Ellen Agler is Temple Sinai’s Executive Director. She came to Temple Sinai in 2008 after running facilities and programs for Jewish and healthcare organizations serving the needs of seniors in the Washington area. As executive director, Ellen has responsibility for the temple’s administrative activities ranging from financial matters to staffing, coordinating logistics for the busy congregation, and taking care of the temple building. Ellen makes an impact beyond Temple Sinai by serving as a board member of the National Association of Temple Administrators (NATA) where she is credentialed as a Fellow in Temple Administration (FTA). She is also President of the Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA), a regional organization that brings together non-profits to save money and strengthen the community. Ellen attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, and returned there to pursue a master’s degree from the School of Public Health. She lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland with her husband Jeff and son Adam.
Cantor Rebecca Robins is Director of Temple Sinai’s religious school and superintends the congregational youth educational programs. She is especially passionate about making sure our children, teens, their families and our teachers feel a sense of significance and belonging at Temple Sinai. Rebecca can also be found leading Tot Shabbat services, Family Shabbat services, and other and other worship services here at Sinai.
Rebecca (also known as “CR”) came to Temple Sinai in 2012. A passion for music, teaching, learning and working with people on life’s journey sent her to cantorial school the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where she was ordained as cantor in 2008. While at HUC-JIR, Cantor Robins served congregations in Edison, NJ, Katonah, NY and Falls Church, VA. After being ordained she served Congregation Sinai in Milwaukee, WI as Cantor-Educator.
Originally from Long Island, NY, CR holds a BM in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the Crane School of Music, State University of New York College at Potsdam in Potsdam, NY. She began her career in education as a K-8 music teacher at Lyncourt School in Syracuse, NY. CR is a member of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC), and the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE), and serves as chairperson of the DMV’s Reform Synagogue Musicians professional group. She lives with her husband Zerek (a member of MMC, Sinai’s band), and their son Gus in Rockville, Maryland. When not at Sinai, they can be found exploring, doing projects, baking cupcakes, and having as much fun as possible.
Ali Hurewitz has been a member of Temple Sinai for nearly 25 years, and part of the Temple Sinai Nursery School community for over 18 years, joining the program as a parent and eventually becoming credentialed as a teacher. After teaching at TSNS for six years, she left the classroom to work closely with school leadership on special projects and teacher support, while also working as a mentor for early childhood teaching fellows through the Center for Inspired Teaching. Ali, who graduated with a degree in English from Haverford College, is also a former labor and employment attorney who earned her J.D. cum laude from The Georgetown University Law Center. She then returned to school to earn her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Leadership from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education in New York City, and wrote her thesis on the role of documentation in supporting children’s learning, educator growth, and community engagement through the Reggio Emilia Approach.
Actively involved in guiding the school through its most recent National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation process, Ali believes in the importance of staying abreast of and meeting the highest standards of excellence for early childhood practice; she attends annual NAEYC Conferences and varied conference programming on topics of interest around the country and online, and presented with TSNS colleagues at the NAEYC Conference in 2013. Ali has also participated in numerous Reggio Emilia symposia as well as a Study Tour in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She strongly supports ongoing professional development and offering opportunities for learning to all members of the TSNS community, and is a credentialed Trainer with the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Ali is committed to the hiring and retention of talented teachers, and seeks out early childhood educators who are aligned with our program’s values around experiential relationship-based learning and scaffolding social-emotional development in the early years. Ali’s professional memberships include NAEYC, the DC Directors’ Exchange, the DC Area Jewish Early Childhood Directors’ Council, and the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA).
When not working, Ali enjoys time with her family, which includes her husband, two children who are TSNS graduates (now in college!) and Ozzie, her labradoodle. She is a voracious reader, a hobby crafter, and loves decorating cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, especially for TSNS celebrations.
Karen Auerbach
Membership Engagement Coordinator
Noah Benjamin
Director of Development
Jenny Cohen
Social Justice Coordinator
Diego Enriquez
Facilities Manager
Helena Goldstein
Clergy Assistant
Deborah Gordis
Staff Clinical Social Worker
Andrei Israel
Director of Finance
Elise Margosis
Assistant Director of the Temple Sinai Religious School
Helena Peter
Director of Communications & Programs
Ruth Polk
Librarian
Scott Reidinger
AV Manager
Lisa Resnikoff
Young Family Engagement Coordinator
Laura Rose
Senior Assistant to the Executive Director
Gail Sell
Senior Clergy Assistant
Reco Thomas
Temple Sinai Religious School Office Manager
Elizabeth Wess
Temple Sinai Nursery School Assistant
Neil Weston
Keyboard Artist
Marcie Wilson
Finance Associate
Danny Anchundia, Ronald Bell, Steve Combs, Enrique Enriquez, Edward Ford, Juan Fuentes, Ester Garcia de Martinez, Flor Paz-Pacheco, Benjamin Pena, and Greg Wood.