Board of Directors

Pronouns: he, him

Ben and his wife, Theresa, have been Temple Beth Am members since moving to Seattle in 2009. They now have three human children, two of whom are in the Religious School; they are very involved in Young Families at Beth Am (YFBA) activities. Ben has served on various committees, including the Nominating Committee (chair), Rabbi Search Committee, Executive Director Search Committee, and the Board Governance Committee. Ben works in Microsoft’s legal department.

Pronouns: he, him

Greg joined Temple Beth Am in the late ’90s. He was born and raised in Seattle’s north end. Over the years, he and his family have been involved in virtually all aspects of temple life. He has served on a wide range of committees – including the Finance and Strategic Planning committees – usually with his wife Ruth Berkman. They consider a temple meeting “date night.” Most recently, Greg has been active on the Development Committee. He has been involved with a variety of businesses and nonprofit organizations in Seattle and finds satisfaction elevating operational standards by applying industry best practices. He brings his skills and experience in management, operations, accounting, and finance to his service on the Board of Directors. Greg and Ruth have four children and an aging sailboat that keep them busy!

Pronouns: she, her

Heather joined the Temple Beth Am community almost 10 years ago after moving to Seattle from Baltimore. She has appreciated the temple’s diversity and warmth through several groups, including the Sisters of Beth Am, ever since. Heather is a registered nurse and has worked most recently for the University of Washington Medical Center. She is married with two kiddos and two mischievous cats.

Pronouns: he, him

T.J. and his wife, Nora, have been proud members of the Temple Beth Am community since 2013 and are devoted parents to Guri and Myer. T.J. works in the King County Executive Office developing budgets and business plans for agencies serving the county’s two million-plus residents. He is delighted to have the opportunity to learn from and serve the community through the Beth Am Board.

Pronouns: she, her

Carole is a 25-year member of Temple Beth Am, a long-time member of the Finance and Investment Committees, and is now a past board Treasurer after many years of service in that capacity. She and her husband, Bruce Peterson, are a bi-coastal family with a daughter in New York City and two adult children and three grandchildren in Seattle. While Carole deals with finance, Bruce takes charge of their travel plans. Carole is trying to be a retired financial planner, but some clients think otherwise. Her favorite hobby is gardening, roses being her big passion.

Pronouns: she, her

Shelly has been a member of Temple Beth Am for more than 20 years. She has been involved in a wide range of synagogue activities, including the Religious School Board and Welcoming Synagogues Task Force; she was also on the Rabbinic Search Committee that brought Rabbi Ruth A. Zlotnick to Temple Beth Am. Shelly is a member of the Commission on Social Action, an advisory body to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. She and her wife, Julie Shapiro, have two children.

Pronouns: she, her

Stacey joined Temple Beth Am in 2018, soon after moving from Madison, WI for work. She lives with her two great kids, Sadie (16) and Lev (13), and 2 adorable cats. They have appreciated the many opportunities for older kids to stay engaged through religious school and the Madrichim program, as they progress through middle and high school. Stacey has served on the Gala Committee and Acknowledgement Committee, and helped organize several congregational surveys for the Temple, given her graduate training in survey methodology. In her work life, Stacey works in User Experience Research at a large tech company in Seattle. Outside of work and Temple life, Stacey is a member of the board of the Seattle Jewish Chorale where she sings in the soprano section and manages their grants and enjoys puzzles of all types and volunteering to help reduce food insecurity.

In her professional work, Stacey typically works with survey, web and behavioral data and segmentation to describe customer needs and activities in order to drive more customer-friendly experiences. She uses data visualization and presentations of various types in order to bring this data to life.

Corinne and her husband, Mark Wener, joined Temple Beth Am in 1995 with their two children, both of whom attended Religious School and celebrated becoming B’nai Mitzvah at TBA. The whole family has been part of a TBA Chavurah for over 20 years, and has delighted in the evolving relationships between the generations. Corinne is a forensic pathologist who retired from the University of Washington in 2017; continuing medical activities include volunteer committee work with the Washington Department of Health focused on decreasing maternal mortality, and work as an associate editor for a professional journal. Since her retirement, she has become more active at TBA, including the B’Yachad small group program, Prayerbook Hebrew classes with Debbie Massarano, and as a member of the current Adult B’nai Mitzvah cohort. In addition to exploring new opportunities during retirement, she enjoys walking, reading (especially non-fiction and mysteries), biking, theater, and classical music.

Lauren has been part of the Temple Beth Am community since she and her husband, Jarrod Dudakov, moved to Seattle from New York City in 2016. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, the Young-Dudakov family joined Temple Beth Am for the Young Families at Beth Am program, and now both their kids, Quinn and Baxter, are enrolled in The Gan. Lauren is involved in The Gan Committee, the Hearth Group Committee and has served as an Elul Group lay leader.

Lauren worked for many years as a bench scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center before switching to Public Health where she now works as data manager on vaccine clinical trials at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In addition to passionately working in the global health arena, Lauren loves to read, travel and spend time outdoors in her spare time.

Sara and her husband Jon Weinstein have been official members of Temple Beth Am since 2016, but have felt connected to the TBA community since their two kids attended preschool at the JCC (now SEED). Nathaniel and Amara attended elementary school at the Seattle Jewish Community School (SJCS) where Sara co-lead the Parent Association and chaired the SJCS auction. The kids are now in 7th and 9th grade and active participants in TBA’s religious school. Sara works as a national environmental policy advisor for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She and her family love to travel and are building a prized collection of national park stamps. In February, her family (including her parents) participated in TBA’s trip to Israel where they deepened their understanding of history and Judaism and made friends across generations. Sara looks forward to making new connections while serving on the board.

Laura and her husband, Chris, have been members of Temple Beth Am since 2015, when their oldest son started in pre-K at the religious school. Laura and Chris relocated to Seattle from Chicago in 2005. Their family has been actively involved in the Young Families at Beth Am group, and Laura served on the committee. Laura has been a commercial real estate attorney for more than 15 years and is currently the general counsel of a Seattle-based real estate company. In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time with her family (including two active boys and a dog), reading, watching movies and running marathons.

Pronouns: he, him

Lou and Phyllis Levy have been members of Temple Beth Am since 1995. All three of their children attended the Religious School with Joel and Claire celebrating their B’nai Mitzvah in the Beth Am Sanctuary. Lou has served on the Beth Am finance committee since October 2016. Many years ago, he also served on the Board nominating committee. For several years, he played and coached the now defunct Beth Am softball team. Lou is retired but worked for over 30 years in finance and has broad-based experience, including budgeting and planning, strategic planning, insurance, banking, cash management, SEC reporting, bankruptcy, and acquisitions & mergers. He also serves as the treasurer for the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Washington State. Lou is looking forward to helping the Board understand the financial implications and risks of their decisions, as well as adding clarity to recommendations made by the finance committee.

Betsy and her husband, Andrew Schulman, joined Temple Beth Am in 1995. They have celebrated the birth, Bat Mitzvah, and Covenant Renewal of their daughter at Temple Beth Am as well as Andrew’s adult Bar Mitzvah. Betsy has served on a variety of temple committees as a member, co-chair, or chair, and is a past Board President. When she’s not volunteering for TBA, Betsy enjoys practicing employment law, singing with the Seattle Jewish Chorale, and hanging out with her dog.

Pronouns: she, her

Kelly and her family have been living in Seattle since 2012, after returning from 12 years in France. They joined Temple Beth Am in 2016 when her then 4th grade daughter decided she wanted to have a bat mitzvah. Her two teenage sons still don’t want to, but they attend services once a month just the same. Kelly enjoys being an active member of Temple Beth Am: participating in the B’Yachad small group program, Prayerbook Hebrew classes with Debbie Massarano, and as a member of the current Adult B’nai Mitzvah cohort, in addition to her work on the Advancement, Finance, and Small Groups committee. In her spare time, Kelly is a senior director of digital engagement at a large technology company, and likes to garden, read, and spend time with her musician husband, Eddy, three kids, four cats, and a dog.

Pronouns: he, him

Josh and his wife, Katherine, joined Temple Beth Am in 2012 after attending several warm and welcoming Young Families at Beth Am (YFBA) events with their oldest daughter. Two more have come along, and they all agree – Purim is rad. Josh became an active member right away, first serving on the YFBA Committee. Then, he served multiple times on the Board Nominating Committee and completed two consecutive terms on the Religious School Committee. Josh is a professional photographer and avid endurance athlete.

Ronnie and his wife, Toby Harris, joined Temple Beth Am in 1986. They have three daughters who have experienced Bat Mitzvah and Covenant Renewal here, and they are very involved in the lives of their two grandchildren. Ronnie is the Chair of the Religious Practices Committee, a committed member of the team of Shamushim that volunteer to support Shabbat services, and an advocate for tikkun olam activities. Ronnie is a pharmacist who provided health care to underserved populations in the areas of substance abuse treatment, mental health, and public health. Although he tried to retire in 2012, he was drawn into pharmacogenomics where he works with ActX, a commercial venture that provides support systems to provide personalized health care.

Steven and his wife Helen Spencer-Snyder, and their children Hannah (25), Lev (22) and Ari (16), joined Temple Beth Am when they moved to Seattle in 2016. By day, he’s a lawyer for a family office who loves working with innovators and philanthropists. At home, it’s all about family, great books (especially history), singing and guitar, long Shabbat dinner conversations over good food and good wine, bike rides, hikes and kayaking. Before moving to Seattle, he served for many years on the Board and the Quality Improvement Committee of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Boston, and more recently on the Board and the Development Committee of Temple Ner Tamid in Blomfield, New Jersey. At TBA, he’s served on the Development Committee.

Pronouns: they, them or she, her

Rachel, who was known as Rachel Zeno until she married her partner Tim one-and-a-half years ago, has been a Temple Beth Am member for 32 years. Since moving back to Seattle in 2008, Rachel has been involved in the Welcoming Synagogue Taskforce, H2R, the Interfaith and Intercultural Initiative, as a delegate to the RAC’s Consultation on Conscience, as a Torah reader, and by teaching Religious School, as well as being a part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s Advanced Leadership Development program. As a Senior Program Manager for Diversity & Inclusion Strategy at Amazon, Rachel works on finding innovative ways to disrupt unconscious bias, effectively develop and retain people from underrepresented backgrounds, and build organizational capability to collaborate across many kinds of differences; you might also run into her doing anti-racist organizing in Seattle with CARW and JUIR. She’s thrilled to roll up her sleeves and help Temple Beth Am actualize the Strategic Plan and move into the future in a way that lives our values.