About Us

History

Like many in our nation in recent years, several friends were discussing the challenges our nation was facing. They were fueled by an escalating concern regarding the circumstances we were witnessing. These conversations began without a predetermined objective. While those engaged in these discussions had been politically active, there emerged a growing realization that conventional political approaches were insufficient to address the nation’s pressing issues.

Over time, we came to the conclusion that our nation’s moral compass no longer had a shared true north. The solution then lay in examining the values that had shaped our nation and envisioning the values that are essential in the present era. This approach centered around foundational ideas and concepts upon which our nation was built. These values would serve as the basis for constructing policies and structures.

We acknowledged the audacious nature of our endeavor—a few friends in Cincinnati discussing strategies to reclaim America’s future. However, we also recognized that we could not remain passive and simply observe the unfolding events.

It was from our hopes and fears that Rekindling American Values emerged. We welcome you to this project.

Our Team 

Robert B. Barr, Rabbi 

Robert B. Barr is the Founding Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Adam. Recognized by his peers as a leader in the evolution of modern, liberal Judaism, his writings have been published in journals, books, and websites around the world.

Along with his rabbinic responsibilities, Barr has been involved with community, civic and political issues. He currently serves on the Faith Advisory Council for Americans United for Separation of Church and State.  He has been focused on church/state separation issues for over 40 years.

Barr regularly presents seminars in ethics for attorneys, medical residents, undergraduate, and graduate business students.  His approach to teaching ethics differs in that it assumes people know right from wrong, yet still do wrong.  He explores that issue in depth, asking participants to ask why they might be willing to violate their own ethical standards.  

He was appointed to the Hamilton County Tax Levy Review Committee by the county commissioners in 2025.  

In 2017, Rabbi Barr made history as only the third rabbi in our nation to ever run for the United States Congress. Because of this, his campaign received national and international attention.

Michael Goldman

Michael Goldman holds an MFA in playwriting from Brandeis University where he was a Shubert Foundation and Warner Foundation playwriting fellow. He spent the first years of his career working for Warner Brothers in Hollywood and New York. He was drawn back to his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio by his best friend and brother's serious illness. After his brother's untimely death at age 35, Mr. Goldman remained in the Midwest, beginning a career in business. Over the next three decades he became deeply involved in civic issues and then in local politics: ultimately managing many candidate campaigns as well as issue campaigns when these involved protecting civil rights and fair taxation policy. He continues to serve on the board of several local non-profit organizations.

Mark Manley, MD

Dr. Manley has been a practicing Anesthesiologist for 35 years, serving as President of his group for a decade. He was recently the President of the Christ Hospital Medical Staff and currently serves on the hospital’s board of Trustees in his current role as Immediate Past President of the Medical Staff. 

Dr. Manley’s interest in good governing stems initially from his wish to see some form of Universal Health care for all Americans.  He served on the  board of directors for Cincinnati’s Center for Respite Care (providing quality, holistic medical care to people experiencing homelessness who need a place to heal while assisting them in breaking the cycle of homelessness).

Dr. Manley has engaged in good government efforts while serving in other roles as well: first as a member of the board of The Charter Committee in Cincinnati, and currently is a board member and president elect of the Murray and Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation. 

Maureen Marks, PhD

Dr. Marks retired in December 2024 after a nearly 30 year career of public service in federal government with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).  She spent the first half of her career as a staff psychologist at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center ultimately serving in the roles of  Director of Psychology Training and Chief Psychologist. 

In 2010, Dr. Marks transferred to the VHA National Center for Organization Development (NCOD).  She was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in 2016 when she became Deputy Director of NCOD and spent the final 5 years of her career as Executive Director of that office.  In those leadership roles, she guided the development of services using principles, practices and techniques that foster employee engagement including but not limited to: supporting leaders in building a positive organizational culture based on servant leadership principles, utilizing effective change management strategies, supporting effective team functioning, and using VA workforce data to inform improvement of the work environment.  She oversaw the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of a range of programs and consultation services that support leaders and leadership teams in adapting and thriving in the rapid-paced environment of health care and other Veteran services throughout the Department of VA.   

Dr. Marks had the honor of serving as Acting VHA Chief of Staff from May 2022 through June 2023.  She received a commendation in May 2023 from VA Chief of Staff, Ms. Tanya Bradsher, for her work in this acting role.  She helped develop and became one of the national co-leads for the Reduce Employee Burnout and Optimize Organizational Thriving (REBOOT) effort from 2021-2024 making significant inroads into the difficult problem of burnout among healthcare workers.   She is the co-author of a book chapter entitled “Civility, Respect, and Engagement in the Workplace (CREW):  Creating Organizational Environments that Work for All” published in the book Creating Healthy Workplaces (2014) edited by Caroline Biron, Ronald Burke, and Cary Cooper.