2026 Special Guests

2026 Convention Special Guests

We welcome our 2026 Convention special guests!

WRJ Guests: Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, WRJ CEO and Jane Karlin, Ph.D., WRJ Secretary
Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Keara Stein
UAHC Camp Special Guest: Jessie Shamout
YES Fund Lunch Special Guests:
Friday Evening Services: Ally Karpel-Pomerantz, MEdL and Alyssa Feigelson, MAHL, MEdL
Saturday Installation:
Saturday Morning Services: Ally Karpel-Pomerantz, MEdL
Sunday Brunch Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Julia Weisz, MJEd

Our special guests, along with many others, will share their expertise and experience and engage us during our Opening Session, Shabbat, Torah study, Legislative Body Meeting, and workshops.

Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch serves as the CEO of Women of Reform Judaism, a position she has held since 2023. Prior to leading WRJ, she served as the rabbi of Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield, MA. Rabbi Hirsch was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York, where she earned recognition for her academic and leadership achievements as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, Tisch Fellow, and WRJ Scholar. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Brown University. A passionate advocate for justice, Rabbi Hirsch founded and co-chaired RAC Massachusetts, a statewide synagogue-based community organizing initiative of Reform Judaism. She played a pivotal role as a key faith leader in the successful 2020 campaign to pass the ROE Act, safeguarding reproductive rights and abortion access in Massachusetts. She began her career as a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center, where she focused on issues related to Israel and antisemitism.

Rabbi Hirsch is a frequent writer and speaker on topics including social justice, spiritual practice, and the evolving landscape of Jewish life. Her thought leadership has been featured in The Social Justice Torah Commentary (CCAR Press, 2021) and Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah (CCAR Press, 2023). She also hosts Just For This, a weekly podcast that empowers women in leadership to explore themes of gender and leadership. Rabbi Hirsch lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, Rabbi Neil P.G. Hirsch, and their two children.

Jane Karlin, Ph.D. currently serves as Secretary of Women of Reform Judaism. She has held leading advancement positions in higher education and Jewish communal organizations, including New York University, The New School, Hadassah, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and The Jewish Agency for Israel. In 2019 she retired to teach fundraising at NYU School of Professional Studies, become an engaged volunteer, and have more time for friends and family and the Berkshires.

For over 40 years she and her husband, Roy z”l, lived in Greenwich Village, where they raised their daughter and son. Today, her family includes two pre-teen grandsons. She lives in Riverdale (Bronx), NY, where she is active in WRJ at the Riverdale Temple. She is engaged in the Northeast District and is on the WRJ North American Board. She is a Skidmore College alumna and has graduate degrees from Brown University and NYU (Ph.D).

Rabbi Keara Stein is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth Hillel, Valley Village, CA. As an integral member of the senior professional staff, she is responsible for the operation of the Religious School, adult and family education, and oversight of Judaic and Hebrew curriculum and instruction in the Elementary School. Additionally, Rabbi Stein performs rabbinic duties and provides support for programs within our congregation.

Rabbi Stein was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Prior to that, she received her Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters, completed a Rabbinic Student Interdenominational Program and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies with a minor in music from Willamette University in Salem, OR.

Before joining TBH, Rabbi Stein worked in Development at the Jewish Community Center in Silverlake. Additionally, she has served as Rabbi for Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf and Director of InterfaithFamily Los Angeles where she provided counseling and teaching to couples, individuals, and families relating to religion, tradition and lifecycle events. Rabbi Stein brings to TBH an extensive background working with individuals and families to have positive Jewish experiences and has specific expertise working with interfaith families to navigate religious and family challenges, and as a hospital chaplain.

Jessie Shamout is Associate Camp Director at URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa. CA. She has been working in the field of youth and camping for over 15 years and attributes some of her most transformative experiences to Jewish camp. As a Southern California native, she spent her summers at Camp JCA Shalom in Malibu, then ventured across the country to attend URJ Kutz Camp. While new in this role, she’s excited to return to Porter Creek where she served as faculty for several summers while she was the educator at University Synagogue in Los Angeles. She comes to Newman most recently from Steve & Kate’s Camp, a secular day camp with locations all over the country. She has a BA in Jewish Studies from the University of Arizona (Bear Down!) and a Masters in Education from USC (Fight On!) and looks forward to March Madness every year. When she’s not at camp you can usually catch her at the dance studio or hanging with her family at Disneyland.

Ally Karpel-Pomerantz, MEdL is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, where she recently earned her Master of Jewish Educational Leadership (MEdL). Prior to rabbinical school, Ally worked for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, first as an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant, where she led federal advocacy efforts around economic justice, labor rights, disability rights, gender-based violence, and reproductive rights. Later, she worked as the campaign organizer of the WRJ-RAC Reproductive Health & Rights Campaign, where she drove strategy around the Reform Movement’s reproductive rights advocacy on a local, state, and federal level. Throughout her time at HUC, Ally has served as the student rabbi for communities in Charlotte, NC and Juneau, AK and is currently a rabbinic intern at Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles. She has served on WRJ’s North American Board since 2024.

Alyssa Feigelson, MAHL, MEdL is a rabbinical-education student from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. She attended Reed College and graduated in May of 2021 with a B.A. in History. At Reed she was the president of the Jewish Student Union, liaison to the Chabad on Campus and the Portland Hillel. She wrote her undergraduate thesis, Sourdough Challah, on the foundation of Reform Judaism in the San Francisco Bay Area and how Jewish women helped the movement take root. She received her MAHL from HUC in 2024 and her MEdL in 2025. Her education capstone, Roots and Routes, was a curriculum guide on Western States Jewish History for fourth graders. She is an HUC student representative for the Reform Movement’s Commission on Social Action and is currently serving as the rabbinic intern at Kehillat Israel in the Pacific Palisades.

Rabbi Julia Weisz, MJEd is the Senior Teen Program Manager at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, in Los Angeles, CA. She was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2011 as well as earning her Masters in Jewish Education from HUC in 2009. Rabbi Julia spent thirteen years as Director of Education and rabbi at Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, CA. Focusing on the values of Talmud Torah (meaningful, deep Jewish learning) and Henaynu (the imperative for communal caring), Rabbi Julia works to create safe and brave Jewish spaces for students of all ages. She loves reimagining programming and engagement efforts to keep up with the needs of the times, and designs innovative ways to sustain Jewish youth at each stage of their development, embracing multiple paths for Jewish connection. Rabbi Julia sits on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Reform Jewish Educators and was honored with the “Distinguished Educator Award” by ARJE in 2022. She also serves as a rabbinic mentor for the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

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