Our Trustees

Abigail Pogrebin was President of Central from 2015-2018 and co-leads Central’s volunteer program, “Mentors Matter,” which helps underserved high school seniors apply to college.

She is the author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays; One Wondering Jew, which was a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award. She is also the author of Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk about Being Jewish, for which Abigail interviewed 62 famous American Jews about their religious identity, One and the Same, which delved into every aspect of growing up as a twin, and Showstopper, which chronicled her teenage adventures on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim’s most famous flop, “Merrily We Roll Along.”

Abigail was formerly a broadcast producer for Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes and Bill Moyers at PBS and before that for The MacNeil/Lehrer Report and Fred W. Friendly. She has moderated conversations for The JCC in Manhattan, the Streicker Center, UJA Federation, and the Shalom Hartman Institute. Tablet Magazine’s podcast, “Parsha in Progress” features a regular Torah discussion with Abigail and Rabbi Dov Linzer (President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah).

Pogrebin graduated Yale in 1987 and has two children with her husband, David Shapiro: Ben and Molly.