Home > Blog > Lay Leadership > Nominees Named for Upcoming Board Election
The WHC Nominating Committee, appointed by the President in accordance with the Congregation’s Constitution and By-Laws, has met and selected nominees for the Temple’s Board of Directors.
The Committee is pleased to nominate Lanny Breuer, Josh Maxey, Rachel Weinberg, and Lori Wise to serve on the Board of Directors and re-nominate current Board members Jennifer Berzok, Tony Fleming, and Michael Rocks. All will serve three-year terms, from 2023-2026. The Board of Directors recommends these nominees, who will be voted upon by members of the Congregation at its 171st Annual Meeting, which will be held Monday, June 5, 2023.
We are delighted and honored that these individuals have agreed to bring their strengths, talents, and dedication to help lead our Congregation. In formulating this slate, the Committee was guided by a desire to bring to the Board a balance that is representative of the entire Congregation, including skills, resources, ages, and genders, and to achieve an appropriate blend of experienced and new leadership. The Committee believes that this slate, along with the members whose terms are continuing, achieves such a balance. It also believes that each nominee has demonstrated their devotion to Judaism and the Congregation and will help our Temple go from strength to strength.
The Board, the Nominating Committee, and Washington Hebrew Congregation wish to thank the following Directors whose service on the Board will conclude with the Annual Meeting: Jami Axelrod, David Metzner, Sandy Nesbit, Ari Redbord, and Paula Tiedeman.
Nominating Committee chairperson Mark Director also thanks the members of the Committee, who approached their work with great care, consideration, and wisdom: David Boris, Nick Ivancic, Laura Robinson Kaufman, Ranit Schmelzer, Jennifer Wolfsheimer, and Frank Zappala.
Lanny A. Breuer, named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America, is the vice chair of the law firm Covington and one of the leading trial and white-collar defense attorneys in the United States. He specializes in helping clients navigate financial fraud, anti-corruption, money laundering, securities enforcement, congressional, environmental, and other criminal and civil investigations presenting complex regulatory, political and public relations risks. Breuer is a recipient of the Columbia College 2020 John Jay Award, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, master emeritus of the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. He is also a board member of the Anti-Defamation League Mid-Atlantic Region, the Council for Integrity, and the Washington DC Police Foundation.
He has been recognized by numerous national publications as one of the country’s premier defense lawyers, including by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Legal 500, and Ethisphere, and has successfully defended dozens of institutions and individuals in high-stakes criminal and civil cases. From 2009 to 2013, Breuer served as assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was widely acknowledged as a thought leader in the area of criminal law enforcement. For his work as the longest-serving leader of the Criminal Division in recent history, Breuer received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service, as well as numerous other accolades. Breuer previously served as special counsel to President Clinton (1997–99), whom he defended in the impeachment proceedings, and was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan (1985–89).
Joshua Maxey has been involved with Washington Hebrew Congregation since attending his first 2239 Shabbat Service in 2018. Josh’s involvement at WHC includes serving as one of the internal leaders of SEA Change, organizer of our Jews of Color affinity group, as well as serving on the 2239 Steering Committee.
Building communities of inclusivity and belonging is Josh’s passion. Professionally, Josh is the Executive Director of Bet Mishpachah, DC’s LGBTQ+ Synagogue. Josh also serves on the Board of Directors for The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the National Bell Festival, and the Franciscan Mission Service. In his spare time, Josh enjoys traveling and visiting with family in his hometown of Rochester, NY.
Rachel Weinberg has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for 55 years, since her father, Rabbi Joseph P. Weinberg Z”L , along with her mother, Marcia Weinberg, first arrived in the nation’s capital, for what the family believed would be a one-year commitment. WHC became a permanent home and the setting for multi-generational life cycle events, lots of learning, social and political activism and fun.
Rachel taught religious school at WHC in the 1980s and later served on the synagogue’s Religious School Committee. She’s been involved with both campuses of the Early Childhood Centers and volunteered with The Carrie Simon House. Rachel worked as a mentor for a DC-based youth program, served as a neighborhood captain for the Virginia State Democratic Party and helped create The Kindness Center at Ashburton Elementary School, to give elementary-age school children the opportunity to participate in community service projects.
Rachel is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. During her nearly 40-year career with AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee), she led the organization’s national college leadership program, served as Deputy Director of Development, Director of Marketing and helped create AIPAC’s Synagogue Initiative. Today, she serves as a Senior Content Creator for both in-person and virtual gatherings for key constituencies in Washington, DC and around the country.
Rachel and her husband Bill Weinischke live in Bethesda, Maryland, and have two adult children. Jake Weinischke is an educator in Montgomery County. Haley is a researcher, specializing in Israel and the Middle East. She and her husband Uri Zaidenstein currently reside in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Lori has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for more than three decades and is also serving as the president of the Women of Washington Hebrew.
Lori enjoyed a rewarding career as a Health Care Technology executive and consultant. She is now retired and happily devoting most of her time to philanthropic endeavors and pro bono consulting. In the wider community, Lori is a member of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, and she serves on the North American Board of Women of Reform Judaism. Lori is also a past co-chair of the Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation and a Friend of JCADA.
Lori is married to Barry Wise (a fifth-generation WHC member); together, they raised three young men who celebrated their b’nei mitzvah and confirmations at WHC. Those young men have since brought three spectacular daughters-in-law into the family. While Lori’s volunteer work and hobbies are important to her, nothing sparks more joy than her six grandchildren!
Jennifer has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation since 1977, where she became a bat mitzvah, was confirmed, and married her husband, Matt. Jennifer’s two children attended Religious School and her parents, Jane and Ronald Katz, remain members of the Congregation.
Professionally, Jennifer is an attorney who has spent most of her career working on health care policy. She has been involved with the National Breast Cancer Coalition in some capacity for the past two decades, currently acting as Government Relations Consultant. Jennifer is also involved in local politics and in the disability community. She serves as a precinct chair for the Montgomery County Maryland Democratic Party, and as chair of the Parent Advisory Group to the Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities. She is a member of the Boards of Directors for the Ivymount Corporation and the Diener School and serves on the task force for Main Street, an inclusive, community-centered residential development.
In her free time, Jennifer likes to run and on an ill-advised bet, has completed 10 marathons in 10 years.
Tony is a second-generation member of Washington Hebrew Congregation who serves on the cantorial search committee, is a consistent Mitzvah Day participant, and regularly attends Shabbat services.
Professionally, Tony is an entrepreneur in the automotive industry. His company, Fleming’s Ultimate Garage, is a classic, luxury, and exotic car dealership in Rockville that has grown to become one of the largest in the country. In the broader community, Tony works with So Others May Eat (SOME), a D.C.-based nonprofit organization. In their Center for Employment Training, he leads a weekly career development program focused on hiring, training, interviewing skills, and resume creation for people experiencing homelessness.
Tony and his wife Monica have two young-adult children, Hailey and Cole. Monica has spent her career in the finance end of the automotive industry as well as a partner of their business, and together they have worked to grow their community engagement through charitable events. Cole is leading the modernization of the family business’ digital presence, and Hailey works at Microsoft and is looking forward to her upcoming wedding, which will be officiated by Rabbi Miller.
Michael is a fifth-generation member of Washington Hebrew Congregation. The late Rabbi Joseph P. Weinberg officiated when Michael became a bar mitzvah in 1997, Rabbi Lustig officiated at Michael and his wife Dana’s 2015 wedding, and in recent years, Rabbis Lustig and Shankman officiated at the britot milah of their sons, Harrison and Vincent, and baby naming of their daughter Jordan Hope. Michael’s son Harrison attends Religious School at Macomb.
Michael joined Rocks Engineering and Allen & Rocks, Inc. in 2011 after graduating from the University of Virginia and obtaining his Juris Doctorate at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia and is the Company’s principal real estate broker in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. Michael’s primary focuses include zoning, development, financing, commercial leasing, and tax planning. Michael currently serves as President of Allen & Rocks, Inc., and focuses on development projects Innovation Center South, a mixed-use development project adjacent to the Metro in Herndon, Virginia, and Lakeside at Trappe, a large single- and multi-family development in Talbot County, Maryland.
