Presenters, Facilitators and Coaches

A third-generation Marylander, Ben Cardin has been a national leader on health care, retirement security, the environment and fiscal issues while representing the people of Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and before that in the House of Representatives. Currently serving as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has worked across party lines to further U.S. national security and to ensure that good governance, transparency and respect for human rights are integrated into American foreign policy.
First elected to the Senate in 2006, Senator Cardin also is a senior member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, which is at the forefront of rebuilding our economy. He is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Environment & Public Works Committee.
Senator Cardin is a leading advocate for the Chesapeake Bay, which is the economic, historical and cultural heart of Maryland. Nationally, he is a champion of protecting our clean air and clean water. He has introduced legislation to restore the health of America’s great water bodies and is the leading proponent of investing in improvements to America’s aging water infrastructure system while preparing it for the impacts of climate change. His commitment to reduce pollution and protect our environment fuels his work to broaden investments in safe public transit, as well as walking and bike trails.
Senator Cardin has a deep interest in foreign affairs and has worked across party lines to further our national security and protect universal human rights. He has fought to ensure that anti-corruption, transparency, accountability and respect for human rights are integrated into our foreign policy. He also has worked to ensure gender equity in national security programs and policies. He has been a Commissioner on the U.S. Helsinki Commission since 1993, serving as Chairman and Co-Chair in multiple congressional sessions. Since 2015, he has served as the Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the 57-nation Organization Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. Senator Cardin previously has served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development. He also previously served as Ranking Member of the SFRC East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee, and he is the former Chairman of the International Development and Foreign Assistance Subcommittee.
Senator Cardin believes access to quality, affordable health care should be a right and not a privilege, especially during a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. He continues to be a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act and has advocated for the addition of a public option for coverage. He led the fight for the Patients’ Bill of Rights and, because of his efforts, the law ensures that individuals in private health insurance plans have the right to choose their primary care provider, women have direct access to an ob/gyn, and patients with medical emergencies are guaranteed coverage for necessary ER visits. He was responsible for the elevation of the National Institute for Minority Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health and has been a strong supporter of increases in funding for federally qualified health care centers and health information technology. Senator Cardin continues to be a leading champion for increased medical research funding for Maryland’s world-class universities, NIH, and our State’s cutting edge biotech industry.
One of Senator Cardin’s proudest accomplishments was leading the fight to guarantee access to dental care for children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, following the tragic loss of a 12-year-old Prince George’s County boy who died after complications that followed an untreated tooth infection. He continues to fight for dental coverage for adults and older Americans.
A member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee since arriving in the Senate, Senator Cardin helped write the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that has helped small businesses in Maryland and nationwide weather the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic during his tenure as Small Business Committee Chair. He also created the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance Grant program to quickly get cash to small businesses in need. Senator Cardin was responsible for the extension of increased guarantees and reduced fees in the Small Business Administration’s two largest loan programs. He has made it a priority to find better ways to provide access to credit for qualified small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses. He consistently urges federal agencies to take all steps possible to meet or exceed their modest small business contracting goals. He also has been a strong defender of the women and men of the federal workforce.
Serving as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee during his first four years in the Senate, Senator Cardin also developed a reputation for defending civil rights at home and has sought to find a balance between protection of civil liberties and national security. He is the lead sponsor of legislation to prohibit racial and religious profiling by all levels of law enforcement, restore voting rights for former felons, and remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. He has been a proud cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
From 1987-2006, Ben Cardin represented Maryland’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served for 17 years on the Ways & Means Committee. He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967-1986. During his time as Speaker from 1979-1986, he reformed Maryland’s property tax system, the school financing formula and the ethical standards for elected officials.
A 1967 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law (1st in his class), he earned his B.A. degree in 1964 from the University of Pittsburgh (cum laude). He is a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies’ National Advisory Board and the St. Mary’s College Advisory Board, Center for Study of Democracy.
Senator Cardin is married to Myrna Edelman Cardin and his daughter Deborah and son-in-law Jonathan Willis have two daughters, Madeline and Julia.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Andrew has been a professional leader in our Federation’s efforts to raise funds through our Annual Campaign, strategic philanthropy priority projects, and planned giving.

He previously served as the Federation’s Chief Program Officer, overseeing all programmatic and partnership activities in L.A., Israel, and internationally. He was also the Federation’s Director of Business Divisions and New Business Initiatives, and led the community relations and social services teams and the Planning & Allocations Department.

Before becoming a Jewish community professional, Andrew practiced law at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and SunAmerica, Inc.

Andrew graduated from UCLA and received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

David Harrison is a seasoned public relations and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience developing and executing integrated communications campaigns.

Specializing in working with professional associations, commercial real estate firms, and healthcare organizations, David has created numerous national and regional award-winning PR and branding campaigns.

David’s career began in journalism and he brings a reporter’s perspective and sensibility into understanding what makes a story.

As an employee burnout and resilience specialist with 20+ years of experience, Faun helps organizations build a culture where their employees are pumped to go to work every day.

Known for her high-energy and dynamic programs, clients value her ability to quickly assess the nuances and priorities of their organization and then translate that insight into practical strategies that can be put into practice immediately.

With extensive experience coaching and training employees nationwide, and her in-the-trenches leadership at an independent school, Faun brings an exceptional understanding of personal dynamics and expertise in the critical skills needed to minimize burnout.

Faun’s clients, from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits, love her ability to immediately connect with workshop participants and deliver sessions that have a lasting impact on their teams. Faun also partners with Lisa Hills and Linda Simansky under the Working Wonders platform to offer expanded training, coaching, and consulting to their clients and bring fresh strategies for solving everyday work challenges.

She has been quoted in The New York Times and Fast Company, featured in the AdvancingWellness Expert Interview Series, as well as numerous other media outlets. Faun holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Connecticut an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College.

Connect with Faun here to learn more about how she can help your organization.

Marci Mayer Eisen, MSW, ACC, Director of Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ Millstone Leadership Initiatives and JProStLouis, leads community-wide professional development and lay leadership training. A native of Philadelphia, Marci has a MSW in Social Group Work and Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. She previously promoted interfaith volunteerism at the St. Louis JCRC and spent the majority of her career at the St. Louis JCC, including leading the Department of Jewish Community Life. An ICF credentialed coach, Marci is the founder and co-chair of IMUN, a new (and growing) international community of coaches promoting coaching in Jewish organizations. Passionate about committee work and leadership development, Marci has mentored many staff and has supervised over 30 MSW students, including international students.

Ellen is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University and Director of the Georgetown Leadership Academy, a national learning and consultation effort on effective leadership and change management for professionals and civic activists. She has over 30 years of experience training, coaching and facilitating at the national, state and local levels and regularly works with such entities as the World Bank, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Council on Mental Wellbeing, The Harvard Berkman/Klein Center, US State Department, Michigan Office of Children, Youth and Families, Missouri Department of Mental Health, New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities and Maryland Child Welfare Academy. She currently directs the Kagen Fellows Program in Washington State and Georgia and created Coach Approach Partners to teach coaching and communication skills to leaders across the county. She is on the founding faculty of Preside, a national program that links Leadership and Governance through a Jewish Lens.

In addition to her professional experience, Ellen has a wide range of lay leadership involvement at the local, national and international levels. She is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program and is a past chair of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values. She currently serves on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and is a trustee of their Jewish Community Foundation. She is the 2019 recipient of the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland award and was recently selected to join the Shalom Hartman Muslim Leadership Institute. She also served on the founding Board of BBYO and two innovative start-ups, Judaism Alive and JChoice. Ellen was the founding president of the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, the collaborative education and identity building agency in Greater Washington, DC where she successfully integrated three separate organizations into one new entity. She also co-led the efforts to create a nationally recognized, community-wide, teen identity agency called JET, Jewish Experiences for Teens.

Ellen and her husband David established the Waghelstein Family Hopes and Dreams Endowment Fund to further advance leadership opportunities for emerging activists. Ellen is delighted to continue her service to the Baltimore Jewish Community through her work with ACHARAI and Na’aleh.

Like a character in a book, Laura, an award-winning trainer, has the ability to bring any course content to life and keep students engaged. A natural storyteller, she has been known to write short plays to emphasize the course content complete with tickets, a program, and popcorn!

She retired from the Senior Executive Service after serving in 20 different roles. Her executive positions included:

Chief Learning Officer
Chief Data Officer
Associate Commissioner responsible for national marketing and communications
Associate Commissioner responsible for over 3000 data exchanges, policy publications, and international negotiation

Laura has designed and delivered hundreds of top-quality leadership and development training courses to thousands of public/private employees at all levels, and across multiple platforms.

As the Founder of One Eleven Leadership, Marissa Lifshen Steinberger (she/her pronouns) provides coaching and facilitation services to mission-driven individuals, leaders, and teams to elevate professional impact and enhance personal fulfillment. She has more than 20 years of experience in the education, foundation, and Jewish sectors, and understands that organizations require courageous leadership and diverse voices at all levels to be truly effective. Marissa created One Eleven Leadership to enable and empower clients to move forward with increased satisfaction, confidence, and joy to enrich their lives and benefit the people, organizations, and causes they care about the most. Her areas of expertise include working with individuals to feel less “stuck” personally or professionally, manage work/life balance more effectively, increase impact as a supervisor, and navigate transitions more confidently. She holds an Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an A.B. in Psychology from Brown University. She earned the designation of Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s signature programs in Coaching and Facilitation. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Marissa now lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and two young sons.   

Dr. Elana Stein Hain is the Rosh Beit Midrash and a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she serves as lead faculty, engages in research and curriculum development and consults on the content of lay and professional leadership programs.

A widely well-regarded teacher and scholar, Elana is passionate about bringing rabbinic thought into conversation with contemporary life. To this end, she created Talmud from the Balcony, an occasional learning seminar exposing the big ideas, questions, and issues motivating rabbinic discussions. She is the author of Circumventing the Law: Rabbinic Perspectives on Legal Loopholes and Integrity (Penn Press, 2023-2024) which uses loopholes as a lens for understanding rabbinic views on law and ethics.

Elana also co-hosts For Heaven’s Sake, a bi-weekly podcast with Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi, exploring contemporary issues related to Israel and the Jewish world.

She earned her doctorate in Religion at Columbia University and is an alumna of the Yeshiva University Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS) as well as the Consortium in Jewish Studies and Legal Theory Graduate Fellowship at Cardozo School of Law. She also served for eight years as a clergy member on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at both Lincoln Square Synagogue and the Jewish Center, has taught at the Wagner School at NYU, and sits on the board of Sefaria: A Living Library of Jewish Texts.

Elana lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her family.

Beth is the Director of Leadership Innovation at Na’aleh, previously filling the Executive Director of ACHARAI: Shoshana S. Cardin Jewish Leadership Institute role. Before becoming Executive Director of ACHARAI in June 2015, Beth had been serving as a leadership coach for both the ACHARAI Fellows Program and Presidents’ Circle. She holds a Leadership Coaching Certification from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration from Columbia University, and a B.A. from Binghamton University. Beth is an experienced facilitator and a member of the faculty team of Accelerate, a year-long national program for high potential Hillel professionals who aspire to become directors.

Beth helps people bring their best selves to their professional and personal lives. Over the last twenty years, Beth has trained, consulted and coached both volunteer and professional leaders for local and national organizations. In 2012, she launched The Gansky Group, LLC, a consulting practice that specializes in coaching and training, particularly with non-profit organizations. Beth was with Hillel of Greater Baltimore for fourteen years until 2009, as the Executive Director for the last five. She led the decentralization of that regional operation to four self-sustaining Hillel campus foundations and played a significant role in the opening of The Smokler Center at Johns Hopkins University. Beth is also a board member at Camp Ramah in the Poconos where she is chairing strategic planning process. She is a past board member at Beth Israel Congregation, University of Maryland Hillel, and Beth Tfiloh Congregation and is a facilitator for the Darrell D. Friedman Institute for Professional Development.

Outside of her professional life, Beth finds great fulfillment as a traveler, cook, reader, theatre patron, and mother.

Naami started my career in non-profit work, curating spiritual growth and development opportunities for those in Jewish communities in Los Angeles, NY, NJ, and Israel. Her non-profit work tuned her in to developing empathy and understanding for others, forced her to become a better listener, and taught her the art of having deep and meaningful conversations. It was here that Naami learned how to get in touch with her authentic self by watching others be curious and ask inspiring questions which ultimately led to tremendous levels of personal growth.

When she moved to Maryland in 2013, Naami began working as the program director for ACHARAI, now Na’aleh: The Hub for Leadership Learning, a local non-profit that offers leadership development opportunities for top-level leaders. Naami co-created and facilitated cohort learning experiences, absorbing from some of the best in the field. She began to learn what it means to be a leader. She built relationships with incredible mentors and leadership coaches, saw the power of peer cohort learning, and the incredible impact of leadership coaching.

Naami went back to school and received an Executive Certification in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University.

In 2022 Overbrook Coaching & Consulting was born. Naami has always believed that work shouldn’t be a place of stress and frustration but rather, it should be fulfilling and energizing. She hopes she continues to inspire and support leaders on their journey to building healthy, thriving organizations.

Maya guides individuals and groups as they grapple with existential questions about their leadership identities and communication skills. She also facilitates offsites and retreats that deepen trust among the participants and accelerate planning and decision making.

Maya spent a decade in nonprofit leadership before establishing her coaching and training practice. From early in her career, she was already managing international teams with dozens of employees, moving along fast-paced projects while bridging cross-cultural communication gaps. Later, she focused on developing global strategic partnerships, liaised with board members, and trained top executives to present clearly and convincingly to a wide range of audiences.

Dasee Berkowitz is an educator, executive facilitator, and coach who works with organizational leaders and mid-level managers to create the work cultures they want. She is the author of Becoming a Soulful Parent: A path to the wisdom within (Kasva Press, 2020) a Jewish Book Council finalist. Read her recent writing on workplace culture here – www.daseeberkowitz.com

Jessica Eastman Stewart helps professionals thrive at work without burning out. Through her online and in-person workshops and courses, she helps leaders create professional and personal systems for more productivity, joy, and ease in all aspects of their lives. She’s been featured in Forbes and Woman’s Day magazine and is the host of the Joyfully Managed Life podcast with bite-sized and bingeable tips for living a more organized and happy life.

David Lunken works with organizations to build effective teams that are empowered to achieve and surpass organizational goals. He specializes in analyzing complex business issues, then develops and implements effective solutions to satisfy business, financial, and client demands. David has over 30 years’ experience working in and with organizations across a broad range of industries both for-profit and non-profit. He is also a certified Lego Serious Play facilitator and a member of the core faculty of the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) where he designs and teaches their foundations course.

Rabbi Mike Uram is the Chief Jewish Learning Officer for JFNA. Previously, he served as the head of Pardes North America and Executive Director of Penn Hillel for 16 years. He is the author of the best-selling book entitled, Next Generation Judaism, which won a National Jewish Book Award.

Mike has worked with dozens of Jewish organizations including the Wexner and Schusterman Foundations, Hillel International, The RA, CCAR, and many local federations, synagogues and JCCs.  Recently Mike co-authored a new educational framework for Birthright Israel.

Mike holds a BA from Washington University and Rabbinic Ordination from JTS.

Michael Bresler is the founder of Broadheights, a consultancy helping non-profits harness AI and operational excellence to scale impact. With over two decades in executive leadership and technology, Michael empowers organizations to streamline processes and free professionals to do mission-driven work. As Chairman of Beth Tfiloh Congregation, he brings a deep understanding of the Jewish non-profit landscape.
Michael leads workshops nationwide, making AI practical, accessible, and transformative.