Cantor Debra Stein has served The Jewish Center of the Hamptons for twenty-eight years. Upon graduating from the School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College, she became our Cantor/Educator. She continues to serve our congregation as our esteemed Cantor. As part of community outreach, Cantor Stein meets with the The Clericus of East Hampton, the organization of local clergy, and participates in ecumenical services in the community. She sings holiday songs at local public school assembles and conducts model seders, works with the East End Hospice, has spoken at the local college on the Jewish view of infertility and adoption, and has served on sub-committees at the hospital for quality AIDS care. Cantor Stein has performed concerts of both liturgical and secular music throughout the country, as well as in England, Scotland, Wales, and Israel. She was among the first cantors to sing at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and sang at the Curacao synagogue’s 300^th anniversary commemoration. A former member of the faculty of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music, she taught graduate seminars on professional development, worked with senior students in preparation for their pulpits, and gave Master classes on the liturgical music of the Sephardim to rabbis and cantors in the New York area. Cantor Stein played a key role at Sacred Music Press publishing classic, contemporary, and new works for the synagogue. A past board member of the American Conference of Cantors, she served many committees. Cantor Stein resides in East Hampton with her husband Alec Hirschfeld and her daughter Jordana.   

 

Diane Wiener moved to Suffolk County in 1986 with her husband Steve and two sons, Harris and Lowell. After joining Temple Beth David of Commack in 1989, Diane became active in synagogue life and became an Adult Bat Mitzvah in June, 1992. 

As her passion for congregational life grew, so did her involvement. She served on numerous Temple committees, as the President of Sisterhood from 1992 to 1994, as Temple President from 2001 to 2003 and for the past six years as Temple Administrator.

During her tenure as Administrator, Diane has coordinated use of a facility that supports an Early Childhood Learning Center and a Religious School along with events and meetings for a 570 family congregation. She has provided financial and office management and oversight, and worked closely and provided support for all fundraising and event planning. Diane has served as the “face” of the congregation to prospective new members as well as local and national organizations. 

Diane has successfully completed course work in Fundamentals of Synagogue Management at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and participated in the Rabbi Alexander Schindler Fellows Program for Membership Certification. She is a Senior Member of NATA (National Association for Temple Administration), having completed all of their course offerings. She represents NATA to the URJ/CCAR Joint Commission on Outreach and Membership, and most recently Diane has been nominated for a position on the NATA Board of Directors.

Diane brings her extensive knowledge of congregational life as well as her history of service to the Jewish community to the role of Executive Director at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.