Melissa Berman lives in North Bellmore and is a senior reporter for the Long Island Herald, where she covers the “Five Towns” on Long Island’s South Shore. With a background that includes a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in entertainment journalism from Hofstra University, she puts this community newspaper together weekly, assigns stories to her reporter, covers events, and writes features about prominent people and places. 

 

One of her greatest achievements at the Herald so far has been interviewing Jewish Broadway actor Andrew Barth Feldman, who is best known for portraying the title role in “Dear Evan Hansen.” Her biggest passion is theatre: she loves going to Broadway shows, listening to musicals, and being on stage. Most recently, she performed in a cabaret at the Temple Beth Ohr Annex in Merrick, where she sang, "Gimme, Gimme" from “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” 

 

As an only child, Melissa has always loved going to Hebrew school and learning prayers. She strongly values being Jewish and enjoys participating in religious services, celebrating holidays, and assisting with her synagogue’s Communication/Publicity Committee. She helped prepare introductory videos for the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center's testimonial dinner in March. 

 

She learned about the Holocaust at an early age from listening to her grandfather, Abraham, talk about his story of survival. Both her mother, Francine, and father, Adam, are active, respectively, in Sisterhood and Men's Club. Growing up, the importance of being involved in the Jewish community really resonated with Melissa and she chose to join groups that aligned with her beliefs. She was a part of USY, BBYO, Hillel, and now Sisterhood. Melissa is extremely grateful for this beautiful honor and looks forward to a bright future with Sisterhood.