Rabbi Bonnie Koppell serves as Associate Rabbi to the Temple Chai community in Phoenix, Arizona, where she also directs the Shalom Center.  She graduated from Brandeis University and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.   She received a Master’s Degree in Religion from Temple University, and in 2013 earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the US Army War College.

Rabbi Koppell served as a Chaplain (Colonel) in the United States Army Reserve for 38 years.  She was the first female Rabbi to serve in the U.S. Military.

Rabbi Koppell received the annual Jewish Military Professional’s Award from the JWB Jewish Chaplain’s Council in 2018.  She was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame in March 2019.

She is especially proud of her numerous deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait to provide Jewish religious support to Jewish servicemembers for Passover and Chanukkah.

⟵Return to Strategic Planning Group