Jewish Grandparents Network Announces New Leadership:

Debra S. Weinberg as Executive Director and Richard N. Bernstein as Co-President
Organization Poised to Grow its Reach as More Multi-Generational Families Crave Enriching, Accessible Jewish Family Experiences

July 14, 2025 — The Jewish Grandparents Network, which educates, connects, and supports grandparents as essential partners in enriching Jewish life, today announced that Debra S. Weinberg, known to many as “Debs,” will serve as Executive Director beginning September 1st and Richard N. Bernstein will serve as the organization’s co-president. With these leadership additions, and with increasing numbers of supporters, JGN is well positioned for long-term sustainability to engage more families in meaningful and accessible Jewish experiences and content.

“Debs brings a unique combination of deep communal knowledge, exceptional development skills, and personal relationships with major Jewish leaders and funders that will lead JGN into our next era,” said JGN co-president Ilene Vogelstein. “She leads with people and purpose, blending cooperative leadership and inclusive decision‑making—perfect for JGN at this moment as we look to continue growing.”

Adds Vogelstein, “We’re incredibly fortunate as well that Richard N. Bernstein will serve as the new co-president with me. Richard has held leadership roles in some of our community’s most consequential organizations. His expertise in management, as well as his passion for helping others tap into Jewish experiences and learning, will be a vital benefit to JGN and the people we serve.”

Weinberg worked for the last decade as a certified leadership coach and facilitator and previously served as the Executive Director of ACHARAI: The Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Development Institute, a community-wide bridge-building program for incoming presidents of boards of Jewish organizations. Recently she emerged unscathed from a car accident, which profoundly influenced her desire for a more purpose-driven life. Her role as Savta to her four grandchildren took on even greater meaning and she decided to devote her time and energy to helping more families engage in a purposeful Jewish life.

“I’m eager to lead JGN, surrounded by a stellar lay and professional team,” said Debs Weinberg, incoming Executive Director of the Jewish Grandparents Network. “In just eight years, JGN has built a loyal national following of grandparents and professionals and formed partnerships with organizations across the country. Research proves what many of us experience: grandparents often play an integral, ongoing role in family life. They are uniquely positioned to strengthen the Jewish identities of their children and grandchildren and create vibrant Jewish homes. Moving forward, JGN will be an essential hub of this activity, driving Jewish engagement and learning.”

Among Weinberg’s initial expansive plans is an online Grandparents’ Jewish Learning Fest in winter 2025. This will celebrate and honor the essential role Jewish grandparents play in their grandchildren’s lives, and in sustaining Jewish identity, culture, and tradition across generations. The daylong event will include online workshops led by expert presenters for grandparents nationwide and abroad. JGN will partner with other organizations to bring this flagship event to Jewish communities everywhere.

“In the midst of a strategic plan that charts an ambitious course for JGN, I look forward to ‘making the case’ why the community should both look toward, and invest in, grandparents,” said Richard Bernstein, co-President of the Jewish Grandparents Network. “Under Debs’ stewardship, JGN can fully leverage the role, influence, and financial means of grandparents, thus strengthening the entire Jewish community. We also will expand our reach and resources to help Jewish professionals effectively engage grandparents in their communities.”

JGN has seen a surge in engagement over the last year and a half following the October 7th attacks on Israel and subsequent rise in antisemitism. In the coming months, JGN will share more new resources, expert webinar events, and interactive digital platforms with an eye toward growth.

“Our core audiences remain grandparents and Jewish professionals,” adds Vogelstein. “What’s changed is our ability, thanks to Debs and Richard coming on board, to better serve those audiences and meet this moment with strategy, skills, and an unwavering commitment to enriching the lives of more Jewish families.”

About Debra S. Weinberg and Richard N. Bernstein

Debra Silberman Weinberg, known to many as “Debs,” has successfully served as both a volunteer leader and a professional leader with a focus on the Jewish community. Debs has spent her adult life strengthening Jewish communities locally and around the world. She considers herself “a connector” and a “builder,” someone “in service to others.”

Volunteer Leadership: In addition to serving on JGN’s board for the past year, Debs served as the Chair of Na’aleh: The Hub for Leadership Learning and is a past Chair of the Associated: The Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, having led the Board during the challenges of a pandemic. She served numerous roles at the Associated, including Campaign Chair, Community and Planning Chair, Israel and Overseas Chair and co- chair of the Anti-Semitism Task Force. Debs served as the international Chair of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI), which explores fresh ways of thinking about Judaism and gender worldwide; served on the national Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Board and is currently serving on the JDC Board and the Jewish Grandparents Network Board.
Professional pursuits: From 2005-2015 Debs served as the Executive Director of ACHARAI: The Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Development Institute, a community-wide bridge-building program for incoming presidents of boards of Jewish organizations. Prior to ACHARAI, for ten years she was the Director for the Baltimore Institute for Jewish Communal service (BIJCS), where she recruited, cultivated, and trained Jewish professionals. Under her leadership, the Institute raised the funds to sustain the program and renamed it The Darrell Friedman Institute (DFI). Many professionals around the country were trained at BIJCS or DFI and know Debs from her time there.
Leadership Coaching: Debs is a certified leadership coach, a graduate of the Georgetown University Leadership Coaching certificate program (Cohort 20), and a certified facilitator.

After graduating from Drew University (1982), she earned an M.A. in Modern Jewish History from the Baltimore Hebrew University and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work with a certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the Baltimore Institute for Jewish Communal Service (BIJCS). A lifelong learner, Debra earned a certificate in “Women, Leadership and Change” through the Johns Hopkins University and participated in the first class of the Weinberg Fellows Program: Leadership Training for Executive Directors of Non-Profit agencies in 2001.

She is happily married to Joe Weinberg, her high school sweetheart, and they have successfully raised three children, Jenna, Dani, and Ben to be “upstanders.” A lover of yoga, nature and traveling, the pandemic helped her to focus more on her passions and creativity. Her greatest pleasure is watching her grandchildren grow and helping leaders be their best selves.

Richard N. Bernstein is the managing partner of BernsteinMarshall PLLC and has practiced law for over 45 years specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and international law, private and public finance, and not-for-profit governance. Rich was listed in the prestigious The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2025. He is a past Chair of the boards of the Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council (JAFINA), The iCenter, United Israel Appeal (UIA), the Dave and Mary Alper JCC in Miami, and the One Laptop Per Child project. Currently, he serves as a member of the Board of Directors/Trustees of World ORT, ORT America, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, and the Jewish Federation of the Palm Beaches. Rich and his wife Barbara have two daughters and four grandchildren.