Board of Directors

Our Leadership

The Tikvah Board of Directors is comprised of a talented group of individuals who bring many strengths to the organization. They are stewards of the organization’s strategic plan and insure its implementation. They are committed to moving the mission forward and serving its members in the Greater Delaware Valley.

Neen Davis

President

Neen Davis is passionate about helping those with a serious mental illness and their families. She has dedicated her time and talents to this cause the past sixteen years when her son, Ben, first became diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Ben is Neen’s hero.

As past President of NAMI Montgomery County PA (National Alliance on Mental Illness), a current board member of NAMI Montgomery County PA (for the past 16 years), and a current board member of NAMI Keystone PA, Neen is not only familiar with the needs of the mental health community, but has a keen understanding of the importance to advocate for those with the lived experience and their families.

Neen graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science and then received her Masters in Education from Tufts University. Neen is a member of Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, PA.

Michael Solomon

Secretary

Michael Solomon is a graduate of Villanova University with a BA in Liberal Arts. He has been involved with Tikvah since its beginning.

Michael currently serves as a Co-President of the members of Tikvah. He enjoys serving on the board of directors and its committees. He has been happily married to his wife Judy Weinberger for over ten years.

He is proud to be a member of Tikvah and serve on its board. Michael is also a member of Nami (the National Alliance on Mental Illness).

“Don’t walk behind me I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” – Camus

Ross Shuster

Treasurer

Ross is a graduate of Stony Brook University with a BA in Sociology, and of Temple University’s Fox School of Business with a Master’s degree in Healthcare Management. Ross has worked in the healthcare field for 10 years in both the health system and management consulting settings. In his current role, Ross works with hospital and health system leadership teams on a wide-range of strategic, financial, and business planning matters.

Mental health advocacy is something that Ross and his family have always believed strongly in, with his late mother serving in both social work and executive director roles at mental health organizations throughout her career, and with his family dedicating their time and support to organizations serving those with mental illness.

Ross is thrilled to serve in the role of Treasurer, and looks forward to seeing the organization support our members while continuing to grow and prosper.

Rabbi Ephraim Levin

Religious Adviser

Rabbi Ephraim Levin is the Director of the Lubavitch House at Penn since 1990 and Assistant Director of Jewish Heritage Programs. Ephraim is associated with the Office of the Chaplain at Penn and advises the student active listening club, Cogwell. Ephraim has been the rabbinical advisor and a board member of Tikvah since 1992. He is also a chaplain at the VA Community Living Center in University City.

Ephraim received a BA in Religious Studies from the Rabbinical College of America, a rabbinical degree from Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn, in 1989 and a B.S. in Psychology from Georgetown in 1981. Ephraim and his wife, Flora, have five children and currently live in Wynnewood.

Paul Bucco, Esq.

Paul is a founding partner of Davis Bucco and Makara. With more than 35 years of experience as a civil lawyer, Paul has focused his work on construction, labor law, zoning and general commercial litigation. He has represented all construction industry participants, including owners, general contractors, subcontractors, material and equipment suppliers, architects, engineers and sureties. Paul has also represented real estate developers and builders in complicated zoning matters and has substantial experience in the construction and commercial arbitration process as an attorney, arbitrator and mediator. During his 35 years of practice, Paul has extensive labor relations experience representing management in both non-union and union workplace environments. He has been a Master in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County for municipal construction industry matters.

Rabbi Sandra Berliner

Rabbi Sandra Rosenthal Berliner presently serves as the Rabbi of Congregations Shaare Shamayim in Elkins Park, PA.

She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where she received her Rabbinical Ordination and Masters of Hebrew Letters degree. She has also received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree from RRC. Rabbi Berliner received a Masters degree in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and her Bachelor degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Rabbi Berliner is certified as a Jewish Chaplain by the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and is a past-President and founding member of that organization. She continues to be active and is a member of the Certification Commission of NAJC.

She participates on the Spiritual Care Coalition of the Philadelphia Corporation on Aging and has been presenter at several of their Clergy Conferences. Rabbi Berliner directed Yedid Nefesh, the Jewish Hospice Program of Philadelphia for 12 years, as well as serving Congregation Temple Menorah Kenesseth Chai in Northeast Philadelphia. Rabbi Berliner has published many articles for the Philadelphia Jewish press and consults on areas of Jewish healing and spirituality, especially as it relates to aging and end of life issues.

Rabbi Berliner loves singing and has participated in many Jewish Choral
programs, including the Old York Road Kehillah Choir, Gratz College
Community Choir and Zamir Chorale of Boston. She is married to Roy Berliner and has 3 sons.

Eileen Joseph

Eileen got her B.A. in Psychology & Sociology from Widener University in 1975, and her M.S. in Mental Health Program Evaluation from Drexel University in 1978. She is a certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner and served as the President and CEO for CareLink Community Support Services until her retirement in 2020.

Eileen has won several awards and honors, including the Dincin Fellow in Psychiatric Rehabilitation for Standards of Excellence in Psychiatric Rehabilitation (2010), the Schizophrenia Reintegration Award in Social Services, Lilly Foundation (2001), and the Irvin Rutman Award for Leadership and Exemplary Contributions to the Field of Psychiatric Rehabilitation (2001).

Robert Singer

Biography of Robert Singer—Tikvah member since 1992, and AJMI board member for about 5 years. I am a Temple University graduate with a Biology degree that took 20 years to get, (because I eventually got put on atypical anti-psychotics). I go to most events and have many friends through Tikvah. I am a NAMI member where I was trained to do In Our Own Voice and I facilitate a NAMI Connections group. I have had many jobs through the years but my longest was at PEP Boys where I worked at the Parts counter for 3 years. The events I most enjoy are the Tikvah events that involve Artreach.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” – Robert Browning

Robert E. Wenger, MD

After a satisfying career as a Penn-trained psychiatrist, I often reflect on the privilege it has been working with individuals who entrusted me with their confidences and life stories. My professional life has been rooted in the public sector where I have served in a variety of roles. I spent a decade, for example, as a psychiatric hospitalist and director of inpatient services while pursuing psychoanalytic education. I also served as Associate Director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Student Health and Counseling Services.

In more recent years, I have split my time between private office practice and running, first, an adolescent program for youth with serious behavioral issues and, then, leading a residential rehabilitation program for adults with serious mental illness. In the mid-2000’s, I was part of a team helping to establish a residential rehab program at the Veterans Administration for psychosocially impaired, often addicted, homeless Vets. Since that time, I have worked in a variety of psychiatric programs treating addictions and community-based comprehensive health concerns.

But, perhaps, the most instructive element of my professional life arose from personal experience. My wife and I, like so many others, encountered, in our own family, the challenges of coping with the serious developmental and emotional disequilibrium of a child. Despite our combined professional training, we were still unprepared for the hurdles of identifying and securing appropriate care. Learning about medical insurance contingencies and the legal entanglements of securing care was daunting. In addition, awkward societal silences around our circumstances and the stigma of sharing openly led us, finally and thankfully, to NAMI. In this organization, we finally found, through the Family-to-Family training, a support group that, 15 years later, still meet quarterly for support and encouragement.

Through my experience I would like to raise awareness and encourage discussion within the Jewish community of what can be done to afford those with mental health challenges a greater opportunity to live a fuller, more meaningful life.