Meet the Deans

Rabbi Daniel Nevins, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School

Rabbi Daniel Nevins is the Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary. In addition to administering the school, he teaches homiletics and other professional skills to rabbinical students. He also serves on the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly and is a member of its Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Rabbi Nevins has published responsa, articles, and chapters on topics of contemporary interest such as bioethics, disabilities, filial obligations, workplace ethics, and homosexuality.

Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Nevins worked for thirteen years as rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue, a 1,100-family congregation in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He served as president and board member of many local associations and was a founding board member and teacher of the Frankel Jewish Academy.  

In 1989, Rabbi Nevins earned a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, in History from Harvard College. He was ordained (1994) by The Jewish Theological Seminary, which also granted him a master's degree in Jewish Studies (1991). During his tenure at JTS he received a graduate fellowship from the Wexner Foundation (1989–1993). Rabbi Nevins grew up in New Jersey and now lives in Manhattan with his wife, Lynn, and three children, Talya, Leora, and Sam.

Rabbi Lisa Gelber, Associate Dean and Rabbi of the Women's League Seminary Synagogue

Rabbi Lisa Gelber serves as adviser to second- and third-year rabbinical students, guiding students through the second-year review process, as well as preparations for the year of study in Israel. She also oversees the staff of the Women’s League Seminary Synagogue. In addition, she serves as adjunct lecturer of Professional and Pastoral Skills and teaches Supervised Rabbinic Fieldwork (PRO6405x), a supervision course for upper-level students who provide spiritual leadership in congregations.  

A native New Yorker and graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts with an AB in Religion (magna cum laude, 1989), Rabbi Gelber received rabbinic ordination from The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1996. She spent almost seven years in suburban Seattle, working as a congregational rabbi at Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation in Mercer Island, Washington, and a chaplain intern at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she earned a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).

She currently serves as vice president of the Board of Directors of FaithTrust Institute, a multifaith organization that provides training, consultation, and educational materials to religious communities and advocates to address the faith aspects of abuse. Rabbi Gelber is an editor of A Journey Torwards Freedom: A Haggadah for Women Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence (Faithtrust Institute, 2003). She served as a consultant to And the Gates Opened: Women in the Rabbinate (Diva Productions, 2005), a video produced in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the ordination of women at JTS, which aired on ABC. From 2003–2005, she was visiting rabbi to Kehillat Shalom, the new Conservative, egalitarian synagogue on the North Shore, in Skokie, Illinois.

Rabbi Gelber trained in Spiritual Direction through the Morei Derekh program of the Yedidya Center for Jewish Spiritual Direction. She also uses running as a mode of spiritual practice and raises funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team and Training (TNT), the Society’s endurance-training program.

Rabbi Charles Savenor, Associate Dean and Director of Admissions

Rabbi Charles Savenor, originally from Needham, Massachusetts, currently serves as the associate dean and director of Admissions for The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Savenor is also the academic adviser for the Mekhinah and Year One classes, as well as the Tokhnit Yesod program. 

Before returning to New York, Rabbi Savenor served for five years as the associate rabbi at Anshe Emet in Chicago. A recipient of rabbinical ordination and a master's degree from The Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Savenor graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

A past international president of United Synagogue Youth, he maintains his affiliation with USY by serving on the National Youth Commission, International Convention Committee, and the Project Reconnect Executive Committee. Rabbi Savenor, who possesses a passion for travel education, has led several summer trips to Israel and central and eastern Europe for United Synagogue Youth; KOACH, the Conservative Movement’s college arm; and Hillel. Most recently, Rabbi Savenor led a Birthright group for KOACH in June 2006.

The immediate past vice president of MERCAZ, the Conservative Movement's Zionist organization, he is also a member of the UJC Rabbinic Advisory Committee. In addition, he has written articles that have appeared in Hadassah Magazine, the Boston Jewish Advocate, and the Chicago Jewish News.

In addition to rooting for the Boston Red Sox, Rabbi Savenor enjoys writing, jogging, and spending time with his wife, Julie, and son, Joseph.

Rabbi Mychal Springer, Associate Dean and Director of Field Education

Rabbi Mychal Springer is associate dean and director of Field Education of The Rabbinical School of The Jewish Theological Seminary, where she holds the Helen Fried Kirshblum Goldstein Chair in Professional and Pastoral Skills. She received her BA from Yale College in 1987. In 1992, she was ordained a Conservative rabbi and received a master's degree in Judaic Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Mychal is a certified supervisor in the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and a certified Jewish chaplain. Mychal helped to develop the new curriculum for rabbinical students and has revamped the internship programs and fellowships required of rabbinical students.

Before coming to JTS, Mychal was the associate director of the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care at the HealthCare Chaplaincy in Manhattan. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jonathan Rosen, and their daughters, Ariella and Avital.