Staff

Alan Brody (abrody@jcouncil.org) Director of Communications and Marketing

Alan Brody joined the JCRC in February 2023 following a career in journalism and Maryland state government. Originally from Pennsylvania, Alan graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland in 2002 and worked for newspapers in the Washington, D.C.-area, covering education and local government in Charles County before being elevated to the regional and state politics beat for the Gazette of Politics and Business. Switching careers, he became deputy communications director for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, working under both Attorneys General Douglas Gansler and Brian Frosh. He held the same title for Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, where he worked from 2016 until 2023.

Alan and his wife, Jennifer, live in Columbia, with their three daughters.

Vicki Fishman (vfishman@jcouncil.org) Director of DC & Virginia Government and Community Relations

Vicki Fishman is an attorney and longtime local Jewish community leader. She has served as President of Gesher Jewish Day School, as a Director of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, as a Trustee of the United Jewish Endowment Fund, and is a member of the National and DC Leadership Councils of AIPAC.

Vicki began her legal career at Ross, Dixon and Bell, LLC, a boutique litigation firm in Washington, DC. Prior to joining JCRC, she was a founding member of FishmanKlain, PLLC, practicing primarily in the areas of Wills, Trusts and Estates. Vicki received her BA in Religion from Swarthmore College and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She is also a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program.

Vicki and her husband, Dr. Simon Fishman, a neurologist, live ​in Falls Church, Virginia, ​with their four children.

Nirma Medrano (nmedrano@jcouncil.org) Office Manager/Program Associate

Nirma is the JCRC Office Manager and Program Associate. Prior, she served as an Executive Administrative Assistant and Operations Manager and has been in the administrative field for over 15 years. 

Deborah Miller (dmiller@jcouncil.org) Director of Maryland Government and Community Relations

Deborah is the Director of Maryland Government and Community Relations. Before joining the JCRC in this capacity, Deborah served as a consultant, running key projects, including the Holocaust Commemoration, and bringing a passion for policy issues, relationship building and grassroots outreach. Deborah had an extensive career as an award-winning producer and broadcast journalist at National Geographic, CBS, CNN, and MacNeil Lehrer Productions.

She holds a BA in Political Science from Barnard College and received her MA in Jewish Education from George Washington University. Deborah is an ADL Washington, DC Regional Board Member.

Adam Odesser (aodesser@jcouncil.org) Director, the Dr. Stuart Lessans Israel Action Center

Adam Odesser joined the JCRC in 2019 and serves as the JCRC’s Director of the Dr. Stuart Lessans Israel Action Center since 2021. He is a native Israeli who relocated with his family to the DC area in 2019. In Israel, Adam worked for Gesher, an NGO focused on facilitating workshops and seminars for high school students and IDF soldiers on an array of issues, including Jewish identity, religion, and social differences, having extensive experience in informal teen education. Adam has also worked for The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Business School, focusing on forming partnerships between the International MBA program and Israeli start-ups. Adam served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Home Front Command Unit as a Reserves Recruiter and Training Officer.

Adam earned a BA in political science and a BBA in Business Administration and Management from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Adam and his wife, Emily live in Silver Spring with their two children.

Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky (asharofsky@jcouncil.org) Director, Intergroup Relations/ Rabbi in Residence

Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky is the JCRC's Director of Intergroup Relations/JCRC Rabbi in Residence. She studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary and was ordained in 2012. Abbi also holds a master’s degree from the Davidson School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary, specializing in experiential Jewish education. Abbi was the deputy director of the Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Chaplains Council, where she worked with Jewish military personnel and veterans.

Rabbi Sharofsky is the recipient of the 2016 JPRO Network Young Professional Award for her dedication to the Jewish community through her work in the Jewish not for profit field. She is a Rabbis Without Borders fellow, 2018 cohort. She currently serves on the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly.

Abbi and her husband, David live in Silver Spring with their two children.

Lisa Silverman (lsilverman@jcouncil.org) Operations Manager and Executive Assistant

Lisa is the JCRC’s Operations Manager and Executive Assistant. Before joining the JCRC team, Lisa served as an Executive Assistant at the Edlavitch DCJCC, and as Operations Manager at Sunflower Bakery. Lisa has also worked as a Hebrew and Judaics teacher and tutor, math teacher, librarian, personal chef, swim instructor, lifeguard, and waterfront director. She holds a BA in Urban Studies from New College in Sarasota, FL and attended the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. She is the mother of three adult children and one senior dog and lives in Chevy Chase, MD.

Sara Winkelman (swinkelman@jcouncil.org) Director of Education Programs and Services

Sara leads JCRC’s wide-ranging education outreach efforts to 10 public school districts and hundreds of independent and private religious schools throughout the greater Washington, DC region. In her role, Sara works to combat school-based antisemitism; advocate on behalf of Jewish students, families, and employees; and promote safe, hate-free, respectful learning environments for all students. Sara's career at JCRC started in 2018 with the launch of the Student-to-Student initiative, which empowers Jewish teens to combat antisemitism by having them talk to their student peers about Judiaism, the Holocaust and other topics.

Previously, she was the director of Nishmah: The St. Louis Jewish Women’s Project, a department of the Jewish Community Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and has headed up projects and divisions of the Jewish Federations of Boston and St. Louis. She also served the Jewish community of India under the auspices of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Sara and her husband, Rabbi Hyim Shafner, live in Washington, D.C.