Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Akiva Fishman

Hi friends! I'm excited to be an Executive Officer for this Minyan, which has been such an anchor for my life and my family's life in DC since I became a member in 2009. I met my wife Miriam at DCM; my two daughters, Amalia and Nessa, think of shul as a second home; and the yearly rhythms of our community are the basis around which we orient the rest of our family's schedule. I've volunteered in many capacities over the years (including 3 years co-leading the kiddush committee during which time I met my future spouse -- strong plug for volunteerism :) ) and I'm excited to step up in this role to help keep our Minyan the thriving center for committed egalitarian Jewish life in DC that it has become for so many people.

In my day job at the World Wildlife Fund, I lead engagement with large US-based companies to drive responsible forest and land management throughout their supply chains, and to advance sustainable development in collaboration with diverse stakeholders in the world's major soft commodity producing regions. My work is suffused with listening to and finding common ground among often divergent viewpoints (e.g., Indigenous communities, multinational corporations, government bureaucracies) to find and implement optimal solutions. And I'm regularly collaborating with teams of colleagues to develop complex strategies and then execute work plans efficiently. I look forward to putting this background to work for our community! (And hopefully Amalia forgives me for including a photo that does not depict her; tough finding any recent photos of me in the crowded vault of kid photos....)

Daniela Nagar

Hi DC Minyan! My name is Daniela Nagar. If you don’t know me, that’s okay! I’m relatively new here — I moved back to the DC area in August 2024 for graduate school. Since then, I have volunteered as a co-coordinator for Purim and Simchat Torah. Before returning to DC, I was an active member of TBS/Treemont Street Shul in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a member of the Atara Minyan organizing team in Brooklyn, and a student and later staff at Hadar in NYC. The common thread here is that I care about egalitarian, observant-friendly spaces, so being a part of a community like DC Minyan is very important to me. I am grateful for the passionate, kind people I’ve met so far and look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months and years.

Outside of DC Minyan, I’m a full-time graduate student in international development at Georgetown. Before starting school, I was a Research Analyst at Mathematica doing government contracting in healthcare. About half of my time was dedicated to project management, which included monitoring budgets and managing communication across staff levels and externally. On one project, leadership realized communication was not flowing effectively with junior-level staff and asked me to help bridge the gap. Beyond clarifying tasks and deadlines, I brought junior-level staff concerns and needs to leadership meetings. That role stuck with me because I feel passionately about making everyone’s voice is heard, regardless of how long they’ve been around or how loudly they make their opinions known. As a newer member of the community, I hope to empower newer members to share their opinions, offer their strengths, and view the community as equally theirs to shape.

SECRETARY

Adam Fagen

I have been a part of DC Minyan since 2011 and married into the community. I have been serving as the Announcements Coordinator since 2017, meaning that I’ve been working closely with the Secretary and Executive Officers (and Steering Committee before that) to get the Announcements to your inbox every week. I’m drawn to the Secretary role to help the entire community feel informed, connected, and included and look forward to improving and better integrating our communications channels, including the website, emails, WhatsApp group, and more.

Professionally, I’ve spent my career in staff leadership positions for a number of scientific membership associations, with a focus on science policy, communications, advocacy, and member engagement. As a result, I bring deep experience in nonprofit management and the role of boards of directors.

VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Hannah Warshawsky

Hannah (pronounced "Chana") is originally from Silver Spring, MD, and has attended DC Minyan since she moved back to the DMV in 2022 after grad school. She is excited to be Volunteer Coordinator and for the opportunity to become more engaged and committed to this amazing community. She has served in several roles in college and grad school where she has had practice matching people to their preferred volunteer position. Outside DC Minyan, Hannah works as a veterinarian, practicing at a clinic in Navy Yard. She spends a lot of her free time reading, rock climbing, and hanging out with her cats.

IMMEDIATE PAST EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Deena Fox

Deena Fox is a lifelong member of traditional independent minyanim. Originally from Chicago, Deena arrived in DC in 2008 after law school and served on the Steering Committee shortly thereafter. She rejoined the Leadership Council in 2021 and served on the inaugural Board as Lifecycle Chair 2024-25, before retiring from service this past spring--or so she thought. In recent years, Deena has focused on strengthening DC Minyan's programs for families, including the establishment of the Judaics Coop, developing a bnei mitzvah guide for families, and engaging our older kids in leading Shabbat programs for children. Outside of DC Minyan, you can find her pursuing justice as a civil rights lawyer, running in Rock Creek, exploring national parks with her family, serving as a persistent advocate for local causes, trying her hand at new crafts, and baking fabulous one-bowl recipes.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS CHAIR

Chana Solomon-Schwartz

Hello, DC Minyan. My name is Chana, and I joined DC Minyan back in 2006. DC Minyan has been my Jewish home since then, except for three years when I lived in eastern Tennessee. For the better part of 15 years, I’ve thought about how to make—and to continue to make—DC Minyan more warm, welcoming, and integrated. I’ve worked to manifest that with many wonderful partners over the years, and I would be thrilled, especially in these uncertain times, to continue those efforts as Community Relations Chair. I’ve worn a variety of hats in the minyan, Shavuot retreat programming co-chair, and then retreat co-chair; dvar torah coordinator; middle minyan leader; and even a stint subbing as a Friday night gabbai. The throughline for me has been trying to facilitate connectivity across and within the community, whether folks are newer to the minyan or have been around the proverbial block; and whether they already feel at home or are struggling to find their place.

Outside DC Minyan, I’m a researcher and project manager at the Library of Congress, who enjoys walks through my neighborhood in Adams Morgan and trekking to northern Virginia for yoga (ask me why!).

FINANCE CHAIR

Lauren Contard

Lauren has been attending DC Minyan since moving to DC in the fall of 2021. She has served on the Finance Committee since its inception almost two years ago. In that role she has worked to make sure the minyan’s finances are properly accounted for each month, helped members resolve Shulcloud and payment issues, and participated in two rounds of the minyan’s annual budget process. To the position of finance committee chair, she would bring this experience and an enjoyment of detail-oriented, behind-the-scenes work. Outside of DC Minyan, Lauren works as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau, and also enjoys hosting Shabbat meals with her husband Elliot, being pretentious about movies, and attempting to read a biography of every U.S. president.

GABBAI CHAIR

Adam Fineberg

Adam grew up in the UK, moved to DC at the end of 2020, and joined DCM not long after in 2021. He works as a biophysics researcher at the NIH. Since joining DCM, Adam has helped organise Hospitality and Match-Up Meals, and joined the Gabbai team in 2024. As Gabbai Chair, Adam and the Gabbai team ensure the smooth running of our play-led services by finding daveners and leyeners. Adam lives with his husband David-Benji and their two dogs Kiba and Ino in Columbia Heights.

GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGIC PLANNING CHAIR

Rivka Friedman

Rivka Friedman is a DMV native and has been a member of the Minyan since 2007. She's served previously on the Gabbai Committee and Steering Committee, and she's excited to be in the Governance and Strategic Planning board seat because she wants to help the Minyan evolve its policies to meet the community's emerging needs. In her spare time, she runs the health care innovation lab at Morgan Health, JP Morgan Chase's health care unit. She lives in Mount Pleasant with her wife, Dena, and three daughters, Adi, Amit, and Alma.

LIFECYCLE CHAIR

Miriam Szubin

Miriam has been a DC Minyan member almost (but not quite) since the beginning of the Minyan. She has served on the Gabbai Committee, on the Parents and Kid Committee, and as DC Minyan’s first Lifecycle Coordinator. She created the Mitzvah List and founded Midrash Minyan, which she led for several years. In 2017, she co-created the Bereavement Committee and continues to serve as its co-chair.

In her professional life (which has very porous borders with her DC Minyan life), Miriam runs classes and programs at the Edlavitch DCJCC for infants, toddlers, parents, parents-to-be, and those who want to be parents. She also serves on the board of Mary’s Center, a local federally qualified health center. She and her husband Adam have lived in the same house in Adams Morgan for more than 22 years, and their three boys are lifelong DC Minyan members. As a family, they have celebrated one aufruf, three brises, and three bar mitzvahs at DC Minyan and have been supported through the loss of a parent, giving them a deep appreciation for the way this community cares for its members at both the happy and the sad times. As Lifecycle Chair, she is excited to continue the wonderful work of her predecessors in deepening DC Minyan’s support for members at all stages and cycles of life.

PROGRAMMING CHAIR

Abigail Romirowsky

Abigail Romirowsky grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, but has lived all of her adult life in the DMV as a graduate of the University of Maryland for both undergrad and grad school. DC Minyan has been her davening and Jewish community home since 2007, and she has served in an eclectic variety of volunteer roles over the years related to davening, programs for kids and parents, and volunteer organizing. She also remains the co-chair of the Bereavement Subcommittee, which she co-founded in 2017. She works as a private practice psychologist and spends her free time reading memoirs or fiction and dreaming about the next time she can escape to the beach. She lives in Adams Morgan with her husband, Shai (whom she met in their Jewish a capella group!), and three kids.