Rabbi Herbert Brockman

Herbert “Herb” Brockman is Rabbi Emeritus at Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden. Herb believes his work is not only caring for the spiritual health of the congregation but the community as a whole. Herb has taught at the Yale Divinity School and is involved in building interfaith and interracial relations in the community. He was chair for the Interfaith Cooperative Ministries and recently facilitated a coalition of clergy in the greater New Haven area. They produced an interfaith memorial for the 400,000 plus victims of the covid pandemic. Herb earned an AB in psychology and physical sciences, a BHL and MAHL (Bachelors and Masters in Hebrew Letters), and a PhD from St Marys Seminary and University. He was awarded honorary degrees DD Doctor of Divinity and DHL Doctor of Humane Letters. He is a contributor to the text, SAFE PASSAGES, A Global Spiritual Sourcebook for Care at the End of Life (2014, Oxford University Press). Herb founded the PEAH Projectthat continues to raise over 2000 pounds of vegetables for the local soup kitchens every summer. He was co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement CT which supports and protects undocumented immigrants from deportation. He also worked with the Jewish community to form JCARR that works with IRIS sponsoring Refugees here in CT. When Herb is not working, he enjoys being with his family, reading, walking, playing tennis and spending time in the woods in Nova Scotia every summer.

Tim Elwell, PhD

Tim Elwell is the owner of the healthcare consulting company, Timothy Elwell, PhD, LLC. His company works with organizations on: management, leadership and strategic development; due diligence support; proposal development and review; corporate cultural assessments; change management; and operational efficiency. Having held previous CEO/President and other senior executive roles in not-for-profit and for-profit organizations and multiple boards, he understands the impact of good leadership on company culture, employee satisfaction, and innovation. He is passionate about helping the next generation of healthcare leaders develop authentic, stewardship leadership skills. With a PhD in Organizational Leadership, Tim’s research passion lies in the area of emotional intelligence assessment and development as well as trust building. He earned his PhD from Indiana Wesleyan University and his MBA from Baruch College. Tim has been happily married to Joy Elwell, DNP, for 37 years and they have three adult children, two grandchildren, and two adopted cats. When not working, Tim and Joy enjoy international travel and lived intercultural experiences.

Michael Virata MD, FACP, AAHIVS

Michael Virata, MD, is an infectious disease specialist who has focused his career to caring for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). He is the medical director of HIV clinical services at Yale New Haven Hospital-Saint Raphael Campus, and has worked with Yale New Haven Health and the state of Connecticut to end HIV infections—a goal he hopes to achieve in his lifetime.