Spotlight On: Dana Sharon Winer

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I’m honored to serve as a Vice President of USCJ, after previously serving as Secretary and the 2017 Biennial Convention Program Chair. I’ve met so many fabulous people through my involvement in USCJ and look forward to meeting many more.

I like to think that I’m someone who lives at the intersection of old and new. I grew up active in my congregation and am familiar with our roots and the older generations; I’m also a borderline millennial who is embracing the challenges of our times along with other parents and young adults. As synagogue president of that same congregation, I used this vantage point to bring together the generations of our congregation during our centennial, and I continue to be involved in my cherished community at Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, TX.

I joined the board of USCJ in 2017 and have already seen us tackle big challenges, from achieving a balanced budget to strengthening our volunteer network. However, what I find even more exciting are the opportunities that are before us now: to create a cohesive movement and to connect with those individuals whom we traditionally haven’t. I once again hope to be part of bringing together different generations and groups to support, appreciate, and learn from each other.

Professionally, I have spent over 20 years with Accenture, a global professional services company, focusing on quality, process improvement, and risk management.

Some personal fun facts: I’m the cookie coordinator (aka, “dealer”) for my daughter’s girl scout troop. I wasn’t allowed to have a dog as a child and have now rescued two as an adult. I say that I have two religions, Judaism and Longhorn football. I once won a hula-hooping contest by hula-hooping for one hour straight. When I was 12, I cancelled my bat mitzvah and subsequently went through an exploration with my rabbi and community that resulted in my becoming a bat mitzvah — I think of it as the moment when I “chose Judaism” even though I was born Jewish. May we all have the inspiration to “choose Judaism” every day!

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