Our Clergy

Senior Rabbi

Rabbi Ruth A. Zlotnick (she/her)
rabbiruth@templebetham.org

Rabbi Ruth A. Zlotnick has been described by her community as a teacher of Torah and Jewish values and is beloved for her gifts of knowledge, leadership, and counsel; inspirational worship services; and creative programming.

Rabbi Ruth has served as the Senior Rabbi of  Temple Beth Am since 2014. Before joining the Beth Am community, Rabbi Ruth served as Rabbi at Temple Beth Or in the Township of Washington, New Jersey and as Associate Rabbi and Director of Lifelong Learning at New York’s Central Synagogue. She also worked as Associate Director of Programs at Synagogue 2000, a national project aimed at revitalizing synagogues from all streams of American Judaism. In the New York-area, she taught at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and Fairfield University. She currently sits on the Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Advisory Board for the Center for Religious Wisdom and World Affairs at Seattle University.

Rabbi Zlotnick is a graduate of HUC-JIR where she was ordained in 2001. She earned a Master of Hebrew Letters from HUC-JIR; she also holds a Master’s in the Philosophy of Religion from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Wesleyan University.

Rabbi

Rabbi Dana A. Benson (they/she)
rabbidana@templebetham.org

Rabbi Dana A. Benson is a strong believer in spiritual accessibility and seeks to help learners find value from our tradition even in every day moments. They have been described as a compassionate and inspirational teacher, thoughtful leader, and someone who brings light and fun everywhere they go.

In July of 2019 Rabbi Dana joined Temple Beth Am as an educator Rabbi and in July of 2020 joined the clergy team. Prior to joining Beth Am, Rabbi Dana previously served as the Assistant Director at Hillel at the University of Washington and as the Senior Jewish Educator at Michigan State University Hillel and the Hillel Campus alliance of Michigan. During Rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rabbi Dana served as a teacher and lead staff member at Kulanu, a Reform Jewish High School, and also ran retreats for high school and college students in their role as a Rabbinic intern at HUC-JIR’s national office of recruitment and admissions. When not crafting curriculum and connecting to students and their families, Rabbi Dana loves to sing, play board games, enjoy musical theater and opera, and watch her partner, Gina, play roller derby for Rat City Roller Derby.

Rabbi

Rabbi Laura Rumpf (she/her)
RabbiLaura@templebetham.org

Rabbi Laura Rumpf is a passionate proponent of lively, come-as-you-are Judaism, and delights in making ritual relevant for all ages. She is animated by community connections at the intersection of social justice, spirituality and creativity. Whether in the classroom, on the bima, or on a hike with the community, she seeks to deepen belonging to each other, and to the unfolding story of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Laura joined the Beth Am clergy team in 2024. She previously served as Director of Project Kavod (Dignity) for Jewish Family Service of Seattle where she helped anchor a mission of reaching those most vulnerable in our community to Jewish values. A Seattle native, she was previously the Associate Rabbi at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, CA, where she spearheaded social justice efforts and led immersive youth and teen experiences. She is a trained Creative Arts Facilitator with the national Jewish Studio Project. Rabbi Laura finds joy making artful messes daily with her kids, Ami and Nava, and taking as many opportunities to plunge into cold water as possible in the Pacific Northwest.