
Shoshana S. Cardin Symposium – Leading Our Diverse Communities Post-October 7th
Cost is $18/person
Featuring a conversation between Andrew Cushnir, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Associated and Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Executive Director of Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation. The conversation will be moderated by David Sachs.
Planning Committee
Laura Rubenstein, co-chair
Bob Hallock, co-chair
Bruce Friedman
Dan Hirschhorn
Zoë Reznick Gewanter
Julie Tonti
Ilene Vogelstein
Fred Heyman, chair of the Board of Na’aleh
About the Speakers:
Andrew Cushnir
President and Chief Executive Officer of The Associated
Andrew Cushnir is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Associated having started in the role in May 2024. He is only the seventh person to serve in this role since The Associated’s founding. Andrew brings a wealth of experience, exceptional leadership qualities and a profound dedication to strengthening and enriching the Jewish community to his role. His journey within the Jewish Federation system began as a passionate lay leader and volunteer before he transitioned into the role of Chief Planning and Program Officer at the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. During this time, Andrew played a crucial role in reshaping the allocation process and fostering a culture of collaboration and partnership. His success in these endeavors led to his next role as the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, where he led all fundraising and planned giving efforts as well as addressed complex community and organizational issues. He is a native Californian and excited about his new chapter in Baltimore.
Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein
Executive Director of Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation
Previously, Rabbi Epstein served as Executive Director of the 14th Street Y in Manhattan, and as a member of the faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Her past roles have included serving as Rabbi-Educator at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and as Associate Director/Reform Zionist Think Tank Manager at ARZA. Rabbi Epstein publishes and teaches widely in the Jewish community, and has served at various congregations, Jewish youth groups and summer camps as an educator. A certified Storahtelling “Maven,” she has studied improvisational comedy in various programs including the Upright Citizens Brigade.
A Wexner Field Fellow, she received the 2011 Pomegranate Prize for Jewish Education from the Covenant Foundation. Rabbi Epstein received her BA from Wesleyan University, has attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received her rabbinic ordination and MA in Religious Education from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Epstein lives in a lively household in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which includes her husband, Dr. Jason Epstein, their two teenagers, and their two dogs.
David Sachs
David Sachs is the executive director of The Leadership in Baltimore, dedicated to making Baltimore a more thriving metropolitan region for all. David has served in strategic management, teaching, and program design roles at Harvard Business School, UMBC, Johns Hopkins, MICA, and T. Rowe Price. He is a founding Board member of Na’aleh.