Welcome to the heart and soul of The Mussar Institute. Our management team is the driving force behind our mission, working tirelessly to move our organization towards our vision.
Each member of our team is a Mussar student and practioner as well, embodying our core values in every facet of their life. Get to know them below.
Business Manager
Dianne brings a wealth of experience in customer service and management gained in the luxury giftware industry. She is a certified yoga instructor with more than 500 hours of teaching experience. She teaches and has taught yoga, including Mussar Yoga, at a variety of locations including the Mayerson JCC, Wise Temple, and other congregations. She discovered Mussar after being enlightened by one of her students about Edith Brotman’s book, Mussar Yoga, and through the book she found TMI. She lives with her husband in Cincinnati, OH. They have two grown children and a beloved granddaughter.
Chief Operating Officer
Rivka has over 33 years of experience in business administration, nonprofit management, private and public higher education administration and instruction, private congregational school leadership and instruction, educational consulting, and freelance editing and writing. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. Rivka joined the staff of The Mussar Institute in 2018 and since then, Mussar has been a daily transformative practice in her life. She resides in Southeast Florida with her family and is an avid potter and painter.
Mashgiach/Mussar Advisor
Rabbi Avi Fertig serves as the Chief Programming Officer at The Mussar Institute, where he has been guiding courses and programs since 2010. Avi’s educational background includes studying at the Yeshiva of Ner Israel in Baltimore, followed by a move to Israel in 1997. During his time at the Mir Yeshivah in Jerusalem, he developed a close bond with Rabbi Reuvain Leuchter, a prominent disciple of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, a renowned authority in Mussar. Since then, Avi has been studying, writing, and teaching Mussar to a wide audience, impacting thousands of students. He is also the author of two books on Torah and Mussar. Avi resides in Beit Shemesh with his wife, Estie, their children, and their recently born grandson, Ariel.
Director of Marketing & Communications
With over 20 years of experience in marketing and business in Israel and the US, Devorah is dedicated to strengthening Israeli and Jewish communities through innovative strategies. Holding a BA in Communications and an MBA with a focus on Marketing, she resides in Austin, TX, where she actively volunteers in the local Jewish and Israeli community. Devorah is passionate about fostering connections and leaving a positive impact on the world.
Director of Facilitator and Program Development
Helaine Sheias, Ph.D., made Aliyah to Israel in her teens, served in the IDF, and settled in Israel for more than two decades. She is a graduate of The Mussar Institute Yesod Facilitator Training Program and the Manchim Advanced Facilitator Training. She is currently the Director of Facilitator and Program Development, after joining the TMI Staff a few years ago.
Helaine continues to facilitate a variety of courses. She co-created the Tapestry course with Nancy Weiss. In her Va’adim she facilitates circles of transformation and change by modeling spiritual awakening, and self-reflexive learning, or Hitlamdut. Facilitating Mussar courses offers Helaine a continuous sense of awe and wonderment as it continuously strengthens her personal spiritual practice.
Helaine currently resides near Haifa Israel and is blessed with 2 amazingly wondrous grandchildren and three adult children, who all bring her great nachas and joy.
Introducing Our Board of Directors, the Visionaries Shaping the Future of The Mussar Institute. Learn about the leaders who steer our organization toward continued excellence and success.
Treasurer
David, a Yeshiva University graduate and accountant with 35 years of experience, has managed his independent practice in Hollywood, FL for the past 30 years. He specializes in international tax services, audit representation, and business startup & planning. David is deeply involved in various non-profit and religious organizations, both locally and globally. He is proficient in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish and has studied Mussar for over 30 years.
President
Steve has been a student of Mussar since 2011 and has consistently studied with the same online va’ad for 11 years. After completing Manchim, he facilitated Season of Mussar I and II at his congregation, Temple Chai in Phoenix, AZ. Steve is a passionate advocate for Mussar, which has profoundly impacted his life.
He has also previously served on the board of his congregation and retired after 11 years of teaching in junior and senior high schools, in addition to a 40-year career in Human Resources at Bud Industries, Inc.
Secretary
John, retired after nearly 40 years of owning Western Extralite, a family business. He is deeply involved in his Jewish community and has held board positions at the Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Foundation, Temple B’Nai Jehudah, and the Jewish Federation of Greater KC, where he served as Board Chair from 2015 to 2018. John has made 15 trips to Israel since his first visit in 1981.
In 2020, he began his Mussar journey by enrolling in the 5 Steps course. He is an ongoing student of Mussar, having participated in three va’ads and currently enrolled in one, while also being part of the Mussar Schmooze group.
John and his wife, Jenny, are lifelong Kansas City residents and have been married for 40 years. They have three children: Amy Allison, Adam, and a grandson, Max.
Vice President
Kalinka began her journey with TMI in 2004 after meeting Alan Morinis. Drawn to Mussar, she has taken over a dozen courses. Originally from Bulgaria, she converted to Judaism in 2009 and had her Bat Mitzvah in 2011. She has attended over a dozen Kallot and participated in TMI’s first trip to Israel. Kalinka volunteered as a chevruta matching coordinator and edited the Omer teachings for our Facebook page. She is a bank finance attorney with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation in NYC. She holds an LL.B. from Sofia University and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School. With over 30 years of experience as a corporate attorney, she has also served on various boards.
Past President
Annabelle is the first woman elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and the author of the order that reformed the state’s public education financing. In 1994, she declared the existing system unconstitutional and gave the Arkansas General Assembly two years to establish an equitable educational system, retiring after two re-elections.
Vice President of Finance
Sandy has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, construction, and risk management-loss control. He resides in the picturesque Thousand Oaks, California. Sandy holds a deep belief in Mussar’s path of Jewish character development and spiritual growth. As a Mussar Facilitator, he has successfully bridged the gap between his ideals and the life he leads today.
Vice President of Strategy
Irv recently sold his plastics manufacturing business of 45 years. He has held various leadership and non-leadership roles in nonprofit organizations in the Kansas City area. Irv has been studying Mussar since 2009, facilitating courses since 2012, and serving on the TMI Board for several years.
A retired physician from Syosset, NY, Jeffrey Amer discovered Mussar over 20 years
ago and immediately began studying what he could. He then realized he was missing
the critical step of practice and discovered The Mussar Institute, where he worked his
way through many of the courses including advanced facilitator training. He has
facilitated many courses including the Pathways series and beyond. Jeffrey regularly
sits on TMI Retreat and Kallah committees, supporting programming and leading
prayers and workshops. He remains excited and passionate about bringing Mussar to
other spiritually hungry Souls.
Elizabeth is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Diego, CA. She also holds a doctorate in International and Multicultural Education. Elizabeth is a former parent educator with JFCS, and taught English as a Second Language to new immigrant and refugee adults. She has been practicing Mussar for over 13 years. Elizabeth enjoys deepening her spirituality and the practical daily application of Mussar to her life. In addition to taking courses and participating in va’ads, Elizabeth has attended several retreats and kallahs. She also went on TMI’s first trip to Israel. Elizabeth has volunteered with TMI as an Ambassador and to help with programming. She is a member of her local Reform temple, and served on the board of directors and as chair of the Social Action committee of her previous synagogue. Elizabeth’s passions range from helping others to feel included, building community, and hospitality, to learning about cultures, doing refugee resettlement work, and pushing herself out of her comfort zone to grow. In San Diego, you will find her taking improv, dance, and creative writing classes, hosting events at her home, participating in storytelling shows, open mics, and karaoke, running, and meeting new people wherever she goes. Elizabeth is the proud mom of twin sons who are off on their own life explorations. She is in the process of becoming a foster parent to provide short-term care for youth.
After graduating from Rutgers Law school, Mark moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he practiced worker’s compensation law for over 50 years. He received a Life Time Achievement Award for his work. He is now a partner emeritus at the law firm he started four decades ago. Mark sits on the Board of Trustees of synagogue Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades, CA, as Trustee for Jewish Life and Practice. He has been involved with Mussar since 2001. He has taken many courses over the years, has facilitated Mussar va’adim, and is presently taking advanced Mussar facilitation training with TMI.
Robert is a Senior Advisor in the Compliance Division at The Goldman Sachs Group L.P. Before joining the firm, he served as an assistant district attorney in New York County, where he held positions as the deputy chief of the Investigation Division and chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit. Earlier in his career, he worked at Kramer, Levin, Nessen, and Kamin, a New York corporate law firm, and at the American Civil Liberties Union. Robert also serves as the chairman of the FCA Markets Practitioner Panel. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Harvard Law School.
An avid Mussar practitioner, Susan has actively been learning with The Mussar Institute since 2017. After retiring as a business and productivity coach, Susan embarked on her Jewish spiritual journey embracing extensive Torah and Jewish studies, and becoming an adult Bat Mitzvah in 2021. In additional to studying biblical Hebrew, she mentors her synagogue’s B’nai Mitzvah students writing their d’vrei Torah and serves on the Board of Directors of Path with Heart, a virtual community of spiritual seekers of Judaism. Originally from Denver, Susan resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Joel, and adorably spoiled dog, Tova. Including Mussar and Jewish learning, she is passionate about her two teenage grandchildren, reading, fashion, knitting, and Western and Native American art.
Rabbi Greg Weisman has served Temple Beth El since 2013, guiding education, community-building with local communities of color, and a Civil Rights Journey through the Deep South. He’s involved in the Early Learning Center, Religious School, adult education, and Brotherhood.
Recognized for his LGBTQ+ community work, he contributed to and served on the editorial advisory committee for Mishkan Ga’avah Where Pride Dwells. He’s an 18Doors Rukin Rabbinic Fellow supporting interfaith families, and has written for the URJ’s Ten Minutes of Torah.
He chairs the Jewish Community Relations Council of South Palm Beach County and holds board/leadership roles with the Jewish Federation, Palm Beach County Board of Rabbis, Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, AJC Palm Beach, and co-convenes the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association.
Ordained at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles and a cum laude Boston University graduate, Rabbi Weisman is a Chicago North Shore native, married to Tami, with three daughters: Claire, Daphne, and Layla.
Elissa Wuliger, president of Generation Capital LLC, devotes much of her life to serving local and global Jewish communities. She recently completed a seven-year term on the Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet and now serves on JFNA’s National Women’s Philanthropy Board.
Elissa is a trustee of the Madrid-based Fundación Hispano Judía (FHJ) and president of its American Association. She is also a founding member of the National Black Empowerment Council’s Convergence Initiative, which brings together pro-Israel Black and Jewish leaders from across the U.S. to strengthen relationships between the two communities.
Active in AIPAC, Elissa currently serves in its New Leadership Network. She previously served on AIPAC’s National Council and co-chaired its Midwest Women’s Leadership Initiative. In her hometown of Cleveland, she serves on the boards of Kol Israel Foundation, Partners in Torah, Shoes and Clothes for Kids, and Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau. She is also a member of the advisory council of the David Mark Berger chapter of Magen David Adom and several Cleveland Jewish Federation committees.
Elissa earned a B.A. in political science from Emory University, a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from CWRU’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. She is also a certified Neurolinguistic Programming Practitioner. Her most treasured role is being mom to Arden and Bryce. She lives in Ohio.
Sandra Garrett
Marty Friedman
We honor and thank the passionate and committed leaders who have served as a Board of Director of The Mussar Institute.
Roann Altman
Ken Birenbaum
Karen Cheniae
Leslie-Anne Copes-Finke
Sandra Garrett
Steven Goldberg
Kathy Jacobs
Cyndee Levy
Ann Margolin
Marcia Nichols
Bonnie Pastor
Pam Rollins
Susan Schwartz
Gary Shaffer
Modya Silver
Laure Stern
Suzanne Stier
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