Staff and Board of Directors

2016 -2017 Board of Directors

Rachel Rosner, President

• Rachel Rosner has been President of NCJW since 2014.  Rachel currently serves on the boards of Heritage Sandy Springs and the Atlanta Northwestern Alumni Association.  She is a past board member of The Sandy Springs Society.

Judy Musicer, Immediate Past President

Merle Freidin Smith, Chair Literacy Program

• Merle Smith brings over 40 years of experience to the Literacy program.  She is a Reading Specialist and Education Consultant in Private Practice.  Merle taught elementary grades in Columbus and Atlanta Georgia public schools.  She held positions as a reading specialist at the Emory University Reading Center and the Paideia School. She also worked in the Reach Program at the Epstein School.

Elizabeth Langfelder, Secretary

Donna Schacher

• Donna Schacher has been a member of the National Council of Jewish Women for three years.  During this time, she has volunteered in the Atlanta office as well as organized the Lending Library for elementary school tutors. Donna and her husband owned and operated a wholesale insurance agency in Roswell, GA for 30 years and served on the board of their national organization and also was a committee chair.  Donna has been tutoring at Mimosa Elementary School in Roswell, GA for three years. She holds a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from the State University of New York.

Joyce Smilack, Treasurer

Ellen Banov

• Ellen Gershon Banov is an at-large member of the NCJW Board of Directors.  After practicing law for over 30 years in the Boston and Atlanta areas, she is an active volunteer with the Atlanta Jewish Coalition for Literacy, Greater Atlanta Hadassah’s Check It Out! Breast Health Education Program for High School Students, the Community Assistance Center’s Food Pantry, and the Atlanta Jewish Book Festival.  She is a past Board Member of The Epstein School Parent Teacher Organization (2003-2006), Congregation Or Hadash (2006-2008), and a current Board Member of Greater Atlanta Hadassah (2008-present) and National Council of Jewish Women (2014-present).

Abbe Seitzman

• Abbe Seitzman has lived in Atlanta since 1984, and is originally a San Franciscan native. She holds a BA in Ethnic Arts/Folklore from UCLA, a MS in Arts Management, and a MS in Judaic Studies and Education from Seigal College. She practiced public relations /strategic marketing for 25 years, most notably in Silicon Valley, when high tech and touch screens were taking their first bow.  After receiving her MS in Judaic Studies, Abbe wrote curriculum and taught Jewish Ethics and Values through stories and the arts, for 11 yrs.  In former careers, she has been a children's literature specialist, professional storyteller, and sang telegrams in the Bay Area during graduate school.  Abbe is currently on the board of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), is the Chair of the Backpacks for Kids Program, and is President of the North Springs Home Owners' Association.