Jesse Toledano, Co-VP for Building and Grounds

Jesse Toledano and his wife, Katie, have been members of Shomrei and residents of Montclair for the last ten years. Their two sons, Benjamin and Samuel, are both graduates of the Shomrei preschool and are current students at the JLC.  Jesse has previously served as a co-chair of the rabbi search committee.  

Jesse is a Managing Director at Modern Spaces, which is a full-service real estate marketing and brokerage firm that specializes in working with developers and investors.  He holds an MFA from the American Film Institute and a BA from the University of Vermont. 

New  Trustees (terms expiring in 2029)

Aaron I. Karp

Aaron lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife Carla, and his three children: Sam (10),  Vivian (8), and Tessa (6). He moved to Montclair in August 2018 from the Upper West Side,  and has been part of the Shomrei community since: his eldest son started in Shomrei’s  Threes Class just weeks after his family moved to Montclair, and each of his kids has gone through Shomrei’s preschool and are now students in the JLC. Aaron and his wife have been active at Shomrei: Carla is a former member of the Education Committee, and Aaron has been on the Education Committee since 2023. Aaron and Carla volunteered as class parents at various times while their children were in the preschool, and most recently,  Aaron volunteered to assist Sarah Kamenetsky with teaching the fifth graders to read Torah. 

Aaron grew up in Livingston, NJ, and attended Solomon Schechter Day School (now Golda  Och Academy) in West Orange from kindergarten through high school graduation (after three years of preschool at Beth Shalom Synagogue in Livingston). Aaron graduated from  Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor degree and from Columbia University, magna cum  laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Prior to law school, Aaron worked for elected officials at various levels of government, including for Congressmember Jerrold Nadler and New  York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Aaron began his legal career as a prosecutor in the  District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York. He entered the private practice of law at the New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where he represented Fortune 500 companies in litigation in federal and state courts. He then practiced as a litigator at a New York law firm specializing in complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, and securities enforcement defense. He joined the legal department of Public Service  Enterprise Group Incorporated (parent company of PSE&G) in 2018, where he has served in various roles, including as a litigator and as regulatory counsel representing PSEG before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. On  April 21, 2026, Aaron will assume the title of Deputy General Counsel & Corporate  Secretary, where he will be responsible for all matters related to corporate governance,  including planning and executing Board of Director meetings and ensuring compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Paula Liberis

Hailing from Ireland originally, Paula grew up in Columbus, Ohio, moving from Ireland at age ten.  She holds a BFA in sculpture, art history, and art education from Ohio University and has taught arts and sciences for many years. She has been an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center,  Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and The Burren College of Art in Ireland.

After seeing her parents go through a series of health complications, Paula began studying and eventually teaching anatomy, biomechanics, and yoga. This led her to teaching in NYC, where she met her husband Nick, and they now live in Bloomfield with their four children.

Paula currently works full-time, homeschooling her children and teaching young adult art classes.

She and her family joined Shomrei three years ago; her children are all in the JLC, and she volunteers on the Ed committee, the religious life big picture committee, as well as with the mensch squad and the monthly Friday night Zamru programs.