Adam Rosenwasser
arosenwasser@templeemanuelmd.org
Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser joined Temple Emanuel as Senior Rabbi on July 1st, 2020. Prior to this appointment, he served Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA and Temple Sinai in Washington, DC as associate rabbi. Rabbi Adam was ordained from the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2009. Rabbi Adam hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan and received his Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
Rabbi Adam is passionate about creating meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds. He is especially interested in building relationships with the people he serves. Rabbi Adam also enjoys teaching torah using a wide array of texts, making worship engaging and fulfilling, advocating for a just and peaceful Israel, facilitating mussar (Jewish ethics) classes, and working for justice locally and globally. Rabbi Adam also serves as a volunteer chaplain for the DC Metropolitan Police Department.
Rabbi Adam’s other interests include musical theater, cooking and baking, swimming, reading, and raising his three children, Eliza, Simon, and Stella, with his husband, Shalom, and their dog, Annie.
Lauren Adesnik
ladesnik@templeemanuelmd.org
Cantor Lauren Adesnik is a bright, dynamic spiritual leader specializing in Jewish music and the cantorate as a vehicle for spiritual growth, connection, and transformation. With a focus on inviting congregants of all ages into accessible worship experiences, her collaborative partnerships and teamwork have shaped a vibrant Jewish communal life with music at its core. Her energetic motivation and creative innovation, coupled with intuitive listening, builds thriving musical groups of all ages, creates opportunities for mentoring Jewish musicians, and fosters dynamic community musical collaboration and active communal participation.
During her tenure as cantor, Cantor Adesnik has brought together diverse communities, both Jewish and interfaith, by elevating connections through song. She built a thriving partnership with the ACSO and ASO while in Atlanta, elevating Jewish music through symphonic works. Her work with her junior choir, Shir HaKochavim, led to them being the only Jewish musical group featured at the Governor’s Mansion holiday
festival for seven years.
Cantor Adesnik’s empathetic guidance encourages learners of all ages, and she holds a special place in her heart dedicated to working with B’nai Mitzvah students and their families. Cantor builds a personal relationship with each student and their family, creating a holistic experience that is empowering, engaging, and deeply meaningful.
Cantor Lauren is a passionate builder of sacred relationships. She is committed to crafting an inclusive Jewish life for everyone regardless of gender, pronouns, partner preference, or different needs or abilities. She elevates Jewish life through music, learning, teaching, and living Torah. Cantor Adesnik is a certified Jewish Spiritual Director who serves those seeking a deeper connection with their Judaism and with what they define as an element greater than themselves. Additionally, she is currently engaged in MMTCP, a world-renowned mindfulness meditation teacher certification program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She is excited to bring a weaving of Judaism and Mindfulness to Temple Emanuel.
Lauren was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA., and received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Arts Performance from the University of Southern California. She served synagogues throughout the Southern California region as a cantorial soloist while also performing as a regional opera singer. Cantor Adesnik received her Master of Sacred Music in 2012 and her Ordination in 2013 from HUC-JIR Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York City. Cantor Adesnik served Temple Emanu-El of Greater
Atlanta and became the first reform cantor of Kentucky when she served The Temple in Louisville, KY. Cantor Adesnik spent the past year serving many different communities within the DMV.
Cantor Lauren is immensely thrilled to join the Temple Emanuel community of Kensington as their interim Cantor. Cantor Adesnik resides in Rockville, MD, with her husband Moshe, her daughter Lavender, and their beloved standard poodle, Wally.
Warren Stone
rabbistone@templeemanuelmd.org
Rabbi Warren Stone served as rabbi of Temple Emanuel from 1988-2020. He received his BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and Rabbinic Ordination and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He has a D. Min. in Religion and Psychotherapy from Andover Newton Theological School and training from the Jung Institute in Zurich.
Rabbi Stone is known nationally for his leadership on Religion and the Environment. He has led delegations on environmental issues to the Congress and White House and has served on many boards, including the Global Advisory Committee for Earthday, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the Washington Board of Rabbis, where he served as past President and ARZA/ World Union. He served as Vice President of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, a member of the board of the United Nations Association and on the Board of the New Orchestra of Washington. In March of 2015 Rabbi Stone was chosen by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat to serve as Faith and Climate International leader for their new UN Climate Neutral Now initiative.
Rabbi serves as Co-Chair of the National Religion Coalition on Creation Care and founding chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Committee on the Environment. Rabbi Stone represented many national Jewish organizations as a UN delegate at the Conference on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009, where he blew the Shofar and led interfaith programs and prayer vigils. His abstract, “Climate Change Beyond Diplomacy: Thinking Outside the Box,” was presented at the International Congress of Scientists in Copenhagen. In 2012 he spoke at the Vatican’s Pontifical University in Rome as a guest of the State Department and White House and served as a G20 World Religious Delegate at a conference on Faith and Sustainability in Seoul, Korea.
Rabbi Stone’s articles have appeared in many publications, including the Washington Jewish Week, Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal, The Jerusalem Post, Grist and many international news sources. His article, “A Jewish Response to Climate Change,” was published in The Climate Institute’s book, Sudden and Disruptive Climate Change, and he writes a blog called “climaterabbi” at climaterabbi.wordpress.com.
Rabbi Stone is married to Elaine Stone, an attorney at Covington and Burling. They live in Bethesda, Maryland and have three children – Nomi, Lia and Zach.
Alissa Miller
amiller@templeemanuelmd.org
Alissa Miller is thrilled to join Temple Emanuel as its Executive Director as of July 2025. Alissa comes to Temple Emanuel from another large reform congregation in Montgomery County – Temple Beth Ami – where she was exposed to all aspects of synagogue life as the temple’s first Operations Manager. Alissa enjoys helping congregants through their life cycle events and simchas, but also derives great satisfaction from working behind the scenes to make the “temple magic” happen.
Alissa’s professional background includes work as an intelligence analyst at the FBI and nonprofit management in the international education sector, focusing primarily on populations in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states.
Originally from the Boston area, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Language and Literature and International Relations from Tufts University, and a Master’s Degree in Russian and East European Studies from Georgetown University, and spent several years traveling and living overseas.
She loves cooking, gardening, traveling, and playing Jewish geography, and is the proud mother of three teenage daughters.
Laura Naide
lnaide@templeemanuelmd.org
Laura Naide joined Temple Emanuel as the Director of Congregational Learning in July 2022. Laura’s educational philosophy focuses on developing Jewish identity through values, community, and learning. She is committed to creating an inclusive lifelong learning community that provides multiple avenues to experience the richness of Jewish life.
Previously, Laura worked at Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington, Virginia (Director of Religious Education and Programming), and Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia (Assistant Director of Education). She has a Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law School, and a B.A. in Applied Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. Laura also holds the professional certifications of RJE (Reform Jewish Educator) and CJE (Conservative Jewish Educator). She is an active member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE) and serves on the Limud (learning) Committee.
Prior to becoming a full-time Jewish educator, Laura worked as an attorney for the federal government and consulted with several nonprofit organizations. She loves listening to podcasts and audiobooks on her commute, traveling to new places, concerts, and yoga. Laura and her husband Eric are the proud parents of Madeline and Sophia.
Snir Holtzman
youth@templeemanuelmd.org
Snir was born in Tel-Aviv and raised in Holon. Before becoming a shaliach (Israeli emissary), Snir volunteered in his neighborhood’s community center as a youth counselor, where he led and mentored youth groups of different ages. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a drill sergeant, later becoming a staff sergeant in BHD 11, the IDF’s training base and school of Human Resources. He worked with new recruits joining the IDF, teaching them the basics of serving in the army and much more. After his service, Snir worked at Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, a summer camp in Oconomowoc, WI for two summers. He was a counselor in the chalutzim (Pioneers in the building of the State of Israel) program, a Hebrew immersive program for rising sophomores and juniors, and as Sgan (second in command) in Avodah, the camp’s Counselor in Training program. He also worked at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, a boarding school in Hod Hasharon and was a counselor of a group of seniors (class of 2022) from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Maryland during their semester in Israel, teaching them about Israel, Judaism, and their Jewish identities. Snir enjoys working out, hiking, cooking, and reading. He’s also very into film, television, and filmmaking. He wanted to become a shaliach to create meaningful and deep relationships with Jewish youth and young adults in the Greater Washington Jewish community and help them navigate growing up and shaping their Jewish identity and relationship to Israel.
Dana Robinson
dana@templeemanuelmd.org
Dana has proudly been a part of the Temple Emanuel community since 2013. Originally from South Florida, she spent her formative Jewish years at Temple Solel in Hollywood, FL. Dana holds a BA in psychology from UMBC and is currently completing coursework for her Master’s in Innovative Early Childhood Education from the University of Colorado, Denver. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach to Education, she is a passionate advocate for the voices, competencies, and rights of young children in our communities. Outside of Temple Emanuel, Dana is an avid musical theatre fan and actively volunteers and performs with several community theatres in the DMV area.
