Michael Prival studied at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism to become a Madrikh (leader) in our movement, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the Institute.
Michael and his wife, Joan, joined Machar around 1982. Michael soon found himself teaching in our Sunday school, which, at that time, had a total of three students, two of whom were his children. Raised as a secular Jew, teaching at our school was his first serious encounter with the Bible, and led to his writing of a book to help nonreligious people teach the Bible to children. He has officiated at numerous weddings, funerals, and other life cycle events; given many talks at our High Holiday services; served as chair of our Social Action Committee; and enjoyed being a part of Machar as it grew and promoted positive human values. Now blissfully retired from his paying career as a microbiologist at the FDA and from most of his Machar responsibilities, Michael looks forward to leading some adult education activities each year. He currently serves as chair of the Liturgy and Rabbi Committees, mentor of the Evening Study Group, and e-mail List Manager.
Congregational Administrator
Jackie Kropman
Will and his wife Marty have two daughters who both were a bat mitzvah at Machar. They have been members of Machar since 2017.
Outside of Machar, Will is President/CEO of DTSV, Inc., a 1,300 person federal government services contractor specializing in high-volume application processing and security support services.
Will is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization and of the Virginia Bar. Will received his MBA and JD, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh, and his BA from the University of Virginia.
Joyce previously served as board secretary and as an At Large member. Joyce also helps with Machar’s public relations effort. She and her husband Greg Rosenthal, joined Machar in 1998; their children, Ellen and Mitchell, both attended Machar’s Jewish Cultural School and went through the b’nei mitzvah program. Joyce especially enjoys attending Machar’s Adult Education programming.
Larry Lawrence joined Machar in 1995 when his daughter, Liz, started at the JCS. Liz was b’ Mitzvah in 1999. Larry was a member of the Machar Board in the early 2000s, serving as Treasurer for several years, He also became a member of the board of the Society for Humanistic Judaism and served as SHJ President for two years, 2014-2016. Larry retired from a career in Information Technology in 2012 and since then, with his wife Amy, visits his daughter’s family in Oregon and vacations as often as possible in various interesting countries.
Cathy’s parents escaped Nazi Germany in 1938, and raised her in a very secular household. (Cathy’s mom: “Tell me what being Jewish got us?”) As an interfaith family, she and her husband, David, were happy to find Machar in 2000. Their son and daughter both attended JCS and were b’nai mitvah’ed in group services at Machar. After several years away, Cathy and David rejoined Machar in 2020. Cathy has been active on the Social Action Committee, Machar Sisters, and served on the Board since 2023. She is a retired Clinical Psychologist, long time activist, and volunteers for immigrant rights.
Mike Sandler has been a Machar member for 7 years. Growing up in the 80s, he remembers watching Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and he later chose Machar for his sons’ Jewish education because it fit that scientific worldview. Mike does renewable energy projects for a local government in Northern Virginia and he devotes time to environmental causes. His sons were B Mitzvah’d at Machar in 2024 and 2026. Mike is also co-chair of the Adult Education Committee.
Elaine Dancis is the current Machar SHJ Representative.
Marlene Cohen serves as an SHJ Board of Directors member
Marlene serves on the SHJ Education Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. She is excited about the strategic plan’s focus on increased technology communication.
Rick Gold serves as an SHJ Board of Directors Member
Rick joined Machar in 1999 and served as President.