Introducing the 2025-2026 Eisendrath Legislative Assistants

We are overjoyed to introduce ourselves as the 2025-2026 Eisendrath Legislative Assistants! As a cohort, we bring a variety of life experiences, educational backgrounds, and diverse passions to our work at the Religious Action Center. We are united by a collective commitment to URJ's vision of peace and wholeness, justice and equity, and belonging and joy.

We are honored to work in partnership with Reform Movement leaders and other Jewish, interfaith, and secular partners across lines of difference address the largest policy obstacles facing our values today. As we work together to put these values into action, please don't hesitate to reach out with questions on the Reform Movement's policy positions or how to get involved. We are thrilled to begin our work in collaboration with all of you!

Daniel Block (he/him/his) is from Little Rock, Arkansas, where he attended CongregationB'nai Israel . He grew up as a happy camper at URJ Greene Family Camp, a participant in both L'Taken and Garin Greene (now Yallah! Israel), and a leader in NFTY. Nurtured by the Reform Movement's tradition of tikkun olam and community building, he is overjoyed to continue this lifelong engagement as a Legislative Assistant for the RAC.

Daniel graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.A. in American Studies and Environmental Studies, and minors in Legal Studies and Near Eastern & Judaic Studies. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and recognized as both a Truman Scholar and a Udall Scholar for his academic excellence and commitment to public service.

At Brandeis, Daniel led multiple Jewish and social justice organizations. He served on the boards of the Brandeis Reform Chavurah and J Street U. He served as the Editor in Chief of the Brandeis University Law Journal, where he published two articles, including one on halacha, gender-affirming care, and religious liberty. On the weekends, he taught fifth grade religious school at Temple Shir Tikvah in Wayland, Massachusetts.

Beyond the academic year, Daniel spent two summers directing Zumwalt Acres, a Jewish values-based regenerative farm in rural Illinois, where he advanced food justice initiatives and helped scale up carbon capture and sequestration projects. He also interned for Judge Lee Rudofsky of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Daniel is humbled to join the RAC as a legislative assistant, where he will manage a federal policy portfolio that includes environmental justice, Israel-Palestine, criminal justice, racial justice, death penalty opposition, judicial nominations, and Native American rights.

Sari Rosenberg (she/her/hers) is from South Orange, New Jersey where she grew up at Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel. After attending L'Taken in 2019, Sari become involved in the RAC's teen programming, participating in numerous fellowships and engaging her synagogue in the World Zionist Congress elections. Sari grew up in a liberal and diverse politically engaged community that encouraged deep critical thinking, which played a significant role in the way she understood her social location, especially as an Ashkenazi queer Jew.

Sari recently graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan, where she majored in Women and Gender Studies and minored in Judaic Studies and Community Action and Social Change. While in Ann Arbor, she was extremely involved in Jewish life, including on the Shabbat leadership team at Michigan Hillel for all four years, helping to host Shabbat dinner and lead Reform services for the 6,500 Jews at the University of Michigan. She served as president of the governing board of Hillel in 2023, playing a significant role in her campus's response to the October 7^th attacks in Israel. She also taught religious school all four years of college and interned at the local federation of Ann Arbor. Sari is an alum of the Nachshon Project, a multi-denominational fellowship for college students seeking a career in the Jewish professional world.

Her high school experience was also filled with Jewish leadership: she served on the board of her temple youth group all four years, culminating in president. She studied abroad for a semester in Israel at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and went on to Young Judea Year Course after graduating from high school in 2020. She interned three separate times with J Street and is passionate about having nuanced conversations about Israel.

Sari is actively pursuing a career in the rabbinate where she can continue to engage Jews of all ages on integrating their Jewish values into their advocacy work. Last summer, she interned at the office of Congressman Dan Kildee and felt extremely called to return to DC, even in the midst of a shifting political landscape.

Sari is excited to join the RAC as a legislative assistant, where she will manage a federal policy portfolio that features Economic Justice, Healthcare, Disability Rights, Education, International Religious Freedom, Foreign Policy, and Campaign Finance Reform.

Liana Smolover-Bord (she/her/hers) grew up in Montgomery County, MD where she attended Temple Sinai DC. Judaism and social justice have always been deeply intertwined in Liana's life. Attending L'Taken in high school emphasized this connection for Liana and encouraged her to pursue advocacy work and deeply invest in Jewish life.

Liana graduated Summa Cum Laude from Tufts University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. While at Tufts, Liana served multiple years on Tufts Hillel's student board as the Reform Minyan Chair and later as the VP of Religious and Spiritual life. Also at Tufts Hillel, Liana founded and directed Hillel Community Action Partners which runs a free afterschool program for local middle school students. Liana received high honors for her senior capstone in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies entitled "Archiving Ephemera: A Queer/ed Approach to Constructing Jewish Familial Histories."

Liana comes to the RAC with meaningful experience in policy and advocacy fields. As a legal intern at the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Liana conducted client interviews and outreach, assisted attorneys, and conducted legal research. As the Community Organizing and Legislative Intern at Jews United for Justice, Liana led a county-wide legislative portfolio on housing justice, wrote community organizing materials, and ran legislative advocacy meetings. The prior year, Liana served as a Congressional Intern in CongressmanJamie Raskin's (D-MD-08) Capitol Hill office.

Liana is honored to join the Religious Action Center as a Legislative Assistant and manage her federal policy portfolio which includes LGBTQ+ Equality, Antisemitism, Gun Violence Prevention, and Hate Crimes.

Tamara Upfal and Jessica Cadmus are excited to be continuing at the RAC as Senior Legislative Assistants. Jessica will continue to work on Reproductive Rights and Health, Gender Equity, and work closely with Women of Reform Judaism. Additionally, she will be adding Voting Rights to her portfolio. Tamara will continue to lead the RAC's work on immigration justice (including the Immigration Spotlight Campaign), Israel (alongside Daniel Block), and separation of church and state. In addition, she will serve as the assistant to Director Emeritus Rabbi David Saperstein, working closely with him on policy research, speech writing, and other major projects.