Paula Baruch serves as Cantor at Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada’s oldest Reform Synagogue founded in 1850. She was ordained as a Cantor in 2018 at Hebrew Union College. She has a Master’s degree in Adult Education and is a Guild of Temple Musicians Board Member currently serving as Vice President of Education. Paula Baruch is passionate about learning and growing her skills to better serve the Jewish people. The Pluralistic Rabbinic Seminary's program is beautifully suited for the future of Judaism she envisions.
I am an artist living in Seattle with my wife and son, on a path towards becoming a chaplain. I was raised with my brother in a suburb of Los Angeles by a therapist mother and engineer father. My ancestry is Mexican, German, and Irish – all Catholic. I converted to Judaism in 2016 at age 40. I graduated this year with a Master's degree in Comparative Religion (major in Judaism) from the University of Washington. My thesis was titled "Making Landscape: A Tradition of Collaboration with the More-than-Human World in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Literature." I make semi-abstract, landscape-based paintings. My website is susannabluhm.com
Shalom. I was born in the Jewish dream that was 1960's Brooklyn, married Steve in ’81, raised our family on Long Island, and now live – still with Steve – in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, where I serve as Director of Education and gabbai at Temple Israel of Scranton. In prior incarnations, I have been a teacher, entrepreneur, corporate executive, writer, and chair of every synagogue committee in the Jewniverse. I hold a BA from the CUNY Scholars Program, an MA in Education, a CAGS in Organizational Leadership, and certificates in paralegal, change management, and corporate coaching. I played Joseph in my 8th grade Jewish day school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and returned to the stage 35 years later as Golde in my temple’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. SmartCEO magazine once named me Chief Experience Officer of the Year. I love my children and grandchildren beyond words, cannot live in a house without a dog, speak out vocally in support of Israel and against hatred of any kind, and wonder if Ancient Aliens hasn’t got it right. I’m becoming a rabbi to stop people from constantly telling me that I should, and I am grateful to PRS for giving me a broader perspective on contemporary Judaism and how I can make my greatest contribution to its future.
Brooke Elkin is a visionary activist and entrepreneur whose journey towards rabbinical leadership is guided by a profound commitment to social justice and spiritual renewal. Despite facing numerous obstacles in her pursuit of rabbinical education, Brooke's encounter with Rabbi Sue Reinhold illuminated the path she had been seeking. Drawn to the inclusive and diverse community fostered by the Pluralistic Jewish Seminary, Brooke recognizes it as the perfect environment to integrate her diverse interests and life experiences into her educational journey. With a background in addressing trauma and advocating for holistic healing, Brooke envisions a Restorative Carefarm and Retreat Center that merges Torah principles with compassionate care for clergy, activists, and their communities. Her innovative proposal reflects her deep understanding of the interconnectedness between personal well-being, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Beyond acquiring smicha, Brooke seeks to deepen her knowledge of classical scholarship and rabbinic studies, acknowledging the importance of rigorous textual analysis and historical understanding in her future leadership role. Despite linguistic challenges, Brooke determination to overcome obstacles mirrors her resilience in the face of personal trauma and historical adversity, fueling her commitment to create spaces of healing, learning, and hope within the Jewish community and beyond.
Born in Israel, raised in Australia, and a resident of Singapore for the past 13 years, I bring a global perspective shaped by a lifelong connection to Israel and Jewish activism. I’ve been married to my husband, Daniel, for 25 years, and we are the proud parents of three children. For over two decades, I built a successful career as an entrepreneur and community builder in the technology space, while also establishing myself as a writer, journalist and thought leader. I hold a Master’s degree in Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture from The University of Sydney. In the wake of October 7th, I felt a profound calling to revisit the calling I first held in my early 20s - to become a rabbi and make a more meaningful impact in the world. Full moons and sunsets are my thing. I am able to communicate with animals, and appreciate outstanding architecture. I believe in Bitcoin, buy too many things online, and still think that I’ll write a hit song one day.
Brian and his wife, Leah, live in the woods near the Penobscot River in Winterport, Maine with their youngest daughter, Nezzie. His two older children, Adrian and Avi, are in college in Florida and Japan. Brian has been president of Maine's oldest synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, for five years, and his wife runs the joint religious school with their sister Bangor congregation. Brian is a soon-to-be-retired combat veteran of the Army and Army National Guard and a director of software engineering for a large healthcare company. He's also a multi-instrumentalist musician and always active in the outdoors, currently in the process of becoming a registered Maine Guide.
Adina is a Conservative-ordained hazzan (Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1992). She is one of the first generation of women to be ordained as cantors by the Conservative Movement, and now she is rounding out her education by pursuing s'micha at PRS. Adina currently lives with her husband, Glenn in the Washington, DC area; their two kids grew up here as well, but they've both flown the coop. Adina serves as hazzan of Shaare Tefila Congregation of Olney, Maryland; she has done so for the past 8 years. She's also worked in Jewish supplementary education and elementary music teaching. Things she likes to do for fun include singing, especially choral and a cappella music; knitting and other fiber arts (Adina has a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston--said degree was obtained back when she thought she might become a medical illustrator--plans change!); and kosher cooking. Adina is a Jew by Choice; she converted about a million years ago, when her loves of learning, languages, music, and searching for G-d in community all came together and made it inevitable that she do so.
Adina has been in the DC area for 30 years--this is remarkable, given that she spent the first half of her life moving all over the US. But this is about to change: Adina and her husband are in the process of moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming, exchanging big-city Jewish life for a small-city, Wild West alternative. They're looking forward to seeing what rewards and challenges their new life in the Old West brings!
Nick was born in Lafayette, Louisiana and raised in Louisiana and Houston, Texas. He has spent the last 25 years in the Funeral Industry, and he owns and operates a funeral home in his hometown. He has three daughters, and one son (ages 23, 15, 9, and 4). He attends a Reform Synagogue, here with his kids and is active in Jewish Life. In his spare time, Nick enjoys spending time on the water, fishing, drinking coffee and reading. He is looking forward to learning and expanding his Jewish knowledge and horizons.
Jeffrey Baruch Sumber is a licensed psychotherapist, published author, and rabbinical student whose work centers on relationships, spiritual inquiry, and personal growth. With over three decades of experience, he has supported individuals and couples as they navigate questions of existential meaning, connection, and change.
His academic background includes studies at Colgate University, Southwestern College, and Harvard University, along with time studying at the C. G. Jung Institute.
Jeffrey’s work is grounded in the belief that healing, transformation and growth unfold through meaningful relationship with oneself, with others, and with something magical in the space between. His ongoing rabbinical studies deepen this perspective, bringing a unique lens and loving presence to the work of “walking each other Home” as Reb Ram Das once said.
Madison Meljac‑Lehmann serves as the spiritual leader for the Jewish Services at Fort Belvoir, a military congregation. She also runs the Jewish Family Program, enabling servicemembers and their families to access religious education and community support. Madison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Communications from Concordia University and a Master’s degree in Psychology from Palo Alto University. She additionally serves as Treasurer for the Jewish Funeral Practices Committee of Greater Washington, supporting compassionate, community‑based end‑of‑life care, and brings a long history of nonprofit leadership and development.
Her leadership is rooted in warmth, introspection, and a commitment to making Jewish ritual emotionally resonant and accessible. Madison is excited to deepen her learning through the Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary and expand the ways she can serve the Jewish community and beyond.
Megan is a third-generation native of Berkeley, California, and a second-generation graduate of UC Berkeley. Professionally, she works in residential real estate on Lisjan Ohlone territory. She is a registered tribal member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is also part of the Mvskoke and Choctaw nations. She applies the Seventh Generation Principle to her personal and work life, which includes long-term thinking, sustainability, and architectural preservation.
She is married with two teenage children and an adorable pittie mix named Efv. Her husband is Jewish, and they raised their children with access to both their Jewish and Indigenous heritage. Megan grew up closely connected to her tribal ceremonies and culture, primarily through her mother, Dr. Melinda Micco z"l, who was a professor of Native and Ethnic Studies at Mills College in Oakland, California. Megan officially joined the Jewish people through her conversion at Congregation Beth El in Berkeley after two decades of living within the Jewish community and raising Jewish children.
She serves on two Chevra Kadisha, and through this sacred work, she was called to deepen her learning. As someone who is deeply connected to multiple identities, it is her life's work to weave them into a blessing that extends as far as possible. She is a believer in big tent Judaism, Jewish joy, and the power of ancestral wisdom.
Dan is an Australian-Brazilian dual national living in Brisbane, Australia. He is a service leader at Beit Or v’Shalom, where he previously served as vice president and Cheder director, and sits on the board of the Union for Progressive Judaism, where he helps strengthen congregations across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. A stereotypical nerd who started coding at the age of 10 and just never stopped, Dan is now the CTO and co-founder of Hutly, an AI-powered property technology company. Outside of all that, he plays guitar, builds electronic circuits and 3D-prints random things for fun.
Matt Adler is originally from the Washington, D.C. area. He grew up at Temple Beth Ami, where he founded the Teen Shabbat program and helped lead his temple youth group. He studied at Washington University in St. Louis, where he founded the campus Reform Chavurah and started his Jewish travels by going on a student trip to volunteer with Fundación Judaica in Buenos Aires. Matt speaks Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic (MSA and Syrian dialect), Catalan, French, Portuguese, and intermediate Yiddish and Italian. He loves traveling and exploring diverse Jewish communities around the world. Matt received his Master's degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University, which he used to build a Spanish-English bilingual communications business focused on helping nonprofits. Matt is a proud gay Jew and is active in the LGBTQ+ community. He is the author of "More Than Just Hummus: A Gay Jew Discovers Israel in Arabic" and the writer of the Jewish travel blog PlantingRootsBearingFruits.com. Matt loves to take improv classes, go to language meetups, eat delicious international food, explore museums, and hear live music.
As someone who grew up in a nonaffiliated (although Conservative leaning) synagogue on Long Island, Rachel's Jewish roots were pluralistic, although she didn’t have that language at the time. Now, she wears many hats at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, East Lansing, Michigan, a Reform congregation with a small Conservative minyan as well. She teaches in the religious school, tutors b- mitzvah students from a Reform perspective, and serves on the board as Ritual Vice President. Her children were both raised as Reform Jews but their b- mitzvahs had a Conservative minhag “overlay,” honoring the practices and structure Rachel's family knew and understood. Rachel loves the blending of traditions and leaning into post-denominational Judaism. Professionally, she is Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at the Michigan State University Libraries. She has her MLIS at University of Pittsburgh and also holds a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Vanderbilt Divinity School (Nashville, TN).