FJC Board of Trustees and Governors: Proposed Slate for 2026-28 Term

The Flatbush Jewish Center Nominating Committee is sharing a proposed slate for the 2026-2028 Board of Trustees and Governors. As per the FJCs By-Laws, there will be an open meeting of the Nominating Committee on Tuesday evening, January 13th at 8pm (via zoom) where any member in good standing can appear before the Committee and request to be nominated to the board. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please contact the office. 

FJC Nominating Committee Chair: Dina Garfinkel & Julia Kerson

FJC Board of Trustees and Governors: Proposed Slate

*Note: Bold names are newly nominated board members.

Eitan Dantzig – President

Eitan has served on the board for ten years as Comptroller, playing an important role in guiding FJC toward financial sustainability. In his professional life, Eitan is VP of Product Technology at Kaplan, where he leads a large, cross-functional team to deliver relevant, high-quality services to millions. His leadership style is collaborative, empowering individual experts and committees to lead with their strengths toward a shared vision. As President, Eitan will be dedicated to furthering FJC’s operational stability while working to ensure every individual can feel a deep sense of belonging within our unique community.

Becky Silber, Esq. – Vice President

Becky has been part of the FJC community for nearly 15 years and has served on the Board since 2016. Highlights of her service at FJC include expansion of FJC’s social justice work, supporting family programming and helping build a warm and welcoming environment. Becky began her professional career as a Wall Street litigator and now works in criminal justice policy reform. She and her husband, Saul Austerlitz, are raising their two kids, Nate & Gabe, in the FJC community, where Nate celebrated his bar mitzvah last year. 

Sarah Stein – Treasurer

Sarah has been a member of FJC since 2016 and has served on the board in various capacities since 2019. Among her favorite projects has been helping to grow our young family programs. Professionally, Sarah is trained as a music psychotherapist and currently leads a team of clinicians providing mental health care and hospice support across 12 program areas in 3 boroughs. A significant portion of her job involves process improvement and establishing sustainable systems in a large bureaucracy. Though FJC is small, she hopes to bring some of that energy into her role as treasurer…along with her irrational love of spreadsheets.

Dina Garfinkel – Associate Treasurer

Dina moved to the neighborhood in 2005, and included FJC in the shuls that her family hopped between. A few years later she settled in and started working on family programs & tot shabbat, and joined the board. Around 2013, Dina was given ‘permission’ to organize a downstairs egalitarian shabbat morning minyan, and is so happy to see what it has grown to today. As a technical project manager, she is quite obsessed with spreadsheets, collaboration tools and ensuring communication is as efficient as possible.

Rachel Goodman, Esq. – Comptroller

Rachel joined FJC in 2018 and has been on the board since 2022. She helped to establish FJC’s Hebrew School, which both her kids attend. She’s a civil rights/civil liberties litigator by training, and now manages people, projects, and strategy to protect free expression for a democracy organization. Rachel is excited to bring her legal and project management skills to the board and the role of Comptroller. Her family has deep connections to reform, conservative, and orthodox Judaism, and she loves how FJC brings the good parts of all of those together.

Elisabeth Epstein – Secretary

Elisabeth is a long-time member of FJC. She has been a Board member for numerous years, holding her current position of Secretary for over 10 years. She regularly assists at FJC’s monthly Mobile Food Pantry. Elisabeth is a retired employee of the City of New York, where she worked as a Human Resources Manager.

R’Heather Mller – Historian

R’Heather Miller is over 20 years in to both her membership at FJC and her career as a special educator; currently serving as a high school principal. She is a spiritual leader and advocate serving the Jewish community, nationally and very locally, in various capacities. R’Heather also serves as a “task rabbi,” guiding individuals toward meaningful Jewish connection through personalized teaching, rituals, and lifecycle moments. In both the religious and ‘secular’ spheres of her life, she is dedicated to creating inclusive spaces where all identities thrive—all while cherishing her most important role: mother to three boys that have been born and raised in the FJC community.

Ellen Levitt – Trustee

Ellen has been an FJC member since 2020, and a Board member for a year. She assists with weekly leyning and organizing. She is a regular member of the Friday Polar Bear Minyan.

Sara Sloan – Trustee

Sara has served on the board for many years.  She represents FJC to the USCJ.   Sara, a retiree, does many of the tasks which must be done during the working day.   She also brings vast knowledge of practices and procedures at other liberal synagogues as well as institutional memory.

Joe Karten – Governor

Joe and his family joined FJC a year ago.  Discovering the FJC community and being welcomed so warmly into our kehillah has been an amazing experience for Joe and his family and he would like to contribute what he can to FJC.  His relevant experience includes many years of working for human rights and environmental NGO’s, both nationally and internationally.  He’s been to graduate school in music (not relevant!) and Jewish studies (possibly relevant!).  He has a lot of experience working with cooperatives, non-profits and community based organizations.  He’s a big fan of organizational communication, consensus building and transparency.  Now that he’s a dad dealing with disability/health issues as well as raising a teen, his direct action/getting arrested days are in his past, but issues of fairness, accessibility, social justice and equity are no less important to him now than they were when he was a kid.  He likes opera, free-jazz, cooking and modern Jewish philosophy.

Fred LaPolla – Governor

Fred LaPolla is a new member of the Board of Governors. He has lived in Kensington for 10 years and joined FJC in 2023. Fred works as a medical librarian and is eager to help out in building community and membership and supporting FJC. He also enjoys cooking, reading, learning languages and spending time with his family.

Shuvi Santo – Governor

Shuvi has been a member of the FJC community for over a decade and has been actively involved in leading services and creating a warm and welcoming community especially for new members. Shuvi has spent her career dedicated to education as a critical component to creating a more equitable society. She’s worked in leadership in both government and corporate settings serving Pre-K – 12 schools and higher education. She would bring a wide variety of skills to the board including leadership development, marketing, recruitment, systems thinking, and strategic planning. She enjoys walking in Prospect Park, and is learning the birds and tree species. At home, she spends her time cooking, having dinners with family and community and with her two boys, age 17 and 13 and partner of over 20 years.

Jude Shimer – Governor

Jude joined FJC in 2023. Over the years they’ve found a home in New York’s Jewish left, both politically as a JFREJ member and deportation defense leader, and religiously in the davening rotation at Brooklyn Shabbat Kodesh, Shir Hamaalot and here at FJC. They serve as a high holidays chazzan at Congregation Emanuel Jacob in Mansfield, Ohio, and aspire to carry on the traditions of their progressive clergy parents and Jewish socialist ancestors. From their union experience they bring skills of diplomacy and collectively organizing those whose voices are excluded from decision making spaces.