Resume

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PROFILE

Received Cantorial Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2018
Passionate about helping people discover their own gifts and life purposes
Believes in the power of music to foster a community that inspires, comforts, uplifts, and heals
Easily adaptable and connected as our world continues to change in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Technologically savvy and always learning how to use technology to our advantage
Enjoys spreading happiness
Based in Chicago

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Congregational leadership: prayer leader of diverse and meaningful worship services, innovator of creative musical prayer, song leader
Virtual leadership: creator and leader of meaningful online-based worship, producer of creative & distanced musical collaboration, effective teacher of all ages with individuals and groups
- Versed in: Zoom, the Google system, Garage Band, Dropbox, Final Cut Pro X, Sibelius
Musical collaboration: director of multifaceted worship-based musical groups, youth and adult choir leader
Educating: b’nai mitzvah and trope tutor, youth and adult education teacher
Pastoral care: passionate chaplain in both Jewish and non-denominational settings
- Wrote Master’s Thesis, titled Ahavah Nitzchit – Love Doesn’t Die, on how Jewish music can help a family through the death of a loved one
Liturgy, music theory, and a wide range of cantorial and contemporary repertoire
Vocal training: professional and extensive voice study in a range of styles including cantorial, traditional nusach, Jewish folk, and opera
Instruments: proficient in guitar and piano

CONGREGATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Cantor, Peninsula Temple Sholom, Burlingame, CA, 2018-2020

Led 685-unit congregation with 3 rabbinic partners
Followed predecessor of 51 years

Worship: Shabbat & Other Services

Partnered with rabbis in creating diverse and meaningful worship for all ages
Sought out and hired new professional musicians who add additional layers of texture to our worship on an ongoing basis
Gradually brought fresh music to the congregation while maintaining the existing legacy

Worship: High Holy Days

Spearheaded the revamping of the High Holy Day service line-up
Imagined and crafted a single Congregational Erev Rosh Hashanah service for the first time in the history of the synagogue
- Engaged multiple generations of congregational singers
- Hired and directed a band of professional instrumentalists
- Sought out and hired a professional quartet of singers
- Placed all musical forces on the bimah, rather than in the choir loft, for the first time in the temple’s history
Created and executed a Service of Renewal in partnership with rabbi

Education

Developed and implemented new b’nai mitzvah program
Oversaw week-to-week progress of b’nai mitzvah students
Developed and taught pre-b’nai mitzvah trope class for 6th graders
Taught pre-k through 8th grade in the Youth Education program
Created and taught a varied array of Adult Education classes

Program development

Founded and directed PTS Kehillah Singers (youth choir) and Pop-Up Adult Choir
Built Artist-in-Residence programs in conjunction with visiting artists to bring the best of the musical talent of the Reform Movement to PTS
Created Peninsula Young Professionals, a Bay Area PTS-sponsored young professionals group

Pastoral Care

Provided ongoing spiritual and emotional support for congregants
Officiated a full range of lifecycle events

VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP

*For video examples of worship and programming during the pandemic, please visit the “Virtual Community Building” page on my website.

Uses the power of technology to bring creative programming and worship into people’s homes
Shifted the b’nai mitzvah program to an entirely virtual model
- Worked closely with each individual, affected family to help them navigate the unknown and new reality of their simcha
- Created a new tutoring plan for each student based on how each individual was handling the situation (zoom-learning, emotionally, etc)
Created a new approach to worship that tended to the needs of the virtual platform
- Quickly learned, discovered, and reevaluated what worked and what didn’t work virtually as to reach as many congregants in the most meaningful way possible
- Re-implemented old goals within the new virtual context
Worked diligently to create opportunities for distanced musical collaboration for both our community’s professional musicians and congregants
Worked daily with senior staff team to reevaluate decisions involving temple life such as our initial decision to close the building, how to best restructure the preschool and Youth Education program, how the High Holy Days would unfold, how to handle staffing and programming within our pandemic-era budget, our new approach to membership commitment

Programs Created (between March and June 2020)

Singing for the Soul

Intention behind creation:
- To give congregants the space to process & heal in a context separate from worship
- To use music as a vehicle to intentionally merge our Jewish faith with the intensity of the secular world around us
Weekly 30-minute virtual gatherings sharing in song, healing, and encouragement
Began on March 19 and lasted for 10 weeks
Each week had a different theme that drew upon the current weekly situation(s)
Musical selections were thematically relevant and included both Jewish and secular selections

Havdalah B’yachad

Intention behind creation:
- To help congregants realize that they can provide tangible Jewish ritual in their own homes
- To provide an additional ongoing opportunity for congregant interaction
Weekly virtual Havdalah connected to a theme

Havdalah B’yachad – Together in Song

Intention behind creation:
- To give a “facelift” to an existing program to keep it exciting and relevant
- To support the artists who give so much of themselves to our movement
Special four-week series of Havdalah B’yachad
Each week featured a different Jewish musician who led us through a concert and Havdalah
Carefully selected each guest artist to bring as vast an array of styles and voices as possible
Artists included Elana Arian, Dan Nichols, Jacob Spike Kraus, and Rabbi Ken Chasen

RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2016-2018, Student Cantor, Am Shalom (Glencoe, IL)

2016-2017, Cantorial Intern, KAM Isaiah Israel (Chicago, IL)

2016, High Holy Day Student Cantor, Congregation Rodef Sholom (Youngstown, OH)

2014-2016, Student Cantor, Temple Emanuel (Roanoke, VA)

2017-2018, B’nai Mitzvah Tutor, East End Temple (New York, NY)

2015-2016, B’nai Mitzvah Tutor, Shaarey Tefila (New York, NY)

2014-2018, B’nai Mitzvah Tutor, Congregation Rodeph Sholom (New York, NY)

2016, Chaplain Intern, Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago, IL)

2014-2015, Song leader and Rosh T’filah, Goldman Union Camp Institute (Zionsville, IN)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS

Student Liaison for the American Conference of Cantors Executive Board (2016-2018)
Awarded the honor of coordinating and leading special t’filot at HUC-JIR NYC
- Honoring Rabbi Martin A. Cohen, Ph.D. for 60 years of service at HUC-JIR (April 2016)
- Central Conference of American Rabbis, celebrating the authors of The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate (September 2016)
The Rabbi Sarah Messinger Prize (2017)
Compassionate Cantor Prize by Reform Cantors of Chicago (2016)
Hilda and Murray Friedman Memorial Scholarship (2015, 2016 & 2017)
Edith Roberts Memorial Prize (2015)

FORMAL EDUCATION

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, New York, NY

Cantorial Ordination (May 2018)
Master of Sacred Music (May 2017)

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

Bachelor of Science, Music History (May 2013)

Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Il

Clinical Pastoral Education (Summer 2016)

PERSONAL INTERESTS

Working toward perfecting my next yoga pose, advocating for animal adoption and a cruelty-free lifestyle, creating my next new vegan recipe, enjoying quality time with my loved ones

References available upon request