Rabbi Jordie Gerson
Email: RabbiGerson@GRS.org
Rabbi Jordie Gerson
Rabbi Gerson was ordained as a Rabbi at Hebrew Union College in New York City; she also holds a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts from Bates College. Rabbi Gerson has served as a Hillel rabbi at Yale and NYU and as a Rabbi at synagogues in San Diego and Montreal. An avid writer and speaker, her work is regularly featured in The Forward, the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, MyJewishLearning.com, and The Huffington Post. She has also been a featured speaker at Harvard Divinity School, Yale Law School, Aspen Jewish Congregation, Park Avenue Christian Church, and other communities around the country.
Rabbi Gerson also serves as a member of the Women’s Rabbinic Network Writer’s Circle, and teaches seminars for women clergy on how to get published, write op-eds, and use their voices. She has done numerous trips with the American Jewish World Service and spends time each year as a student at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Favorite activities include skiing, surfing, running, rock-climbing, travel, meditation, yoga and cooking.
Rabbi Gerson is a 2020-2021 Katz Family Fellow of the LEAP fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania – a venture that brings together Rabbis and Jewish academics to use academic inquiry to enrich Jewish leadership.
Rabbi Gerson’s regular office hours are from 2:30-5 pm on Tuesdays.
To read Rabbi Gerson’s weekly comments on the Torah portion and current events, click here to subscribe on Substack.
To read Rabbi Gerson’s article in Tablet Magazine, entitiled Rabbis Have to Talk about God, click here.
Cantor Michelle Rubin
Email: CantorRubin@GRS.org
Cantor/Education Director Michelle Rubin
Cantor Michelle Rubin is a beloved member of the GRS family and is both our Cantor and Religious School Director. She was invested by the Jewish Theological Seminary’s H.L. Miller Cantorial School, from which she received a Master of Sacred Music and a Diploma of Hazzan in 1999.
Before joining the clergy team at GRS, Cantor Rubin served as Cantor and Education/Youth Director at Montebello Jewish Center in Suffern, NY and as the Cantor at Temple Israel in Ridgewood, NJ. Cantor Rubin is the past president of the JTS Cantorial School Alumni Association and an active member of the Cantors Assembly Education Committee. Cantor Rubin also sings with the New Jersey Cantors Concert Ensemble and served as its Secretary.
Prior to her cantorial studies, Cantor Rubin worked in a variety of Jewish settings as a teacher and youth advisor. She received a Bachelor of Music in Opera from the Hartt School of Music and two Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory. Cantor Rubin lives in Hartsdale, NY with her husband Jeffrey Gross and her twin children, Elliot and Kara Freedman and has two stepchildren, Mitchell and Abby Gross.
To read Cantor Rubin’s article in the Greenwich Sentinel, entitited Celebrating Religion and All People, click here.
To watch Cantor Rubin and her daughter Kara’s beautiful rendition of Hashkiveinu by Craig Taubman/I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables, sung at the GRS Broadway Shabbat, click here.
Vera Giannaris
Email: admin@GRS.org
Vera Giannaris, GRS Temple Administrator
Born and raised in New York City, Vera never ventured far from her NYC roots. With a degree in Archaeology from Columbia, her field work led her to begin a career at the American Museum of Natural History where she could help others fund their research, eventually becoming Senior Associate Director of Government Relations and Strategic Project Development. She assisted Museum leadership by increasing the Museum’s visibility through its exhibition and educational programming while helping strengthen relationships with government officials and agencies to maintain and increase operating and capital support. Additionally, she coordinated various intern and volunteer programs through their education department.
As Vera’s children became her focal point, she moved her family to Connecticut.
Before joining the GRS team, she also supported her family’s businesses in the restaurant and food worlds by running marketing and social media campaigns. She continues to be active in fundraising efforts for schools in Greenwich and the Hellenic School in Rye.
Valerie Glicker
Email: adminasst@GRS.org
Valerie Glicker, Temple Administrative Assistant
Valerie spent over 28 years working in the magazine publishing industry.
In 2018, after her company, Hearst Magazines, underwent a major reorganization and her position was eliminated, she decided to dedicate more time to her family as her children were entering high school and middle school.
While the time spent with her children was rewarding, as her children got older, she decided to pursue a job at a synagogue because she is committed to Jewish causes and education.
Valerie has always been an active and dedicated volunteer in her community and has also been a devoted volunteer at the organization where her children performed — Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Valerie, her husband, and 2 college-aged children, live in Scarsdale, NY.
Sarah Collins
Email: scollins@stamfordjcc.org
Sarah Collins, Director, JCC-GRS Preschool at GRS
The JCC Preschool conveniently located at GRS on 92 Orchard St, Cos Cob, CT, offers exceptional early education for children aged 15 months to 5 years. Our programming emphasizes play, exploration, and holistic development, within a licensed Pre-K environment. We provide flexible drop-off options ranging from 2 to 5 mornings a week, along with enriching extension opportunities. Our curriculum, designed to nurture autonomy, self-confidence, and critical thinking, integrates STEM and nature-based learning with purposeful play. Guided by experienced and dedicated educators, we aim to spark children’s curiosity and joy in learning.
Find out why The JCC Preschool is right for you and your child. Contact Sarah Collins for more information on programming, classes, and enrollment today.
Contact: 203-489-3084