Meet Our

Leadership

Rabbi Emily Langowitz

Executive Director

Rabbi Emily Langowitz is the Executive Director of the Women’s Leadership Institute. She is a graduate of Yale University and was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2017 where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a Tisch Rabbinical Fellow. In the summer of 2017 she arrived in Phoenix to serve Temple Solel as their Assistant Rabbi for three years. After her time at Solel, she worked for the Union for Reform Judaism as Assistant Director of Engagement and Learning before stepping into the role as Executive Director of WLI. Rabbi Langowitz is also an 18Doors Rukin Rabbinic Fellow, focusing on providing support for interfaith families and couples in Jewish life. She has been a proud member of the Phoenix Jewish community since 2017.
In addition to her professional work, Rabbi Langowitz serves on the board of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and as Vice President of Social Action and Advocacy for the Women’s Rabbinic Network. She has taught and published extensively on a progressive framework for discussing Judaism and abortion. She volunteers on triannual interfaith panels for parents at All Saints Episcopal Day School in Phoenix and sings in the Phoenix Symphony Chorus.

Rabbi Elana Kanter

Founder

Rabbi Elana Kanter, Founder of the Women’s Leadership Institute, is a graduate of Barnard College and a member of the first class of women Rabbis of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She was ordained in 1989. In 1998, Rabbi Kanter also received the Covenant Award for Exceptional Jewish Educators for her work in Adult Jewish Learning.

Jessielyn Hirschl

Board Chair

Jessielyn Hirschl moved to the Valley in 2015 and quickly became involved in the Jewish community, serving on the professional staffs of the Hillel Jewish Student Center at ASU and Congregation Beth Israel of Scottsdale. A member of the Women’s Leadership Institute Cohort 3, she developed a financial literacy guide for Jewish Free Loan, which led to years of service as a volunteer leader and staff member from 2020–2023. Today, Jessielyn is the Senior Associate Director of Donor Relations for the ASU Foundation and serves on the boards of both Jewish Free Loan and the Women’s Leadership Institute, where she was Board Chair from 2024–2026.

Laura Drachler

Immediate Past Board Chair

Laura has been a native of Phoenix, Arizona since 1976. She derives great joy from raising her children, being with family, and has a passion for Jewish overnight camp and donating time and effort to various causes in the community. Her passion for overnight camp goes back to the 80’s when she attended Camp Charles Pearlstein and continues today with both her kids having attended Camp Stein. She has served on national camp boards as well as boards and committees in our Phoenix community, including Congregation Beth Israel, Jewish Free Loan, Camp Swift, CJP Community Impact Committee, and she proudly serves as an emeritus board member for the Women’s Leadership Institute. She continuously seeks opportunities to serve the community to promote its future. Laura first got involved with WLI in 2016 as a mentee in the second Cohort, where she developed, fundraised, and launched PJ Family Camp. She remains involved with the program and is proud of the now annual program, hosting over 500 participants since its inception. Laura has served as a mentor for Cohorts 4, 6, and 9 and is honored to serve with her fellow board members who are all dedicated to ensuring women have the knowledge and skills to serve in leadership roles in our Phoenix Jewish Community.

Becca Norton

Treasurer

Becca Norton has been involved with WLI since 2016, when she participated as a mentee in Cohort 2. The bulk of her professional career has been spent in market research, focusing on Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Insurance. After relocating to Arizona nearly a decade ago, she made the move from corporate marketing to consulting, conducting research on behalf of area non-profits, and becoming an active community volunteer. In September 2023, Becca joined Jewish National Fund-USA as the Senior Israel Advocacy & Engagement Director for the Southwest. Becca credits her WLI experience for helping her identify a role and organization she feels so passionately about.

Jamie Kornbluth

Jamie has her master’s in physical therapy and co-founded practices in NJ, CO, and ATL with her husband called Activcore PT and Sports Performance; however, since moving to Arizona, she has focused her time on her family and becoming involved in the Phoenix and Scottsdale communities. She has served on numerous synagogue committees. She received the Amdur Volunteer of the Year Award for her work on the Scribing of a new Torah for CBI’s Centennial Celebration. She has also served as a philanthropy liaison and the Class of 2025 Grade Level Advisor for Sonoran Centennial National Charity League. Jamie spends her weekends working for her events company, planning and executing Bar and Bat Mitzvahs all around the Valley. Jamie got involved with WLI first as a Mentee in Cohort 5. For her project, she helped create Shalom Phoenix and is still involved as the Chair of the program.

Andrea Kravets

Andrea Kravets moved to Phoenix in 1998 and has been involved in the community ever since. She spent many years on the board of Hadassah Valley of the Sun chapter as Membership VP, Education VP, Programming VP and also served as the chair of various programs, including Young Keepers of the Gate and Voter Challenge. Andrea met many of her closest friends through the Ruach Hadassah group, where she served as Membership VP and President. While her sons were at Pardes Jewish Day School, Andrea and her husband were very involved and co-chaired the Silver Anniversary Gala. Andrea also volunteered at Pardes as the Kesher PTO Co-Chair for many years as well as on several board committees. When her oldest son moved on to Brophy College Preparatory, Andrea volunteered her time with the Brophy Robotics Club, serving as the parent volunteer coordinator. Andrea was also very involved at New Way Academy during her youngest son’s time there, serving as a Gala Co-Chair and on various committees. She was also the PTO chair at the Temple Chai Early Childhood Center and participated in the Center for Jewish Philanthropy’s Women’s Philanthropy League. Andrea was a mentee in WLI’s Cohort 1 and is honored to serve on the board amongst impressive leaders. Andrea has a BA in psychology from the University of Michigan and a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She was a longtime Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable Jon W. Thompson at the Arizona Court of Appeals and worked in the appellate group at Jones, Skelton, and Hochuli.

Nicole Perilstein

Nicole is a native of the Valley of the Sun. She spent a brief time living in Columbus, OH where she converted to Judaism after studying with Rabbi Rick Kellner of Congregation Beth Tikvah. In 2015, she moved back to Scottsdale and immediately found a warm and welcoming home in the Jewish community. She has volunteered with the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, the Center for Jewish Philanthropy, and her kids’ school PTO. In 2021, the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center honored her with the Maya Schulder Rising Star Award for her volunteer work there. She was a member of WLI’s cohort 8 and is now an active alumni member. She has a B.S. in mathematics and economics from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and is a Fellow with the Casualty Actuarial Society. She works as an actuary for Accelerant Insurance.