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Rabbinic Search Committee Members
Susan Adelman
Susan is proud to be a third generation member of TBZ. Her son Deny, who currently serves on the Board of Trustees, and his daughter are continuing their family's TBZ legacy into the fourth and fifth generations. Susan's daughter, son-in-law and grandson live in California. Susan was Consecrated and Confirmed at TBZ, participated in the Teacher Training program, and taught in the Religious School.
In addition to serving as President of Temple Beth Zion, Susan served on the Board of Trustees for many years and was Co-Chair of the Ritual Committee, Chair of the Dues Equity Committee and Music Committee.
Currently, Susan serves on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo, and has served on the boards of the Holocaust Resource Center, Jewish Federation Housing, Hilbert College, other professional boards related to her occupation. She is also a graduate of Leadership Buffalo, a program designed to train community leaders.
Dina Benderson
Dina is very pleased to be part of the Rabbinic Search Committee for our new rabbi at Temple Beth Zion. Dina lives in Williamsville with her husband Todd and two children Noah and Sophia. She is very active in the Buffalo Jewish community and is currently a Chair of the Women's Cabinet Committee for the Jewish Federation of Buffalo. Dina also participates on the Young Divisions Planning Committee for Jewish Federation. She enjoys doing work for the Jewish Community Center on behalf of the Early Childhood Department.
Lauren Block
Lauren lives in the village of Williamsville with her husband Howard and their three children Sarah, Noah, and Jenna Claire. Lauren has been in education for 19 years and currently is a professor at Medaille College. She is a lifelong member of Temple Beth Zion where she was named, became a Bat Mitzvah, taught in the religious school, and was married!
Stacey Block
Stacey has been a member of Temple Beth Zion for over 30 years. She lives in Williamsville with her husband Neil and their two young children Abby and Noah. Stacey has had the opportunity to sit on various committees at Temple Beth Zion including Congregational Planning, Youth and Education and PALS Parents. In the community, she has been active in the United Jewish Fund's Women's Division Cabinet and has served as Special Projects Chair for Women's Philanthropy. Stacey enjoys being active in her children's school serving as PTA President and Vice President of meets for Acrojects Gymnastics Booster Club. Stacey is very excited to be a part of this committee and looks forward to helping bring a phenomenal Rabbi to Temple Beth Zion.
Warren Clark
Not only is Warren is lifelong member of Temple Beth Zion, but his family's relationship with Temple Beth Zion dates back as far as the late 1800's. He is married to Lynn and is the father of Julie and Jeffrey.
Currently at TBZ, Warren is Chair of the Ritual Committee. He has been a volunteer Board member of the Better Business Bureau on the local level for 31 years and on the national level for 14 years, serving as Treasurer for the last 8 years. Warren has experience as a business owner for over 35 years as well as having served on over a dozen Boards and activities through the years.
Kenneth Friedman
Kenneth is a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP where he heads the law firm's Business, Corporate and Securities Practice. He had his wife, Amy, and their 3 children, Allie, Kyle and Luke, live in the City of Buffalo where they are very active in the community. Amy is a founder of Tapestry Charter School and served on the City of Buffalo's Charter Revision Commission as a mayoral appointee. Ken has served on many boards including the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, the Buffalo Seminary, Leadership Buffalo, the National Federation of Just Communities, the Jewish Community Center, the Buffalo Alliance for Education, and the Citizens Planning Council to name a few.
Adina Garfinkel
Adina has been a case manager for the Erie County Dept of Senior Services for the past 12 years. She lives with her partner Marcia, and their 4 year-old pug, Archie, in North Buffalo. Adina participates in the Caring Community and Mitzvah Day at Temple Beth Zion. She is also involved in the WNY Homeless Alliance.
Stephanie Gelber
Stephanie and her husband Herschel have resided in Western New York for more than 20 years and have been members of Temple Beth Zion for about 15 years. They have two children, Bradley, who is a senior at Emerson College in Boston, and Jordana, a junior at Williamsville North High School. Stephanie is the Managing Attorney for Gelber & O'Connell, is an elected member of the Williamsville School Board and an appointed member of the Minority/Women Owned Business Committee for the Town of Amherst. She previously served on the Board of Temple Beth Zion, as well as on the Search Committee which hired Rabbi Rosenfeld.
Ellen Goldstein
Ellen is a 3rd generation member of Temple Beth Zion, preceded by her parents Arlene & Jack Goldstein (both past board members) and grandparents Fannie & Abe Carrel. Ellen's sister, Amy Goldstein, is also a TBZ member. Ellen was Confirmed at TBZ, and began her involvement in TBZ at Young Peoples Society in 1967- 1970. She served on the Board of Trustees from 1997- 2002, and as Secretary on the Exec Board from 2000-2002. She chaired or co-chaired the Interfaith Family Committee from 1992-1999, chaired the Chai Society friend-raising project for several years, has been involved with Mitzvah Day since its inception, was a member of the 2000 Rabbinic Search Committee which selected Rabbi Rosenfeld, was a member of the 1996 Adult Bat Mitzvah Class, and served on many other committees over the years. Ellen has also served on the Regional Northeast Lakes (NEL) UAHC board, now the URJ, and co-chaired the Regional interfaith committee.
Professionally, Ellen works as marketing & Community Relations Director at Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Her husband, Mitch Flynn, is founder of the Ride for Roswell, which has celebrated 15 successful years of fundraising to help Roswell Park Cancer Institute. They also own Flynn & Friends, a local advertising agency that will celebrate 25 years in business this year.
Cindy Algase Gradl
Cindy, a Buffalo native, is an attorney with Lippes, Mathias, Wexler and Friedman, LLP, where she focuses much of her attention on tax, employment, general business counseling, financial transactions, intellectual property and securities regulation. Cindy joined Temple Beth Zion in 2002 and is currently a member of the TBZ Board of Trustees and is an active member of the Youth and Education and the Ritual Committees and is currently co-chairing the Congregational Planning Committee. Cindy is married to Wayne, also an attorney, and has two children, Dana, a junior at Michigan State University, and Alec, a sophomore at Williamsville North High School, both of whom have blown Shofar at TBZ.
Steven Heffter
Steve moved to Buffalo from Bethesda, MD in 1995 and has been an active Temple member for over 10 years. Steve's two daughters, Leah and Niki, started at Temple Beth Zion in the PALS Preschool and both currently attend Religious School. His wife Maria is a practicing Catholic who says her Christian calling is "to be a good Jewish mother". Steve is Chief Technology Officer and Partner of a global software company since 1988. He sits on the Youth and Education Committee at TBZ and several other boards.
Cindy Komm
A member of Temple Beth Zion since 1995, Cindy has enjoyed serving the congregation in many endeavors. She served on the Board of Trustees for 8 years and as Vice President of the synagogue board for 5 of those years. She is currently serving on the Personnel Committee. In addition, Cindy presently sits on the Board of Trustees for Weinberg Campus, Y'ad B' Yad, and formerly the American Jewish Committee. She is the office manager for both Amherst Memorial Chapel, Inc and Leon Komm & Son Monument Co. Cindy resides in Getzville, NY with her husband Leon. They have 3 children and a granddaughter, Olivia.
Lydia Langer
Lydia is a fourth generation member of TBZ. She is an adjunct ESL professor at Canisius College and is currently in the process of applying to found a charter school that serves English language learners. Lydia lives in Buffalo and has two little boys, Max and Eli.
John Laping
After graduating from The University of Cincinnati's College of Architecture John and his wife Toby settled in Buffalo. Toby's parents were (Rabbi) Joseph and Janice Fink. In 1966 John joined Kideney Architects and in 1977 became its senior principle; his projects included The Amherst Jewish Center, many of the Williamsville Schools, Goldome Banks, The United Way expansion, The Veterans Home in Batavia and countless projects for the Millard Fillmore Hospitals.
John has been active in the local, state and national organizations of The American Institute of Architects serving as a director and officer; he has served on the New York State (licensing) Board for Architecture. He is a past director and president of Jewish Family Service, chaired The Buffalo Preservation Board for 8 years, served TBZ as Board Secretary and as chair of The TBZ Forum. John was a Regent of Canisius College, on the Boards of The Buffalo Seminary and The Nardin Academy, and just stepped down from the Presidency of The Park Lane Condominium. He has served on the deans search committee of The State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Architecture and chaired the Park Lane's management search committee. John has been honored with elevation to the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the James William Kideney award of AIA New York State and, most recently, The Robert and Louise Bethune Award of AIA Buffalo, its highest honor.
Holly Levy
Holly has been a member of Temple Beth Zion for over 20 years. She has served on several search committees, has been an active community volunteer, has served on numerous community boards and has been UJF Campaign Chairperson and is currently President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo. Holly and her husband, Jordan, reside in Buffalo.
Sarah Mador
Sarah has been a member of Temple Beth Zion since birth. Sarah is a Junior in High School and is Vice President of the temple youth group, TBaZY. She has an older brother, Josh, and lives in Kenmore with her parents.
Karen Meltser
Karen and her husband Henry have been a part of the Temple Beth Zion community for five years. All three of their children, Sammy, Sophie, and Lily, have attended the PALS Preschool Program and now attend Religious School at Temple Beth Zion. For three years, Karen co-chaired the annual PALS fundraiser at Temple Beth Zion, and is now actively involved in fundraising for Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and Ski4e. She also volunteers weekly for the Buffalo Jewish Coalition for Literacy. Karen is honored to be a member of the search committee.
Ethel Melzer
Ethel has a member since birth of Temple Beth Zion, following in the footsteps of her parents. Her children were students and were confirmed at TBZ. She was also active on the Temple Beth Zion Board of Trustees, UAHC Regional Board and attended several regional conferences and national meetings, representing Temple Beth Zion. During her years in the volunteer sector, she was President of the Buffalo Jewish Community Center and the Camp Lakeland Association and was Chair of the Women's Division of the Jewish Federation of Buffalo. Ethel is currently the Buffalo Site Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School.
Melissa Milch-Klein
Temple Beth Zion is the spiritual home to Melissa's grandmother, parents, husband and two young children. As a child she attended TBZ's Religious School, and today, her children attend those same Religious School classes. She has been fortunate to be able to volunteer in various aspects of temple life: as the Co-chairperson of Mitzvah Day, the Social Action Committee chairperson, the Membership Chair and most recently as a member of the Temple Board of Trustees and Assistant Rabbi Search Committee.
Kenneth Polk
Ken is originally from Buffalo and has a long history with Temple Beth Zion. He was confirmed in 1985, his mother was confirmed in 1956 and his grandfather in 1929 – all at Temple Beth Zion. Ken, his wife Cara, sons Mitchell and Jordan and daughter Leah are an interfaith family. All three children attend TBZ's Religious School. Ken coaches his kids in basketball and soccer and just completed a 10-year term on the St. Lawrence University's Alumni Executive Council, the last two years as its president. Ken works for ADP's Major Accounts Division where he has sold and managed for over 15 years.
Howard Rosenhoch, President - Ex Officio
Howard, along with his wife Valerie and sons Alan and David, have been members of Temple Beth Zion since 1997. Howard has served on TBZ's Youth Vision Task Force, the Youth and Education Committee, and has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2004. He was Treasurer and Chair of the Financial Planning Committee from 1997 to 1999, and currently serves as TBZ's President.
Howard grew up in the Inwood Hill section of Manhattan in New York City. He came to Buffalo in 1967 as an undergraduate at UB, where he and Valerie met. Except for a two year stint back in New York City for graduate school in the early 70's, Howard and Valerie have made Buffalo their family home. Howard has been a partner in the Buffalo law firm Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP since 1980.
Howard is a past board member and president of Hillel of Buffalo, an at large board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo where he serves on the Campaign Cabinet, and is a long time board member and current treasurer of the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer's Project.
Laurence Rubin
Larry and his family joined TBZ about 9 years ago, although his wife Debra Chernoff grew up at Temple Beth Zion. Larry, Debra and their sons Aaron and Adam live just a few blocks from the Delaware Avenue building. Larry regularly attends Torah Study on Shabbat mornings. Debra is the current president of the Jewish Community Center. Larry is the Immediate Past President of Temple Beth Zion, a past president of Jewish Family Service where he continues to serve on the Executive Committee and Board, and also on the Executive Committee and Board of Jewish Federation. In the Western New York Community, Larry serves on the Board of the Museum of Science and practices law at Kavinoky Cook LLP in between all of these meetings.
Herman Stone
Herman was born in Germany in the 1920s and immigrated to the US in 1939. Now a retired chemist living in Williamsville, Herman and his wife of 61 years, Peggy, have six children and twelve grandchildren.
Over the course of his life, Herman has been an active member of four congregations. At Temple Beth Zion, he serves on the Board of Trustees and is President of TBZ Brotherhood. Herman's involvement at TBZ also includes the Adult Education and Ritual Committees, Congregational Planning Committee and he conducts our Thursday Afternoon Services.
In the larger Jewish Community, Herman is a Board Member of the Bureau of Jewish Education and the Board and Speakers Bureau of the Buffalo Holocaust Resource Center.
Orrin Tobbe
Orrin and his wife, Noreen, have been members of the Temple Beth Zion family for over 40 years. Orrin and Noreen were married in the temple, Noreen had her conversion ritual in the temple and their children Jonathan and Elizabeth had their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at TBZ. Elizabeth was also married in the temple.
Orrin has served on the Temple Beth Zion Board of Trustees as Treasurer, Vice President and, from 1983-1986, as President. He is currently Co-Chair of the Rabbi Joseph and Janice Fink Legacy Society. One of his most proud accomplishments was to be named "Man of the Year" of Temple Beth Zion.
Nationally, Orrin served as President of the Northeast Lakes Council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations from 1986 – 1990 and also was on the board of the Union for over 10 years. He has been active in many Jewish and academic organizations over the years and presently he is the CEO of a bank consulting firm.
Evie Weinstein
Evie has been a member of Temple Beth Zion for 49 years and has served on the Education Committee. She now is a member of the Ritual Committee. Evie served as the volunteer Family Havdalah coordinator years. She also served as President of the TBZ Junior Choir for several years as a child.
Evie is the Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education and Principal of the High School of Jewish Studies. She began her career in Jewish communal work as the Assistant Director of Camp Lakeland and the Director of Children's and Youth Services at the Jewish Community Center.
Sharon Winer
Sharon taught in the city of Buffalo School System for 25 years. She has been a member of Temple Beth Zion all of her adult life. Sharon's husband Ron was the Bar and Bat Mitzvah tutor for 36 years.
Sharon volunteers in two school districts and has audited classes at the University of Buffalo for over 10 years. Sharon is currently Co-President of Sisterhood and she reaches out into the community whenever she is needed. Sharon has 3 children and 5 grandchildren. |
