Leadership

Rabbi Daniel Graber is an enthusiastic educator, learner, and community builder with a passion for making Jewish tradition and texts accessible and meaningful to modern readers. He completed his rabbinical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary (‘19), having previously completed a Masters in Jewish Education at JTS’s William Davidson School (‘14). He is a native New Yorker, growing up in Queens, and holds a BA in political science from Stony Brook University, as well as a minor in theatre.

Rabbi Graber brings experience from his time as Assistant Rabbi and Music Director of the New City Jewish Center, strengthening community through relationship building, adding musicality to services, and innovating in family programming and use of technology. He previously served as the Student Assistant Rabbi of the Oceanside Jewish Center where he trained b’nei mitzvah, enhanced adult education, and acted as ba’al koreh. Before joining us at FHJC, Rabbi Graber most recently served as the Interim Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Middletown NY.

Rabbi Graber has a love of teaching and has spent years working with teens, enhancing religious schools, and engaging adults in meaningful study in synagogues and through the Jewish Federation. Rabbi Graber is interested in Halakha (Jewish law) and Talmud, as well as fostering caring community. He enjoys singing, dancing, reading, and cooking. Rabbi Graber is blessed to be raising his son Zev and daughter Sivan.

You can reach Rabbi Graber at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x208.

Hazzan Randall Levin enjoys leading the congregation in prayer and song on Shabbat, holidays and special occasions, and serves as a teacher, mentor, and resource for congregants of all ages. In addition to serving as the congregation’s music director, the Hazzan is also charged with leading FHJC’s outstanding b’nei mitvah program, tutoring many of the students himself. Prior to coming to Forest Hills, Hazzan Levin served as the Cantor at Temple Beth El in Rochester, NY and at the Highland Park Conservative Temple Congregation Anshe Emet in Highland Park, New Jersey. Hazzan Levin holds a master’s degree in Sacred Music and Liturgy from the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music, where he was invested as a Hazzan in 2014. At the Seminary, Hazzan Levin was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, and pursued curricular concentrations in Jewish liturgy, worship theory and ritual practice, culminating in his thesis work, “Hazzanut as an Extension of the Rabbinic Mind.” Hazzan Levin has taught and lectured throughout the New York Metropolitan Area on a wide range of topics, including spirituality, emotion and meaning in synagogue music, public versus private prayer, the social function of synagogue song, and Hassidic influences in synagogue music.
Originally from Akron, Ohio, Hazzan Levin attended Beth El Congregation, where he sang in the Beth El Synagogue Choir under the tutelage of Hazzan Stephen Stein. Hazzan Levin received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Akron School of Music before completing his graduate studies at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Hazzan Levin is a past Fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival, where he performed a leading role under the baton of legendary New York City Opera maestro Julius Rudel. He has appeared professionally as a soloist in stage and concert productions in the United States and Europe, in addition to teaching private voice lessons. Hazzan Levin and his wife Emily reside happily in Forest Hills with their two sons, Henry and Michael.

You can reach Hazzan Levin at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x294.

Anna Itzkowitz brings over 15 years of experience in early childhood education, and she is proud to continue her journey at Forest Hills Jewish Center as the Director of the Early Childhood Program. After spending the past five years as a teacher at FHJC, she is excited to keep growing alongside the children, families, and staff who make this community so special.

She brings more than eight years of experience educating within the Reggio Emilia approach, and believes the best learning happens when children feel truly seen, free to question, experiment, and grow at their own pace, with lots of laughter and fun along the way. These early years are a magical, creative stage of life, and Anna’s hope is, that every child falls in love with learning and grows into someone who cares deeply about others and the world around them.

Born and raised in Forest Hills, Anna has always felt a deep connection to this neighborhood, and her tie to FHJC is close to her heart, both of her children attended the Early Childhood Program.

Anna enjoys spending time with her family and escaping to nature whenever the chance arises.

You can reach Anna Itzkowitz at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x220.

Silvia was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She completed her graduate degree in Psychology from the University of Buenos Aires while also working as a teacher and area coordinator at a local Jewish Day school. Shortly after her graduation, Silvia moved to Israel to study at Hebrew University where she received a MA in Jewish Education.  

In 1998 Silvia and her family moved to the USA and settled in Roanoke, VA where they lived for eight years serving the local Jewish community. During those years, Silvia created and directed Beth Israel Synagogue’s Early Childhood program and served as a volunteer in many areas of the Jewish community life.

In 2006, Silvia, her husband, Rabbi Manes Kogan, and their three children, moved to NY. Since then, she has worked as an educator in different areas: early childhood, Religious School, and family engagement. She also started new initiatives in her own community in Queens such as establishing a PJ Library chapter, coordinating youth shabbat and holiday services and leading adult classes. 

Silvia strongly believes in the importance of creating an intentional communal space where the entire family can be involved through rituals and learning. 

Silvia looks forward to meeting the members of the FHJC community and is excited to join the FHJC team. 

You can reach Silvia Kogan at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x213.

Donna Bartolomeo is honored to be part of the Forest Hills Jewish Center congregational family as the Executive Director.

Donna grew up in Corona and started her family in Forest Hills before moving to Long Island. Over the past 18 years, she has served as Executive Director at Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn Heights and the Merrick Jewish Centre. In these roles, she worked to foster a strong connection between members and the synagogue, helping to build community and ensure financial stability.

Donna has four children—Jennifer, Jason (Lisa), Samantha (Steven), and Alex—and has been blessed with six grandchildren: Giavana, Luciano, Christopher, Thomas, Dominic, and Emily. When not at work, Donna enjoys spending time with her family, reading, knitting, and watching football and hockey.

She invites all members to stop by the office, send her an email, or give her a call to share more about yourself and your family.

You can reach Donna Bartolomeo at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x293.

Laurie Worthman is the voice of FHJC’s business office, helping everyone who stops in or calls. Laurie has been a part of the FHJC family since 1995 and she knows everyone and stays in touch with many members, checking up on their families and their health. Laurie and her husband Roy have a son and daughter-in-law, and one grandson.

You can reach Laurie Worthman at [email protected], or (718) 263-7000 x203.

Deborah and her family have been active members of our community for almost twenty years.  From almost the beginning, Deborah was involved with synagogue leadership. Counting her new position as President, this will be the fifth executive board she has served on at FHJC.  For Deborah, the privilege of serving as an officer under four past presidents enabled her to learn what it takes to address the needs of the FHJC.  Deborah believes that having experienced the different leadership perspectives of each past president, she is prepared to guide our community towards a promising future in our home. 
By way of background, Deborah is married to Andrew Witlin and is the mother of Benjamin Witlin. Many already know that her dog, Shayna Raisel or “Raisie” is quite a character!  Deborah is an attorney focusing on elder law special needs planning and estate planning and administration.  She brings the same level of passion, understanding and patience to her synagogue leadership role, as she does in her professional and personal life.

One of Deborah’s objectives is to increase membership involvement through committees and volunteering in special interest projects.  She is committed to the notion that a community functions best when its members have an ownership interest beyond a financial responsibility.  

Deborah is excited to serve as president of FHJC.

Debbie Bochner grew up at the FHJC, and became an active member when her daughters, Nicole and Amy, were born. She ran our Parent/Child drop-in center for several years, and was Co-Chair of our Youth Activities Committee. Debbie is a past Parents Association President, and has been on our Advisory Board and Board of Trustees.

For the past several years, she has been running our Judaic Gift Shop. Debbie has chaired our Bikur Cholim Committee for the last 18 months, and also leads our Daytime Readers book club.

After teaching in our Toddler Program for over 20 years, Debbie is now retired. Her heart is at the FHJC; it is a second home for her and her entire family.

Gail S. Port is honored to serve as the Vice President of Administration for the Forest Hills Jewish Center. Prior to becoming a member of the Executive Committee, Gail served several terms on the FHJC Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board, was the Chair of the Bedek HaBayit Committee and was on the Kol Nidre Committee. In her professional life, Gail is an attorney who practiced environmental law, land use and environmental litigation for forty-six years prior to her retirement in 2022. For over three decades Gail worked at the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, where she headed the interdepartmental Environmental Practice Group until her retirement. Prior to joining Proskauer, Gail was the Deputy General Counsel and chief environmental advisor to the New York State Urban Development Corporation (now the Empire State Development), where she was involved in the environmental law aspects of high-visibility, large-scale land use and development projects and related financing transactions. Following her initial appointment by then Governor Mario Cuomo and State Senate confirmation, Gail served on the New York State Environmental Board at the pleasure of five subsequent Governors (each with State Senate confirmations) from 1992 until 2012. Gail has taught, lectured and written widely on a broad spectrum of legal and environmental topics and has been widely recognized in leading directories and publications. Gail is the former Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the NYC Bar Association and of the Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Happy to have opportunities to “give back” during her retirement, Gail remains active in a number of civic and nonprofit organizations, including as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York where she Co-Chairs its Israel and Jewish Affairs Committee and is a member of its Government Affairs Committee. She is also the Vice Chair of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Co-Chair of its Policy Committee and serves on the Board of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. Gail is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, a national professional association of preeminent environmental lawyers with distinguished careers, and currently serves on the ACOEL Executive Board as Co-Chair of the Education Committee and as a Vice President of Development of the ACOEL Foundation. Gail is a long-time resident of Forest Hills and a proud member of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.

Howard started his career in government working for NYC Council Member Karen Koslowitz, and later moved on to become Chief of Staff to NYS Assembly Member Michael Cohen. He advanced on to work for the Speaker of the New York City Council – serving 5 Speakers as their Chief Jewish Liaison, amongst other roles including – Director of the Community Outreach Unit, Dep. Director of the NYC Council Emergency Management Unit, and Outreach Director for various NYC Council Committees and Task Forces. Howard currently serves as Vice-President for Government Affairs at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. He has been privileged to run many campaigns on behalf of the Democratic Party of Queens County and served as Democratic District Leader for the 28th Assembly District. Howard lives in Forest Hills with his wife Alyssa and their three amazing daughters Madison, Hailey, and Melissa – making up 5 generations as members of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.

Elizabeth Caudle serves as Vice President of Membership at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, where she is passionate about building an inclusive, multi-generational community that welcomes children and young families. A Forest Hills resident alongside her husband, Matthew, and their two children, Elizabeth has long been deeply engaged in synagogue life, having previously served as Co-President of the FHJC Parents’ Association and Secretary of the FHJC School Board.

Professionally, Elizabeth is a Partner at IBM Consulting, with a background in non-profit project leadership at organizations including Girls Who Code. She holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Sciences Po Paris. Elizabeth looks forward to greeting prospective members, welcoming new families, and helping everyone find their place in the FHJC community.

Helaine Fox has been an active member of FHJC for over thirty years. Born and raised in
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Helaine made her home in Forest Hills when she and Joe married
44 years ago. They are the proud parents of Josh, a partner in Employment and Labor Law at
Proskauer, and Stephanie, the Academic Director of VOICES, a charter school network in LIC.
Along with their accomplished spouses, Jill, an attorney with a successful organizing business,
In the Fold, and Alex, VP of Finance at Revlon, they are blessed with five amazing
grandchildren who they adore.
Helaine and Joe both attended Stony Brook and met shortly after graduation. However Helaine
is most proud of her academic accomplishments while obtaining her Masters at Baruch’s Zicklin
School of Business in 2010 where she was the Valedictorian of her cohort and the recipient of
an award for the graduate who made the biggest impact on the careers of women and
minorities. Helaine has led HR teams at a variety of industries including homecare, medical
staffing, not for profits in supported housing and medical and behavioral health services for
children, families, homeless and older adults. Currently she is the Senior Director of HR for
JASA, a UJA funded organization that provides essential services to older adults in NYC.
At FHJC, Helaine has been called up to offer her HR expertise to lead recruitment efforts,
resolve HR matters and offer guidance for over 20 years. She currently chairs the HR/Legal
committee which recently ran a search for Executive Director and Early Childhood Director.
From the beginning of her involvement at FHJC, Helaine co-chaired the Holiday Programming
Committee where she enjoyed organizing Sukkot luncheons and Chanukah dinners and made
lifelong memories with dear friends and families in our FHJC community. Following that Joe
and Helaine chaired the annual UJA dinners for many years and later chaired the FHJC Gala
Journal Dinner Dance for over 7 years. One of the many events they chaired was the shuls’
75th Anniversary weekend and the Retirement weekend for Rabbi Skolnik. Those were done
from a place of love and it was an honor to be able to give back to an organization that has
given them so much to be grateful for.
Helaine has also served a VP of Membership under Jack Gostl and then as Secretary in Ilana
Altman’s Executive Board. She is currently serving again as Secretary under Deborah Ball
Witlin.

Preston Forman has been the synagogue treasurer since June 2023 and a Board of Trustee member since 2020. A native of Taunton, Mass., Preston has lived for more than 25 years in Forest Hills with his wife Tami, daughter Madeline, and son Sam. He currently is a certified financial planner and previously was a technology editor and newspaper reporter.

He earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a youth.