Brandeis Magazine

Former Brandeis baseball star Eric Podbelski led the Wheaton College baseball team to its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. In his 15 years at the Division III school, he has a record of 434-167-4, one of the highest winning percentages among active coaches in the nation. To celebrate their 40th birthdays, Ali Mindel joined classmates Beth Collier, Elise Senter, Jan Goldstein and Sunshine Flint for “nature walking” (aka hiking) in Sedona, Ariz. Ali writes, “Happy 40th to all of our old buddies!” Mara Littman is the director of marketing and public relations at the Cambridge Arts Council in Massachusetts. Andrea Myers has written a memoir, “The Choosing: A Rabbi’s Journey from Silent Nights to High Holy Days.” The daughter of a Sicilian Catholic mother and German Lutheran father, she came out as a lesbian while a student at Brandeis, converted to Judaism in Israel and studied for the rabbinate in New York. Now 39 and married to a rabbi, she is rabbi and rebbetzin, a mother, teacher and writer. “Any major life change should only make you more of who you are,” she told the Jewish Week in an interview, noting that those words have guided her own journey and she uses them to help others. Joanne Moore was named senior vice president of global planning at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). In this newly created position, Joanne will address the most important issues confronting the continental and global Jewish community. In addition, she will oversee the General Assembly, JFNA’s premier annual gathering of federation leadership, as well as JFNA’s research and analysis area, which uses data to enable federations to identify and develop best practices. During her career, Joanne held a variety of positions at Chemonics International in Washington, D.C., an international development firm that promotes meaningful change in developing countries. Jason Mogel is a partner at Spears & Imes in New York. He represents institutions and individuals in a broad range of litigation matters, including complex commercial disputes, securities enforcement investigations, white-collar criminal proceedings and internal investigations. He previously served as an assistant attorney general in Alaska.