Meet the board
Cathy Stern, President
Cathy joined the Board 12 years ago, soon became a Vice-President and is now President. Her motivation for joining Hillel Council was having college-age nieces and realizing the importance of having Hillel represented on smaller campuses. She is a graduate of Boston University and Pennsylvania College of Optometry (now Salus University). Cathy specializes in behavioral, developmental and neuro-optometry where she is used to working with students of all ages helping them improve visual processing for lifelong success. Cathy brings that same passion for helping students succeed with her commitment to Hillel Council. When not in her office or helping Hillel Council, she can be found mentoring students and teaching colleagues here and around the world.
Molly Galler, Vice Chair
Molly is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA, a campus currently served by the Hillel Council of New England. In her time at Wheaton, Hillel was a student-run organization only, and it was a struggle to find like-minded peers to observe or celebrate occasions with throughout the school year. Molly joined the board to help spread the word about Hillel Council’s important work supporting Jewish life on campus. Molly is a vice president at LaunchSquad, a strategic communications firm in Cambridge, MA. She is proud to offer her professional expertise to the board as the chair of the Communications Committee. Molly lives in Watertown, MA with her dog, Scout.
Philip C. Katz, Treasurer
Phil joined the Board in 2019 as Treasurer to give back to Boston’s Jewish community and take advantage of his experience in the finance and insurance areas. Phil retired in December 2018 as Vice President and Risk Manager of Boston based GID Investment Advisers, a national multifamily real estate developer, owner and property manager. During Phil’s 30+ years at GID, he was also the Controller for 22 years. Prior experience included two stints in the high technology sector. Phil, a CPA, began his career at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Boston. Phil is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he received his BSBA in Accounting, and an MBA with a concentration in finance.
Phil has two sons, Gregg, (also a Board member), an attorney and his wife Jessica who are the proud parents of three sons and Matthew, a veterinarian who lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Kate. Phil is a nine-year rider in the Pan Mass Challenge, and also plays golf, tennis and most recently pickleball. Phil now splits his time between his homes in Sudbury, MA, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Deborah Lakin, Secretary
Deborah became a member of the Board in 1983 when she was appointed Hillel Commissioner as the B’nai B’rith representative for New England and New York. She later was elected Board Secretary, and continues to serve in that position. Deborah is a graduate of Simmons College (now Simmons University) and spent her professional career as a training and information consultant, specializing in the Life Sciences industry. Now semi-retired, Deborah manages and facilitates the Entrepreneurial Think Tank at the MassHire Metro North Career Center in Cambridge.
Deborah resides in Framingham, MA with her cat Lady Grey. She loves reading and baking for friends and family, taking daily walks and practicing Yoga. When not running the Entrepreneurial Think Tank, Deborah enjoys helping women business owners achieve WBENC Woman-Owned business certification through the Center for Women and Enterprise.
Gregg Katz, Board Member
Gregg Katz has been a member of the Board since 2006 and works as a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston. As a member of Goodwin’s Technology Companies and Life Sciences practice, Gregg works on a wide variety of public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and other complex transactions. His practice centers on companies in the software, hardware, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and other technology-driven industries. Gregg’s representation of start-up and later-stage companies spans the entire corporate lifecycle, including pre-incorporation planning, venture capital financings, public offerings, SEC reporting and disclosure, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate representation and counseling.
Gregg holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School and an A.B. in Public Policy and Psychology from Duke University. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and three boys (who would be upset that he didn’t also mention the dog).
Rachel Goldsmith, Board Member
Rachel is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is a certified urban planner and works as a consultant to public transit agencies and State Transportation Departments to help them maximize their non-fare revenue, particularly from their real estate assets. A former member of the Wellesley College Hillel Alumnae Board, she joined the Hillel Council of New England board in 2015 and focuses on helping students connect to their Judaism and Jewish heritage. When not at work, Rachel can be found organizing bake sales for her children's school, jogging around Jamaica Pond, or skiing in Vermont.
Katie Sack, Board Member
Katie has been a member of the Board since she graduated from Emerson College in 2017, initially serving as a Young Alumni Representative. While at Emerson, she was inspired to further explore her Jewish identity after becoming involved in Hillel and joining the student E- Board (during which time she met and had the opportunity to work with one of her mentors and current Hillel Council of New England Executive Director, Miriam Blue). Katie enjoyed the community created by Hillel and wanted other students to feel the sense of belonging that she did. She is proud to serve on the Board as the chair of Young Alumni Engagement. Outside of serving on the Board, Katie works on the Events team at the Alumni Aairs & Development Oce at Harvard University and enjoys spending time with her family and their dog, Rascal.
JENNIFER STONE, Board Member
Jennifer Stone grew up in Peabody, Massachusetts. She attended Lesley University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Expressive Arts Therapy, and then spent a wonderful, and warm, two years down in Tallahassee, Florida where she earned her Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration. Jennifer had been working in a variety of settings within higher education. She then decided to take her passion for Judaism, college students, Israel, and bagels; bundle it all together and turn it into a career! She began her time with Hillel as the Director of Student Life at the Santa Barbara Hillel and is now Assistant Director at Northeastern Hillel.
Jennifer enjoys traveling, (she has been to 23 countries and keeps that list growing) all things Harry Potter, kickboxing, reading on the beach, creating and experimenting with new art techniques, trying out new recipes, re-watching all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls, and tries to get to NYC at least once a year to see a Broadway show!
DEBBIE HOWITT EASTON, BOARD MEMBER
Debbie currently co-chairs the Governance Committee. She has been a practicing attorney for over 25 years. The majority of her career was in private practice, with a focus on commercial real estate. In 2017 she made the move to in-house and became Assistant General Counsel to Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner, and operator with clients throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Debbie received a BA from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University. She lives in Somerville, MA with her husband Todd, their three, children, and dog Malcolm.
Leah Goldenberg, BOARD MEMBER
Leah is so excited to be joining the Hillel Council Board of Directors as the Young Alumni representative! A 2016 graduate of Marblehead High School, Leah went on to obtain her Bachelors of Social Work at Simmons University and graduated in 2021. While At Simmons, Leah was active in Hillel and served as President from 2020-2021. Leah helped Hillel transition from in-person to remote programming during the the Covid-19 pandemic, and helped to create active and engaging programming that would help keep students feeling connected to their Judaism during while living and learning remotely.
After graduation, Leah then obtained her Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Health from Boston College. Leah now works with survivors of Domestic Violence at Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) in Salem, MA. In this role, Leah provides support, crisis intervention, advocacy, and referral services to survivors of domestic violence across the North Shore of Massachusetts. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dogs Demi and Willow, watching true crime, and doing arts and crafts projects.
Samuel Miller, BOARD MEMBER
Sam Miller is a partner at Rodman Employment Law in Newton, and has over a decade of litigation experience. Sam focuses his practice in employment litigation, advising both employers and employees on a variety of employment issues. He also has experience in resolving many types of business disputes, particularly in partnership and close corporation dissolutions, shareholder derivative litigation, and real estate litigation.
Sam attended Simon’s Rock College of Bard and earned his B.A. summa cum laude in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts – Boston. He graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 2009 where he was the Production Editor of the Journal of Health and Biomedical Law and was also an Alfred Ford Scholarship recipient. Sam lives in Brookline with his wife and newborn son. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing Jeopardy!, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Jon Myerov, BOARD MEMBER
Jon Myerov joined holds an executive position at Mercury Systems, a defense electronics company. He leads a department comprising of project managers and coordinators specializing in major government pursuits. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and West Virginia University and earned professional certifcates from Cornell University and Harvard Business School. Having spent 17 years as an instructor in English literature and linguistics, Jon remains fascinated with the diverse languages and expressions found within Judaism. Jon resides in the Metro-West region of Boston with his wife, their three children, and a beloved cat, forming a richly interfaith family.
Jonathan Nierman, BOARD MEMBER
Jonathan Nierman currently serves as Chief Development Officer at JVS-Boston, where he is responsible for driving the major gifts program and providing strategic direction and oversight for the Development Team, which includes communications, institutional support, and events. Jonathan manages a robust portfolio of high-level major donors and works closely with the Resource Development Committee of the JVS Board to further strengthen the philanthropic program.
Prior to working at JVS, Jonathan served as the Regional Director of Development of American Jewish Committee. In this position he successfully managed high level donors on a national and international scope and worked extensively with partnering Jewish organizations and the Jewish philanthropic community. Additionally, Jonathan served as a Donor Relations Officer at the National MS Society where he had success building organizational and team capacity. In this role he managed a portfolio of major donors and corporate partners and honed his managerial skills by offering mentorship and training to teams at regional o$ces and supervising his own team of 7.
Jonathan holds a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from Union College. Jonathan is an avid Boston sports fan, has been playing guitar most of his life, and loves to see live music as often as possible.
Reverend Dr. Robin Olson, BOARD MEMBER
Robin has recently retired from Bentley University after serving as the Director of Spiritual Life for the past eight years. During her tenure, Robin created the renowned Spiritual Life program at Bentley, including creating the Sacred Space. Previous to this role, Robin served in campus ministry at both Boston University and Nazareth College.
Robin holds a Doctor of Ministry focused in Campus Ministry and Chaplaincy from Wesley Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Boston University, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Colgate University. A United Methodist pastor, Robin is dedicated to Interfaith cooperation. She is excited to join the Hillel Council board and bring her unique perspective and expertise in higher education administration to help Hillel become even more successful in the area of campus partnerships.