Lay Leadership
Larry Rosin and his wife, Debby, moved to Bernardsville in 2003. They have a son, Sam, age 16, and a daughter, Dina, age 10. Larry grew up in the Chicago suburbs near where Rabbi Schechter lived, but their paths did not cross there. Larry met Debby while both were students at Princeton. He also obtained an MBA at Wharton. In 1994 Larry founded Edison Media Research, a polling and market research organization. Edison is headquartered in Somerville. At CBI, Larry has served as a Vice President and a Trustee and chaired the Cantor Search Committee in 2007.
Michael Braunstein grew up in Livingston and lived there until he moved to Basking Ridge in 1990, except for the four years he spent at Long Island University, C.W. Post campus. Michael started attending services at Congregation B'nai Israel around 1993 and has been a member since 1997. He has helped out with various committees going back to the "schlepping committee." He most recently served as the Assistant Secretary on the Executive Board. Prior to this he was a Trustee, a member of the Ritual Committee, the Cantor Search Committee, and the Religious School Director Search Committee. He has started a Minyan Committee to assure that when a congregant is sitting shiva there are enough people for a minyan. Michael is currently Senior Vice President of Paul Arnold Associates/PAA Insurance Solutions, an insurance agency that has just entered its 38th year of business. His greatest enjoyment is being with his wife, Gayle, and his children, Alex, Rachel and Stephen.
Edana Desatnick and her husband, Lloyd, moved to Basking Ridge twelve years ago and have been part of the CBI family since that time. They have three children; Sarah, age 9, and Lauren, age 14, are both in the Basking Ridge school system and Bryan, age 17, attends school at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack. Edana and Lloyd met at 18 years old during their second week of college at Tulane. Edana received her MBA from Wharton along with Larry Rosin and Doug Sherman, although their paths did not cross until CBI. Edana now has her own company, providing talent, leadership, organization development, and strategic HR consulting to global corporations/partnerships. Edana has been involved throughout CBI and now serves on the Clergy Liaison and the CBI Executive Committees.
Fred Okun was born and raised in Chicago, where he graduated from Roosevelt University. Fred worked for GE Healthcare. He retired from the company in 2007, after having served for 37 years in Diagnostic Imaging Sales. Fred's wife Nancy, a pharmacist, also retired that year. Prior to Fred and Nancy joining Congregation B'nai Israel in 2004, Fred was a member of Temple Sholom, Chicago, Temple Shalom, Denver and the Reform Temple of East Brunswick. Fred also attended Sunday School at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, where Cantor Riki's Uncle, the legendary Ben Aronin, was the Executive Director, and where Rabbi John and Cantor Riki were married!
Nancy's grandfather was a founding member of Sharey Tefiloh, Perth Amboy. Fred joined the Board of Trustees in 2009, and was recently appointed a Vice-President. Fred also serves as Memorial Wall Chair, and was Co-Chair of CBI's first Jets/Family Sports day, featuring Mike Tannenbaum, Jets Executive Vice-President and General Manager.
Fred and Nancy are most proud of their 4 children and 7 grandchildren. Fred has two sons. Steve is Vice-President of Public Policy for UPS, Asia-Pacific, and Ric is an Executive Vice-President for PIMCO Investment Co., Newport Beach, CA. Nancy has one son and one daughter. Douglas is the Deputy General Counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA and Heather is a Real Estate Broker in Weston, FL.
Fred looks forward to working with the membership, as part of a very special CBI extended family.
Susan Goldsmith returns as Secretary on the Executive Board. She is a New Jersey native who moved to Basking Ridge in 1991 upon her marriage. Her husband, Barry, is a civil engineer who has spent many years working on the house in which they now live with their children, Jonathan and Jessica, ages 16 and 13. Susan earned her BS from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and her JD from Rutgers Law School. During the past twenty years, she has worked with businesses ranging from start-ups to multinational Fortune 100 companies. She is now a Partner at Duane Morris LLP, a large international law firm. Since joining CBI some eleven years ago, the Goldsmiths have hosted the CBI New Member Social many times. Susan chose CBI to make new friends, so meeting the new members is a highlight of her year. Among her many other interests are foreign travel, reading everything from newspapers to history to science fiction, playing Scrabble, and singing in a choral group.
Lee Breslau and his wife, Janice Milstein, joined CBI in 2005, shortly after moving to Basking Ridge from California. They have two daughters, Rachel and Hannah , ages 9 and 6. Lee grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics, and received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Southern California. He is currently a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Labs in Florham Park, where he conducts research on Internet technologies. Lee has been a Trustee since 2007, chairs the Technology Committee, and serves on the Religious School Director Search Committee.
Nancy Stupay grew up in East Brunswick and received her BS in Business Administration and Accounting from Montclair State College, where she was a member of the collegiate diving team. She received her CPA and has been working in public accounting for over 22 years. Upon the arrival of her daughter, Samantha, in 1998, she decided to start her own practice out of her home so she could be there for all of her daughter's milestones. She has also had the opportunity to volunteer in many capacities at her daughter's school. In her spare time she chauffeurs her daughter to her various dance classes at the American Repertoire Ballet and Gotta Dance.
Andy Tupler and his wife Dara, have been living in Basking Ridge since 1998 and joined CBI the next year. Their 11-year-old son, Noah, has been involved with the temple since baby classes with Rabbi John. Their 8-year-old son, Shane, first met Rabbi John at his Bris. Andy graduated from University of Maryland with a degree in Finance and received his MBA from Rider University. He is also a Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified in Long Term Care. He is the owner of Tupler Financial, a financial planning and investment management firm in Raritan, New Jersey. He is a member of CBI's Long Range Planning Committee and the Chairperson for the Finance Committee for Long Range Planning. He is also active in the community as Treasurer and Board of Trustees member for the New Jersey Association of the Deaf Blind. Other organizations he is active with include the Financial Planning Association, the Central Jersey Estate Planning Council and the Somerset Business Partnership. In the minimal spare time he has left, he coaches his kids' sports teams and tries to squeeze in some skiing and golf.
Shari Lapa became President of CBI in June 2007. Her goals included striving for excellence in education in both the religious school and preschool, expanding and stabilizing the youth program, providing educational and social opportunities for the congregation, managing the budget effectively, and providing for additional opportunities to raise funds. She also supported the Rabbi's efforts to bring a stronger sense of spirituality into our homes through Shabbat observance. Shari married her husband, Alan, in 1988 and they have three daughters: Amanda, age 18; Hailey, age 16; and Briana, age 13. They joined CBI in September of 1996, shortly after moving to Warren. In addition to serving as President, Shari has taken on a variety of roles at CBI, including Fundraising Co-Chair, Religious School teacher, Board Member and Social Action Chairperson.
