Create the Connection Invite 2026 Front

Brenda Kinnear

Brenda Kinnear comes to Tikvah after 30 years with State Farm Insurance. Her volunteer work has mostly been within the disability community, including visiting residents at Inglis House in Philadelphia and a counselor for Camp Fatama of NJ’s Adult Weekends. She lives in King of Prussia with her life partner, Jon and their kitty Xina (Princess of Prussia). Hobbies include travel, crafting, scrapbooking, and whimsy.

Ellen Levin

Ellen Levin started her career in corporate accounting. More recently she was a Special Education teacher in the Philadelphia School District. In Ellen’s volunteer life she is a board member of the Sisterhood at Old York Temple Beth Am.

Barbara Ponczek

Barbara Ponczek is a Social Worker who has been in the Social Service field for over 40 years. Her experience with Mental Health, Physically disabled and the Older Adult populations have centered in the Philadelphia area. She has worked at P.A.T.H., Kleinlife and as a Program Manager at NORC,(Naturally Occurring Retirement Community), thru Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Presently she is the Program Manager at Tikvah. Her volunteer roles include a board member of the Sisterhood of Ohev Shalom in Richboro and an active member of the Sunrise Rotary Club.

Abby Gilbert

Abby Gilbert is the Executive Director of Tikvah AJMI. Previously she held management roles with local and international organizations including Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, KleinLife, Reconstructing Judaism and Union for Reform Judaism.

Abby’s volunteer roles in the community have included membership on the City of Philadelphia Police District Advisory Board and board service at both Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen and Northeast Sunrisers Rotary Club. Currently she serves as Wellness Committee Chair at KleinLife, also VP for Institutional Advancement at the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center and 1st VP of Women of Reform Judaism’s Atlantic District.

Abby holds a BA in Communications from Temple University where she also did graduate work in Public Administration. She has a Masters degree in Jewish Communal Service from Gratz College.

Abby resides in Jenkintown, PA with her husband, Gary Freedman. Abby and Gary have two grown daughters. They enjoy traveling, theater, film and outdoor festivals.