As a congregational rabbi, Rabbi Wainer has been able to help facilitate community building both within the Jewish community, as well as outside of it. Through her leadership at CEC and NVHC, Rabbi Wainer helps to foster connections between members, helping them find their place within the Jewish community. This is experienced through officiation at lifecycle events, participation in communal programs and the creation of new and innovative programs to connect the the local Jewish community with the larger Community.

Rabbi Wainer is proud to be a founding member of the Dupage United Clergy Caucus, which works to bring clergy of all faiths together to support one another and the ongoing work of DuPage United. She also works with two local churches to run an annual interfaith Thanksgiving celebration, as well as services for Trans Day of Remembrance and Trans Day of Visibility. When in Virginia, Rabbi Wainer was a member of VOICE (Virginians Organizing for Interfaith Community Engagement) and also served on the Fairfax County Public Schools Religious Observance Taskforce, where she and other members of the Taskforce worked in conjunction with school administration to advocate for greater religious tolerance in schools.

Rabbi Wainer believes that it is important to serve the larger Jewish community, in addition to her community. Rabbi Wainer regularly serves as a camp faculty member for Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute and the 6-Points Creative Arts Academy, where she is a founding faculty member. In addition to serving as the Chair of the Camp Council for the URJ’s 6-Points Creative Arts Academy, Rabbi Wainer serves on the board of DuPage United/Fox River Valley Initiative and is a core team member of RAC-IL. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Board of Rabbis. Previously, Rabbi Wainer served on the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) Chicago Convention Planning Committee as well as the Taskforce on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate.