Leadership
Welcome to the heart and soul of The Mussar Institute. Our management team is the driving force behind our mission, working tirelessly to steer our organization towards success and embody our core values.
These visionary leaders bring a wealth of experience, dedication, and expertise to the table, ensuring that we not only meet our goals but exceed them. Get to know the individuals who shape our vision and lead us on the path to excellence.
Alan Morinis
Founder
Alan is widely considered to be a leader in the resurgence of contemporary Mussar. Born into a culturally Jewish, non-observant home, he studied anthropology at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. He teaches, writes curriculum, and speaks frequently. His books include Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, Everyday Holiness, and With Heart in Mind.
OUR TEAM
Presented in Alphabetical Order
Dianne Benmayor
Business Manager
Dianne brings a wealth of experience in customer service and management gained in the luxury giftware industry. She is a certified yoga instructor with more than 500 hours of teaching experience. She teaches and has taught yoga, including Mussar Yoga, at a variety of locations including the Mayerson JCC, Wise Temple, and other congregations. She discovered Mussar after being enlightened by one of her students about Edith Brotman’s book, Mussar Yoga, and through the book she found TMI. She lives with her husband in Cincinnati, OH. They have two grown children and a beloved granddaughter.
Rivka Felsher
Chief Operating Officer
Rivka has over 33 years of experience in business administration, nonprofit management, private and public higher education administration and instruction, private congregational school leadership and instruction, educational consulting, and freelance editing and writing. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. Rivka joined the staff of The Mussar Institute in 2018 and since then, Mussar has been a daily transformative practice in her life. She resides in Southeast Florida with her family and is an avid potter and painter.
Avi Fertig
Chief Programming Officer
Rabbi Avi Fertig serves as the Chief Programming Officer at The Mussar Institute, where he has been guiding courses and programs since 2010. Avi's educational background includes studying at the Yeshiva of Ner Israel in Baltimore, followed by a move to Israel in 1997. During his time at the Mir Yeshivah in Jerusalem, he developed a close bond with Rabbi Reuvain Leuchter, a prominent disciple of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, a renowned authority in Mussar. Since then, Avi has been studying, writing, and teaching Mussar to a wide audience, impacting thousands of students. He is also the author of two books on Torah and Mussar. Avi resides in Beit Shemesh with his wife, Estie, their children, and their recently born grandson, Ariel.
Devorah Fuchs
Director of Marketing
With over 20 years of experience in marketing and business in Israel and the US, Devorah is dedicated to strengthening Israeli and Jewish communities through innovative strategies. Holding a BA in Communications and an MBA with a focus on Marketing, she resides in Austin, TX, where she actively volunteers in the local Jewish and Israeli community. Devorah is passionate about fostering connections and leaving a positive impact on the world.
Eric Gurvis
Director of Membership Engagement
Eric is a graduate of SUNY-Albany and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Eric has served congregations in New York City; Jackson, MS; Teaneck, NJ; Newton, MA; and Ashland, MA. He will be serving as Interim Rabbi at his former congregation in Jackson, MS from July 2024-June 2025.
Eric facilitates Mussar groups in the Greater Boston area and in Western Massachusetts.
He and his wife, Laura Kizner Gurvis are blessed with four children and five grandchildren.
Moe Howard
Coordinator of Outreach Programs
Moe is a fourth-year student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and has been a student of Mussar since 2018. He currently serves as the rabbinic intern and religious school rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and teaches Bible at Valley Beth Shalom Day School. In the past, he has worked at the Brandeis Camp Institute; Congregation Or Tzion in Scottsdale, Arizona; and most recently in the Spiritual Care Department at Cedars–Sinai Medical Center. Moe considers it a privilege to be part of the TMI community and looks forward to sharing the wisdom of Mussar with his own congregation in the future.
Emma Lebowitz
Data Coordinator
Emma comes to The Mussar Institute with a great deal of passion for data management and spreading Jewish values and ideas. Emma has spent her career working in the Jewish nonprofit arena that promotes Jewish education and values. Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Emma has lived in Chicago, New York, and Jerusalem, and currently divides her time between Fair Lawn, New Jersey and South Florida in the winter months. She balances her love of work with her many hobbies: pickleball, Pilates, biking, canasta, Mahjong, and spending time wither her family that includes husband, children, and grandchildren.
Palmer Rubin
Digital Assets and Communications Associate
Palmer has worked in Jewish nonprofit spaces, marketing, and communications for nearly seven years, with experience at the Breman Museum, Bend the Arc, and Repair the World. Palmer received a Master of Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
Helaine Sheias
Director of Facilitator and Program Development
Helaine Sheias, Ph.D., made Aliyah to Israel in her teens, served in the IDF, and settled in Israel for more than two decades. She is a graduate of The Mussar Institute Yesod Facilitator Training Program and the Manchim Advanced Facilitator Training. She is currently the Director of Facilitator and Program Development, after joining the TMI Staff a few years ago.
Helaine continues to facilitate a variety of courses. She co-created the Tapestry course with Nancy Weiss. In her Va'adim she facilitates circles of transformation and change by modeling spiritual awakening, and self-reflexive learning, or Hitlamdut. Facilitating Mussar courses offers Helaine a continuous sense of awe and wonderment as it continuously strengthens her personal spiritual practice.
Helaine currently resides near Haifa Israel and is blessed with 2 amazingly wondrous grandchildren and three adult children, who all bring her great nachas and joy.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Introducing Our Board of Directors, the Visionaries Shaping the Future of The Mussar Institute.
Learn about the leaders who steer our organization toward continued excellence and success.
Kathy Jacobs, Secretary
Kathy retired from ACT, Inc, where she served as an internal change and transition consultant, assisting various departments and hands-on employees in managing technical changes and other projects. Already an enthusiastic member of TMI, she found great fulfillment in her Yesod and Manchim training and facilitating. Mussar teachings and practices have now become a central part of her life.
Annabelle Imber Tuck, President
Annabelle is the first woman elected as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and the author of the order that reformed the state's public education financing. In 1994, she declared the existing system unconstitutional and gave the Arkansas General Assembly two years to establish an equitable educational system, retiring after two re-elections.
David Goldis, Treasurer
David, a Yeshiva University graduate and accountant with 35 years of experience, has managed his independent practice in Hollywood, FL for the past 30 years. He specializes in international tax services, audit representation, and business startup & planning. David is deeply involved in various non-profit and religious organizations, both locally and globally. He is proficient in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish and has studied Mussar for over 30 years.
Irv Robinson, Past Co-President
Irv recently sold his plastics manufacturing business of 45 years. He has held various leadership and non-leadership roles in nonprofit organizations in the Kansas City area. Irv has been studying Mussar since 2009, facilitating courses since 2012, and serving on the TMI Board for several years.
Sandy Greenstein, Past Co-President
Sandy has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, construction, and risk management-loss control. He resides in the picturesque Thousand Oaks, California. Sandy holds a deep belief in Mussar's path of Jewish character development and spiritual growth. As a Mussar Facilitator, he has successfully bridged the gap between his ideals and the life he leads today.
Steven Haas
Steve has been a student of Mussar since 2011 and has consistently studied with the same online va’ad for 11 years. After completing Manchim, he facilitated Season of Mussar I and II at his congregation, Temple Chai in Phoenix, AZ. Steve is a passionate advocate for Mussar, which has profoundly impacted his life.
He has also previously served on the board of his congregation and retired after 11 years of teaching in junior and senior high schools, in addition to a 40-year career in Human Resources at Bud Industries, Inc.
John Isenberg
John, retired after nearly 40 years of owning Western Extralite, a family business. He is deeply involved in his Jewish community and has held board positions at the Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Foundation, Temple B’Nai Jehudah, and the Jewish Federation of Greater KC, where he served as Board Chair from 2015 to 2018. John has made 15 trips to Israel since his first visit in 1981.
In 2020, he began his Mussar journey by enrolling in the 5 Steps course. He is an ongoing student of Mussar, having participated in three va'ads and currently enrolled in one, while also being part of the Mussar Schmooze group.
John and his wife, Jenny, are lifelong Kansas City residents and have been married for 40 years. They have three children: Amy Allison, Adam, and a grandson, Max.
Ann Margolin
Ann has been involved with TMI for about ten years, taking various courses, completing Manchim, and becoming a certified facilitator. She is also a Jewish meditation teacher and has participated in the Kivvun program at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Ann is active in Temple Emanuel in Dallas.
Ann has served in many roles as a community volunteer in Dallas, including representing District 13 on the Dallas City Council, being the first female board chair at Parkland Hospital, and the immediate past chair of TexProtects. She also chaired the board of Girls Inc., was the founding chair of the Chiapas Project, and served on several commissions, including the Dallas Planning and Zoning Commission and the Park and Recreation Board. Ann holds a BS and MA in Communication from Northwestern and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Robert Mass
Robert is a Senior Advisor in the Compliance Division at The Goldman Sachs Group L.P. Before joining the firm, he served as an assistant district attorney in New York County, where he held positions as the deputy chief of the Investigation Division and chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit. Earlier in his career, he worked at Kramer, Levin, Nessen, and Kamin, a New York corporate law firm, and at the American Civil Liberties Union. Robert also serves as the chairman of the FCA Markets Practitioner Panel. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Harvard Law School.
Kalinka Moudrova-Rothman
Kalinka began her journey with TMI in 2004 after meeting Alan Morinis. Drawn to Mussar, she has taken over a dozen courses. Originally from Bulgaria, she converted to Judaism in 2009 and had her Bat Mitzvah in 2011. She has attended over a dozen Kallot and participated in TMI’s first trip to Israel. Kalinka volunteered as a chevruta matching coordinator and edited the Omer teachings for our Facebook page. She is a bank finance attorney with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation in NYC. She holds an LL.B. from Sofia University and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School. With over 30 years of experience as a corporate attorney, she has also served on various boards.
Check out these great resources!
Books by Alan Morinis
Mussar Chants
Mussar Classics