:: Our Lay Leaders

President: Sherry Bindeman Kahn
email: President@whctemple.org

     Sherry, a lifelong member of the Congregation, has been a member of the Board of Directors for the past twelve years, having served on the Executive Committee for the past eight years as First Vice-President, Vice-President, Secretary and Assistant Secretary. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, on which she has served for the past eight years. She is a member of the Budget and Finance and Minds Matter Committees and serves on the Communications, Development and High Holiday Task Forces.

     Sherry co-chaired the Rabbinic Search Committees that brought Rabbi Noah Fabricant and Rabbi Aaron Miller to Washington Hebrew Congregation.  She also co-chaired the Youth Director Committee that brought Ira Miller to the Congregation. She has chaired the Religious School Committee, served as Co-Chair of the Development Committee, and Co-Chair of the Religious School Director Search Committees. She has also served on the Cantorial Search and Education Advisory Committees, and served as a Mitzvah Day team leader.  She is a member of the Adult B’nai Mitzvah class of 2005. In the wider community, Sherry serves on the Scholarship and Loan Committee of the Jewish Social Service Agency and is a past member of its Board.  Over the years she has been actively involved in her children’s schools, including most recently Georgetown Day School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.  Among other community activities, she serves on the Town of Somerset Board of Supervisors of Elections and is a volunteer with People Animals Love.

     A graduate of Cornell University, Sherry received a law degree from the University of Chicago.  She was a partner in the law firms of Sachs, Greenebaum & Tayler and Witt, Nolan & Bindeman. Sherry and her husband David, a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight, have three children, Brooke, Hannah and Ben.

First Vice President: Meg Jacobs Flax

     Meg, a member of the Congregation since 1992, is currently completing her eighth year on the Board, four of which have been on the Executive Committee as Assistant Secretary and in her current position as Treasurer. She has been Co-Chair of the Religious School Committee, a member of the Budget and Finance and Professional Review Committees, and serves on the Sisterhood Board. She also co-chaired our recent Rabbinic Search Committee, has served on the Nominating Committee, and has been a Mitzvah Day team leader.

     In the wider community, Meg serves on the Board of Trustees of Sidwell Friends School where she is a member of the Finance and Development Committees and has chaired its Auction for Financial Aid. Meg has also served on the Board of the Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA) and its Executive Committee. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Meg received a law degree from Harvard Law School. She and her husband Sam have three children, Caroline, Andrew, and Ellen.

Vice President: David M. Astrove

     David has been a member of the Congregation since 1989 and is currently Vice President. He has been Treasurer of the Congregation, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, Buildings and Grounds Committee, and Investment Sub-Committee, and a member of the Development Task Force and the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee. David has acted as Counsel to the Congregation in connection with the renovations of the Temple and the Julia Bindeman Suburban Center and has advised on several other real estate matters. He is also a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Garden of Remembrance.

     A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University School of Law, David has previously served on the Board of the Washington, DC chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and is currently on the Advisory Board of the Diener School. His wife Deborah is also his law partner at Friedlander Misler, PLLC where David serves as Co-Managing Member. He has three children and three stepchildren.

Vice President: Linda Eichelbaum Collier

     Linda, a member of the Congregation since 1994, has served on the Board for the past twelve years, the last six of which have been on the Executive Committee — most recently as Secretary and Vice President. She also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Gan Zikaron Memorial Park and is a member of the Budget and Finance and Professional Review Committees. In addition, Linda has served as Chair and Co-Chair of numerous Temple committees, including Co-Chair of Mitzvah Day 2000.

     Linda is a Real Estate Specialist with Arlington County, Virginia. Previously, she was an Assistant County Attorney for Fairfax County, Virginia and an Associate with Verner, Lipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, practicing municipal law. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School. Linda is the mother of three daughters, Jill, Suzanne and Leigh, mother-in-law of Charlie, and grandmother to Joe.

Vice President: James Klein

     Jim and his family have been members of the Congregation since 1994. He joined the Board in 2008 and is currently Chair of the Worship and Music Committee. In addition, Jim sits on the Budget and Finance Committee and is active in implementing the Long Range Strategic Plan through the Worship Task Force.

     A native of Buffalo, New York, Jim graduated from Tufts University and George Washington University Law School. In addition to his involvement with the Congregation, Jim takes pleasure in his service on the Boards of Directors of Covenant House Washington and American Friends of the Anne Frank House. In his professional life, Jim is President of the American Benefits Council which represents principally Fortune 500 companies on health and retirement policy. Jim and his wife Lynn, a former teacher at Washington Hebrew’s Early Childhood Center, are the parents of two daughters, Jennifer and Lexi.

Secretary: Nell Kilburn Shapiro

     Nell, a member of the Congregation since 1995, has completed two terms on the Board and one term on the Executive Board. She chaired the Carrie Simon House Committee for more than a decade and served as the Chair of Mitzvah Day. Currently, she is the Chair of the Membership Task Force, a Board committee examining aspects of membership at WHC.

     In the wider community, Nell has been active in her children’s schools, chairing its Scholarship Auction and serving on the Parents’ Association Board, as well as fundraising for her college. A graduate of Wellesley College, Nell received a law degree from the Northwestern School of Law and was an associate for the law firm of Latham & Watkins. Nell and her husband Ed have three children, Jack, Griffin, and Dorothy.

Assistant Secretary: Faye Levin

     Faye has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for 16 years. She has been a member of the Board of Directors for the last four years and currently sits on the Executive Committee as Assistant Secretary. She has also been Co-Chair of the Religious School Committee, a Co-Chair of the Edlavitch-Tyser Family Relations Forum, and a member of the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee. Faye has also been Chair and Vice Chair of Mitzvah Day and has served on the Rabbinic Search Committee.

     In the community, Faye serves on the Board of Georgetown Day School and was a member of the regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League. A graduate of Clark University, she received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Faye and her husband Harvey have four children, Adam, Lexi, Beth and her husband Brian, and Robin and her husband Evan, and four grandchildren, Asher and Andi Dubin and Max and Sophie Hammerman.

General Counsel: Mark D. Director

     Mark has been an active member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for many years and a member of the Board of Directors since 2010. He is currently the Chair of the Adult Education Committee, a member of the Worship and Music Committee, and a long-time participant in the Temple’s Early Torah Program. He also works with and supports a number of local and national charitable organizations, including Everybody Wins! DC, where he has been a board member for several years.

     Mark is a senior corporate partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he advises public company and private equity clients on a range of corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities compliance, and corporate governance issues. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard College and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He writes, speaks and teaches regularly on a wide range of corporate and securities law subjects. He and his wife Shari live in Potomac, Maryland and have two daughters, Brittani and Chelsea.

Treasurer: Richard Newman

     Richard, a member of the Congregation for more than 25 years, has served the Temple as General Counsel and sits on the Executive Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, and the Governance Task Force of the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee.

     He is a partner at Arent Fox LLP, where his practice focuses on real estate and public finance, with an emphasis on the representation of tax-exempt organizations. Richard has served as General Counsel to the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the Discovery Creek’s Children’s Museum, and is active in the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and is also on the Boards of the Arena Stage and the AIA Legacy Foundation. A graduate of New York University, Mr. Newman received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University. Richard is married to Janice Newman, who taught at the WHC’s Religious School for 20 years. Each of their children, Jessica, Joseph and Jacob, works or has worked as a teacher or an aide in the Religious School.

Assistant Treasurer: Andrew Marks

     Andy, a member of the Congregation for more than 20 years, is a partner in the law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP, where he specializes in complex business litigation. Andy served as General Counsel to the Congregation from 2006 to 2008 and was a member of the WHC Board from 2006 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2012.

     Andy is the immediate past president of the DC Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and is currently on the AJC’s National Board and Vice-Chair of its International Relations Commission. He is a former President of the DC Bar and is a member of the DC Access to Justice Commission and the DC School of Law Foundation Board of Directors. Andy is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School. Between 1979 and 1981, he worked on the Middle East Peace Negotiations as Executive Assistant to Ambassador Sol M. Linowitz. Andy is married to Susan G. Esserman, a partner and Chair of the International Group at Steptoe & Johnson LLP. They have three sons, Stephen, Clifford and Michael.