Staff Leadership

Rabbi Michael Gisser

Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Wake Forest University

A native of Montreal, Rabbi Gisser knows his hockey. The same enthusiasm that he brings to the ice, he brings to Wake Forest. This manifests through his dedication, creativity and energy to build a vibrant and caring Jewish community at Wake Forest.

Rabbi Gisser has previously served various positions in Hillels in Canada and the Northeast, at Vanier College, McGill University, Ramapo College and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has also been the executive director at the Holocaust Museum and Study Center in Spring Valley, New York.

Rabbi Gisser holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University, A Master of Arts in Religion from Concordia University, a Master of Education from Touro University and Rabbinical Ordination from Kollel Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary. He is currently studying at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in the Ph.D program in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations, hoping to graduate in 2013. His main focus of study is Holocaust education for the next generation of learners. Rabbi Gisser, along with his position at Wake Forest, is currently the Associate Dean of Jewish Studies at the American Hebrew Academy and an adjunct faculty member of the Religion department at High Point University. Rabbi Gisser will also be commissioned as an Army Reserve Chaplain this coming summer.

He lives in Greensboro with his wife of 16 years, Jodie and their 2 daughters, Jordanna (a 9th grader at AHA) and Sarena (a 4th grader at B'nai Shalom Day School).