Lisa Messinger has been a long-time leader and volunteer in several community and Jewish organizations in New York and throughout North America. Until the 2018 death of her husband, HUC-JIR President Rabbi Aaron Panken, Lisa was his nearly full-time partner, traveling North America and Israel on behalf of Hebrew Union College.   

 Lisa has served on the Board of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, UJA-Federation’s task force for Welcoming Interfaith Families, and SYNERGY Coordinating Committee. She is past chair of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Northeast Camp Institute (Eisner and Crane Lake). 

Prior to returning to NYC, Lisa and her family lived in Scarsdale where she served as President of Westchester Reform Temple and various other volunteer leadership capacities, including the Scarsdale Public Library Capital Campaign, as well as the Board of the Scarsdale Adult School. Lisa is a graduate of Northwestern University, a certified professional coach, and a Wexner Heritage Fellow in Jewish Leadership. Lisa has two children with her late husband.