Lay Leadership

Executive Committee

Jason Levy, President
Jason Levy is a University of North Carolina and Boston University School of Law graduate, and received an LLM in International Law from UC-Berkeley School of Law. He recently retired as a Navy officer after 20 years and now works as a civilian environmental attorney for the Department of Defense.
Jason and his wife, Alison, have lived all over the world, but now get to call Gesher, Agudas Achim, and Northern Virginia home. Jason and Alison have a deep commitment to Jewish schools as their daughter, Shoshana (Gesher Class of 2020), and son, Isaiah, previously attended Gesher, San Diego Jewish Academy, Oakland Hebrew Day School, and Temple Emanu-El School in Hawaii.

Jonathan Stahl, VP of Strategic Planning
Jonathan Stahl is a native of Fairfax, VA, and a graduate of Gesher Jewish Day School and Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality from Syracuse University. Jonathan is the Vice President of Experience & Hospitality for the Washington Nationals.
Prior to working for the Washington Nationals, Jonathan worked for Kimpton Hotels and Renaissance Hotels in various front office positions. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys traveling and spending time in his carpentry shop.
Jonathan has also served on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and been involved with FIDF. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife Cara and their dog Bogey Lowenstein.

Anne Continetti, VP of Development
Anne Continetti is a faculty member for the Tikvah Fund’s Truman Scholars Program and their Online Academy for middle-school students, and is the Program Coordinator at St. Albans’s School of Public Service, a summer program for rising seniors in high school. She was a history teacher at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, and worked as a curriculum consultant designing common-core-aligned lesson plans to accompany the What So Proudly We Hail curriculum. Anne graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in History and received her Master’s in Education from The George Washington University.
Prior to teaching, Anne worked as an advance staffer on a presidential campaign and was a political analyst at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
She lives in McLean, Virginia, with her husband, Matt, and their two children, Leo (Gesher class of 2028) and Charlotte (Gesher class of 2030), who love being students at Gesher.

Daniel Strouse, Treasurer
Daniel Strouse is an attorney at the law firm of Cordatis LLP, representing Federal contractors across an array of issues such as bid protests, regulatory compliance, and claims against the government. He primarily represents small and mid-sized companies. Daniel is an active member of the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association.
During law school, Daniel was a Board Member for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Jewish Law Students Association; and, as an undergraduate at The George Washington University, Daniel was active in Hillel.
Outside of the office, Daniel spends his time with his wife, Laura, daughter, Abigail (Gesher class of 2026), son, Eytan (Gesher class of 2028), and dogs, Zeke and Brody (no Gesher affiliation). Daniel and his family are members of Congregation Olam Tikvah.

Ilana Rothberg, Secretary
Ilana Rothberg is a native of the Philadelphia suburbs and has lived in the DC metro area since attending college at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned a B.A. in Business and Marketing. She served in a variety of roles at Capital One, including marketing and sales strategy, product and project management, and recruiting. Ilana is also currently on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, as well as at Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria.
She resides in Arlington with her husband, Ira, their children, Rahm and Havi (Gesher class of 2028), and miniature poodle, Chase.

Philip Blumenthal, Immediate Past President
Philip Blumenthal joined the Gesher board in 2013. Philip grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Jewish day schools for all but two of his elementary and high school years. He was active in Hillel at Boston University, where he majored in Classical & Religious Studies.
Philip works in business strategy for a global technology company. He resides in Fairfax with his wife, Rachel, son, Seth (Gesher Class of 2020), and daughter, Maya (Gesher Class of 2023).

Members at Large

Eitan Bernstein
Eitan Bernstein is a native of Rockville, Maryland, but currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife Laura and three sons including Leo (Gesher class of 2029). He is a graduate of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Yale University (B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology), Harvard Law School, and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Eitan currently serves as regulatory counsel in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Prior to that, Eitan was an attorney at the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, DC.

Josh Kraushaar
Josh Kraushaar is the editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider and the author of Axios’ weekly Sunday Sneak Peek newsletter, which focuses on the big-picture forces driving American politics. He also appears as a political analyst across television and radio networks with Fox News. He is a prolific commentator on issues impacting the American Jewish community. He is a regular guest speaker at synagogues in the Washington area, and moderates Olam Tikvah’s annual election brunch featuring interviews with top local candidates.
Along with Ha’aretz Washington correspondent Amir Tibon, he served as a scholar-in-residence at Agudas Achim Congregation in 2019, leading discussions on political polarization, the impact of social media on political discourse, and the future of American Jewry.
Josh is a Gesher alumnus (Gesher Class of 1994) and lives in Annandale with his
wife, Hannah, and two children, Shana (Gesher Class of 2029) and Avi (Gesher Class of 2032).

Seth Feldman
Seth Feldman grew up in the Maryland suburbs of D.C., where he attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. He met his beautiful and talented wife Leslie, while they both attended college at Johns Hopkins University, and got married while he was finishing his dental degree from the University of Maryland. He practiced as a general dentist in the Boston area for 4 years, and then went back to school to specialize in orthodontics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
His two daughters, Alicia (Gesher class of 2021) and Ilana (Gesher Class of 2024) have attended Gesher since kindergarten.
Seth and his family moved to Fairfax in 2008, and he practices orthodontics in Falls Church, Virginia. The family attends Olam Tikvah, is active in the JCCNV, and is proud to be part of the Gesher community.

Heidi Freeman
Heidi Freeman has been a science teacher for almost 30 years at her high school alma mater, The Madeira School. Her past board experiences include being Recording Secretary on the Olam Tikvah Preschool Board and Membership Vice President on the Olam Tikvah Sisterhood Board. Heidi and her husband, Ben, have two daughters: Ahava (Gesher Class of 2016) and Devorah (Gesher Class of 2019).
Ahava’s first year at Gesher was the first year in the current building (2007-2008), which was very exciting! Heidi and her family have loved being part of the Gesher community for 15 years and she is looking forward to working with everyone.

Rabbi Daniel Novick
Rabbi Daniel Novick grew up in Herndon, VA and is currently the Executive Director of George Mason University Hillel. Prior to leading Mason Hillel, Daniel was the Assistant Director at George Washington Hillel. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Daniel brings a wealth of experience with particular strengths in building pluralistic and innovative communities. Daniel is married to Rabbi Sarah Krinsky who currently serves as the Associate Rabbi of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.

Brian Ostar
Brian Ostar is the President of EB5 Capital, a real estate investment firm based in Washington, DC, that raises foreign capital for projects via an immigration program. Prior to his career in real estate, Brian worked as a middle-school math teacher in New York City, and then for a consulting firm in Hangzhou, China.
Brian and his wife, Adele, reside in Falls Church with their two sons, Mason and Asher. Brian and his family are members of Temple Rodef Shalom. Brian coaches his sons’ soccer and baseball teams in Falls Church and Arlington.
Brian grew up in Rockville Centre, NY, which is located on Long Island. He attended Cornell University, where he earned his BA in Applied Economics and Management. He also completed his MA in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University and his MA in Childhood Education from Brooklyn College.

Jeff Skigen
Jeff Skigen lives in Vienna, Virginia with his wife Lauretta and is the grandfather of Max (Gesher class of 2026) and Evan (Gesher class of 2028). The Skigen’s founded and led a media content distribution company for over 20 years, servicing hundreds of clients that included Associations, Fortune 100 companies and Government Agencies. He has a strong volunteer background in organizations like Congregation Beth Emeth, The Virginia Bar, Virginia State Golf Association, The United States Youth Soccer Association and many more. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Skigen attended the Pennsylvania State University.

Allan Sloan
Allan Sloan lives in New Jersey and is the grandfather of Gesher students Cora and Noah. Allan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., is a graduate of Jewish elementary school and high school. He attended the Seminary College of the Jewish Theological Seminary part-time during his first two years at Brooklyn College, which is part of the City University of New York. After graduating from BC, he got a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. (He has no degree from JTS.)
Allan was a business writer for numerous publications for almost 50 years and has won many business writing and lifetime achievement awards. Since retiring from Fortune magazine in 2014, he has been a business columnist for The Washington Post. He and his wife, Nancy, are members of Congregation B’nai Israel of Millburn, N.J.

Gregory Smolen
Gregory Smolen resides in Oakton, Virginia with his wife Amy and their three children including Elizabeth (Gesher class of 2031) and Henry (Gesher class of 2033) and a future Gesher student who cannot wait to join his siblings. Gregory leads the Trust & Wealth Department for Chain Bridge Bank, N.A. A financial professional and attorney by training, Gregory is a native to the Washington, DC area. Gregory recieved his A.B. from the University of Chicago before returning to the area for his J.D. from George Mason University School of Law.
Together, the Smolen family loves visiting area playgrounds, hosting Shabbat and having friends over for holiday meals.

Bianchi Suárez
Bianchi Suárez is originally from Costa Rica and has been living in the United States since 2004. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker who has worked as a therapist providing psychosocial assessments and counseling to children, adolescents, and their families. Currently, she works as an adoption social worker conducting home studies and providing post-adoption services to families entering the adoption process.
Moreover, Bianchi is president of the Costa Rican Association Board in Washington, D.C. In this role, she is in charge of helping organize activities that help bring Costa Ricans and friends of Costa Rica together to learn and experience Costa Rica’s cultural traditions and values. The Costa Rican Association manages a small annual budget and works closely with the Costa Rican Embassy in the U.S. on different projects throughout the year.
Bianchi and her husband, Jamie Tabb, are the proud parents of Eli (Gesher Class of 2023) and Izzy (Gesher Class of 2027). They have been committed members of the Gesher community since 2014 and members of the Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church since their son entered preschool in 2012.

Jeffrey Tureck
Jeffrey Tureck is a retired United States Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). He is a graduate of Brooklyn College, where he met his wife Sharyn, and Rutgers Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review. Jeff and Sharyn moved from the New York City area to Northern Virginia in 1969 so Jeff could begin work as a trial attorney for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. He was an ALJ for the Department of Labor from 1979 until he retired the first time at the end of 2010. While working for the Department of Labor he was asked to take on the agonizing task of adjudicating cases for the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, which he did for two years. After he retired from DOL he received an offer he couldn’t refuse to return to work as an ALJ for the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, retiring for the second time near the end of 2012. Since then, Jeff has worked part-time for the Office of Personnel Management and now for the Department of Labor, where he is a mediator.
Jeff and Sharyn have lived in the same house in West Springfield since 1977, about the same time they joined Agudas Achim Congregation. They have three children, all of whom were raised at Agudas and where our daughter Debbie was the Preschool Director. Debbie’s 14 year old son Seth was a student at Gesher, and her son Jacob started Gesher in 2021. When he wasn’t at work, Jeff spent many years coaching boys and girls youth sports and judging high school debate and forensics tournaments. He also volunteered at the Zoo from the time he first retired until Covid ended most volunteer work there.

Amy Lummer, PTO President
Amy Lummer is a Community Engagement professional at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia and is very active in our local community. She has a Master’s Degree in Education from George Mason University and has a passion for giving our youngest learners strong roots. Amy and her husband Dory met at Johns Hopkins University as undergraduates and live in Springfield with their children Moira and Owen.