Who We Are
Meet the Staff of Dinah

Shana Weiner
Executive Director
Shana Weiner is an attorney in Philadelphia, originally from Annapolis, Maryland. In 2015, She combined her passion of working with survivors of domestic abuse and serving her faith community when she launched Dinah.
Shana received her B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2010 and her Juris Doctorate from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in 2013. She is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey. In 2020 Shana was featured as one of Drexel University's 40 Under 40.
Shana is currently pursuing a masters of science in nonprofit management from Gratz College.
- Email:shana@dinahphilly.org

Noga Schecter
Chief Operations Officer
Born of American and Israeli parents, Noga Schechter grew up on a kibbutz overlooking the Dead Sea until she relocated to Westchester, NY.
She has worked for various investors & family offices while also maintaining a trade in engineering and a love for entrepreneurship in various capacities and industries.
Noga has organically gravitated towards a renewed faith in Judaism and women’s rights. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MS in Finance from Baruch College.
- Email:noga@dinahphilly.org

Rachel Yakobashvili
Dir. of Programs & Partnerships
Rachel Yakobashvili brings project management, program evaluation, and community outreach experience to the Dinah team. She previously worked and volunteered with numerous nonprofits, including the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jewish Relief Agency, Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, and the Jewish Changemakers. Rachel grew up in Northeast Philadelphia with her parents who immigrated from the Republic of Georgia and Moldova after the fall of the Soviet Union. Rachel received her Master of Public Administration, Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, and Bachelor in International Affairs from George Washington University. In her down time, Rachel likes to cook, take care of her plants, and binge TV shows.
- Email:info@example.com

Jess Humphries
Case Manager
Prior to joining Dinah, Jess managed a homelessness prevention program in Philadelphia, working to ensure that families stayed housed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She has worked in social services for over 8 years and received her Master of Social Work degree from Temple University in 2020. Jess is a passionate advocate and believer in the importance of trauma-informed services and organizations. During her graduate studies, she conducted research examining effective models for addressing community trauma, and is in the process of becoming trauma certified through the Lakeside Global Institute. In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and doting on her plants and cats.
- Email:jess@dinahphilly.org

Alison Ederer
Board Member
Alison Ederer is based in NYC and has a passion for health, movement, social justice and giving back. Currently, Alison is a Team Lead at Maven Clinic, the largest virtual healthcare clinic for women and families. She has 7+ years of experience ranging in fields such as women's health, women's sports, empowering low-income communities, and Jewish education. Alison holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Elementary Education from Muhlenberg College and a Master's in Education, Culture & Society from the University of Pennsylvania. Aside from her day to day work, Alison enjoys volunteering as an interviewer for Penn, exploring NYC, traveling all over the world, and teaching yoga and barre as her side business.

Barbara Hirsh
Board Member
Barbara Hirsh is a retired sociologist who spends her time advising nonprofit organizations as a member of Volunteer Executive Consultants; serving as a member of the Board of Hillel at Temple University, where she also plays a lead role in Hillel’s strategic planning work; and engaging in multi-faith and multi-generational dialogue as a member of Interfaith Philadelphia’s Visionary Women. In her nearly four decades of work in the nonprofit sector, Barbara served as Director of the Department of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia; Dean of Academic Administration and Director of Campus Chaplaincy Training at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; and Associate Director of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, among other positions. Earlier volunteer work included serving on the board of the Lower Merion Library System, and as Board Chair of SHALVA, an organization devoted to addressing domestic violence in the Jewish community.

Lee Schwartz, Esq.
Board Member
Lee A. Schwartz, Esquire, is the Founding Member of Schwartz, Fox & Saltzman, LLC in Philadelphia. He practices in the area of Family Law in the five-county Philadelphia area, with over forty years of experience. In addition to representing clients in all aspects of Family Law in the courtroom, Mr. Schwartz also mediates divorce, custody, support, alimony and division of property concerns and has been mediating these issues for over twenty-five years. As part of his practice, Mr. Schwartz has been engaged by attorneys to arbitrate Custody and Equitable Distribution related disputes for their clients. Lee has taught continuing legal education courses for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (“PBI”), the teaching arm of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association, as well as privately for continuing education credits for Accountants, Financial Planning, and to Professional Groups.

Sarah Wright
Board Member
Sarah serves on the business development team at Philadelphia-based architecture firm KieranTimberlake. Previously, Sarah spent more than 10 years in the nonprofit cultural sector in fundraising, program development, and administrative roles at organizations such as The Pew Charitable Trusts, DataArts, and Simpatico Theatre. Sarah also has a background in higher education, having most recently worked with graduate and undergraduate students as a writing tutor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The constant aspiration driving Sarah’s varied career is to foster compelling storytelling for mission-driven institutions and individuals, and to connect them with new opportunities for growth. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in theatre from Villanova University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.