Our Clergy and Staff
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Rabbi Noah Chertkoff, Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Noah Chertkoff joined Shalom after three years as the Assistant, then Associate Rabbi of Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation Florida. A native of Toronto, Canada, he graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on May 31, 2008 from the Cincinnati campus.
Before entering rabbinical school, Rabbi Chertkoff worked at Seeds of Peace International Camp which is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence, served as a Special Assistant to a Federal Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Government and worked as the National Social Action Coordinator for the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism.
As a student Rabbi, he has served both Reform and Conservative congregations in Cincinnati, Ohio, Billings, Montana, and Toledo, Ohio. Rabbi Chertkoff has been involved in youth programming, through his participation with NFTY as a mechanech (tour guide and educator) in Israel and worked as a program coordinator at Camp Coleman. He also enjoyed teaching at the Academy of Adult Interfaith Studies at HUC-JIR.
His volunteer activities throughout the years have included his involvement in ARZA, Habitat for Humanity, NaMeRes (Street Help Direct Response to Homelessness), the Interfaith Social Assistance Coalition, and the Maquila Solidarity Network. Rabbi Chertkoff served as a board member of SEACCAR, the South Eastern Assembly of the Central Conference of America Rabbis and was a member of the Broward Board of Rabbis. He loves to bike, sail, canoe, hike, camp and play guitar (badly), watch baseball and hockey. Rabbi Noah is married to Lauren Berger and their family includes Hannah, Judah, and Josie.
Rabbi Noah became Congregation Shalom's Senior Rabbi effective July 1, 2015.
To contact Rabbi Noah by email, click here.
Rabbi Abby Phelps, Associate Rabbi
Rabbi Abby Phelps is honored to serve as Congregation Shalom’s Associate Rabbi. She was born on the East End of Long Island in New York, and then moved to Seattle, Washington right after her bat mitzvah, but she has called Milwaukee her home since 2022.
Rabbi Phelps studied philosophy and religion as an undergraduate at Stanford University. After college, she spent three years working as a paralegal for Altshuler Berzon LLP, a public interest law firm in San Francisco, CA, from which she took a leave of absence in summer 2007 to be the site director for the URJ Bay Area Mitzvah Corps. She then joined the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale as their student outreach coordinator. At Yale, Rabbi Phelps discovered a love of Talmud that led her to study first at Yeshivat Hadar in New York, NY, and then at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. She received her MA in Jewish Education from HUC-JIR in 2016 and her rabbinic ordination in 2018.
While in rabbinical school, Rabbi Phelps served as a solo student rabbi at Congregation Beth Jacob in El Centro, CA, and as an education and rabbinic intern at Temple Israel of Hollywood. After her ordination in 2018, she served for four years as the Rabbi Educator of Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, CA.
Rabbi Phelps combines playfulness and rigor in her approach to Jewish learning and living, and seeks to cultivate curiosity and kindness in herself and those she serves. She still loves Talmud (ask her about why it’s especially relevant for Reform Jews!), as well as science fiction and fantasy, animals, walking in beautiful places, skating, and spending time with her partner, Cantor Richard Newman, and their dog, Gizmo.
To reach Rabbi Abby Click Here
Brian Avner, RJE, Director of Congregational Learning
Brian Avner is excited that he has joined Congregation Shalom as the Director of Congregational Learning. Brian grew up in the Chicago suburbs and was an active member of his synagogue and youth group. He also spent nearly every summer at URJ-OSRUI, the Reform Movement's summer camp in Oconomowoc, WI as a camper, counselor and unit head. He still spends a few weeks each summer at OSRUI serving as faculty. It was through all those experiences that Brian grew to love working with Jewish youth and found his passion for education.
Brian received his Bachelor of Arts in Hebrew and Semitic Studies and in Jewish Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was also an active leader at UW-Madison Hillel where he helped lead the weekly reform service, led a monthly service for residents at a local nursing home, and was a Hillel First Year Ambassador helping new students find their place at Hillel. After graduating from Madison, Brian worked as a teacher, tutor, and youth group advisor at Lakeside Congregation in Highland Park, IL. Brian attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Los Angeles where he earned a Master of Arts in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education and a Master of Arts in Jewish Non-Profit Management from the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management. He also earned his Master's Concentration in Israel Education from the iCenter in Chicago, IL.
Brian and his wife, Sami Stein Avner (who grew up at Shalom!) live in Fox Point with their children Eyal, Noam and Maya. In his free time, Brian enjoys sports, cooking, playing with his kids and cheering his Chicago sports teams.
To contact Brian Avner by email, click here.
Rabbi Ronald Shapiro, D.D., Rabbi Emeritus
Rabbi Ronald Michael Shapiro, D.D., served as the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Shalom, Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1980 - 2015. Rabbi Shapiro arrived in Milwaukee in 1978, in order to serve as Congregation Shalom's Associate Rabbi, until his election to the position of Senior Rabbi in 1980. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended the University of Minnesota, receiving his B.A. degree in 1969. He then attended the Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he received a Master of Arts degree in Hebrew Letters. He was ordained a rabbi in 1974. Rabbi Shapiro served Temple B'rith Kodesh in Rochester, NY, prior to his arrival in Milwaukee in 1978. Rabbi Shapiro served as past-president of the Midwest Association of Reform Rabbis, and served on the Executive Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He served as the president of the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis, a board member of the Interfaith Conference of Milwaukee. As a member of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal, Rabbi Shapiro traveled internationally in order to bring solace and learning to Jews who lived in countries where they we were the unfortunate recipients of persecution and discrimination. He traveled to the former Soviet Union in order to meet with " Refuseniks" where he taught Judaism, conducted life-cycles events, and brought a spirit of hope to those Jews who found themselves in difficult straits due to the oppression they suffered. Rabbi Shapiro has been actively involved in interfaith activities. He is the past co-chair of the Catholic/Jewish Conference and serves as the co-chair of the Rabbi/Priest Dialogue, and the Richard Lux Center of Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition, Rabbi Shapiro has taught classes in Judaism for twenty-eight years at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Within the congregation, Rabbi Shapiro has officiated at thousands of life-cycle events, taught numerous classes, developed small fellowship groups, created an ambiance of pastoral care, and inculcated a spirit of performing deeds of social justice and interfaith activities within the greater community. He was offered the the honor of receiving the Frank Zeidler Award, for his leadership in social justice and interfaith relations by The Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee in 2014. He received the 1997 Human Relations Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and he received the Community Partner Award from Jewish Family Services in 2009.
In addition, Rabbi Shapiro has led numerous congregational trips to Israel and Europe over the years, in order to create community, develop a joy of learning, and to underscore an appreciation for the human family created in the image of God.
Rabbi Shapiro is married to the former Judy London. They are blessed with dear children, Ben and Roxanne, Ari and Samara, Dan and Tera and seven wonderful grandchildren.
To contact Rabbi Shapiro, please email Rabbinic Executive Assistant Andrea Gattie Click here.
Cantor Karen Berman, Cantor Emerita
Cantor Karen Berman had the joy of serving as Cantor of Congregation Shalom from 1987 - 2020. In addition to her vocal cantorial duties she directed Shalom's Youth Choir, taught music in the Religious School, and offered classes in the Department of Life Long Learning for the Synagogue. Central to her duties was coordinating and teaching in the B’nai Mitzvah Tutorial program. Cantor Berman participated in the heartbeat of congregational life at weddings, baby namings, B’nai Mitzvah, and funerals.
Cantor Karen Berman has long been involved in the Milwaukee Jewish community, organizing and performing music for the Community Woman's Seder and Rosh Chodesh programs, participating in a variety of concerts and programs, including the Annual Chanukah concert with the Milwaukee Jewish Community Chorale. Additionally, she was often a programming liaison to the Interfaith Community.
Beyond her contributions in the area of music, she has also been honored as an educator in the community. She has received the Milwaukee Association for Jewish Education's prestigious "Educator of the Year Award," as well as recognition from the Keshet of Wisconsin program for her efforts on behalf of students with exceptional needs.
She has been a guest soloist with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and has appeared in a Public Television special "To Thee We Sing: Music in American Religion." Among her credits are solo and ensemble performances on stage and in worship at several national conventions of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) and the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Biennial. Cantor Berman became a full member of the American Conference of Cantors in 1998, following five years as an associate member.
Karen's family includes husband Elliot and children, Sam Berman,and Ginger Pasch, Sam and Hannah Hamilton, and grand-children Joey and Marilyn.
To contact Cantor Berman by email, click here.
Ryan Poolay, Executive Director
Originally from Canada, Ryan, an expert in Client Relations and Leadership Development, has been a successful leader in the sales, fitness and medical industries. He has a proven track record in leading teams, improving processes and driving organizational growth through strategic planning. Many of you may already know Ryan from his work as the General Manager of Fitness and Membership at the Jewish Community Center.
To contact Ryan by email, click here.
