Staff

Rabbi Ben Azriel, Executive Director

[email protected]
847-432-8900

Rabbi Azriel was born and raised in Vernon Hills, and after spending the last 13 years in Ohio, he is excited to return to the Chicagoland area. From a young age, he was immersed in a rich Jewish life—attending Jewish summer camps, participating in youth groups, and finding inspiration in the warmth of his synagogue community. These formative experiences instilled in him a deep love for Jewish tradition, a passion for bringing people together, and a strong appreciation for the impact of a thriving Jewish community.

Rabbi Azriel earned a dual degree in Economics and Political Science from The Ohio State University, magna cum laude, where he actively participated in Hillel, Jewish campus life, fraternity life, and residence hall leadership. After school, Ben worked his way into the Director of Finance role at a congregation, where he developed a keen understanding and passion for synagogue management.

Rabbi Azriel received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College. During his studies, he was able to further his skills in what a diverse rabbinate can include. Recognizing his love of non-profit Jewish management, Rabbi Azriel pursued a career in non-profit Jewish management after graduation. Most recently, he served as the Executive Director at Northern Hills Synagogue in Cincinnati, where he deepened his passion for synagogue management, strengthening his expertise in financial sustainability, operations, and community building. (In a small-world moment, Northern Hills is also the congregation where Beth El’s own Rabbi Freedman grew up!)

Beyond his professional work, Ben is married to Rachel, a physician working in primary care of internal medicine and pediatrics. Their daughter, Eliana, now a little over a year old, keeps them laughing and busy with her endless curiosity. In his free time, Ben is an avid gardener, enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes, and loves going on bike rides. He has also been a soccer referee for nearly 20 years, so don’t be surprised if you spot him on the field! Their family also includes Wrigley—a dog they adopted during the Cubs’ World Series win in 2016—who enjoys a good game of fetch and a run in the backyard.

Anna Besser, Jack & Mildred Cohen Religious School Director

[email protected]
847-432-8900 x227 or 847-926-7904

Kory Goldenberg, Steinberg Preschool Director

[email protected]
847-432-8900 x248 or 847-432-2830

Kory is a graduate of the University of Arizona and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education.  Kory’s Early Childhood career began in San Francisco, CA, where she worked at Marin Day Schools as a Preschool Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Kindergarten Teacher, Infant Teacher, and Curriculum Coordinator. Kory spent her last six years in San Francisco as the Assistant Director for Congregation Sherith Israel’s Preschool program before relocating to Chicago.  After joining her husband in Chicago in 2006, Kory was thrilled to remain a part of the Jewish community as she became the Director of Early Childhood for the Florence Heller JCC in Lakeview. After ten years as the Director at the JCC, Kory and her family relocated to Deerfield. Kory is a dedicated Early Childhood Director with over twenty years of experience in the field. She is passionate about working with young children, committed to creating strong family partnerships and is enthusiastic about creating play based, Reggio Emilia inspired Jewish Early Childhood programming.

Aliza Drumm, Director of Congregational Learning

[email protected]
847-432-8126

Ali Drumm is the Director of Congregational Learning, having served the community of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El since August 2003. Ali holds a BA in English Literature and Middle Eastern Affairs from the University of Miami, a master’s degree in Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, and the title of “Conservative Jewish Educator” (‘CJE’) through the Jewish Educators Assembly. Ali’s background has included experiential education from youth groups to USY Pilgrimage to Camp Ramah, the board of the national Jewish Youth Directors Association and Jewish Educators Assembly, as well as promoting adult education and serving as a teacher for our adult education classes and managing our children’s services. Ali Drumm directs and supports our amazing educational team by facilitating collaboration, cooperation and coordination through the entire educational department.  She helps set strategic goals and makes sure the vision of the synagogue finds expression in the implementation of those goals in the everyday life of our educational initiatives. Ali directly supervises our (Miriam and Bernard H. Sokol Hebrew High School) Jewish Teen Project. She and her husband Michael live in Highland Park, and have four children.

Jacob Markey, Director of Development

[email protected]
847-432-8900 x222

Jacob Markey brings extensive experience as a Jewish communal professional. Most recently, he served as the Executive Director of the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). His past roles also include positions at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Union for Reform Judaism, and Hillel at Brandeis University. Over the past decade-plus, he has led a dozen trips to Israel.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jacob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Leadership and a Master of Public Policy from Brandeis University. Jacob and his wife, Bianca, recently celebrated their wedding.

Hillary Wenk, Director of Engagement

[email protected]
847-432-8900 x214 or 847-432-2040

Hillary Wenk was born in Manhattan and raised in a suburb 45 miles outside New York City. She is a graduate of the State University of New York – Binghamton with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Hillary started her career in fundraising for the Westchester County NY chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. When she and her husband moved to Illinois, Hillary stayed home for ten years to raise their two daughters. Once the girls were in school full-time, she returned to work with JCC Chicago. First as a part-time administrative assistant, and then full-time as the Program Coordinator for the Arts + Ideas Department. In 2021 she was promoted to Manager of Operations for Community Engagement and played an integral role in coordinating the JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival and Violins of Hope. Hillary planned and implemented both in person and virtual programs for JCC Chicago’s adult community which includes discussions with authors, filmmakers, actors, actresses and subject experts on a wide variety of topics, tours of Frank Lloyd Wright properties all over the United States, a series on the synagogues of Chicago and various historical societies. Additionally, she oversaw all department processes to help maintain budgets, ensure programs are successful, engaging and meet agency standards.

In 2018, Hillary completed her Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute.

Hillary is married to her husband, Brian, of over 30 years. They have 2 daughters, Brooke, a Physician Assistant at NY Health & Hospitals Bellevue Hospital Emergency Department and Shaina, a Registered Nurse at Ascension St. Francis in Evanston. She enjoys reading, crocheting, cooking, and spending time with her family and dogs, a yellow lab, great pyrenees mix and a cockapoo.

Rachel Kamin, Director of Lifelong Learning

[email protected]
847-432-8900 x242 or 847-926-7902

Rachel Kamin has been a synagogue librarian for over 20 years, serving as the Director of the Joseph and Mae Gray Cultural & Learning Center since 2008.  She serves on the Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award Committee and contributes articles and book reviews to BookLinks, School Library Journal, Jewish Book World, Judaica Librarianship, Library Journal, and AJL Reviews. She facilitates our Sisterhood Torah Fund Book Club and also leads book groups at several other area synagogues.  A past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, Rachel contributed a chapter to The Tot Shabbat Handbook: A Practical Guide for Engaging Young Families in Congregational Life edited by Paula Feldstein (URJ Press, 2010) and is currently working on a chapter about Jewish children’s literature for a book about using diverse nonfiction children’s literature in K-8 classrooms to be published by the National Council for Teachers of English. She holds a BA in history from Grinnell College and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Michigan.

Stacy La Mell, Director of Youth Community

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Stacy La Mell has been the Director of School Programs and Urban Youth Initiatives and Assistant Director of Summer Camp at Fernbrook Farms Environmental Education Center in Chesterfield, New Jersey for nearly a decade, a 230-acre nonprofit farm-based environmental education center. Stacy’s love of nature and values of Tikkun Olam have been her lifelong inspiration.  She grew up at NSS Beth El, where she was called to the bimah as a bat mitzvah, fulfilling a prayer of her maternal grandparents, both Shoah survivors. 

Stacy studied Fine Arts at The Evergreen State College where her thesis work examined her Jewish experience in Diaspora, Her lifelong passion for Holocaust Education led her to become a speaker with 3G (3rd Generation) Descendants of Holocaust Survivors in 2020, bringing her family’s stories to life by sharing their memories with students in classrooms locally and virtually.  Stacy graduated from the ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute 2023-24 cohort.

Stacy is excited to share her passion for Israel, her multimodal educational style, and her love of Jewish history, traditions and culture with the future generations of Jewish leaders. Stacy recently returned to the area from New Jersey, and is thrilled to once again be part of the NSS Beth El family. She is a proud mother to her son Diego, and three adorable cats.

Maxine Handelman, Director of Young Family Programming

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Maxine Handelman, our Director of Young Family Programming, is an engaging Jewish educator and captivating storyteller, passionate about creating pathways to Jewish life and community, especially for families with young children. Max is a 2020 recipient of the Covenant Award for Jewish educators. Max holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College. She served as the Early Childhood Education specialist at USCJ for 13 years. Max is the author of three books including Jewish Every Day: The Complete Handbook for Early Childhood Teachers. She lives near Wrigley Field with her husband Jacob, and their two young adult daughters are doing good, out in the world.