Board of Trustees

Emily Lebovitz-Miller is a lifelong resident of West Hartford and has been a member of the Emanuel Synagogue for more than 50 years, beginning in 1967, the year her parents first became members, although she received her early Jewish education at the former Agudas Achim Synagogue.

Virtually all of her legal career was spent as an employee of the Connecticut Judicial Branch, where she served as the Reporter of Judicial Decisions for the Connecticut Supreme and Appellate Courts, having overall responsibility for publication of the opinions of those courts as well as the Connecticut Practice Book, which contains the rules of practice and procedure for the Connecticut courts.

Since her retirement, the major focus of her attention, outside of her family, has been the Emanuel, where all of her family’s life cycle events have been observed, where she has been a Shabbat regular since the days when her now adult children were preparing for their bar and bat mitzvah and where, prior to the closing due to COVID, she went several days each week for study, services or various types of volunteer work. It is because of the Emanuel’s importance in her life that she sought to become a member of the Board of Trustees in order to provide even greater service to an institution that has such significance for her and to have some input into decisions that will influence the future of the synagogue.

Mitchell Jaffe serves on the Board of Trustees of Emanuel to offer his assistance, expertise and alternative perspectives as may be requested by the synagogue in an effort to serve the synagogue he has attended for more than two decades. He served as President of Jewish Family Services of the Greater Hartford Area, Chairman of the Real Property Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, President of the Connecticut Chapter of Community Associations Institute and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mandell Jewish Community Center.

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Mitchell has been a member of the law firm of Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman LLP since 1995. His practice focuses on commercial real estate law. 

Reesa F. Olins is a fourth generation Emanuelite having attended Hebrew school, become a Bat Mitzvah, involved in USY, and continued her Jewish education through high school at Midrasha. Her involvement in leadership at The Emanuel Synagogue began with Sisterhood, where she continued the legacy begun by her mother, serving on the Sisterhood Board and ultimately becoming Sisterhood President. Reesa was honored with the Woman of Distinction award in 2012 by the North Atlantic Region of the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism and in 2013, she received the Chayei Olam award from Torah Fund.

Reesa retired from the University of Connecticut in 2021 where she held several senior positions at the School of Social Work. She has served on the board of community agencies including JTConnect and the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. She recently completed the Jewish Federation’s Community Leadership Initiative (CLI) training program — a 10-month leadership development program designed for lay leaders advancing to senior level positions in their synagogues or Jewish nonprofits. 

Dr. Jeffrey P. Cohen and his family have been Emanuel members since 2008. Having completed the Greater Hartford Jewish Federation’s Community Leadership Initiative program in 2018-19, he is now chair of several Emanuel committees. His passion for Judaism and supporting a thriving community for young families at the Emanuel are what inspired him to join the Board and pursue leadership opportunities.

His other service to the Jewish community includes board membership of the Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council. He is a Professor of Finance and Real Estate at the University of Connecticut’s School of Business and its Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies. 

Bio Coming Soon

Lori Gottlieb moved from New York to West Hartford with her children, Drew and Katya, in 2005. She began her due diligence of area Conservative synagogues by meeting with Rabbi Small; during that first meeting, she knew she’d found their home. In her words, “He had me at ‘shalom.’”

Lori grew up in Manchester and attended Temple Beth Sholom (BSBI). She was based in Manhattan for most of her financial services career with stints in London and Tokyo. Lori studied economics at Brown University and earned her MBA from the University of Chicago. She currently works as a freelance copy editor.

Lori is a regular attendee at Shabbat services. She is delighted to have this chance to contribute to the Emanuel.

Marc Resnick grew up in Edison, NJ, and attended Beth El synagogue where he was USY President. Marc started his career in advertising, then moved to brand management. He spent nine years at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare in online marketing and communication before moving to CT.

Marc and his wife, Jane, have three boys – Jack, who attends NEJA high school, and Max and Jonah, who attend SSDS middle school. Marc joined the Emanuel board to give back to the local Jewish community as well as to be a good role model for his children.

Michael Kamins serves on the Executive Committee as Treasurer and also serves on the Brotherhood board and the Ritual Committee. He was a member of the former Beth Hillel Synagogue for more than 40 years and has been an Emanuel members for seven years – six of them as a member of the Board of Trustees.

A Certified Public Accountant, he is the retired founder and CEO of a company that designs and develops computer oriented business software.

He said he believes a synagogue plays a vital role in the Jewish and secular community. “It serves as a house of prayer, a place to learn and a home for social activities. But, only if I am willing to make the commitment. The reward, though, is a place where I find peace of mind and soul,” he said.

Mark Jacobson grew up in a small town, Leesburg, FL. On any given night, the attendees at Emanuel outnumber the total Jewish population of Leesburg. After graduating the University of Florida, he joined the Navy as an aviation electrician and served active duty from 2009-2014 until he was honorably discharged. While in the Navy, he was a member of a young Jewish adult group through a temple in Virginia. He realized the Jewish community needs his support and recognized that the assistance, friendship and community becomes more important as one ages. He believes if he doesn’t support it now, it may not be there in the future.

He and his wife Heather, who is a member of the Emanuel Board of Education, and their son Levi moved from Virginia to Middletown, CT in August 2014 and later to West Hartford, where they became Emanuel members in 2017 and their daughter Kenzi was born. He praised the early childhood programs at the synagogue as an excellent introduction to Jewish life, culture and traditions for children.

His goals as a member of the Board of Trustees are to help the congregation navigate back to a “real” sense of normal (post pandemic), ensure the congregation remains strong and active and provide outreach to help other Jews find their religious homes. He looks forward to giving back to a congregation that has welcomed his family with open arms, and more globally, to the Jewish community that welcomed a stranger for services across America.