Staff

Anna Besser, Jack & Mildred Cohen Religious School Director

abesser@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x227 or 847-926-7904

Kory Goldenberg, Steinberg Preschool Director

kgoldenberg@nssbethel.org
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

adrumm@nssbethel.org
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.

Sarah Topal, Director of Engagement

stopal@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x214 or 847-432-2040

Sarah Topal most recently worked as Director of Youth & Family Engagement, planning and running programs for youth up through high school. As Director of Engagement, Sarah oversees programming for all ages and cohorts. Sarah previously worked as the Youth and Family Coordinator at Adas Israel in Washington D.C., and has served as the Program Director for Camp Ramah Darom. She holds degrees in Elementary Education and Education Technology from the University of Florida and a Masters Degree in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Her work has given her opportunities to interact with students from all ages and in a variety of Jewish settings.

Rachel Kamin, Director of Lifelong Learning

rkamin@nssbethel.org
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

slamell@nssbethel.org

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.