Professional Staff
Rabbi Barry Dov Katz
rabbi@csair.org
718-543-8400 x3
Rabbi Barry Dov Katz has served the Bronx community at the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR) since 1998. At CSAIR, he works with lay leaders to build an active urban synagogue known for its welcoming, educational programs, and vibrant Shabbat community. Rabbi Katz focuses on environmental sustainability, inclusion of people with disabilities, welcoming LGBTQ individuals and families, creating connections between Jewish 20’s and 30’s in the Bronx, and building meaningful relationships with Israel.
Since 2007, Rabbi Katz has served as an Adjunct Lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Under Rabbi Katz’ leadership, CSAIR forged an identity as a teaching shul where rabbinical students serve as interns, learning about congregational life and enriching the community with their passion and skills. He taught at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires for many summers and, most recently, coordinated the work of the Israeli Mishlachat.
Rabbi Katz is active in interfaith and interracial community work in the Bronx and partners with Jewish leaders in Riverdale to help create positive relationships between the synagogue communities. Rabbi Katz was recognized by Tablet Magazine as one of “15 American Rabbis You Haven’t Heard Of, But Should” in September 2014. In 2015, he was named by the Forward Newspaper as one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis.”
Rabbi Katz is a Senior Hartman Rabbinic Fellow as a graduate of the Rabbinic Leadership Initiative (RLI) fellowship, cohort VII. He currently serves as the RLI Senior Mentor and facilitates and guides the RLI VIII cohort.
Barry enjoys reading novels in Hebrew and English, gardening, walking in Jerusalem, and drinking coffee with friends. He is a sofer stam (scribe) and recently competed writing his second Megillat Esther.
Barry is married to Shoshi Talesnick. They have three children.
Cantor Elizabeth Stevens
cantor@csair.org
718-543-8400 x4
Cantor Elizabeth Stevens joined the CSAIR staff in 2009. Cantor Stevens is involved in all aspects of congregational life, working with Rabbi Katz to create services that are inclusive and engaging, and full of enthusiastic singing.
Before coming to CSAIR she served as cantor of The Society for the Advancement of Judaism from 2000 – 2009. In addition to leading services on Shabbat and holidays, Cantor Stevens taught a range of subjects both in the Hebrew School and to adults, including prayer, Hebrew language, and Torah chant. She co-created the 'B'nei Mitzvah Experience,' a two-year program for families of b'nei mitzvah students that included educational programming and social events.
Cantor Stevens graduated from the H.L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2000 with a Masters of Sacred Music and Diploma of Hazzan. While in school, she earned several awards in areas such as composition, pulpit performance, and Judaic excellence. She served as student cantor at Congregation Habonim, at the SAJ, and at Town and Village Synagogue, all in New York City. She also performed regularly with Kolot (Voices), a women's a cappella trio specializing in a variety of Jewish music. Kolot provided the background music for the documentary film Women of the Wall, which Cantor Stevens also narrated.
Cantor Stevens is a graduate of Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y.) where she began formal voice training and graduated in 1995 with a BA in Judaic Studies. Raised in New York City, she was deeply involved in a diverse range of Jewish communities with a broad spectrum of practices and beliefs. A life long member of SAJ, she attended Ramaz, a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, and Camp Ramah, a Conservative summer camp. For several years, Cantor Stevens has been a soloist for and member of the Zamir Chorale, conducted by Matthew Lazar, which has given her the opportunity to sing a wide range of great Jewish music on the great stages of New York and Israel. She has participated in the North American Jewish Choral Festival every summer since 1998.
Rabbi Katie Greenberg, Rabbi-Director of Engagement and Programming
engagement@csair.org
718-543-8400 x1
Rabbi Greenberg joined the CSAIR staff in 2018. She was ordained from the Jewish Theological Seminary where she received a Masters in Education as well as a certificate in pastoral care. She worked in many places as a rabbinic intern during rabbinical school including Rutgers Hillel; Temple Israel Center in White Plains, Beit Rayim in Toronto; Temple Beth Israel in Port Washington, and Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck.
Rabbi Greenberg also worked as the Program Coordinator for the Milstein Center for interreligious dialogue; the Gabbai of the Women's League Seminary synagogue at JTS; a fellow at T'ruah the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; and as a student chaplain at the Allen Pavilion Hospital in Manhattan as well as at Self Help where she worked with Holocaust survivors.
Before rabbinical school, Rabbi Greenberg lived in Israel for three years where she studied at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies and worked at the Israel Religious Action Center on issues of pluralism and anti-discrimination in Israeli society. She graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Jewish History and Environmental studies. In her spare time Rabbi Greenberg loves to read (novels, the New Yorker and children's books), hike, write poetry, and go to museums and plays all around NYC. A native of Kingsbridge, she is glad to be back in the Bronx with her spouse and child.
Mason Voit, Director of Education and Family Life
educationdirector@csair.org
718-543-8400 x5
Mason Voit joined the CSAIR staff in 2003. At CSAIR, he supervises an extensive range of youth and teen educational and social programming and serves as the principal of the synagogue Hebrew School.
Mason began his career as a public school social studies teacher in Denver, Colorado. There, he also began teaching classes and creating curricula concerning Israel, Jewish history, and culture at local congregations and in the Community High School of Jewish Studies. Mason served as the Program Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Region of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization and the Director of the Desert Mountain Region of Young Judaea in Denver. He has worked in several Jewish camps including Camp Tel Yehuda, Camp Young Judaea Midwest in Wisconsin, Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake and with the Young Judaea Year Course in Israel.
Mason earned his Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He received his teaching certificate and Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Urban Education from the University of Denver. Mason is a graduate of the first cohort of the Leadership Institute of Congregational School Educators, has studied the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, was a post-graduate fellow of the Melton Senior Educators Program of Hebrew University, and recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Israel Education from George Washington University and the iCenter.
Mason serves as a consultant, presenter, and trainer for the Shevet, Moving Traditions’ program for teen boys, a mentor for Jewish educators in the Qushiyot Israel Education Fellowship of the Jewish Education Project, and Manheh, mentoring graduate students in the Davidson School of Education at JTS.
Mason was a teacher of the David Project Israel engagement curriculum in the Westchester Jewish Teen Learning Initiative (WJTLI) of the Jewish Education Project. In addition, Mason works with JTS as a Manheh, mentoring graduate students in the Davidson School of Education at JTS.
Mason, a third-generation native of Alabama, lives in Riverdale with his wife and three children.
Eric Nussbaum, Director of Operations
operations@csair.org
718-543-8400 x7
Eric returned to CSAIR as Director of Operations in September 2022. He previously worked at CSAIR as Executive Director from 2008 until 2015 when he moved to the Jewish Community Center of Harrison.
Before transitioning to Jewish communal work in 2006, Eric spent more than 20 years in management positions in marketing and retail. He holds an MBA from New York University and a BA in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Eric is married to Rabbi Fredda Cohen, a Director of Pastoral Care at White Plains Hospital. They have two children -- Daniel, a surgical oncologist at Duke University Hospital, and Sarah, a teacher in Westchester County -- and two grandchildren.
In his free time, Eric enjoys listening to an eclectic variety of music, hiking, bike riding, and traveling. Eric and Fredda live in White Plains, New York.
Wed, April 24 2024 16 Nisan 5784