LAY LEADERSHIP
Executive Committee
James Nahirny
President
Carole Rodenstein
President
Lisa Cohen
Vice President
Development Committee Chair
Lisa Cohen joined TBA in 2004 and grew her love of Temple during the 2005 family trip to Israel. Recently, she’s been more involved through the Atideynu program, Revenue Task Force, and Development Committee. She is a dermatologist and dermatopathologist who primarily works on the laboratory side with a focus on melanoma and other skin cancer diagnoses. She is currently Managing Director at StrataDx in Lexington.
Sarah Dretchen
Education Committee Chair
Sarah Dretchen became more involved in TBA when her oldest joined the ELC in 2020. She is an active member of the Education Committee and the Revenue Task Force. She is a visionary design and product leader, coach, and mentor in the intersection of technology and design for disruption. She is currently the Associate Director of Product Design at Curology, making skincare accessible to all. Sarah also enjoys discovering new restaurants, cooking, riding her Peloton, and traveling the world.
James and his wife Janet live in Brookline, where they raised their three children, all of whom became b’nai mitzvah at TBA. James has been on the Board since 2012, is a past Treasurer of TBA, past chair of the Development Committee, has served on multiple task forces over the years, and currently leads the Executive Committee and serves on the Finance and Endowment Committees. He is an alum of Combined Jewish Philanthropy’s Archarai leadership program and served on CJP’s Budget and Administration Committee for many years. James was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, a Founding Partner and Managing Director at Bain Capital Ventures, is currently the Managing Partner of Alsora Capital, and has served on the boards of many private and public companies over the years.
David Cohen
Treasurer
Finance Committee Chair
David has been a member of TBA for many years where all three of his children attended religious school and became B’nai Mitzvah. In addition to serving as the chair of the finance committee as treasurer, he was the chair of the Revenue Task Force and instrumental in creating the new Member Commitment structure. David worked in private equity with Berkshire Partners and GC Companies, founded Midwood Capital Management, and served as the Director of Finance and Operations at the Vilna Shul. He is currently the CFO of Tour24, a mobile app for apartment touring.
Carolyn Snider
Leadership Committee Chair
Carolyn has belonged to TBA since age 5 when her parents were among the Temple’s early members and since then she became a Bat Mitzvah, participated in junior choir and BAYGL, graduated Hebrew School and was confirmed, got married, and even witnessed her own children embark on their own Jewish milestones. Carolyn is the chair of the Leadership Development Committee. Outside the temple, Carolyn co-founded and runs Tell Me a Story (custom memoirs). She enjoys spinning, and traveling and cooking with her husband Jeff, daughter, Emily (her husband Sam) and her son, Justin.
Bruce Blakely
Secretary
Building & Grounds Committee Chair
Bruce and his wife Robin joined TBA in 2012 after moving from Austin, TX. Bruce was active in the synagogue and served as VP of finance for the Jewish day school in Austin. He was co-chair of the TBA Brotherhood before joining the board in 2016. He is currently the chair of the buildings and grounds committee and has been active in the arts troupe. Bruce directs high school science product development for a major educational publisher. He enjoys outdoor activities, hiking, cycling, skiing, and building the sukkah. Bruce and Robin have two adult daughters, Rachel and Hannah.
Michelle Spitzkoff
Human Resources Chair
Michelle Spitzkoff first joined TBA when she was in 4th grade and returned with her own family. Michelle was active in the Parent Council and Education Committee, Welcoming Committee, Community & Programming Committee and the Engagement Task Force. She is currently the co-chair of the Atideynu program and is on the Transition Task Force. Michelle works in Human Resources at Liberty Mutual and lives in Newton with her husband, Craig, and their children Maya and Zach.
Jeff Tarmy
Community & Program Committee Chair
Jeff Tarmy has been a member of TBA for many years with his wife, Alison, and two teenage daughters, Hannah and Megan. He has been in leadership roles in the Brotherhood and social justice and plays on the TBA softball team. He is a corporate communications executive for life science companies.
Board of Directors
Margie Ross Decter
Margie Ross Decter has been a long-time active temple member. She currently active in the Tzedek (social action) Committee and enjoys participating in the Arts Troupe and women’s events. She’s passionate about civic engagement and has served in a number of Boards in the non-profit world including the Newton School Committee and runs a consultancy catalyzing health-driven organizations. She lives in Newton with her husband and three children.
Beth Kozinn
Beth Kozinn and her family have been members of Temple Beth Avodah since 2002. She greatly enjoys being involved in TBA's Arts Troupe productions, chanting Torah, and planning the women's kallah. Beth currently works as Director of Operations at Kesher Newton, an independent Jewish after school program. She lives in Newton with her husband Glenn Barest and their daughter Peri.
Carole Rodenstein
Immediate Past President
Carole and her husband Mark and daughters Marissa and Jocelyn have been active members of Temple Beth Avodah for over 20 years. Her family has been honored to celebrate many special events at TBA including her daughters Bat Mitzvahs, graduations from preschool through Midrasha as well as Carole celebrated her adult Bat Mitzvah at TBA in 2014. Carole participates and leads many committees including the Board and the Executive Committee. In addition, she chaired the ad-hoc Vision committee and played a key role in developing our new Vision statement. Carole brings expertise in project management, strategic planning, and team building.
Jeremy Goldfarb
Jeremy lives in Newton Centre with his wife Ilona and daughter Misha (his son Jonah is studying at University of Maryland). His family has been very active in the TBA community for over a decade: both children have gone through Hebrew school and Midrasha and you can still see Misha helping out on Sunday mornings! Jeremy has served as co-chair of the TBA Brotherhood, member of the temple board, and is now member-at-large on the executive committee. During COVID, Jeremy helped launch the Health and Safety Task Force for TBA. When not at TBA, Jeremy is an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
Ellen Meisel
Past President
Ellen and her husband Jim have been Temple Beth Avodah members for over 25 years and Ellen served as President of the congregation. Under Ellen’s leadership, we celebrated 50 years in grand style. Ellen also led us through the Temple governance changes during her presidency. Ellen is the chair of the TBA Cares initiative that seeks to support and connect every member. When she isn’t at the Temple, Ellen spends her time as a realtor and with her growing family.
Jon Simon
Jon and his wife Lauren have been members of TBA since 2010. Their two daughters both attended TBA's Early Learning Center; this was their entry point into the TBA community. Lila and Orly continued in religious school, had Bat Mitzvahs, and later worked for our religious school teaching staff. They live in Newton in close proximity to TBA. Jon joined the Board in 2024, and has been a member of the Finance Committee for several preceding years. He is an alum of CJP's Archarai Leadership Program and currently serves on the Board of Jewish Vocational Service (JVS). Jon is a Senior Director at Arrowstreet Capital, where he manages the firm's relationships with their institutional investors.
Julie Gollob
Julie Black Gollob grew up at TBA. She has children in the TBA religious school program and her daughter was a co-president of BAYGL. Julie co-chaired the engagement committee and helps plan events for parents of teens. She is active in TBA Cares and works to engage perspective and new members in TBA. When not at the temple, Julie enjoys tennis, nature, the arts and travel.
Adam Rizika
Adam Rizika has been a member of TBA for over 10 years. He is married to Ellen and they have three children, Joshua, Sasha and Ava. Adam spent two years as head of the Brotherhood and his favorite TBA event is building the sukkah. Outside of temple, Adam is an entrepreneur, tech company advisor, FIRST Robotics coach, plus an avid skier, kite boarder, hiker and mountain biker.
Mike Weissel
Mike, his wife Karen, and his three children have been TBA members for almost 20 years. This is Mike’s first term as a TBA Board member. In his professional life he spent 17 years at Oliver Wyman where he was a Managing Partner and founder of the firm’s Healthcare practice. He worked for six years at Optum as a member of the leadership team including as CEO of Optum’s Consumer Solutions Division. During Covid he led a startup focused on helping older adults with issues of loneliness and social isolation. After taking a year off he is going back to his strategy consulting roots in the fall. Additionally, Mike has served as a board member and advisory to a number of venture and private equity firms. Mike’s an avid cyclist and can be seen early in the morning on the streets of Newton, Needham and Dover.
Mike Zakin
Mike and his wife Dori have been members of TBA since 2019 when their twin daughters joined the ELC. Mike is an active member of the Finance and Member Commitment Committees. He grew up in a family of Jewish educators and has always been involved in Temple life in different capacities. Professionally, Mike is currently a Director of Advanced Analytics at Fidelity Investments specializing in marketing. Prior to Fidelity, he worked in finance and accounting at Ernst & Young. Mike lives in Newton with Dori and their three daughters and enjoys playing tennis, jogging, and traveling with family.