Staff

Jeffrey T. Baden, Executive Director

jbaden@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x224

For nearly 30 years, Jeff Baden has served the Jewish communities of Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Ann Arbor in a variety of leadership roles, including Executive Director of both the Cincinnati and Ann Arbor JCCs, Director of Planning and Allocations for the Greater Cincinnati Jewish Federation, Director of Early Childhood Education for the Indianapolis JCC and Director of Camp Livingston (a Jewish resident camp).  While in Cincinnati, Jeff met his wife, Rabbi Ilana Greenfield Baden, who grew up in Libertyville.  When Rabbi Baden was offered a position with Temple Chai in Long Grove, Jeff left the Ann Arbor JCC so that the family could “return home.”  Jeff and Rabbi Baden have two children and reside in Buffalo Grove.  In his spare time, Jeff enjoys practicing magic, as well as playing and recording Jewish music.

Hazzan Barbara Barnett, Ritual Director

bbarnett@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x223

A Chicago-area native, Hazzan Barbara Barnett has served area congregations for more than 20 years as teacher, ritual director, and cantor. She received her investiture into the Cantors Assembly in 2014 and obtained her commission as Hazzan-Minister in 2018. 

Dr. Alicia Gejman, Director of Formal Education

agejman@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x227 or 847-432-8924

Alicia is a native of Argentina and lived in Israel for many years. While in Israel, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Education Counseling from Bar-Ilan University and then a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology from The Hebrew University. Alicia completed an Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from George Washington University.  Alicia held a number of professional education positions in the United States. She served as the Principal at West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest for thirteen years and was the Director of Makor Or, Special Needs Center of the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago for five years.  Alicia was awarded the title of “Conservative Jewish Educator” (‘CJE’) and she holds a Principal’s License from the National Board of License for Teachers and Principals of Jewish Schools in North America.

Alicia has a degree of Doctor of Science in Jewish Studies from Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. Her doctoral dissertation was on Judeo-Spanish proverbs and on how to teach these proverbs to elucidate a deeper understanding of the Sephardic worldview. Reflecting on her studies, Alicia feels more grounded in learning, more equipped to develop curriculum and hopes to inspire lifelong learners.

As well as serving as our Director of Formal Education, Alicia is the Director of both the Jack and Mildred Cohen Religious School and the Bernard H. Sokol Hebrew High School and she supervises the Steinberg Pre-School.

Kory Goldenberg, Steinberg Pre-School 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 Informal Education

adrumm@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x218

Ali has served the Beth El community since August 2003, working with youth, families, and on membership and engagement initiatives.  She currently serves as our Director of Informal Education, overseeing adult education, and working closely with our cultural, youth and family programming. Ali holds a BA in English Literature and Middle Eastern Affairs from the University of Miami and a masters degree in Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. Ali holds the title of “Conservative Jewish Educator” (‘CJE’) through the Jewish Educators Assembly and serves on the national board.  Having served on the board of the Jewish Youth Directors Association and the  planning committee of the Chicago Informal Jewish Educators’ conference, and having worked in all forms of informal education from Camp Ramah to USY Pilgrimage to year-round youth work, she works to bring the energy of experiential education to our entire congregation. Ali and her husband Mike live in Highland Park, and have four children.

Marah Altenberg, Youth Community Director

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

Marah  has worked with youth and families in other Chicago area synagogues and Jewish organizations for many years. She was involved in USY, herself, as a teen and studied at Hebrew University during college. Her family also lived in Singapore for two years, where she was the executive director of the Reform/Conservative synagogue. Additionally, Marah is a journalist and worked at several newspapers in the Chicago area. Marah is married to Jonathan Altenberg and has two children, Jessica, and Caitlyn.

Rachel Kamin, Gray Cultural and Learning Center Director

rkamin@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x242 or 847-926-7903

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. 

Judy Berkeley, Director of Development and Membership

jberkeley@nssbethel.org
847-432-0703 or 847-432-8900 x262

Judy joined the staff of NSS Beth El as Director of Development in the fall of 2017 and became the Membership and Development Director in the spring of 2019.

As Development Director, Judy works with staff and volunteer leadership to execute development strategy in supporting our annual giving program, major gifts, legacy giving, and Capital and Endowment Campaigns. Judy comes to us with vast Development experience in the Jewish community; including the United Jewish Communities, Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, and Am Shalom Synagogue in Glencoe. 

As Membership Director, Judy works with staff and lay leadership on member recruitment and engagement. She staffs the membership committee and she is the first point of contact for all potential members. She walks them through the process of becoming a member of our Beth El family and getting them involved in our special and vibrant Beth El community. Please contact Judy for information on becoming a member of NSS Beth El!

Judy received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Double Master’s Degree in Jewish Communal Services and Social Work from Hebrew Union College and the University of Southern California. A lifelong Jewish community worker, Judy is committed both personally and professionally to helping to ensure a strong Jewish future for our congregation and community; l’dor vador. She is truly humbled and honored to be working at such an incredibly strong, flourishing  and vibrant congregation like NSS Beth El.  While not at Beth El, Judy can be found spending time with her family in Glencoe, where she grew up and now resides with her husband Stephen and four children; Benjamin, Becca, Joseph, and Matty.

Abe Rotbart, Director of Finance

arotbart@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x233

Abe is a dual American-Israeli citizen. After growing up in Chicago, Abe lived 13 years in Israel and 16 years in New York. A CPA graduate of the University of Illinois, Abe spent 4 years in public accounting, both in Chicago and Tel-Aviv, before entering the private sector. Abe has six years’ not for profit experience in the capacity of Director of Finance, managing accounting departments, and serving as a strategic planning partner to the Boards of the Rockland County NY JCC, Federation and Jewish Family Services as well as the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning based out of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. On the corporate level, Abe has close to 20 years’ experience as a CFO and Controller for industries including Legal Collections, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Wholesale Distribution and Third Party Logistics. He is avid supporter of Israel and of Jewish Education. While living in Israel Abe was ordained by the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem. He has four children and today makes his home with his wife in Skokie.

Abby Lasky, Director of Communications

alasky@nssbethel.org
847-926-7908

Abby Lasky joined the Beth El team in October of 2017 as our Director of Communications. Abby’s background is in graphic design and digital communications where she has over 30 years of experience. Prior to working at Beth El, Abby handled all of the print and communications for a small private school in Northbrook. Previous to that position, she had her own freelance graphic design business working with clients in B2B and B2C markets as well as working on-site for other agencies. Some of the specialties of the agencies included hospitality, magazine publishing, healthcare, and packaging. Abby received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and also attended University of Wisconsin in Madison. Abby grew up in Farmington Michigan, and now lives in Northbrook with her husband Ed and three children.

Laura Frankel, Chef, Director of Hospitality and Catering

lfrankel@nssbethel.org
847-432-8900 x237

Laura Frankel is a noted Chef, author, blogger and media personality. Most recently, Frankel served as the Culinary Director for Kosher Media International. Additionally, Laura worked as the Executive Chef at Wolfgang Puck Catering.  Chef Laura is an avid blogger and also writes for The Jerusalem Post and Eating Well magazine.  She is the former chef and founder of the Shallots restaurants, with training and extensive experience in both savory and pastry kitchens. 

After Laura had a family and began maintaining a kosher home she found that there was nowhere in Chicago serving the quality of food that she knew she could offer.  She opened her first restaurant in 1999, offering kosher fine dining with a produce-driven menu. Laura opened Shallots NY in 2000 in midtown Manhattan. In 2004, she moved her Chicago restaurant to Skokie, and created Shallots Bistro. 

Chef Laura has cooked for many dignitaries, including: Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Joseph and Hadassah Lieberman, Presidential Candidate Al Gore, Mikhail Gorbachev, President George Bush, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steven Spielberg, Senator Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump, and many others.  Laura was honored as an innovator in Modern Kosher Farm to Table Cuisine at the 25th anniversary celebration of Kosherfest in the fall of 2014. She was the only Female Chef/Author ever to be honored at Kosherfest.