Rodef Shalom Congregation, the largest Reform congregation in Pennsylvania, elected a new rabbi Sunday.

Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno will assume his position at Rodef Shalom on July 1. Bisno is associate rabbi of Rodeph Shalom Congregation in Philadelphia.

Bisno is the congregation's first chief rabbi since Rabbi Mark Staitman retired last year. Rabbi Michael Remson was named interim rabbi while Rodef Shalom conducted a search for a new leader.

A search committee of the congregation worked with the Rabbinic Placement Commission to locate Bisno. The search process took seven months and ended with a unanimous decision by the congregation to elect Bisno.

"He was chosen because of his charisma, his ability to lead, his ability to care about congregants as well as his intellectual prowess," said Rodef Shalom Executive Director Jeffrey Herzog.

Bisno, 36, is a native of Macon, Ga., and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati.

He will receive his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the spring.

Before becoming associate rabbi at Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, Bisno served as executive director of the Hillel Jewish Center at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

Herzog said as its spiritual leader, Bisno is expected to provide a new vision for the congregation. He also hopes that Bisno will lead it in a renewed sense of community and vibrancy.

Bisno is married to Dr. Michelle Bisno, an educator and corporate consultant.

The Rodef Shalom Congregation is now working with Bisno to find an assistant rabbi. The congregation is expected to fill that position in the next few months. Rodef Shalom has 1,300 member families.