Staff & Board

Sandy Albert became The Village Temple Executive Director in 2016, after 3 years as Temple Administrator. She was actively involved in synagogue lay leadership on Long Island and served on the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee as VP of Administration, leading and working on Fundraising, Event Planning, and Religious School Committees. Before joining The Village Temple, Sandy’s professional career was spent working in various Human Resources staff and consulting roles in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.Sandy holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management. She and her husband, Bob Gass, live on the Upper West Side and have two children, Samantha and David, who are busy launching their own careers. Sandy Albert can be reached by calling the Temple office.

Alex is delighted to have found a professional and spiritual home at The Village Temple, where he has been the educator for fourteen years. In 2004, he received his Master’s degree in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is a graduate of the JTS/HUC Leadership Institute for Congregational School Educators and a member of the Reform movement’s Association of Reform Jewish Educators. A native of Ukraine, Alex was responsible for Jewish educational programming at the Israeli Culture Center, where he managed operations, curriculum development and staff for five religious schools. There he faced the challenges of re-introducing Jewish life and learning to a population that had not been permitted to openly study or practice Judaism for more than 70 years, from the Soviet revolution until Ukraine won its independence in 1991. Alex, a nature enthusiast, lives in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn with his wife Alla and their daughters Victoria and Daniela. To learn more about Alex click here. Alex Tansky can be reached by calling the Temple office.

Liotte is thrilled to continue her involvement at the Village Temple as the Director of Engagement. She has been working at VT for several years as a Religious/Hebrew school teacher, youth group advisor, and b’nei mitzvah tutor. Liotte grew up in the reform movement, and attended Jewish Day school, Jewish summer camp (as both a camper and staff), served on her temple’s NFTY youth group board as president and college Hillel board, spent a year abroad in Israel and holds a Masters degree from HUC in Jewish Education. Liotte has been working in Jewish institutions since high school. In her free time, Liotte loves going to Broadway shows, Yankees games, trivia nights, playing volleyball, and traveling to sunny beaches. To learn more about Liotte click here. Liotte Greenbaum can be reached by calling the Temple office.

I am passionate about Jewish music and thrilled to be working with the Village Temple Youth Choir. Music has been a hallmark of my rabbinic career in both New Orleans and New York. I was ordained from the New York campus of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 2015 and have served numerous communities across the greater New York and New Orleans areas.

Santiago has been working at the Village Temple since 2002. He keeps the staff in stitches and is always at the ready to help congregants, parents and students. His loves baseball and going to the movies. He is the father of two grown children.

Husband to Susan and father of Emma. Architect specializing in renovating theaters, justice facilities and historic preservation. Story reader, listener, cyclist, sailor and barnyard carpenter.

Julie and her family have been members of Village Temple since 2015 and were drawn to the congregation’s warm, inclusive community and commitment to social justice. She has served on the Rabbinic Search Committee and Fundraising Committee and her children attend Village Temple Religious School. Julie leads Civic Entertainment Group’s consumer and entertainment public relations practice with a focus on entertainment, television and content marketing. She serves on the Executive Board for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA NY). Julie lives in Chelsea with her husband and sons Harrison and Charlie and when not exploring the City can be found relaxing in her hometown of Margate City, NJ.

Marilyn, along with her husband John and daughter Olivia, joined the Village Temple in 2009 after finding the congregation to be both warm and welcoming, particularly for their interfaith family. Olivia attended Religious School and in 2015 became a Bat Mitzvah, continuing at the Temple as a Teaching Assistant and member of the Youth Group. Marilyn previously served on the B’nai Mitzvah committee and is currently an invested member of the Temple’s Book Group and Social Action Committee. A former dancer and entertainment attorney, Marilyn now serves as Board Chair for a non-profit arts administration organization, supporting young dancers in creating their art.

Heather, her husband Bryce and daughter Stella (9) joined the Village Temple in 2019. They are big fans of Village Temple and find the congregation to be welcoming and kind. Stella attends Hebrew School at VT and is a member of the amazing VT Choir. Heather has been a member of the Nominating Committee since 2021 and enjoys volunteering at the VT Soup Kitchen when time permits. They all enjoy volunteering at different Community Events.

Rachel and her husband, David Friedman, have been members of the Village Temple since 2004. They were drawn to the down to earth community and spiritual religious services. Rachel and David are now the proud parents of Emily (2005) and Isabel (2008) who have attended VT religious school (since age 4) and are now active members of the Children’s Choir. Rachel has served in several leadership positions within her children’s school communities. Additionally, Rachel has professional experience in Project Management, Sales & Marketing.

Heather and her husband, Seth Gordon, have been members of the Village Temple since 2016. Their son Gray (13) was Rabbi Fersko's first Bar Mitzvah at VT in September 2020 and daughter Blair (7) just finished her first year of religious school. Heather is a former litigator who enjoys tennis, travel and Duke basketball.Description goes here

Jeremy Kagan is a growth and innovation consultant, and strategic advisor to startups and digital media companies..  He is Professor of Digital Marketing at Columbia Business School, and Faculty Director of the Digital Marketing Strategy executive education program and teaches graduate and executive education classes. Kagan also teaches the Digital Marketing Intensive in the Cornell Tech MBA program, and Foundations of Entrepreneurship at New York University’s Stern School of Business.  His book “Digital Marketing: Strategy and Tactics”, the first textbook for digital marketing, was published in 2018. His new book “Designing the Successful Corporate Accelerator” was released by Wiley in 2021. 

Jeremy and his wife Kathy joined VT in 2019 along with their children Alexis (just had her Bat Mitzvah), Rose and Jacob, who are all in the Religious School.

Raised in France in Conservative Judaism and having moved to New York City eighteen years ago, Sarah found at the Village Temple a blend of Jewish traditions, modernity, spirituality and openness where she feels very much at home. Married thirteen years ago by Rabbi Koster, Sarah and her husband, William, are the proud parents of Summer and Anais – both in the Religious School. Sarah runs her own consulting practice helping nonprofits and social enterprises with strategy and business planning. She is excited to be part of the Board and looks forward to supporting the Religious School.

Marina has been a member of The Village Temple for the past five years. She actively participated in the VT Interim Rabbi Search Committee and is currently the head of the Religious School Committee and was a member of the Rabbi Search Committee. Marina is a mom to three pretty awesome kids and wife to a better than average guy. They reside in Chelsea. Marina loves all things food and enjoys traveling. She lives for her family and is in love with New York City. In her spare time, Marina is a business data and systems analyst. (She also takes every opportunity to attempt to be clever, sarcastic and funny, testing out her material on family, friends and unsuspecting Village Temple congregants.)

Katherine Lipton is a lawyer, and she is currently the head of legal for Commercial Real Estate, within the Commercial Bank at JPMorgan Chase. She is also the Chair of JPMC’s Global Pro Bono Committee. She serves on the boards of two other not-for profits, Fountain House and Pro Bono Partnership. Katherine is married to Alex Lipman, and their children, Naomi and Sophie Lipman, are currently enrolled in the Village Temple Religious School. Katherine and her family have been members of Village Temple for about 7 years.

Jared a lawyer (originally from Montreal) and his wife Lesley (originally from North Carolina) found The Village Temple when they were looking for a religious school for their daughter Georgina (originally from NYC).  Alex Tansky and the entire religious school team do an amazing job of creating a fun environment for the littlest learners. Within a year, Georgie had decided to join the children's choir (we think as a strategy to spend more time at the place). Now Georgie's goal is to get a solo in Anita’s always amazing Purimspiel. Choosing The Village Temple has been a wonderful decision for our family.

Laura is an executive director at JPMorgan Chase. She and her family joined the Village temple 2 years ago. Her son William (10) attends religious school and loves singing in the children’s choir. Laura enjoys attending services and choir performances. She is also an avid college football, college basketball, and baseball fan and enjoys traveling.

Aaron, his wife Arian, and their daughters Avery and Eleanor became members of the Village Temple in 2018. Avery is a member of the Village Temple children's choir and will have her Bat Mitzvah in 2024. Aaron recently served on the new Cantor search committee.

He was born and raised in Syracuse, NY, where he was both Bar Mitzvahed and Confirmed at Temple Conchord. His grandmother, Helen, was the Temple librarian, and his father, Robert, served on the board. Temple Conchord was one of the first Reform synagogues in the US and prided itself on being one of the first temples in the US (1920) to have women on the board of trustees.

Professionally, Aaron founded the full-service production company Haymaker East Content in 2013. The company mainly focuses on producing non-scripted television. Notable titles include Southern Charm for Bravo and Floor is Lava for Netflix. Haymaker East Content has produced or is currently producing series for Bravo, A&E, TLC, Hulu, Netflix, Discovery, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus.

Julie is an author and journalist, who has been a reporter and critic for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Her many books include Wendy and the Lost Boys, the New York Times best-selling biography of Wendy Wasserstein, and most recently, An Innocent Bystander: The Killing of Leon Klinghoffer. The Village Temple has been an important part of her life for 20 years, along with her husband Bill Abrams and their children Roxie and Eli. From 2013-2018, Julie was honored to serve as temple co-president.

Jamil is a private investor specializing in business work-outs and redevelopment of Brownfields properties. His daughter Lucy attended VT Religious School and is now in college. They have been Village Temple members since 2002.

Elizabeth Soqui has been a teacher for many years, and she is now a school administrator for a local nursery school. Elizabeth, and her husband Bruce Resnik have been members of the Village Temple since 2008. Their now adult children attended Hebrew school, and were Bar Mitzvah at the VT. Elizabeth has served on the Board since 2016 She has been the Religious School Chair, and enjoys volunteering for the Soup Kitchen.

Jolene Travis is an award-winning communications professional who has dedicated her career to raising the public profile of forward-thinking cultural and academic institutions. As a results-oriented storyteller, Jolene is the Assistant Vice President for Communications at Pratt Institute, where she increases the institution’s visibility through developing, executing, and leading integrated communications strategies that resonate with a diverse audience. By melding her background in public relations and public affairs, she elevates Pratt’s brand through creating multi-faceted content strategies that amplify Pratt’s mission, academic excellence, cultural reputation, and its longstanding commitment to social justice and sustainability. Description goes here

Jill is proud to now be serving as Co-President of the Village Temple and third term on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee. She previously served on the Religious School Committee, Membership Committee and Nomination Committee. Jill, her husband Andrew and three daughters, Anna, Ella, and Emily have been Village Temple members for over 15 years. All three girls have attended religious school and sung in the children’s choir and have had their Bat Mitzvahs at the Temple. Jill has spent her entire career in the insurance industry and currently is Vice President in Prudential’s Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs Department. Jill and her family reside near Union Square.