Dana Gershon, President

Dana Gershon has been a social justice activist and leader in the Jewish community since high school when she served as Social Action Vice-President of CRaFTY, the NFTY region for New York City. A graduate of Combined Jewish Philanthropy’s (CJP) Acharai program, Dana held a number of leadership positions during the nearly twenty years that she and her family lived in Boston: she served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Rashi School (the Boston area Reform Jewish Day School) from 2010-2012 and was co-Chair CJP’s Boston-Haifa Connection.  Dana was instrumental in the founding of Parents at the Center in Haifa, Israel, early intervention for underserved children and their families. Dana has been a Director on the national board of NCJW since 2017.  Outside of the Jewish community, Dana is on the Board of Advisors of the New England Center for Children in Southborough, MA, and co-President of Sidwell Friends School Rowing in Washington, DC.

Professionally, Dana is an attorney with a private practice that specializes in employment law.  She represents clients both independently and through an affiliation with Ankner & Levy, PC.  Prior to starting her own practice, Dana worked at Rosenman & Colin, LLP, in New York City, as well as at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C. and Goodwin Proctor, LLP in Boston, MA.  She has also taught legal research and writing at Boston University School of Law, and Judaism and Justice in the Genesis Program at Brandeis University.

Dana received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.  She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Cornell University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Dana is an avid runner who has completed four marathons (three of them in Boston) and also enjoys alpine skiing, hiking, and spending time with her husband, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, and their four daughters, ages 21, 18, 15 and 15.