Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman has been the Director of the Commission on Social Action since 2002. She is an accomplished spiritual leader, lawyer, writer, and activist for social justice.

Rabbi Feldman joined the CSA staff after ten years in the Jewish Community Relations field and many years of pulpit experience.  She served as assistant director of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit, executive director of the Michigan Board of Rabbis, and director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Delaware. She also led Reform congregations in Sarasota and Orlando, Florida and was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Detroit/Mercy and Widener University College of Law.

In addition, Rabbi Feldman has served on the boards of numerous Jewish and interfaith organizations, helping to create the Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the Detroit Jewish Coalition for Literacy, and the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, the largest AIDS service organization in its area.

Rabbi Feldman is also an accomplished author, and her articles and OpEds have appeared in Jewish publications and newspapers throughout the country. Her modern midrash has been published in the Journal of Reform Judaism, as well as in several collections.

Rabbi Feldman holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Florida. She was ordained by Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 1985, and received a Master of Hebrew Literature degree from HUC-JIR in 1983.


Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Counsel

Rabbi David Saperstein is the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Described in a Washington Post profile as the "quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill," he represents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the administration. During his 30 year tenure as Director of the Center, Rabbi Saperstein has headed several national religious coalitions. He currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, comprised of over 60 national religious denominations and educational organizations, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations including the NAACP and People For the American Way. In 1999, Rabbi Saperstein was elected as the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom created by a unanimous vote of Congress.

Under Rabbi Saperstein's tutelage, writes J.J. Goldberg in his book, Jewish Power, the Religious Action Center "has become one of the most powerful Jewish bodies in Washington, second only to AIPAC." The Center not only advocates on a broad range of social justice issues but provides extensive legislative and programmatic materials used by synagogues, federations and Jewish community relations councils nationwide, and coordinates social action education programs that train nearly 3,000 Jewish adults, youth, rabbinic and lay leaders each year.

Also an attorney, Rabbi Saperstein teaches seminars in both First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law School.

A prolific writer and speaker, Rabbi Saperstein has appeared on a number of television news and talk shows including Nightline, Oprah, Lehrer News Hour and ABC's Sunday Morning. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Harvard Law Review. His latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director

Mark J. Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), a position he has held since May 1996. He is one of the Jewish community’s leading legislative strategists, and having worked in Washington for over 15 years, one of its senior lobbyists.

Mr. Pelavin has played a leadership role on the RAC’s entire agenda, although he is particularly recognized for his expertise on issues concerning the separation of church and state. He is an expert in confronting the religious right, and his observations and writings have been carried in newspapers across the nation (including the New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today). He is also a frequent guest on radio and television programs.