Professional Team

Davida Sims (she/her) // Executive Director

206-525-0915, ext. 213 | davida@templebetham.org

Davida is our Executive Director. She manages the professional team, directs Beth Am operations, advancement and the budget and is passionate about advancing our mission, learning goals and supporting members’ connections to each other. Davida works hard to support robust communication and collaboration between congregants, professionals, lay leaders, and the community. Davida is a connector. Reach out to her anytime to get support from Clergy, professionals or lay leadership.

Davida has worked in nonprofit development, educational leadership, and communications for twenty years. After working as a labor and employment attorney and for public radio, she followed her passion for education by working in K-12 leadership and school advancement. She is the proud mother of two young men and is grateful to be part of the Beth Am community since 2018.

Reyna Abraham (she/her) // Youth Learning and Engagement Manager

206-525-0915 | reyna@templebetham.org

Reyna is excited to organize, plan and implement fun and engaging experiential learning opportunities for the Beth Am youth. She can help you if you have questions about The Gan: Youth Learning and Engagement Program for PK-12th grade students (we call it “The Gan” for short!) Whether you want to know how and when to register, sign up for youth events, or chat about Jewish Education, Reyna is here to help.

Katie Costello (she/her) // Director of Operations

206-525-0915 | katie@templebetham.org

Katie primarily works behind the scenes creating and implementing systems and infrastructure to ensure the highest standard of operation and support for our members, community, and professional team. Her focus is on continual mission aligned evolution and progress to meet the needs of our congregation in our ever-changing world. Katie is always happy to share more about our systems with members of the congregation.

Jacob Glickman (he/him) // Director of Experiential Jewish Life

206-525-0915 | jacob@templebetham.org

Jacob is thrilled to be helping build community at Temple Beth Am. As the Director of Experiential Jewish Life, Jacob is here to help the youth and younger adult populations connect with our ancient tradition through personally meaningful, engaging, and joyful ways. With relationships at the heart of everything he does, Jacob sees the moments and times we gather as the most potent opportunity for community connection– an opportunity not to be wasted! Please reach out to Jacob to talk about your relationship with Judaism, music, or anything else you might want to discuss.

Megan Freeman // Financial Manager

206-525-0915, ext. 202 | megan@templebetham.org

Megan manages all billing and accounts payable for both Temple Beth Am and SEED Early Childhood School. Reach out to Megan with any questions about your account, to make a payment, or for any accounts payable inquiries.

Amanda Radman (she/her) // Membership & Development Coordinator

206-525-0915, ext. 218 | amanda@templebetham.org

Amanda is the first point of contact for everyone looking to learn more about membership at Temple Beth Am.  She also works behind the scenes to help with advancement and manages our member database.  Amanda is always happy to talk about Temple Beth Am and can’t wait to connect with you.

Amber Hersholt (she/her) // Director of Advancement

amber@templebetham.org

Amber brings her vast Jewish and professional experience and warm personality to her work at Temple Beth Am. Her chief aim is to advance the mission of Beth Am by helping congregants connect meaningfully with one another and the temple. Reach out to Amber if you are interested in making more connections, getting involved within our Temple community, or have ideas you’d like to share. She can’t wait to connect with you!

 

Sarah Freyd (they/them) // Temple Coordinator

206-525-0915 | sarah@templebetham.org

Sean Weaver (they/them) // Temple and Scheduling Coordinator

sean@templebetham.org

Sean specializes in scheduling for congregants and the Beth Am clergy. They bring their experience in logistics and non-profit management to Temple Beth Am. Sean is happy to answer general questions or connect you with members of our professional team.

Molly Bermet (they/them) // Communications Coordinator

206-525-0915 | molly@templebetham.org

Molly works behind the scenes with the Clergy and professional team to ensure that our congregation and prospective members are informed about what is going on at Temple Beth Am through our website, social media pages and community emails.

Rena Levine (she/her) // Temple Coordinator

206-525-0915, ext. 201 | rena@templebetham.org

Rena is often the first voice you’ll hear on the phone or face you’ll see at our front desk. She loves to help congregants through answering general questions or connecting you with members of our professional team. Whatever your questions or needs are, Rena can help and is looking forward to serving you!

Jose Carrillo (he/him), Colby Davis (he/him), Janis Hill (she/her), Alberto Mendez (he/him), John Coley (he/him) // Facilities Team

The Facilities Team at Beth Am, led by our Facilities Manager Colby Davis, works hard to provide the best possible experience for congregants, clergy, and our professional team. They ensure the safety, security, function, and beauty of our grounds and building resources. Members of the Facilities Team are the first to come in each day and the last to leave. Their work provides the foundation for everything else that happens at Temple Beth Am and we are proud and grateful for their service to the community.

Mike McCartney (he/him) // IT Support

Mike has been a longtime partner with Temple Beth Am and works hard to ensure that our IT infrastructure is not only able to support our needs today, but able to rapidly adapt and evolve with 21st century technological advancements.

Jaime Shure (she/her) // A/V Support

Jaime joined our team as a part of Beth Am’s response to the accessibility needs of our congregants during the pandemic, and a call to technological progress and advancement in keeping with the broader URJ community. Jaime is working to afford our members a more robust audio-visual experience and is excited to partner with Beth Am to serve our community.

Taryn Webber (she/her) // Soloist

Taryn Webber has served Temple Beth Am with her vocal talents since 2000. She has studied classical cello, voice, pipe organ, steel drums (Trinidad), and the cajon (from the Afro-Peruvian tradition). Since she first moved to Seattle from the East Coast in 1997, she has taught orchestra/choir at Washington Middle School (Seattle), general music at B.F. Day Elementary School (Seattle), and orchestra at Einstein Middle School (Shoreline). Taryn is currently the Assistant Music Director at Holy Names Academy (Seattle) where she teaches orchestra, chamber music, and music production (recording) classes. She also conducts one of the orchestras (the Sinfonette) in the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra organization in Edmonds. When she isn’t teaching or hanging out with her family, Taryn loves being a part of many recording and live music projects, both on cello and voice.