Board Officers

Laura Monn Ginsburg

President | Minnesota

Laura Monn Ginsburg is a strategic communications and nonprofit leader. She owns a public affairs firm based in Minneapolis and sits on several nonprofit boards, including National Council of Jewish Women MN and National Council of Jewish Women, Inc. Both professionally and personally, Laura is committed to promoting social justice and advocacy.

Laura is an avid traveler and travel planner, including fulfilling her 10 year-old’s goal of visiting all 50 states. She lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, son, and two moderately well-behaved dogs.

Stephanie Rodgers

Vice President | Illinois

Stephanie Rodgers has committed her life to volunteerism. She was raised licking NCJW envelopes and building honey boxes for the South Cook section. This will be Stephanie’s third triennium on the NCJW National Board. Her passion for Israel is the driving force behind her work, but she has never met a process she did not like implementing. Stephanie’s Jewish values have led her to sit on her temple board at B’nai Jehoshus Beth Elohim (BJBE). She is also involved with her local school Parent Teacher Organization, the school speakers bureau, and other organizations around the Chicagoland area.

Stephanie lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with her husband, Tom, and her three daughters, Zoey, Stella, and Emma.

Robin Roger

Vice President | New York

Robin Roger is a general counsel, litigator and a corporate and securities regulation lawyer. She’s headed legal departments at large and mid-sized organizations, advised public and private boards, led human resources departments and handled public relations for firms of various sizes. She has served as pro bono counsel in immigration matters, and as a volunteer at the New York Civil Liberties Union, while serving on the board of NCJW, Inc., where she chaired the Bylaws, Resolutions, and Personnel Practices Committees.

She lives with her partner, Kenny Clemons, in New Rochelle, NY, along with poodle, Dobie. She has 3 amazing adult children, and loves to bake sourdough, hike, read and travel.

Emily Sweet

Vice President | Illinois

Emily Sweet is a veteran philanthropic leader and policy advisor with more than 25 years of professional experience advancing bold solutions to big problems that drive impact and inspire collective action.

She is currently Vice President of Social Impact at OpenComp, where she leads efforts to advance pay equity and close the gender pay gap. Emily is a national board member of National Council of Jewish Women, a member of the 2013 Leadership Greater Chicago fellows class, and a past recipient of the Jewish Federation of Chicago’s Samuel A. Goldsmith Award.

Emily is an avid reader, and loves cooking with her kids, going on runs and hikes and seeing live music. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Jacob, two children, Adira and Nina, and their dog, Willie.

Patty Rubin

Treasurer | Ohio

Patty Rubin is a CPA with decades of experience as an audit partner and business consultant. She used her passion for providing services to privately owned businesses and non profit organizations to pursue leadership positions at several International and local CPA firms throughout her career. Upon retirement as an audit partner with BDO USA in 2019 she became involved with several non profit organizations. In addition to her role as Treasurer at NCJW, Patty is currently the Board Chair of Hillel at Miami University, Assistant Treasurer at Jewish Family Services of Cleveland and on the local board of AJC.

In her free time, you can find Patty playing pickleball, gardening or visiting her children in New York and Detroit.

Luise Mann

Assistant Treasurer | Connecticut

Luise Mann is acting chief operating office and controller of an energy company in Connecticut. Luise is a certified public accountant who spent 38 years in public practice prior to making the switch to private industry. Luise’s love and commitment to Judaism has been fostered by her Jewish roots and mentors from all facets of Jewish life.

Luise has served as President of B’nai Israel in Bridgeport Connecticut where she has belonged for over 50 years. Luise has served as a treasurer and vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism and served as the chair of the Boston biennial. Luise also is on the board and audit chair of the Reform Pension Board. Luise is very committed to social Justice issues especially abortion, voters rights and equality which is why she is thrilled to now be joining the NCJW board.

Luise lives in Fairfield Connecticut with her poodle Howie. Luise has one son who lives in Newton, MA with his wife Adrienne and their one year old son Lucas. Lucas is the love of Luise’s life. Luise likes to exercise, travel, cook, go to the beach and share a bottle wine with friends.

Aliza Plotkin

Secretary | Michigan

Aliza Plotkin is a early childhood educator and advocate who has worked in various leadership capacities supporting students, families and educators, spending much of her career in the Jewish Communal world.

After growing up in the DC metro area, Aliza moved to the south spending time first in New Orleans, where she first joined NCJW, and then Houston where she became active as a lay leader in the Jewish Community and was honored in 2020 with the Barbara Falik Young Leadership award from Houston Jewish Federation.

Centering her professional and volunteer work in the idea of b’tzelem elohim, Aliza is passionate about making the world a more inclusive and just place. She currently lives in West Bloomfield Michigan with her Mother, 7 year old son, husband, and 2 cats.

Dana Gershon

Past President | District of Columbia

Dana Gershon has been a social justice activist and leader in the Jewish community since high school in New York City. She currently serves as National President of NCJW, Inc., and is a member of the Executive Council of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Dana has also been a practicing employment attorney for almost 30 years, with her own firm since 2005.

Dana is an avid runner, alpine skier and mediocre tennis player (though she loves it!). Dana lives in Bethesda, MD with her husband, Rabbi Jonah Pesner and her dog, Charlie. Her nest is about to be emptied of her 4 daughters, who range in age from 18-24.

Board Directors

Darien Alpern Arnstein

Director | Missouri

Darien Arnstein has been committed to utilizing her Harvard MBA and her corporate background in consulting and business to engage with non-profit organizations to achieve the betterment of the Jewish and general community in St. Louis. Darien has been an active advocate, leader and fundraiser for the St. Louis Jewish Federation, the Solomon Schechter Day School in St. Louis (now the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School) and National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis over the past 40 years.

She cites her achievements in leadership with NCJWSTL, serving for five years as State Policy Advocacy chair for Missouri, a two-year term as Board President, and as chair of NCJWSTL’s 125th Anniversary Endowment Campaign; and was honored to receive the Nancy K. Kaufman Enduring Leader award from NCJW in 2022.

Darien has been a member of The Pioneers, a women’s literary discussion group in St. Louis, since 2004, and enjoys active walking, cooking, travel, birdwatching and bridge. She grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Bethesda, Maryland, and has lived in St. Louis, Missouri since 1980, married for 41 years to her husband Stephen, and recently has begun spending winter months in Palm Springs; they have two adult sons.

Jacqui Beckett

Director | Colorado

Jacqui Beckett is a anti-corruption and ethics attorney with a passion for community service and advocacy. She is currently helping companies all over the world conduct business in a more ethical fashion through her business Beckett Ethics and Compliance International. In addition to working hard professionally, she is dedicated to fighting for women’s reproductive rights and to end gun violence, working to make migrants’ integration into the community smoother and to assuring that education is meaningful for all children.

As President of NCJW Colorado Section, she helped the section significantly increase membership, build leadership, enhance programing, and become a key force in advocacy and community engagement. Jacqui loves the outdoors, travel, cooking, photography, knitting and reading.

She lives in Englewood, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) with her husband David but can often be found visiting her two grown children in Boston and Seattle.

Paula L. Garret

Director | Pennsylvania

Paula L. Garret recently retired as CEO of a privately-held lighting fixture manufacturer, whose company provided lighting for the Grand Central Station and the World Trade Center transportation hub in NYC as well as headquarters lighting for Linked In and Google, and brings a solid background in strategic planning, finance, and personnel management to NCJW Inc. Paula is a Board member of two Foundations headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a Past President of Tree of Life Congregation, and is a Past President of NCJW-Pittsburgh. Most recently, Paula has been the interim Chief Operating Officer of the Tree of Life Center, a newly-formed 501C3 organization which is focused on ending antisemitism through education and strategic partnerships.

Paula splits her time between her home in Pittsburgh and a teeny, tiny apartment in NYC’s upper East Side, where she and her husband James play with their 1 1/2 year old and 3 1/2 year old grandaughters several times each week.

Renee Karp

Director | Texas

Renee obtained her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Denver and her Master of Liberal Studies from Southern Methodist University and continued with Doctoral Studies in Family Therapy at Texas Woman’s University. She was chosen to participate in an ongoing leadership program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, is a trained crisis counselor, a certificated teacher, and was trained as a Congregational Membership Consultant and Outreach Facilitator by the Union for Reform Judaism.

Renee was most recently the Program Director at Temple Emanu-El where she worked for 33 years. At present she cherishes her teaching an Introduction to Judaism class for Temple Emanu-El. She is a past president of the National Council of Jewish Women Dallas and currently serving as the Chair of the Nominating Committee and is also serving the City of Dallas as a Senior Affairs Commissioner. Renee, with a group of committed Dallas NCJW educators, tutors weekly in an inner-city elementary school.

Renee and her husband, David are the parents of three children and the grandparents of seven. Added to her domestic mix is their white fur ball dog Simcha. When she is not doting on her grandchildren, or walking Simi you can find her in the garden.

Emily Kuvin

Director | New York

Emily Kuvin is a fine jewelry designer and entrepreneur. She began her professional life as a television news reporter and anchor, then earned her law degree, and also has ten years of experience in philanthropic communications.

She now focuses full-time on Emily Kuvin Jewelry. She is very proud of the work of NCJW and is honored to serve on the national board. Emily loves to cook, to read and to walk. She and her husband Jeff have two young grown children and live in New York City.

Fran Levey

Director | Florida

After a successful career in non-profit management and philanthropy, and with a background in graphic design and fine arts, Fran now applies her skills to website and book design. She designs websites for synagogues, clergy, consultants, artists, and small business e-commerce. Her book designs have been memoirs/family stories/memorials, cookbooks, organization’s tributes, and travel photo journals. Fran loves everything about food including wine and bourbon, experiences complete joy in her grandson, never has enough time with friends and family, loves almost everything about Israel, finds nature a spiritual experience, and thoroughly enjoys watching, swimming in, listening to, and drinking water.

She lives in Miami Beach, FL with her wife Alice, where they are are die-hard advocates for freedom and progressive values!

Molly Morse Limmer

Director | Illinois

The daughter of a vocal working mother who drafted Princeton University’s first maternity-leave policy, Molly has taken up her mother’s cause in championing working mothers, especially throughout the two decades of raising her own family; their multi-generational story was featured in the 2011 book Good Enough is the New Perfect, Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood. Molly has been a brave and outspoken advocate against harassment in the workplace, publicly sharing her own story of harassment in 2018. A veteran of the art market and auction world, Molly currently serves as Deputy Chairman of Hindman Auctions.

Molly lives in Chicago with her husband, Rabbi Seth Limmer, her children Rosey and Lev, and their beloved labradoodle Mr. Jones.

Mariely Luengo

Director | Ohio

Mariely Luengo is a dynamic leader and CEO of Pueblo Strategy, a culturally competent marketing agency. With a passion for social justice, Mariely has made it her life’s work to create positive change in communities. Her expertise in strategy development, urban research, and public health campaigning has earned her a reputation as a trusted expert in her field.

Beyond her professional work, Mariely is a dedicated volunteer, offering her doula services to refugee mothers and spending time at the NICU of several hospitals. She is also actively involved in her community, serving on several Boards, including the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Mt Sinai Health Foundation, and Plan Parenthood Ohio.

When Mariely isn’t working or volunteering, you can find her on the tennis court, honing her skills. She resides on the west side of Cleveland, where she advocates for greater visibility of Jews of Color and works tirelessly to make a positive impact in the lives of those around her.

Linda Noonan

Director | Massachusetts

Linda is an experienced non-profit leader responsible for every aspect of organizational operations, programs, communication and fundraising. Her work at the intersection of the public, private and non-profit sectors has focused on collaboration and advocacy aimed at economic growth and education equity.

Linda has represented the business community on state task forces and advisory councils related to ensuring a high-quality public education to prepare every child for success. In addition to membership on a number of nonprofit Boards of Directors, she has served on her town’s School Committee, Finance Commission and other municipal Boards.

Linda is an active member and past Chair of The Miriam Fund at Combined Jewish Philanthropies, in Boston. She holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Chicago.

Monique Faison Ross

Director | New Jersey

Monique Faison Ross is currently a senior benefits administrator for a global agency and has worked in human resources for the last 14 years. Her professional life included many twists and turns before she landed in human resources, including teaching conversational English while living in Japan. Monique is also a committed environmentalist and succeeded in reviving her former synagogue’s green team which led to the installation of solar panels for the synagogue amongst other initiatives. She served on the state of Connecticut’s domestic violence and prevention Fatality Review Task Force, and regularly speaks about her own experience with domestic violence as documented in her memoir which has won the IAN Book of the Year Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction and a Readers’ Favorite Gold Award among others.

Monique fulfilled her dream recently of living by the beach by moving to the Jersey Shore where she lives with her wife. Monique is most happy when spending time with her four adult children and grandchildren at the beach, and she also loves reading, butterfly gardening, traveling and Mussar for individual religious study.

Beth Salamon

Director | Kentucky

Beth Salamon is a longtime volunteer in the Jewish community and an attorney. She is currently the Kentucky NCJW State Policy Advocate, the Louisville Jewish Community Relations Council Chair, the Vice-Chair of the Jewish Federation board, and a trustee at the Louisville Collegiate School. She has recently been focusing her efforts on reproductive access, education, security, and relations between the black and Jewish communities in Louisville.

Beth is an avid tennis player, chef, and loves to travel. She lives with her husband Michael, dog Harry, and has 2 sons Alex, who is graduating from the University of Illinois and will be moving to Chicago, and Jack who is a student at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jill Tavlin Swartz

Director | Florida

Jill Swartz is a committed community volunteer and a returning NCJW, Inc. Board Member. She is a an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security specializing in Immigration and Nationality law. In her Miami community Jill serves her community: the Greater Miami Section as President, as an NCJW State Policy Advocate, as PTSA President and as City of Miami Beach quality education committee chair.

When she’s not busy representing the government or out advocating for women and children, Jill is sitting on a beach chair next to husband Ken or one of her adult sons, Eric or Justin.