2026 Board of Trustees Nominees

Nominated for Their First 3-Year Term Ending in 2029

Stan Friedman

Stan Friedman is a retired business executive, having held senior positions at IBM, Agilent Technologies and MetLife. After retiring from corporate life, Stan worked as a communications consultant and served on several local professional boards, including the Southern CT Chapter of SHRM, president of the Fairfield County Public Relations Association, and president of IABC Westfair. He also served as chairman of the board for the Stamford Golf Authority.

Stan has been an active member of the synagogue, serving on the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee for nine years. He currently manages TBE’s website and chairs the Adult Education Committee. He also served as an advisor to the past two TBE presidents. His academic fields of study include mathematics, computer science and business administration.

Stan lives in Stamford with his wife Barbara, a retired Stamford Public Schools principal. They have two married daughters and seven grandchildren.

Elissa Hyman

Elissa Hyman grew up in Schenectady, New York, the home of General Electric. Her family owned a department store there, started by her grandfather after he immigrated from Vilnius, Lithuania. She’s the youngest of four—and the only girl.

Elissa graduated from the University of Chicago in 1981 with a degree in English Literature. After college, she moved to NYC and began working in marketing within electronic banking at several major institutions, including Chemical Bank, Citibank, and Bank of New England. She later earned an MBA, with a focus in Marketing, from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1989, and completed post-graduate work in Social Media at New York University.

After Kellogg, she joined American Express, where she worked in the Corporate Card division and was involved in the development of Membership Miles. After a move to Stamford a few years later, Elissa began working at Thomson Reuters in Stamford, where she served as Marketing Director. Her family moved to Antwerp, Belgium for a short stint for her husband’s work, and when they returned to the U.S., she shifted into nonprofit work as a marketing consultant. In 2006, Elissa founded Marketing Strategies, LLC, focusing primarily on nonprofit marketing.

These days, Elissa spends most of her time in volunteer leadership and board roles, including Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) of Westchester/Fairfield. She previously served on the Temple Beth El (TBE) Board for six years, where she co-chaired Fundraising and Marketing—co-creating Temple Rock—and worked on marketing for the Capital Campaign. She has also served on the boards of JFS Schoke in Stamford and JFS Greenwich, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Tzedek Committee at TBE.

When not working, Elissa and her husband James are usually traveling. They have three married children—two daughters in Astoria, Queens, and a son in Boston with an adorable three-year-old granddaughter.

Madelyne Kirch

Madelyne Kirch has been a member of TBE for the better part of 35 years. Her children, Joanna Shapes Zaner and Lee Shapes, were raised in the congregation and celebrated their Bar/Bat Mitzvah there. Her grandson, Caleb Jeffrey Zaner, is now a third-generation TBE family.

Madelyne retired from a 30-year career as the founder and president of a NYC-based marketing agency in 2024. In retirement she’s become active in a number of local charities, including serving as a weekly volunteer and board member of Stamford-based Clothes to Kids, a member of the Spring Gala Committee of Jewish Family Services of Greenwich and the Greenwich-based Women’s Forum. Over the course of her career, she has chaired several committees for real estate industry charitable causes and a national council of the Urban Land Institute. For a decade, she was a mentor and “Big” for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York.

Madelyne received an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a dual degree in journalism and political science from its Newhouse School and College of Arts & Sciences. Post graduate, she earned a certificate in real estate studies from NYU. She’s an early and major supporter of SU’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship – a Washington, DC based joint initiative of the Newhouse and Maxwell Schools.

She’s an avid, active traveler, plays pickleball, does Pilates and plays Maj Jong, but her favorite moments are spent with her grandchildren, Caleb and Olive.

Joel Omansky

Joel Omansky has been a member of Temple Beth El since 2025. He works as an Associate Director in Structured Credit at S&P Global. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Music from Colgate University, where he was President of the Colgate Jewish Union, and a Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School.

Joel is a past member of the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS Group’s New York Board, where he twice chaired the AJC ACCESS Annual Gala. For twelve years, he was a Big Brother in the Big Brother/Big Sister program with the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services. Born and raised in the Boston area, Joel lives in Stamford with his wife Carrie and their one year old son, Will.

Risa Raich

Risa Raich has been an active member of the Stamford community since moving here with her family more than 20 years ago. After experiencing a beautiful neilah service, where their newborn second daughter was blessed, they joined TBE. A committed community leader, Risa has served on the boards of the Stamford JCC and Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy, including as President of the JCC Board of Directors and Chair of its Council of Advisors. She also served as President of Center Women and the Sara Walker Nursery School Parents’ Association, and held leadership roles in the 2006 and 2016 JCC Maccabi Games.

Risa remains actively engaged in volunteer work, including with UJF, where she most recently served on the strategic planning committee. She also volunteers weekly with Reading Partners and has been a key collaborator with the City of Stamford on the Stamford Kindness Project. In addition, she serves on committees with AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow and The Leffell School. Risa holds a Master’s degree in Marketing Research from the University of Georgia and an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Economics from York University in Toronto, where she grew up. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and skiing with her husband, Steve, and their four daughters: Jordana, Talia, Leah, and Daniella./p>

Dana Rose

Dana and her husband Daniel live in the Newfield section of Stamford with their two daughters Sadie (3 YO) and Charlie (2 YO). Dana grew up in Westport, CT and attended The Conservative Synagogue of Westport (now The Community Synagogue). She and Daniel both attended Bi-Cultural Day School (now BCHA) from Kindergarten through 8th grade.

After a decade living in NYC, Dana and Daniel moved to Stamford two years ago and joined TBE this past year. Dana and her family enjoy TBE’s monthly Tot Shabbats and holiday festival events. They are also at the JCC multiple times per week for kids’ classes and Jewish activities. Dana graduated from The George Washington University and currently works at Medline Inc. as a Strategic Account Manager.

Sharon Turshen

Sharon Turshen and her husband, Jeff, have been members of TBE since 1989. Their son and his family live in Rhode Island and their daughter and her family live in Westchester. They have five grandchildren and are very involved in their lives.

Sharon enjoyed a 41-year career as a public school administrator, directing programs for children with disabilities and student support (mental health, speech, OT/PT, guidance counselors, etc.). She worked in two school districts in Virginia, and most recently for the Greenwich Public Schools for 28 years, fully retiring in 2017.

Her personal journey at TBE is one of transitioning from attending services 3 days a year to actively volunteering, participating in minyan most days of the week, and attending services frequently. She has coordinated the High Holiday food drive for several years and currently serves on the Tzedek, Israel and Antisemitism, Nominating, Temple Rock, and Cantor’s Concert committees. She is also on the short list of volunteers Eileen Rosner calls when she needs help. In the past, Sharon served as co-chair of the Stamford Merkaz High School Board, worked on the Interfaith Seder, and is currently the TBE coordinator of an event for the Interfaith Collaborative. In 2023, she and Jeff were honored to receive the Fred Weisman Tikkun Olam award.

Some fun facts – she and Jeff had a motorcycle (when they were a little younger). She loves skydiving, waterskiing, rollercoasters, parasailing, and traveling (especially with her family).

Belonging to TBE has enriched Sharon’s life, from the moving and meaningful services led by TBE’s clergy to the wonderful friendships with, and support from, fellow congregants. She is honored to be able to give back to the temple community and excited to work with the Board to continue building a vibrant, inclusive synagogue.

Nominated for a Second 3-Year Term Ending in 2029

Jonathan Phair

Karen Resnick

Sol Rose