Sheila Feldman joined Adat Shalom in 1993 and quickly became one of our most
active members. Her volunteer work for the congregation has included serving as High Holiday Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, and Co-Chair of the
Community Life Committee (a Board position). In November 1999, Sheila accepted a full-time, salaried position as our
first executive director.
She remains in that position and has become a member of the National Association of Temple
Administrators (NATA).
Sheila honed her administrative skills while holding executive positions at the National Naval Medical Center and the
National Institutes of Health.
She has long been active in the Parent Encouragement Program (PEP) and continues to
serve that organization as a certified parent educator, leading
parenting workshops and giving talks in the larger community. She finds that her work in PEP and in Adat Shalom complement each other nicely, and
she remains strongly dedicated to both organizations. She and her husband, Bill Blackburn, live in Silver Spring. They have
six grown children and two grandchildren from previous marriages.
Chava Gal-Or is the Director of Education and Youth at Adat
Shalom. In June 2002, she came to Adat Shalom via Atlanta, Georgia where
she was
the Education Director at a Sephardic synagogue. Chava has been a Jewish
educator since she was 17 years old as an assistant in a Hebrew School
classroom and
has used the opportunity to teach in a variety of Hebrew School and day school classrooms to grow in the way she
envisions within the field of Jewish
Education. She received her BA and the better part of a MA in Jewish
Studies
from Baltimore Hebrew University with an emphasis in Jewish Education.
Chava's personal philosophy is to "Empower, Embrace and Engage Everyone."
She loves working at Adat Shalom and being part of the Reconstructionist
Movement. In July 2003, Chava co-chaired the first ever Education
Directors
Conference for the Reconstructionist Movement. Along with her love of
Judaism, Chava
has a passion for writing and has published articles about creating a
non-toxic
home environment and her family's adoption experience. Chava is blessed to
have a beautiful family including her husband Michael, sons Aryeh and
Dovi,
and
their three Jewish dogs!
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)