Become a Leader in Our Community
Together we are building a congregation of thought-leaders, spiritual seekers, and engaged Jewish change-makers. Temple Emanu-El is infused with the dedication and hard work of its members.
Executive Committee
Art Katz
Art is a graduate of the US Coast Guard Academy with a BS in Engineering. He also received an MBA from Rutger's University. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran. Art spent 15 years working at Procter&Gamble and Estée Lauder. In 1979 he founded Executive Recruiting Co., where he is still recruiting part time. Art is passionate about his family, Judaism and the Jewish people, veterans, the needy, fishing, tennis, traveling, learning. Temple Emanuel has been the epicenter of his family and friends since 1979.
Rick Shapiro
Rick and his family have been members of Temple Emanu-El since 1983. Rick is a native of Phoenix, AZ, and his wife, Nancy, grew up in the Los Angeles area. They have raised two children, Lori, who is a researcher in the Boston area, and Jeff, who is working for a multinational engineering company in San Francisco. Both of their children celebrated their Bat/Bar Mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El.
Rick was Brotherhood President and has served on both the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees. He also served as the head usher for the High Holidays for 14 years, and led the Temple Emanu-El softball team as team captain. Rick is passionate about Temple Emanu-El, serving the community, seeing the world with Nancy, craft beer, the Rolling Stones and the San Francisco Giants. He is the owner of Benchmark Audit Services, an energy consulting firm.
Andrew Mintz
Ellen Lindenman
Ben Stone
Don Jaslow
Don and his wife Dianne joined Temple Emanu-El soon after its inception. Their daughters, Leslie, and, Laurie grew up at Temple Emanu-El and now their families are also members.
Don retired in September of 2010 from General Electric after spending 42 years in financial management. During most of those years Don’s volunteer work was with the Marcus Jewish Community Center in various aspects. Don was President of the Center in 2003 and 2004.
It is Don’s philosophy that a person should volunteer and give back to the community. After his retirement Don volunteered at the Georgia Aquarium and today he continues to tutor third grade math weekly at an elementary school. The Temple is an important part of Don’s family and that is why he volunteers his time, energy, and expertise. He co-chaired the Torah Project honoring Rabbi Scott Colbert and served on the search committee that chose Rabbi Spike Anderson as the spiritual leader of our congregation.
It is his passion and desire to see the Temple grow into a vibrant and flourishing congregation.
Jeff Priluck
Lori Bohrer
Lori and her family have been Temple members since 2001. Over the past few years she has greatly increased her involvement in several areas, such as Membership and Choir. This involvement has led her to feel a great sense of community both from the congregants she has met while volunteering, and from our warm and inspriring rabbis and cantor. Professionally, Lori holds a degree in Finance and is currently employed by Levy Tax & Consulting. She also runs a small college advising business which helps students navigate the college admissions process. In her spare time, Lori enjoys walking, exercising, and being with her husband Scott and their four children.
Aaron Silverman
Michael Lipton
Michael Lipton is a Principal at Colliers International, where he represents companies in locating and negotiating office real estate transactions which support their operational, financial and cultural needs. He is passionate about tennis, soccer, music, and supporting Jewish, educational and children’s causes. Temple Emanu-El means a great deal to Michael, as it is "a wonderful community where he can celebrate Judaism, develop lifelong relationships, and support fellow congregants and the greater community in many ways."
Board of Trustees
Tracey Baylin
Tracey joined the Temple Emanu-El family in 2012 and is actively involved as Co-Chair for our Membership Committee and as a Sisterhood member. Tracey’s professional background includes positions in accounting and finance with Ernst and Young LLP, Physicians Planning Group/HealthCare Automation, and MedStar Health. Since moving to Atlanta in 2011, Tracey has served in a variety of volunteer roles within the community including Co-President, Treasurer and Communications Chair for The Davis Academy PTO, Co-President and Vice President of Hospitality for Spartan Nation (Foundation and PTO) at North Springs Charter High School and as Treasurer for the Misty Creek Farm HOA.
Mitch Lewis
I am the CEO for a building products distribution company headquartered in Atlanta with approximately 1,700 associates located in 40 facilities across the United States. In my role, I love the strategy associated with business and the reward achieved by watching my teammates develop and succeed. I am passionate about my family, and acting as a good role model for my children, nieces and nephew. I also love to exercise! TE has been my spiritual home while providing me and my family an environment where we have been able to develop deep friendships and relationships through the years. I'm looking forward to helping repay some of the wonderful benefits I have received from the TE organization.
Wendy Frank
Wendy is a clinical social worker and has had a psychotherapy practice for 20 years in Sandy Springs. She and her husband, Nick, have been married 17 years and have 3 sons who have all gone to Schiff preschool at Temple Emanu-El. They have been active members at Temple Emanu-El for over 15 years.
Ken Goldman
Ken Goldman works for Hewlett Packard Enterprise as the East Region Manager for the NonStop Product Sales & Solution Architect organizations. His skills are centered around creating sales opportunities with mutual benefit for both his corporation & his customers. He is passionate about his family, his wine, & helping others in need. Temple Emanu-El has been his home since 1995. It’s a family with diverse individuals who all have a voice and value to add to the family. Temple Emanu-El has allowed his family to make long-lasting friendships.
Jodi Firestone
Jodi spent over 10 years of her career in the pharmaceutical industry but found her true passion several years ago in the senior industry. She has held various roles within senior living and currently works in sales and marketing at Somerby Sandy Springs. Her passion is helping seniors find solutions to effectively age in place. Jodi and her husband Jeff live in Sandy Springs and have10 year old twins. They have been members of a wonderful Chavarah for the past several years and cherish the relationships they have made. Those friends have now become "family" and further cemented Temple Emanu-EL as their spiritual home.
Denise Spiegel
Denise Spiegel and her family (husband Steve, and daughters Emma & Sarah) have been a members of Temple Emanu-El for twenty years. Denise has a fundraising background, but is taking a break from raising money to work for the Fulton County School System starting in August 2017. At Temple Emanu-El, Denise spends a lot of time working on Garden Isaiah and occasionally singing in the choir. She completed an adult Bat Mitzvah a decade ago. In her spare time, Denise enjoys hiking, biking and yoga.
Reba Herzfeld
Elliot Siegel
Elliot is a Managing Member of Vision Metals LLC. His company buys various types of flatroll steel coils from steel mills and other sources and sells a customized product to manufacturers who produce a finished product.
Elliot's work passion for the past 15 years has been designing processes and systems that optimize efficiency while minimizing overhead costs. Outside of work, he enjoys his daily exercise routine and coaching/watching his kids play basketball and learning from experiences gained from their other activities.
Elliot and his wife, Randi, have been part of the Temple Emanu-El family since 2003. Both of their children attended Schiff preschool, where Randi has also taught the 2 and 3 year olds for 10 years. Various aspects of Temple Emanu-El life, including Schiff Preschool and participation on the Board of Trustees, has been paramount to making the introductions to many of their closest friends.
Lee Edelman
Lee Edelman has been a member of Temple Emanu-El for 9 years. She and her husband Jeff live in Sandy Springs with their three children, Josh who is a junior at North Springs High School, Justin who is a Sophomore at North Springs High School, and Shayna who is in the 6th Grade at the Davis Academy. Both boys had their Bar Mitzvahs at Temple Emanu-El, and the family is looking forward to celebrating Shayna’s Bat Mitzvah in 2019.
Lee served on the Cantor Search Committee which was fortunate enough to find Cantor Adesnick, and she also co-chaired the Rabbi Search Committee which was successful in hiring our beloved new Rabbi, Spike Anderson. Lee feels very passionately that instilling a Jewish Identity in our children is of utmost importance, and she had the pleasure of teaching at the Schiff Preschool for one year and then at the Davis Academy for five years. She has a Master’s Degree in Education from The University of Florida.
Growing up, Lee’s mother was always active in her synagogue, and Lee loved walking through the temple doors to be greeted by so many people who knew and loved her mother. It was a wonderful feeling to be part of such a special community, and she hopes that by being a part of the Board of Trustees, she can help create that same feeling of community for her fellow congregants at Temple Emanu-El. Lee has really enjoyed serving on the Board this past year and looks forward to serving a second term.
Julie Elster
Julie Elster has been a member of Temple Emanu-El since 1985. She and her husband, Jonathan have twin 14 year old boys. Julie has spent the last 14 years raising her children and volunteering at school and various organizations. She has always had a passion for helping others and has been committed to social justice and helping those struggling within our community. Temple Emanu-El has become an integral part of Julie and Jonathan’s spiritual and social life.
Evan Altman
Marlene Siedel
Marlene has worked in retail and sales for many years. For the last 20 years, she has been working in specialty advertising and promotional products.
Marlene is passionate about family, art, design, gardening, painting funky furniture, creating, entertaining and travel.
Temple Emanu-El translates into her spiritual family. It is a place of study, learning, community, a comfort zone, trusted advisors, a support system.
Randi Steuer
Randi and her husband Billy have been part of Temple Emanu-El since their youngest daughter was at Schiff Preschool. Randi and Billy have 3 daughters, Marley, Lindsay and Jamie. Randi is a speech-language pathologist and loves working with children; but she is most passionate about being a mother and staying involved with Ian’s Friends Foundation, (IFF) hoping to find a cure for pediatric brain tumors. Temple Emanu-El has become a very special place for both Randi and Billy and their three girls.
