MEET SHJC
Meet our SHJC Board Members
PRESIDENT
SUSAN RUBIN
Susan has a Ph.D. in social work and has worked in the Jewish community for most of her personal and professional life. She is married and has three children and six grandchildren. She is one of the founders of SHJC and is committed to the mission of providing a Jewish community for everyone who wants to find a home where their ethical and cultural beliefs can flourish and be sustained.
VICE PRESIDENT
DEE MORTON
Dee is a Jew by choice and converted about 11 years ago. She doesn't regret it one bit, even though her mom was a bit surprised at the time. Dee is from England and is sure Jews are the same there as they are here - in England they are just a bit quieter! Dee has made a lot of friends in SHJC and has always felt very welcome. She enjoys seeing everyone when we have our get togethers in person or over Zoom.
TREASURER
KENT BARRABEE
Kent has been secular since he was 15 years old. That led to debates with the rabbi in his confirmation class. Being Jewish has been an enrichment in his life: a sense of relation to the past; a concern for minorities; appreciation for the values of learning, questioning and caring about human life; a concern for the future of life on Earth.
SECRETARY
PAT DIAMOND
Pat does so many varied, and often behind-the-scenes, jobs for SHJC. She takes minutes at Board meetings (except when she’s off on an adventuresome bike trip), she helps out with the monthly newsletter for members, she sends notes and cards as needed, she helps moderate our book club discussions, and she helps organize events.
BOARD MEMBER
BECKY SCHULMAN
Becky realized in college that she was a non-theist Jew. In 2010 when she learned that a Steering Committee was forming to possibly start a Secular Humanist Jewish congregation here in Tucson, she was thrilled and quickly became part of the group. Becky has been on the Board of Secular Humanist Jewish Circle since it started in 2010 and SHJC continues to be a source of joy in her life.
BOARD MEMBER
JUDITH ROSE
Hailing from Michigan, Judith has lived in Tucson for 3 years and was very glad when she discovered Secular Humanist Jewish Circle. She has two grandsons and is long retired from her work at University of Michigan Hospital, where she worked with statistical analysis of medical research data.
BOARD MEMBER
JOAN MORRIS
Joan is from New York City where she taught early childhood and bilingual (Spanish) classes in disadvantaged neighborhoods for 25 years. She was involved with the Ethical Culture movement (a branch of Humanism) from the age of 9 and has been a lifelong Humanist. After moving to Tucson in 1996, she joined the Humanist Community of Tucson, later serving as its president for 6 years. In 2022, she found the Secular Humanist Jewish Circle and is delighted to be a part of this wonderfully stimulating group.
BOARD MEMBER
BARBARA MARTINSONS
Barbara is the newest Board member of the Tucson SHJC. She is a “snowbird” who spends her time partly enjoying the Catalina Mountains in Tucson and partly enjoying the Catskill Mountains in New York. She grew up in New York City in an atheist family (including her immigrant Grandparents) and is delighted to discover the SHJC community in Tucson. She has run a Research Center at the CUNY Graduate School and has taught at Marymount Manhattan College and in college programs at several prisons in New York. She is currently active in the effort to abolish for-profit prisons in Arizona and is a volunteer with the Free Time Program at the Poetry Center at the U of A where she mentors incarcerated writers.
RABBI
JACK SILVER
