Staff and Board

Heather Garrett, Executive Director, joined Beth El in September of 2022.

Most recently, Heather served as Chief Administrative Officer for Jewish Community Services in Baltimore, Md. In this capacity, she oversaw finance, HR, IT, and administrative operations for the agency which offers diverse programs and services supporting individuals across ages and stages of life. Previously, Heather worked as the chief financial officer and human resources director for a dual-diagnosis behavioral and mental health facility in Los Angeles. Born and raised in California, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Antioch University and a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University, Monterey Bay.

Heather’s “why” is to create space and authentic connections with others so that we can all mutually grow and live our missions. Her favorite role is being the mother of Jasmine, 22, and Miles, three. In her free time, she can usually be found adventuring with her kids and learning as many new things as possible.

Heather can be reached at ext. 106 or hgarrett@bethelmc.org.

Lori Schor Ulanow, Development Director, came to Beth El in November 2018. Prior to joining the staff, Lori served in several fundraising roles including Chief Development Officer for the Jewish Social Service Agency of Greater Washington (JSSA), Director of the American Hospital Association’s Political Action Committee (AHAPAC), and the American Medical Association’s Political Action Committee (AMPAC). Lori is a native Clevelander and a graduate of Miami (Ohio) University as well as the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She and her husband, Les, have two adult children, Maddie and Ethan, who are well-launched, and are exceedingly passionate about their cockapoo, Lucky.

Lori can be contacted at ext. 118 or lulanow@bethelmc.org.

Deb Geiger, Director of Community Engagement, joined Beth El in March of 2022. Deb is originally from Bridgewater, New Jersey, near Princeton. Deb completed a dual program at Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and earned a Masters in education at George Washington University. Before coming to Beth El, she worked with Hillel International and was, most recently, director of engagement at Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg.

A lover of coffee, travel, and sports, Deb is the mother of Ellie, 11, and Zoe, seven. Her husband, Adam is director of Microsoft and virtualization engineering at Sirius XM.

Deb can be contacted at ext. 146 or dgeiger@bethelmc.org.

Elisha Rothschild Frumkin, Education Director, joined the Beth El staff in 2007. Before becoming the Education Director, she served as Beth El’s Associate Education Director, Assistant Education Director and Family Education Director, and served as Interim Education Director from 2012-2013.

Previously, Elisha held positions as Assistant Principal at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, VA, and Youth Director at Beth Israel Congregation in Baltimore, where, in 2006, she received the Outstanding Informal Jewish Educator award from the Maryland Teen Initiative. In 2010, she was a 20/20 honoree, recognized by the Jewish Educators Assembly as one of twenty emerging Jewish educators in their 20s from the Washington, DC area. Elisha was awarded the title of Conservative Jewish Educator (CJE) in 2012, a designation recognizing her attaining a standard of achievement in the field of Conservative Jewish education.

A former Teach for America Corps Member, Elisha received her Bachelor of Arts degree from The George Washington University and holds two Masters Degrees in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education from Baltimore Hebrew University. Elisha and her husband, Josh, live in Germantown, Maryland, with their two daughters, Michal and Sivan.

Elisha can be contacted at ext. 119 or efrumkin@bethelmc.org.

Tali Moscowitz, Assistant Education Director, holds a bachelor’s degree from American University in Elementary Education, a post baccalaureate certificate also from American University in pre-medicine, and an MS in Non-Profit Management with a  certificate in Jewish Communal Service. Additionally, Tali is a certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT-200). She has held various positions at Beth El since 2006 that have included Religious School teacher, office manager, and program coordinator, youth advisor, and Rosh Hodesh group leader. In her spare time, Tali can often be found teaching or taking yoga classes around the D.C. area and attending musical theater productions in D.C. or New York City.

Tali can be contacted at ext. 108 or tmoscowitz@bethelmc.org.

Ricardo Munster, Program Coordinator, has been a member of Beth El staff since November, 2006. A native of Argentina, Ricardo received his MA in Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, and worked in that field for many years. Following a career change in 1999, he was appointed Executive Director of the Hirsch Home in Buenos Aires, a Jewish continuing-care facility for 200 residents.

Together with his wife, Irene, they moved to North Carolina in 2004, where he continued his Jewish communal involvement as the volunteer coordinator for the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation. When Irene was offered a position in the area in 2005, they moved to Bethesda, and, shortly after, they joined Beth El.

In his capacity as program coordinator, Ricardo leads many efforts in assisting with engagement activities, senior programming, and building rentals, and works closely with Pam Kocher to ensure the office at Beth El runs smoothly.

Ricardo can be reached at ext. 116 or rmunster@bethelmc.org.

Pam Kocher, Director of Operations, has been with Beth El since January 2002. Prior to working at Beth El, Pam was the Office Manager at a local video production company for several years. She started at Beth El as the Office Manager and has continued to take on additional responsibilities leading to her current role as the Director of Operations. Some of her responsibilities include working with the Building Supervisor keeping the building maintained, supervising the streaming and zoom technology and services, running the main office, overseeing the calendar for the synagogue, and assisting the Executive Director.

Pam can be reached at ext. 103 or pkocher@bethelmc.org.

Tiarra Joslyn, Communications Manager, has been a member of the Beth El staff since September 2013. A native of Las Vegas, Tiarra moved back from Arlington, Va. to Las Vegas in the summer of 2019 and has worked remotely for Beth El ever since.

Tiarra maintains the shul’s website and database, manages Beth El’s social media presence, writes for and designs the Scroll, and creates flyers and other items to help promote events and activities by the synagogue.

Ext. 127
tjoslyn@bethelmc.org 

Sara Greenbaum, Executive Assistant to Rabbis, was a teacher in the Beth El Preschool for 17 years before joining the office staff in June of 2017. After being first an administrative assistant, then office manager, Sara’s role is to lead the many efforts supporting the rabbis’ work, implement rabbinic initiatives, and provide coordination and support for special projects. Sara grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and after attending school, she moved to the D.C. area in 1983.

Ext. 102
sgreenbaum@bethelmc.org.

Robin Finkelstein, B-Mitzvah Coordinator and Hazzan Assistant, joined Beth El in December 2021. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Services, she held a variety of positions in Jewish camping and event planning and management, most recently as the show manager for Sugarloaf Craft Festivals. In addition to working closely with Beth El’s clergy and member families to ensure that the b-mitzvah process runs smoothly, and Robin provides administrative support to Hazzan Fradkin.

Ext. 131
rfinkelstein@bethelmc.org

Ian Rothman, Controller, joined Beth El in May 2015. The grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, he thinks his zeyde would be very proud of the work he does with Beth El.

Ext. 104
irothman@bethelmc.org

Kenia Majano, Administrative Assistant, joined Beth El in May 2019. She lives in Frederick, Md. with her husband and baby boy. She is happy to be part of Beth El’s office staff.

kmajano@bethelmc.org

Lynn Pikovsky, Preschool Office Administrator, joined the Beth El Staff in July, 2014. She lives in Gaithersburg with her husband and 3 children.

Ext. 107
lpikovsky@bethelmc.org

Allison Brown, Program Coordinator at Beth El Religious School. Originally from Canada, Allison joined Beth El in November of 2021. Her passion for Jewish Education snuck up on this Sunday School Drop Out, and is now a central part of her life. In addition to her work with Beth El, Allison is a Maccabi USA Educator Fellow and will spend July 2022 in Israel with the Team USA Delegation at the 21st Maccabiah!

abrown@bethelmc.org

Curtis Kearns, Building Supervisor, joined the Beth El staff in early 2018. Prior to Beth El, Curtis worked at the JCC for more than 10 years as the facility supervisor. Curtis has a Journeyman License in Plumbing along with Gas Fitter Certification. Curtis oversees our facility staff, coordinates inspectors, vendors, and contractors, and provides maintenance, repairs, and event preparation.

Ext. 142
ckearns@bethelmc.org

Kevin Trainor, Chef, a native to the Washington area, is a graduate of L’Academie de Cuisine. Kevin is responsible for the preparation of Shabbat and Festival kiddushim, morning minyan breakfasts, congregational Shabbat dinners, and food service for almost all other synagogue events. He oversees the kitchen and wait staff as well as overall kitchen maintenance.

ktrainor@bethelmc.org