Co-President of Spartan Nation (Foundation and PTO) at North Springs Charter High School, Chair of the Sandy Springs Education Force STEAM Showcase event and as President of the Spalding Hollow HOA. She has two boys, Zach (19, Georgia Tech) and Sam (17, North Springs Charter High School).
Evan Altman
Board of Trustees
Stuart Dunowitz
Stuart and his wife Ingrid joined Temple Emanu-El in 2015. Their children Alex and Sharla attend The Davis Academy, Camp Barney, and will be celebrating their bnai-mitzvah in 2020 at Temple Emanu-El. Stuart and his family were on the Emanu-el Israel trip in 2019, and Stuart attended his first AIPAC conference in early 2020. Stuart is co-owner of Southern Medical Linen Service since 2004, providing healthcare facilities throughout Georgia with linen, laundry, scrubs, and lab coats. Stuart grew up in New York, graduated from State University of New York at Albany, and moved to Atlanta in 1996.
Hal Fine
Hal has been a member of Temple Emanu-El since 1979 when his family joined. He has been married to Paula Fine for over 31 years. Paula is the Sisterhood President and has served in many positions at the temple. They have a daughter Marissa (26), who is engaged to Oliver Marcus and their wedding is this October 7th. Their son Ari is 20 and a junior at Middle Tennessee State University, majoring in Music Business. His mother Ann Fine, has been an active member and is the temple co-chair for the Caring Committee.
Hal has had many duties and chairs for the temple. He has been co-chair for the FREC committee and co-chair for the membership committee. He has also been president of the Brotherhood from 2010-2017. He loves Temple Emanu-El and it will always be a part of his spiritual home. He looks forward to helping the board to continue to make Temple Emanu-El a welcoming home for individuals and families for their Jewish experience.
Ellen Gilmer
Ellen grew up in Charlotte, NC and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Mathematics. Ellen moved to Atlanta in 1984 where she met her husband, Jimmy. They have 3 adult sons and 3 grandsons. Jimmy and Ellen have been members of Temple Emanu-El for 22 years. In 2017, Ellen retired from a 40-year career in Commercial Banking having worked for Bank of America and BB&T. She has experience in sales as an account officer and in credit administration as a loan approval officer. Since retirement, Ellen has gotten involved in various Temple activities including the board, the choir and financial project planning. Since joining the board in 2019, she has worked on a committee to encourage member participation in the temple’s various programs. Ellen is the Treasurer for Sisterhood. She is committed to contributing further to the continued success of Temple Emanu-El.
Louis Goldberg
Louis is Executive Director of Customer Analytics at Cox Communications, responsible for leading consumer data analysis, predictive modeling, and advanced statistical analytics to inform and optimize marketing and customer profitability decisions. Before joining Cox, Louis worked in the Atlanta office of the Boston Consulting Group in the marketing and sales practice. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. Louis grew up in Georgia and has lived in Atlanta with his wife (Angela) and three kids (Ethan, Mason, and Emerson) since 2003. In his spare time, Louis enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis and basketball, and cooking.
Marvin S. Goldstein
Marvin S. Goldstein graduated from State University of New York at Stony Brook with a BS in Physical Science. Marvin Goldstein obtained both his MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia. As a licensed psychologist for 45 years, Marvin S. Goldstein, Ph.D. has provided evaluation, forensic, and therapeutic services. Using hypnosis, behavior modification, RET, and traditional psychotherapy, he helps individuals, couples, relationships, families, and groups with psychosomatic disorders, anxieties, stresses, and life crises. Marvin teaches self-hypnosis, relaxation, coping skills, and pain management.
As an expert witness, he has participated in divorce, custody, personal injury, criminal, and workers compensation cases.
Presently, Marvin is on the Medical staff at Northside Hospital, The Hospital Ethics Committee, and the National Behavioral Health Committee for Antham. He had been on Medical Staffs at Parkwood Hospital, Peachford Hospital, Ridgeview Institute, and Psychiatric Institute of Atlanta.
He is a three-term former president, three-term former secretary, and 15 term treasurer of the Georgia Hypnosis Society. He has been a member of the American Psychological Association since 1972 and presently is a Life Member.
Marvin is a charter member of Temple Emanu-El. He has been an active member without interruption for 40 years. As a major donor, he has established the Goldstein Learning Center and yearly sponsors the Atlanta Community Symphony concert.
Lee Paris
Originally from South Florida, Lee first moved to Atlanta to attend law school at Emory University School of Law. Since graduating from Emory University School of Law, Lee has continued to expand his involvement and grow his footprint throughout the Jewish community in the Atlanta area. He is a newer member to Temple Emanu-El and has assisted with the planning and organization of events for NextDor - Temple Emanu-El’s engagement group for 20’s and 30’s in the community. In addition to his efforts with NexDor, Lee is a proud member of Temple Emanu-El’s softball team.
In his professional life, Lee is an attorney at a mid-sized Buckhead law firm where he focuses his practice on complex domestic relations matters. In his free time, Lee enjoys traveling, cooking, trying new restaurants and attending street festivals. On Saturdays, you can find him rooting on his beloved Texas Longhorns. He is looking forward to the opportunity to serve on the Temple Emanu-El Board of Trustees and continue to contribute to Temple Emanu-El’s successes.
Mickey Rosner
Mickey has been a member of Temple Emanu-el for the past 20 years. She is married to Noah Rosner who was at one time on the executive board of TE as well as past president. They have four children, all who have been bar and bat mitzvahed and subsequently confirmed at TE. Two of their children, Casey and Allie, were madrichem in our religious school.
In the past, she has served on different committees and recently helped to chair our 40th anniversary celebration. To commemorate our anniversary, she built and created our Tova and the Traveling Ark program and helped to create a coloring book for our kids in religious school retelling the story of our beginnings.
She has volunteered in our gift shop every Friday, for the past five years. On any given Friday you will see her there. She also served as co-chair of our Koleinu committee which strives to ensure that all members with disabilities feel included. To that end, she has adapted a prayed book so that everyone might feel included in our services.
Professionally, Mickey is a speech therapist who works solely with nonverbal and low verbal children to help them acquire and learn to use electronic communication devices. She has worked at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for the past 32 years. She also works part-time at the Center for Rare Neurological Disorders where she evaluates and treats all types of children from all over the world for the purposes of communicating using communication devices. She used to teach the graduate class in alternative and augmentative communication at UGA.
Her roots run deep at TE. Her brother, Aaron Silverman and his family as well as her father, Bernie Silverman, and cousins, Nathan and Laurie Slaff are all members.
Marlene Seidel
Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, Marlene was active in her reform synagogue. Her family was lifelong members of 60+ years at Temple Israel in St Louis. She married her University of Missouri college sweetheart, Eric. They have two grown daughters who live in the Boston area and two grandchildren, Sylvie and Evan.
Marlene owned a retail store in Washington, DC and worked in retail for many years connecting businesses here in the USA with companies in South America wanting to do business with American companies. She was also independent contractor, working in the field of specialty advertising. After moving to Atlanta for the second time in 1987, they joined the Temple Emanu El. Marlene has served on the board, co-chaired adult education and has dedicated many hours volunteering for such major TE events as the garage Sale, Gift Shop Chanukah sale and membership efforts.
Emily Spiegel
Emily and her husband, Jonathan, are new members of Temple Emanu-El, joining in September 2018. Originally from North Carolina, Emily got her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from NYU and her master’s in Management from the University of Sussex in the UK. Emily moved to Atlanta in 2011 where she quickly became involved in the young adult Jewish community. Her connection with Temple Emanu-El began in 2012, when she started attending holiday services with her in-laws, long-time congregants Harvey and Ellen Spiegel. Emily began substitute teaching for the Diamond Family Religious School in 2018. Since joining the synagogue, she has been an active member of NextDor, Emanu-El’s 20’s and 30’s group. She loves hosting Shabbat dinners and recently started a 20’s and 30’s Jewish Women’s book club to help connect young adults with the synagogue and their Jewish identity. She has also become a regular volunteer with Temple Emanu-El at the Community Assistance Center. Outside of temple, Emily is a Senior HR consultant on the workforce analytics team for Allstate Insurance. She loves cooking, hiking and camping with Jonathan and their rescue dog, Josie.
Beverly Stahl
Beverly was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. She received her B.S. in Nursing at the University of Alabama and a MSN at the University of California. She was always interested in education and focused her nursing career as a member of a teaching faculty and 30 plus years as a childbirth educator. She also taught these classes at Northside Hospital for 10 years.
Mickey and Bev have been married for 48 years. They lived in Miami, Columbia, SC and now in the Atlanta area for 25 years. Her main focus of community activity has been with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. She is retired and is an enthusiastic learner at the Marcus Jewish Community Center Adult Education for 20 years. She plays bridge and mahjong. Both of them are active with AIPAC. She and husband Mickey love to travel. They have a daughter and 2 grandchildren who live in Dunwoody and a son in Israel.
They are members of Temple Emanuel since 2000. She currently co-chairs the Sababa group and serves on the Caring committee and newly formed Chavurah Committee.
Perry Walter
Perry grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and moved to Atlanta (with his then fiancé at the time, Deb) from Tampa in 1996. He and my family have been members of Temple Emanu-El since 2003. Perry’s wife, Deb, and he have three children, all of whom had their B’nai mitzvahs at the Temple.
Perry served on the Board for four years between 2011 and 2014 and the Executive Board from 2014 t0 2017. He has been active in several committees and the religious school over the years.
Perry has a long history of working in finance – as a securities analyst, venture capitalist, and business valuation expert. Currently, Perry works for the Capital Group Private Client Services as a Private Wealth Advisor.
Perry also serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern Capital Forum, a forum for venture capitalists and private equity firms to discuss ideas and network. He is also a volunteer diver at the GA Aquarium and has over 2,100 hours of service. With fellow volunteers, Perry participated in Reef Restoration Foundation trips where the team literally rebuilt coral reefs around the world.
Perry is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in Economics and Communications and has an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. Perry is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He loves to travel with his family and is an avid Atlanta Braves and UVA basketball fan.
Beth Warner
Beth and her family live in Sandy Springs and have been members of Temple Emanu-El for more than ten years. Beth is the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta where she is responsible for providing vision and strategic direction for fundraising efforts to broaden Jewish philanthropy and engagement in our community. Beth is an alumna of Federation’s Jacobson Leadership Institute as well as Jewish Federations of North America’s Fundraising University. Prior to joining Federation, she was the Major Gifts Officer at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, where she managed a portfolio of top-level donors. Beth has worked in the nonprofit sector for much of her professional career.
Beth served two terms on the Board of Trustees at the Davis Academy and was also actively involved with the school’s PTO as a VP and co-chaired multiple committees. Beth helped launch Temple Emanu-El’s Governor’s Mansion project in 2010, co-chairing the initiative for the first few years. She has served as the fundraising co-chair for Atlanta Dance Theatre, a pre-professional ballet company in Johns Creek, for the last five years.
Beth holds a B.A. in Art History and Architectural Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.A. in Visual Arts Administration from New York University. She is originally from Bangor, Maine and spent her childhood summers at Camp Tevya in Brookline, New Hampshire. Beth and her husband Andrew have two daughters, Sloane and Alexa, who are alumnae of the Davis Academy and currently attend the Weber School.
Julie Weiser
Julie is currently employed at The Davis Academy, where she has worked for over twenty years. Currently, Julie is serving as the first and second grade teacher in The Davis Learning Center. Previously, she worked with the fourth and fifth graders in The Davis Learning Center. Before joining The Davis Learning Center, she was a kindergarten teacher/grade chair, first grade teacher, second grade teacher, and assistant to the media specialist. While working in The Davis Learning Center, Julie was the recipient The Power of One award through the Greater Atlanta Jewish Abilities Alliance in January 2019.
Julie and has been married for twenty-five years and has three sons, Jake-23, Noah-21, and Eli-16, all of which attended Schiff Preschool. While her boys attended Schiff Preschool, Julie taught at Schiff. She has also participated in Temple Emanu-El’s Leadership class during their previous membership.
Julie and her family returned to Temple Emanu-El in August 2019. Julie returned to Temple Emanu-El to find comfort in Shabbat services; however, Julie has found a home and community for her family. Julie co-chairs the Backpack Buddy Program with her husband, David. She was a recipient of the Shirley Schiffer Volunteerism Award. Their youngest son is on the executive board of TEFTY, a participant in Confirmation Class, and member of NFTY.
Andrew Weiss
Andy Weiss has been a member of Temple Emanu-El since 1986 when his family joined. He and his wife, Diane, have three children all of which had had their b’nai mitzvah at the Temple and continued on through confirmation. His parents are still active members of the congregation. Andy was a member of the 2015 Senior Rabbi Search Committee. Currently, Andy works for Cox Communications as Executive Director of Enterprise Portfolio Management with responsibility for program and portfolio management of some of Cox’s most complex strategic initiatives. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Dunwoody Nature Center. Andy is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. He loves to travel with his family, is an avid cyclist and an Atlanta Braves fan.
Danny Summerfield
Danny and his wife Laura Beth have been active members of Temple Emanu-El since 2008. They have 2 children who are graduates of the Schiff Pre-School and currently attend the Diamond Family Religious School. Danny and his family look forward to celebrating their children’s B’nai Mitzvot at Temple Emanu-El and attending the annual trip to Israel that is hosted by the synagogue. Danny took the reigns of the Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood in 2017 and has enjoyed engaging the men of our congregation in a wide variety of events. He feels that bringing together the men of Emanu-El and fostering a sense of community has made leading the Brotherhood such a fulfilling experience. Danny has also served on a variety of committees over the years and feels lucky to be part of an extraordinary Chavurah. Danny grew up in Memphis, TN, moved to Atlanta in 1994, received his undergraduate degree from the University of TN and MBA from the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State. He currently works in sales at AT&T, enjoys spending time with his family and friends, doing projects around the house, boating, water skiing, tennis, racquetball, biking, working out, Tennessee Vol football, grilling out, good tunes and drinking great wine.
Nora Floersheim
Nora grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and has been a member of Temple Emanu-El for over 40 years. She attended the University of Georgia where she met her husband, Steve Floersheim, and they will soon celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Her family includes her children, Amy and Philip Rubin and Jodi and Jeff Rosenberg, and her 5 grandchildren, Jake, Hailey, Zach, Tyler, and Maya.
She has a deep commitment to Temple Emanu-El and served on the board in the temple’s early years. Currently, she is president of Temple Emanu-El’s Sisterhood and also has served on several committees, such as the renovation of the temple’s lobby. As an active participant in Shabbat services, adult learning classes, and Torah Study, she loves all of the diverse opportunities that Temple Emanu-El offers its congregants.
Nora received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Spanish from the University of Georgia. She taught high school Spanish in the DeKalb County System for 30 years and was honored twice as a DeKalb County Teacher of the year. She finished her teaching career at Chamblee Charter High School in 2010.
Nora has also been an active volunteer at the MJCCA in its pickleball program and in other areas. She is devoted to Temple Emanu-El’s Sisterhood and is excited to watch it continue to grow and thrive.
Harrison Frank
Harrison Frank is a junior at Centennial High School and a graduate of The Davis Academy and the Schiff School at Temple Emanuel. Harrison serves as the co-president of TEFTY, which is TE’s youth group. He is also a Madrich at the Diamond Family Religious school, who teaches the 6th grade about Israel and the Holocaust with Rabbi Rachael. He also participates in many school clubs and fellowships including The Model United Nations Club, The Jewish Student Union, Student Leadership Johns Creek, The RAC Civic Engagement Fellowship, The American Jewish Committees Leaders for Tomorrow Fellowship and, Jumpsparks Atlanta Kesher Teen Engagement program as a fellow who plans events to engage Jewish teens.
In addition to Harrison’s participation on the TE Board, he also is very involved with and serves on the board of a local charity called The Packaged Good. Harrison became a part of this organization right when it started and has been helping run events and fundraise ever since. He is also their Teen Ambassador who is tasked to engage his fellow teens to participate in TPG events. Harrison has also attended the YMCA Camp Seagull summer camp for the past 9 years and completed their Counselor in leadership Training (CILT) program this past summer. In Harrisons’ free time he enjoys being on the water either sailing or on a powerboat. Harrisons’ family lives in Roswell and has been active members at TE for 18 years.
Alexa Freedman
Alexa Freedman is a junior at The Galloway School, and a graduate of The Davis Academy and the Schiff Preschool at Temple Emanu-El. At Temple Emanu-El, she serves as TEFTY co-president and is a Madricha at the Diamond Family Religious School. She also participates in multiple fellowships and school clubs, such as the Jumpspark Strong Women Fellowship, where she is a Peer Leader, and Galloway Rally Club, where she fundraises and advocates for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research.
Alexa has a passion for working with kids, which has led to camp counselor, babysitting, and nannying jobs. She is an avid reader and can often be found with her nose in a book; she also enjoys writing, swimming, and spending time with her friends. Alexa and her family are longtime Temple Emanu-El members. Alexa had her baby naming at Temple Emanu-El with Rabbi Julie Schwartz and was Bat Mitzvahed by Rabbi Colbert in 2016. She will be officially Confirmed next spring and is participating in Post-Confirmation with Rabbi Spike.
Past Presidents
Mark Young
Stephen L. Zisser
Arthur E. Katz
George M. Fox
Sandra Z. Ferko
Steven E. Marcus z'l
Harold E. Kirtz
Stewart I. Aaron z'l
Cary Rosenthal
Stephen E. Lewis
Ann Van Prooyen
Scott Walsey
Lynn Newport
Jane Schiff
Norman E. Zoller
Norman S. Cohen
Jeff Marcus
Scott Walsey
Noah Rosner
Art Katz
Rick Shapiro
