NJC BOARD OF TRUSTEES

     President: Lena Liller
Vice President: Roxanne Newman
Secretary: Shannon Noonan
Treasurer: Craig Bialy
Trustees:
​Rachel Giarraputo
Ellen Kaplan
Marc Florman

Please note that the NJC Bylaws are currently under review by committee.

Any member desiring access to Board of Trustee Meeting, Annual, or Special Meeting Minutes, please contact the Business Office and these will be made available.​

• ​​Lena Liller

My family and I joined NJC in 2013.  Having two sons in Religious School, I have taught either the 4th/5th or 6th/7th grade class for the past four years and will continue to teach Religious School for the 2018/2019 school year. I am currently serving on the search committee to find a new Rabbinic leader for NJC. I am planning for our oldest son’s Bar Mitzvah. My parents, Daniel and Deborah Moos, are also members of NJC.

The congregation and its future are very important to me and my family and I feel it is time to bring the leadership skills I have cultivated through my professional life as COO of People Who Think and previously residing as Secretary on the board of Mary Payton's Miracle Foundation to NJC. I gladly accept election to the Board of Trustees of NJC feeling that participation on the Search Committee and teaching the next generation of NJC members has given me the awareness and understanding needed to properly represent the desires of the congregation during this period of transition.

• Roxanne Newman

I am originally from New York City, but have lived in Louisiana for over 25 years. We lived in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina, when we relocated to the North Shore. My family and I have been members of the Northshore Jewish Congregation since approximately 2006. I previously served on the NJC Board and as Second Vice President. I have taught in the religious school and previously served on the Rabbi Search Committee.  Both of our children were Bar and Bat Mitzvah'ed and Confirmed at the Northshore Jewish Congregation.  I am an attorney by profession and work for a local non-profit that provides free legal services to low income individuals.  I also serve on the Board of two other local non-profits.

• Craig Bialy

​​I am a native of Alexandria, Louisiana where my family was active in both the conservative and reform congregations. I graduated from LSU and have lived most of my adult life in New Orleans, where I was affiliated with Congregation Gates of Prayer.  I served on the board and executive boards at Gates of Prayer during and after Hurricane Katrina. Four years ago, I moved to Covington from the Marigny and have been affiliated with Northshore Jewish Congregation since this time. I am enjoying life on the Northshore and am happy that I made the move. I work in IT services, operations, and education and look forward to serving on the NJC board to bring innovative ideas with the new board.
​

• Shannon Noonan

I am a 1981 graduate of Loyola University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and minor in Social Work. I obtained a Master's Degree in Social Work From Tulane University School of Social Work in December of 1982, with a concentration in Medical Social Work.  I practiced in the areas of pediatrics, geriatrics, and rehabilitation for 16 years.  I am currently in my 21st year with the St. Tammany Parish School Board, as a School Social Worker.  I maintain a private practice in the area of adoptions.  I have been Civil Law Notary for 21 years.
 
I converted in March of 2017, with Rabbi Deborah Zecher, after studying and attending services for over 15 years. I am honored to be a member of the Board of Trustees for Northshore Jewish Congregation as I feel this warmth of our congregation was a driving force in my conversion.

​At home, I am privileged to help raise my 13-year old niece who will be a Bat Mitzvah next October.

• Rachel Giarraputo

I grew up in Metairie, LA, and attended Gates of Prayer Congregation in my youth. I moved to Mandeville in 2000, and continued to attend NJC services with my father, Robert Morris Green. I graduated Mandeville High School with honors in 2006. My father passed away in 2010, with services led by Rabbi Nimon from NJC. I graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Art History in 2011, and was married to my husband, Leonardo in 2012 in Sicily. My son, Robert, was born in FL in 2014. We were able to move back to Mandeville in 2016 with a promotion from my company, Zales to be the District Manager over 16 stores in the Gulf coast area from Pensacola to central MS. My husband opened an Italian restaurant in Mandeville in 2017, and I've helped manage the IT and social media aspects of the business. It has recently expanded to include a cafe with gelato made fresh in house. I rejoined NJC to attend services for my faith, and for my son to attend Sunday school. Last year, I volunteered to teach the youngest Sunday School class of 4 students. It was a blessing to give my time, while watching the children learn the stories from the Torah. 
 
I care deeply about my family, community, and faith. I want to help keep NJC prosperous and profitable, and to be a home for the Jewish community on the Northshore for generations to come. 

• Ellen Kaplan

I was born and raised in Baton Rouge Louisiana so, of course, I attended LSU to complete my bachelor’s degree. Geaux Tigers!!! I had thought about converting to Judaism prior to meeting my husband but the notion became a reality when my husband proposed. I completed my conversion with Rabbi Natan Trief with Beth Shalom Synagogue. I most recently worked for the legal department of a large insurance agency but I am currently staying home to raise my son. As a relatively new convert, wife and mother, I welcome the opportunity to serve as a board member and to grow as a leader and a Jew in our congregation.

• Marc Florman

I live in Hammond with my spouse and two daughters, where we relocated several years ago after about a decade in New Orleans.  We joined NJC to become better connected with the Jewish community on the Northshore, and my eldest daughter began religious school last year.  I am a graduate of Yale University (B.A.) and Loyola Law School (J.D.), and currently work as a consultant for health care providers throughout the country.  I enjoy hiking, cooking, and dad jokes.  I am excited and honored to serve this congregation and our community.