Adat Shalom Officers, Board Members, and Committees

2010—2011 Officers and Board of Directors

Presidents Garry Grossman, Ruth Spodak
Vice Presidents Ted Berman (VP-Programming), Hannah Lipman (VP-Membership Services), Scott Lessne (VP-Administration), Shelley Sadowsky (VP-Personnel)
Treasurer Sandy Hayward
Secretary Jeff Rubin
General Counsel Jay Marks
At-Large Board Members Harriet Shugerman, Vicki Stearn (Communications), Gail Ross (Insitutional Development/Advancement)
Committee Representation Religious Practices Chair: Audrey Lyon
Chair, Torah School Board: Lora Griff
Elected Representatives of the Program Council: Julie Glass, Neal Goldenberg, Fran Zamore
Past Presidents Bill Halpern, Carol Feder, Loren Amdursky


Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs (* means Committe is part of Program Council; ** means person is on Board of Directors)

Adult Education * Neal Goldenberg**, Peggy Davidson Community Life* Diane Paul, Sandy Perlstein
Creative Arts * Barbara Berger, Rachel Greenberg Young Family Programming * Kimberly Bayard, Melissa Levitt Seldin,
Louise Milkman
Finance Sandy Hayward, Edward Nelson Fundraising * Carol Bloomberg
Hospitality * Tim Bartol, Julie Glass** Israel Connection* Arthur Berger, Myrna Goldenber
Land And Building Robert Lubran, Louis Tenenbaum, Cathy Gruber Life Cycle * Marc Gunther, Martha Hare, Anne Mazonson,
Shelly Rudick
Membership * Fran Zamore**, Hanna Weissbeger Personnel Shelley Sadowsky**, Beth Sperber Richie
Religious Practices * Audrey Lyon**, David Sieradzki Social Action * Jayme Epstein, Jean Hochron
Torah School Board * Lora Griff**, chair, Michelle Berkovitz, Dinah Leventhal, Barbara Rudin, Jennifer Sherman, Abe Schuchman, Lupe Marks, Phyllis Marcus, Hanina Goldstein Villages * Carol Millman, Elizabeth Toretsky
Youth * Deborah Bluestein, Jeff Rich

As a participatory, lay-led congregation, Adat Shalom members work through committees to shape the rich and varied programs and activities offered by the community. The committees provide a wide range of interests and services to the community. They also offer members an opportunity to pursue areas of interest to them, contribute their time and talents to the community, learn new skills and best of all, meet and work together with fellow congregants. 

Though the work may sometimes be demanding, the rewards and satisfaction are substantial. For new and "newish" members, committee work is the best way to get to know the community and become integrated into Adat Shalom. We invite you to scroll through the committee descriptions, become acquainted with their purposes and programs, find one that appeals to you, contact the chair and participate in their activities.

Adult Education

The Adult Education Committee seeks to provide meaningful Jewish learning to the Adat Shalom community. We seek to challenge and inspire all of our adult members, irrespective of their prior level of Jewish learning, to:

Community Life

The Community Life Committee works to improve the quality of life for the members of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation by stimulating connections between, and involvement by, members of the community, fostering a shared identity among congregants, matching volunteers to needs within programs and committees, and identifying opportunities to strengthen a sense of community.

Creative Arts

The Creative Arts Committee seeks to encourage, plan, develop and coordinate creative expressions in the visual and performing arts that reflect and enhance Jewish historical, cultural and religious experiences. It showcases the works of members through poetry readings, musical events, arts and craft shows and workshops.

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Young Family Programming

Family Programming works to enrich the spiritual lives of Adat Shalom families and stimulate family participation in Adat Shalom events.

Finance

The mission of the Finance Committee is to insure the financial health of Adat Shalom. The Committee works with the Treasurer to develop the annual budget. It also monitors congregational expenses and income, and oversees the investment of Congregational funds. The Committee also works with members to insure that a member's financial situation does not become a barrier to membership.

Fundraising

The fundraising committee helps establish policy to guide fundraising activities in the community and coordinates and implements the annual High Holiday campaign. The Committee has also sponsored one or more events each year to generate income while raising community spirit and having fun.

Hospitality

The Hospitality Committee fosters a welcoming atmosphere for our members and guests, and promotes community values of friendliness, warmth, and participation via our weekly onegs, in-home potlucks and other events where food is served.

Israel Connection

The Israel Connection Committee organizes educational, artistic and literary programs to foster a better understanding of Israeli culture and society, and thus promotes and enhances Adat Shalom's support for the state of Israel and Israeli causes.

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Land And Building

The Land and Building Committee oversees the maintenance of our building and site and plans for future site improvements. The Committee also serves as a resource to the Executive Director in addressing building maintenance and improvement needs. The committee meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 pm.

Life Cycle

The Life Cycle Committee supports Adat Shalom members as they experience the joys and pains of life cycle events such as deaths, births, or illnesses. The committee's goal is to insure that each member feels the support and warmth of the Adat Shalom community when they need it most. This support builds on the natural relationships and subgroups (including villages) that exist within the congregation. In this sense, all members of the congregation help to do the work of this committee.

Membership

The primary goal of the Membership Committee is to recruit new members.  To orient prospective members about Reconstructionism and what it means to become active participants in Adat Shalom's spiritual community, we offer a variety of informational and social programs such as "Meet the Community" sessions after Shabbat services. Upon joining, the Membership Committee sponsors more in-depth programs for new members.

Personnel

The Personnel Committee is responsible for delineating and implementing processes for assessing staffing needs, selecting and evaluating staff and supporting them so that they can function at the highest level of their abilities.

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Religious Practices

The Religious Practices Committee works with the clergy to ensure the smooth functioning of our Shabbat and holiday services and coordinate all religious activities. Our goal is to:

Social Action

The mission of the Social Action Committee is to provide Adat Shalom members with opportunities to carry out the Jewish obligation of tikkun olam, repair of the world. Our goal is to offer a link between the ethical mandate of the Jewish tradition and members' desires to make the world a better place.

Torah School Board

The Torah School Board sets policy and provides direction regarding educational curriculum and programming for Torah school students. It ensures that educational activities are consistent with the values and guidelines of Adat Shalom and that the students develop an appreciation of Jewish history, customs, language, rituals and other teaching within a Reconstructionist context.

Villages

Villages are an effort to create smaller, more intimate communities within Adat Shalom. Villages are geographic groupings of family units headed by volunteer captains who serve as liaisons with the larger Adat Shalom community. See the Villages home page.

Youth

Adat Shalom's Youth Committee organizes, plans and promotes informalJewish education programs for Adat Shalom youth in order to foster leadership and commitment to Jewish values.

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Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
7727 Persimmon Tree Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817

E-mail info@adatshalom.net

Phone: 301-767-3333 x106 | FAX: 301-767-3340

Shabbat Services: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

We are an affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
and part of the Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (CRJRF)