Rabbi Yosef Berman
Founding Rabbi
Rabbi Yosef grew up outside Kansas City and received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. A Wexner graduate fellow, Rabbi Yosef was ordained in 2010 by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, an unaffiliated and pluralistic seminary in Boston.
Lauren Spokane
Synagogue Director
Lauren co-founded the New Synagogue Project and served as its first Lead Instigator (President) until September 2021, when she joined NSP’s staff as Synagogue Director. She has been involved in organizing and activism to win racial and economic justice as a community organizer, non-profit manager, and fundraiser.
Liora Ostroff
Education Director
Liora launched NSP Kollel in the fall of 2021. She prioritizes building community, finding joy in Judaism, and encouraging enthusiastic inquiry into our traditions. Outside of Kollel she loves to make art, organize, and write Purimspiels.
Elizabeth Narvaez
Jews of Color Coordinator
Elizabeth is a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia, where she studies contemporary Jewish ritual and practice, focusing on questions of identity, community, and belonging. As NSP’s Jews of Color (JOC) Coordinator, Elizabeth centers relationships and community. She knows everyone has stories, strengths, and a spark.
Leah Kanzer
Administrative Associate
Leah grew up davening and singing at their reform shul on Pawtucket land in Massachusetts and has since found Jewish tradition to be a guiding force in practicing liberation. She worked in administrative and organizing capacities for the labor movement at the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.