Office & Staff

Joana has spent most of her life in the synagogue setting and is very passionate about Jewish values and morals. Kindness, compassion, and helping the community is very important to her. Both Joana and her husband work hard to instill such in her family and teach their children, no matter what background anyone is from, it’s important to see the bigger picture and lend a helping hand. 

Joana is originally from Europe. She was born in Portugal and moved to the USA when she was just a very young child. She and her husband, Julian live in Livingston with their 3 beautiful children; Raquel who is 18, Harper Rae who is 8 and Jax who is 3, and of course their adorable little dog, a pug, Ozzy. 

Sharon is very happy to be joining the Avodat Shalom family. Raised by two Jewish immigrant parents, and with four siblings, she has always carried the importance of Jewish values and family throughout her life. Although she grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, Sharon moved to New Jersey 32 years ago to raise her two brilliant and wonderful sons Alex, an engineer, and Michael, an actor. Sharon loves cooking all types of foods, going out motorcycle riding, and anything and everything RED! Please feel free to reach out to introduce yourself and say hello! Shalom!

Susan has had a very eclectic work history beginning with her first job in publishing after graduating from Clark University.  She went on to focus on a career in travel, initially as a “stewardess” for United Airlines.  She finished her corporate career with American Express Corporate Services allowing her to take advantage of extensive international travel.  She also taught part-time at Temple Israel of New Rochelle. She now enjoys using her free time cooking and spending as much time as possible with her two adorable twin granddaughters and cuddling with her delightful companion, Pixie. 

Read Mikah's bio here