Board of Directors
Chairman: Chaplain Gary Friedman
Chaplain Friedman has served as our Pacific Northwest Region coordinator since 1992 and was elected chairman in 1995. He is a headquarters chaplain for the Washington State Department of Corrections and the sole Jewish prison staff chaplain in his region of the United States. Chaplain Friedman serves as the Vice-Chairman of Washington State's Religious Services Advisory Committee, a member of the American Correctional Association's Correctional Programs Committee, a regional board member of B'nai B'rith and Vice-President of the Simon of Cyrene Society [an inter-faith organization established by the Catholic community that is dedicated to assisting families of prisoners]. He also represents JPSI as a member of the American Jail Association and the International Community Corrections Association. Chaplain Friedman was instrumental in the writing of "The Handbook of Religious Beliefs and Practices," a policy guide that is used by many corrections systems. He is a frequent featured speaker at chaplaincy and corrections conferences and is well known for the religious diet trainings that he conducts for correctional food service personnel across the United States and Canada.
Vice-Chairman: Larry Karlin
Our Vice-Chairman, Colorado Springs resident Larry Karlin, has an enduring and remarkable record of over 30 years of service to our brethren behind the razor wire and walls. While living in Pennsylvania, Larry helped the Jewish Congregation at Graterford (JCAG) become the first prison congregation to be accepted as a member of the UAHC. SCI Graterford, the largest prison in Pennsylvania is a maximum security prison and one of the toughest in America. He innovated the concept of prisoner-sponsored post release houses having establish four in Philadelphia. These made it possible for parolees to have an accepted house to live in as well as a smooth transition back to civilian life. In addition to being our Video Librarian, he conceived and ran one of JPSI's biggest success stories, our Marriage Enrichment Seminar. Post graduate, trained facilitators coordinate this special two day, in-prison program, for prisoners and their mates. It is designed to keep faltering families together through the difficult
incarceration period and beyond. A retired Textile Engineer, family man, avid skier and tennis player, who believes in the self-worth of all human beings, he is a very welcome participant on our board.
Secretary Treasurer: Neil Steinhorn
Baltimore, Maryland.
Advisory Board:
Rabbi Ira Book
Folsom, California.
Steve Fargo
San Jose, Costa Rica.
Judge Rochelle Friedman
Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Rabbi Jacob Hoenig
Brooklyn, New York.
Avraham Hoffmann
Jerusalem, Israel.
Aleks Laurins
Riga, Latvia.
Harriet Rossetto
Los Angeles, California.
Manuel Weiss, Esq.
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Rabbi Ronald Weiss
North York, Ontario.