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
Dana Neiger
Dana and her husband, Dustin, and son, Deagan, are new members of Temple Emanu-El, joining in January of 2020. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Dana relocated to Gainesville, Georgia in 1994 with her family. She is a graduate of the private women’s college, Agnes Scott, and remained in the Greater Atlanta area where she was an active young adult, involved heavily with Atlanta Jewish Federation through various volunteer efforts and donor opportunities.
Dana has remained active in Atlanta Jewish life through remaining an avid donor, as well as volunteer work with Federation Innovation Wisdom Pairings events and JFF, the Jewish Fertility Foundation. She sits on the Federation Innovation Advisory Committee as a member and mentor.
Within the Atlanta community, Dana is a successful business owner, cofounding HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm, in Sandy Springs, GA, where she is the CHRO, Chief Human Resources Officer, currently. Dana's recruiting and human resources experience covers a wide range of industries such as accounting and finance, transportation/infrastructure and construction, engineering, light industrial and warehousing, sales and marketing, with a specialty in legal recruiting. Her human resources consulting background includes, training, payroll, sponsorship, HRIS, networking, social media and branding. Dana looks forward to assisting the Board and Temple Emanu-El with long term goals and best interests for a long time to come.
Mitch Lewis
Mitch and his family have been members of Temple Emanuel for over 25 years. Mitch and Kathy met at Emory University, and after graduate school at the University of Michigan with detours in California and Texas, ended up back in Atlanta in 1996. Their children, Dr. Rebecca Leslie (who lives in Atlanta) and Renee Lewis (who is in New York…but they’re working on it), had their Bat Mitzvahs at Temple Emanu-El.
Mitch has served previously on the Board, the Finance Committee and Strategic Committees and was a proud member of the five consecutive synagogue softball championships that Temple Emanu-El won in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
Mitch was an attorney at Alston & Bird before moving into business leadership roles. He was the CEO of Euramax International, and most recently, retired as the CEO of BlueLinx in 2021. He remains on the Board of Directors of BlueLinx as well as GMS Inc., is on the Core Partner Allocation Committee of the Atlanta Jewish Federation and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council for the Emory Brain Health Center. In his spare time, he loves to exercise, play pickleball and spend time on the water at Lake Lanier.
Jackie Beres
Jackie was born and raised in Atlanta and is a graduate of the University of Georgia. After her first trip to Israel on a singles mission, she wanted to get more involved in pro-Israel advocacy, so she took a job with the Atlanta office of AIPAC. It was there that Jackie started her career in nonprofit fundraising. After a few years, Jackie packed up and moved to Washington, DC where she got her dream job working for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Following Jackie’s move back to Atlanta, she was the director of development for the Atlanta office at ADL and most recently the Senior Director of Major Gifts for Make-A-Wish GA. She now works as a fundraising consultant. In her spare time, Jackie serves on her son’s elementary school fundraising committee and volunteers as much as possible for his classroom. Pre-Covid, Jackie served as a fertility buddy for the Jewish Fertility Foundation. She currently serves on the TE Endowment Growth Committee.
Emily Sanders
Emily grew up in Manhasset Hills, Long Island, NY, and relocated to Atlanta in 1979 when she became employed as a Budget Manager for The Coca-Cola Company. Emily and her family have been members of Temple Emanu-El since 1993. She and her husband, Jon Margolis, have three adult children and five grandchildren. The younger two children were Bar/Bat Mitzvah and confirmed at TE and our oldest grandchild had a baby-naming here.
Emily has served twice on the Financial Council, once at its inception in the late 2000's and again since 2018. She is currently Chair of TE's Endowment Fund committee. Emily & Jon are proud members of the Menschables chavurah group.
Emily has a long history of working in the financial world, first as a Financial Planning Manager for Charter Publishing Company in New York City. She worked for two Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta, Coca-Cola, and BellSouth, in international finance. In 1994, Emily founded her own firm, Sanders Financial Management, which was based in Dunwoody and Peachtree Corners for 18 years until its sale to United Capital of Newport Beach, CA, and ultimately sold again to Goldman Sachs, from which she retired as a Vice President in 2022. As well as a financial advisor, Emily is also a lifelong CPA. She was named a "Top 50 Women in Wealth Management" by Wealth Manager magazine and has made numerous TV appearances on CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg.
Emily is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in International Economics and has an MBA in Accounting from New York University. At age 63, while working full-time, Emily went back to school part-time and graduated from Emory Law.
She has been a volunteer for numerous organizations: Atlanta Jewish Federation investment committee, Leadership Atlanta, Cities in Schools, Habitat for Humanity (assisted building homes), The Atlanta International School (treasurer), Georgia Society of CPA's Leadership Council and currently Jewish Women's Fund of Atlanta (trustee) and JF&CS Foundation Board member.
Emily & Jon love to travel and explore new destinations, visit museums, spend time playing with their grandchildren and small dog, and enjoy beach time in the Panhandle. Emily is an avid walker and reader, currently participating in two women’s Book Clubs.
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.
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.
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.
Ellen Lindemann
Ellen Lindemann and her husband Bruce have been Temple Emanu-El members since 1989. They are both Chicago natives but have been in Georgia since 1978. Ellen retired from Southern Company after 30 years and currently works as the Assistant Director of Lekotek of Georgia; a nonprofit providing adapted toys and technology for children with disabilities. She also is the owner of LN Consulting, an HR consulting business. Ellen has experience in various areas of line and executive management with Southern Company. She has held line positions in engineering, human resources, marketing, construction and supply chain. Most recently she had served as Senior Vice President of Environmental Projects and Construction with responsibility for a $6B construction program. Just prior to that, she was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Southern Company, responsible for strategy, planning, design and implementation of all Human Resource services for the corporation. She has served on the Board of Directors for 21st Century Leaders, a Georgia high school leadership program and the Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia. Ellen has co-chaired the Temple Emanu-El Family and Religious Education Committee, is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta and has been actively involved in disability issues. She currently is a Board member for IVP Plastics manufacturing company. Ellen holds a BS in Architecture from the University of Illinois and an MS in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University. Ellen and Bruce have three grown children; Carla, Andrea and Mark and live in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Board of Trustees
Arianne Belzer-Carroll
Arianne was raised in Kansas (rock chalk!) not too far from Rabbi Rachael and moved to Georgia in 2006 to attend Agnes Scott College. She taught third-grade Hebrew at Temple Emanu-El and worked with TEFTY all through college and is teaching at the Diamond Family Religious School again now. Truly some of the best people she knows are people at Emanu-El. It is home, and it is family. Arianne is currently working toward putting together a mitzvah crafting group in the coming year as part of a social action project, and she feels very strongly about community and genuine tikkun olam. She spends most of her energy working for inclusivity, equality, pride, and education and helping people be heard. The rest of it Arianne spends knitting and telling dad jokes to her very patient son, Noam.
Arianne’s alter ego is a high school Latin teacher in Gwinnett County, where she runs the sexuality and gender alliance and coaches an academic competition team, and by night she writes books in Latin that center on under-heard voices. Arianne lives with her husband Ben (who also teaches Latin), their shlemiel of a cat, and their schlimazel of a dog. Noam is currently at college in Connecticut, but you may see his redhead around when he comes home on breaks.
David Bieber
David is a native New Yorker and grew up very involved in Temple activities. He went to the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) and received a BA in Economics and met his wife Dorte there. David and Dorte settled in Atlanta in 1995 and where he earned an MBA from Emory University and has been here ever since. They moved to Dunwoody in 1997 and joined Temple Emanu-El in 2004. They are proud parents to three adult sons, Matthew, Joshua and Max, who all attended religious school, had their B’nai Mitzvot, and confirmations at Temple Emanu-El. David became more involved with Temple social justice activities in 2021 and joined the committee in 2022. He currently leads Mary Hall Freedom Dinner efforts and is looking to become more involved. David works for Panasonic Connect where he leads their business development efforts on a global basis.
Matt Bernstein
Matt and Robyn joined Temple Emanu-El in the fall of 1979. As a family they were active as Robyn taught classes with Rabbi Tam and Matt got involved with the shows produced and directed by George Fox. Over the years, Matt served as President of the Mens Club and was a board member back in the late 1980s. Danny, Matt and Robyn’s son, was Bar Mitzvahed and confirmed at Temple Emanu-El. Matt is the Chief Planned Giving Officer for Jewish National Fund where he is responsible for the endowments, investments, trusts and estates, and all facets of lifetime and estate gifts.
Jaimie Chausmer
Jaimie was born and raised in Florida and attended the University of Florida for undergrad. She spent many summers at Camp Barney and knew she wanted Atlanta to be her home. She moved here in 1999 to go to grad school at Emory and became a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner.
She loves Temple Emanu-El and has met some wonderful friends. She does not have any relatives here, and she truly feels at home and among family when she walks through the doors. Jaimie serves as Ambassador for new members. She is on the religious school committee, room mom for sons’ class, planned the Purim Carnival this year with three other amazing members, and participates on the TRIBE committee. Her biggest honor was being awarded the Shirley Schiffer Volunteerism award a few weeks ago.
She loves spending time with her husband Aaron. Fun fact, he is from her hometown, they went to the same temple growing up, but they did not know each other. They met here via his neighbor who happened to be Jaimie’s best friend. Besharat!! They have two kids Leah (11 yrs.) and Asher (6 yrs.), and two amazing dogs.
Mark Feinberg
Mark Feinberg was born in 1962, and raised in Gainesville, Florida. His family were active participants in Gainesville's small Jewish community.
As members of B’nai Torah, Mark, and his siblings, 2-sisters and 1-older brother were raised within a conservative Jewish upbringing. Mark’s father Robert was President of the Synagogue for 2-terms, including the transition from a small aging building into a newly constructed home for the growing congregation. That congregation and building remain in place today.
Bar Mitzvahed in 1975 as one of (3) 13-year-olds that year, Mark later joined BBYO where he really got his first taste of life as a Jew. In December of 1979, as a 17-year-old senior in high school, he met a beautiful 14-year-old young lady who would days later tell her mother that she had met the man she was going to marry. Eight years later her wish came true, and it was the greatest thing that ever happened to Mark.
Robyn and Mark have been happily married for 37 years, raising two wonderful people. Joel is 32 years old and married Ariel Touger-Feinberg of Milburn, NJ in February of 2024, and Amy who just turned 30, and is engaged to Jason Kayne of Chicago, IL.
Joel is the Project Manager of Emerging Technology at Major League Baseball in New York City, and Amy is an Occupational Therapist at Emory Hospital in Decatur and a Pelvic Floor Specialist at ATL Pelvic Health.
Mark and Robyn both graduated from the University of Florida. They moved to Atlanta in 1987 and have never left. They joined Temple Emanu-El in the Fall of 1995. Mark previously served for two terms on the Board during Julie Schwartz’s term as Senior Rabbi.
Over the years Robyn and Mark have helped on several committees including large fundraising events, and several video productions, and enjoyed so many special moments at Temple Emanu-El. Robyn and Mark presently serve as Co-Chairs of the Honi Circle Committee.
Lori Goldberg
Lori and her family have been a part of the Temple Emanu-El community since 2008. Lori grew up across the Eastern US (Trumbull, Connecticut; Syracuse, New York; Memphis, Tennessee), earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Florida, and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. She began her consulting career in Talent Management in New York City, where she met her husband, Stanley. They moved to the Dunwoody area in 2008, and have two boys, Max (13 yrs.) and Henry (11yrs.).
Lori is currently the Global Vice President of Talent for AGCO Corporation, where she manages the employee experience (talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and development, performance management, talent and succession planning, talent data and analytics, employee listening) for 25K employees across 17 countries. She has served on multiple Boards (The Packaged Good, Kingsley PTO), is currently part of the synagogue’s Onboarding Committee, and is excited to join the Temple Emanu-El Board to serve the community further.
Ben Halpern
As a new member of Temple Emanu-El, Ben is honored to be nominated to this Board. He looks forward to the opportunity to listen, learn, and offer fresh perspectives with the hopes of his engagement adding support to our beautiful community. Growing up in Sandy Springs and having attended Jewish day school, Camp Barney for 11 consecutive summers, and several trips to Israel, Judaism has always been central to his life.
Ben graduated from Tulane University in 2018 with a double major in Business Management & Marketing and enjoyed his involvement as a fraternity brother in the ZBT Sigma Chapter. Since then, he has been working hard with his father in building their family business, Farmers & Fishermen Purveyors, and they are having fun doing what they are doing. In Ben’s free time, he enjoys rollerblading, playing with his mini golden doodle, Nola, and working with people with special needs.
Ben is excited to get more involved at Temple Emanu-El and get to know the people who help make it as special as it is.
Marcia Hauler
Marcia is married to Mark Hauler and has lived in Dunwoody for more than 30 years. Together they have two daughters, Lindsay, who lives in Atlanta, and Lesley, who lives in London.
The family joined Temple Emanu-El in 1995. Both of their daughters grew up at Temple Emanu-El going to Sunday School and Hebrew school, having Bat Mitzvahs and Confirmation, and finally serving as Madrichim in Sunday School. Marcia and Mark have been active in Temple and participated in the Israel Trip with Rabbi Spike in 2019.
Marcia is a graduate of UGA’s School of Journalism with a degree in Public Relations. She spent most of her 30+ career in Customer Success roles in healthcare and computer software. She retired during the pandemic when business travel could not be done. Since that time, she has volunteered as a TE new member ambassador, at events/activities as well as CAC, Backpack Buddies, Mary Hall Freedom House, and City of Dunwoody activities.
Marcia and Mark are crazy about their two rescue dogs, Ollie, and Lola. Her favorite things to do are going to fitness class/working out at the JCC, listening to pop music, family walks at Brook Run Park, and traveling anywhere. She is very excited to become a Trustee of Temple Emanu-El.
Spencer Horowitz
Spencer Horowitz was born and raised in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He received his Bachelor of Science from Florida State University College of Business. He started his career as a professional golfer, but after a few years of playing and teaching made a career change. Spencer has been a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley since 2018. He moved to Atlanta in 2016 where he met his wife Madison, a Roswell native. The two were married by Rabbi Spike in 2022 and had their daughter Riley in 2023. Spencer and his family are very excited to grow with Temple Emanu-El for years to come!
Gerri Penn
Gerri Penn grew up in a Conservative Synagogue in Philadelphia, PA. She was very active in USY as her Chapter President. Gerri completed her religious education as a senior in Hebrew High School. Gerri was an elementary school teacher for the School District of Philadelphia. Gerri and Roger moved to Cincinnati in 1977 when they got married. Gerri taught both at Yavneh Hebrew Day School and at her Temple’s Religious School. Gerri and Roger moved to Atlanta in 1981. Gerri taught at Temple Emanu-El’s Religious School for 10 years. Gerri and Roger joined Temple Emanu-El in 1998 after being members at B’nai Torah. Gerri has been on the Caring Committee since 2000 and has Co-Chaired it with Ann Fine for 16 years. Gerri is also on the Membership Committee. Gerri has been in the Sisterhood Book Club since it was established, and enjoys taking classes with our clergy.
In addition to Gerri’s Temple activities, Gerri has been involved in her community serving on the City of Dunwoody’s Zoning Board of Appeals as well as on Sounding Boards for the City. She is currently an Ambassador for the City of Dunwoody. Gerri has been on the Dunwoody Homeowners Association Board and Executive Board on which she is currently serving for the third time. Gerri was the President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association twice for a total of 12 years and is currently on that Board as a Member at Large. When Gerri was a member of the Dunwoody Woman’s Club, she was on the Sponsorship Committee for the Annual Home Tour.
Gerri and Roger have two children, Jennifer and Jason, and have six grandchildren. Jason is a member of Temple Emanu-El and Jennifer is a member of the Temple in Athens, GA. Gerri is passionate about football in particular the Philadelphia Eagles and Penn State Nittany Lions. Gerri loves to take pictures and enjoys sharing her photos on Facebook as good morning and goodnight greetings with hope that it brightens my family and friends’ days. She loves to crochet, read, and is taking up a new hobby of painting. Gerri is so excited to serve on the Temple Emanu-El Board so she can contribute more to her spiritual home.
Ian Schonberg
Ian was born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL. He received a Bachelor's in Social Work at Florida State University and a Master's in Education at Georgia State University. He has been a social worker for over five years, a special education teacher for seven years, the Assistant Director for Graduate Advisement at Georgia State University for five years, and most recently, an Executive MBA recruiter for Georgia State University.
Ian and his wife Carrie have been married for sixteen years and have two children, Brock (13) and Joelle (8), both attending the Diamond Family Religious School. He currently is on the Temple Emanu-El onboarding committee and a member of the Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood. Ian feels grateful that his family is part of such a warm and caring community and wants to represent Temple Emanu-El to both new and current members of the congregation. He is eager for this opportunity to serve on the board and to assist with issues affecting the community.
Ian Schonberg
Ian was born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL. He received a Bachelor's in Social Work at Florida State University and a Master's in Education at Georgia State University. He has been a social worker for over five years, a special education teacher for seven years, the Assistant Director for Graduate Advisement at Georgia State University for five years, and most recently, an Executive MBA recruiter for Georgia State University.
Ian and his wife Carrie have been married for sixteen years and have two children, Brock (13) and Joelle (8), both attending the Diamond Family Religious School. He currently is on the Temple Emanu-El onboarding committee and a member of the Temple Emanu-El Brotherhood. Ian feels grateful that his family is part of such a warm and caring community and wants to represent Temple Emanu-El to both new and current members of the congregation. He is eager for this opportunity to serve on the board and to assist with issues affecting the community.
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 z'l
Robert Wittenstein
Edye Disner
Bill Kellert
