Our Board

Executive Vice President, Judy Paz

Judy and her husband, Dubie have been members of Adat Shalom for ten years. Her three children went through the Religious School of Adat Shalom and had their B'nail Mitzvah here. She lived in Israel from age 11 to 25. She is a physical therapist and works in geriatric rehabilitation. Judy has been very involved in the Religious School and in the education committee. She has been on the board for 5 years; 3 years as youth commissioner to Kadima and USY and 2 years as programming char. During the time that she has served the Adat Shalom USY received a regional award as the most improved chapter.

Treasurer, David Shemano 

David and his wife Tracy have been members of Adat Shalom since 1999. Each of their three children, Daniel, Jana and Jonathan, attended the Early Childhood Center and the Religious School.  Daniel  celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in 2010, Jana celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in 2011, and it will be Jonathan’s turn in 2013.  After benefiting so much from Adat Shalom's programs, David joined the Board in 2008 and became President in 2010.  David has been a business lawyer for 22 years, and his financial and legal experience is a valuable resource for the Board as it addresses the challenging issues all organizations face.

Secretary, Barry Bar-El 

Barry Bar-El has been a member of Adat Shalom since 2005.  Married to Liz and father of Ziv, 18, and Lior, 16, he has served Adat Shalom over the years in many capacities, including two previous Board terms.  He is currently a member of the Asset Management and Ritual Committees, coordinating haftarah readings, and participated last year in the Rabbinic Search Committee.  Barry and Liz lived in Israel from 1985-1992, during which time they were active members of Kehillat Hakerem, the Masorati congregation in Karmiel.  Barry played a key role in securing the property to build Kehillat Hakerem’s new synagogue, which today is thriving at that location in the center of the city.  He has worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 1994 and is currently the Director of Organizational Development.  Through his involvement at Adat Shalom in the coming year, Barry hopes to continue to build on the new strategy and spirit of community and look for new ways to help connect congregants to Adat Shalom.

Vice President of Community, Marla Knoll  

Marla, her husband Jaime, and their three children have been members of Adat Shalom for over 12 years. Her oldest son Jonah, attends LAHHS, graduated Religious School, had his Bar Mitzvah at Adat Shalom and is going to be a senior at University High School. Her daughter, Hannah, had her Bat Mitzvah at Adat Shalom, is a graduate of the Early Childhood Center and Religious School, attends LAHHS and Hamilton High School. Her son, Samuel, is an ECC graduate, will be in the sixth grade at Religious School and attends Laces Middle School. Marla has been co-president of the Religious School Parents Association involved in the education of the youth at Adat Shalom. Professionally, Marla works as a Clinical Social Worker with the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Team at UCLA Medical Center. In addition to her professional work, she is an active volunteer at her children's schools and in the classrooms. Her goal as a Board member is to assist the synagogue in maintaining the involvement of all members of the community in the vibrant life of our synagogue.  

 
Vice President of Education, Lisa Schechter 

Lisa and her husband Dave have been members of Adat Shalom for nearly 15 years. Their two boys attended preschool and now attend Religious School at Adat Shalom. Last year, Lisa served as Vice President of Education. In the past, she co-chaired the Religious School parent association and the Early Childhood Center Parent Association. This coming year, Lisa will work as Education Vice President to help ensure the superior quality of the Adat Shalom education programs. When not at Adat Shalom, Lisa takes care of the boys and helps Dave manage his business. She used to practice health care law.  

Vice President of Facilities, Richard Kamola 

 Richard has been a member of Adat Shalom/Temple Beth Torah for 50 years. Richard brings a well seasoned career of many years of experience in corporate finance and as a treasurer or comptroller for several non-profit organizations (Operation Hope, Boy Scouts of America, Lions Clubs International, Eye Mobile Inc.).  As treasurer of Adat Shalom, he has been working to upgrade the synagogue’s financial controls.  Accounting procedures related to overhead, payroll and events have been thoroughly reviewed and improved to insure that we are better prepared and able to operate within our resources.

Vice President of Ritual, Sandra Kass  

 Sandra has been a member of Adat Shalom for almost 20 years.  She is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law and practices law in Culver City.  She previously served on the Board as Vice President – Legal Affairs and continues to assist the synagogue with legal matters.  She has served on the Boards of other non-profit organizations, including the UCLA Foundations, where she chaired the Finance Committee.  She teaches continuing education classes for The State Bar of California and has been a consultant to the University of California Board of Regents.  Sandra is the current VP-Ritual and also serves on the Community Committee.  Her goal is to continue developing meaningful and inspiring Shabbat and Holiday services. 

Chair of the Asset Management Committee, Kent Ugoretz  

Kent was on the Temple Beth Torah Board as Chairman of the Advisory Committee for one year, and President for three years.  He was the Temple Beth Torah focal point for coordinating the merger of Temple Beth Torah and Adat Shalom, the sale of the Beth Torah facility, and, previously, the association between Temple Beth Torah and the B’nai Tikvah Congregation.  Kent has a BS in Aerospace Engineering (University of Michigan) and an MBA in Management Theory (UCLA).  Kent moved to Los Angeles from his home in north central Wisconsin in 1959 and began his 40-year career in the aerospace industry.  He held various engineering, engineering management, business management and program management positions for Douglas Aircraft as it successively became McDonnell Douglas and, finally, Boeing Aircraft.  Kent and his wife, Nancy, have one married daughter and three grandchildren who also live in West Los Angeles. 

 At-Large – Bikkur Cholim Chair, Steve Lottenberg, M.D.  

Steve, his wife, Hillary, and their daughter, Hannah are long time members of Adat Shalom.  Steve received his MD from University of Florida and his PsyD from Ryokan College.  He works for three non-profit cancer communities including the integrative oncology center at UCLA Medical Center.  Steve is a previous Board Member at Adat Shalom and Chair of the Bikkur Cholim Committee.  His most recent service to our community includes the Rabbinical Search Committee and the Rabbinical Negotiation Committee.

At-Large – Communications Chair, Melody Javid 

Melody and her husband, Mike, have been members of Adat Shalom since 2008.  She has two boys, one which has graduated from the ECC and is now in Religious School and one in the Early Childhood Center.  Melody was the ECC Parent Association Events Chairperson before joining the board.  She has been the Communications Chairperson for the past 2 years and has helped to redesign the Adat Shalom Website.  She is a CPA by profession and has worked mainly in the entertainment industry in Financial Accounting & Consolidations.  Melody is proud to be a member and involved with the Adat Shalom community. 

At-Large – ECC Relations, Dovi Wilensky 

Dovi and his wife Cigal are returning members to Adat Shalom, having moved back to Los Angeles with their son Lior in the Summer of  2011. Lior enjoys attending the Early Childhood Center at Adat Shalom and Cigal practices medicine at Roxbury Pediatrics in Beverly Hills. Dovi works as an Analyst for American Express - Foreign Exchange Services. Dovi is looking forward to increasing his involvement in the ECC and the Adat Shalom community.  

 At-Large – Membership Chair, Natalie Stanger 

Natalie Stanger and her husband, Doug, have been Adat Shalom members for many years.  Their sons, Howie and Elliot, were B'nai Mitzvah at Adat Shalom and graduated from our Religious School.  Howie attends Brandeis University and Elliot attends Culver City High School and LA Hebrew High School.  Natalie’s work includes assisting seniors and busy professionals with bill paying, insurance coordination and other organizing necessities.  Natalie has been involved in the Adat Shalom community serving on the Education Committee and the Ritual Committee and is a member of Women's League.  Doug is an active member of the Men's Club.  The Stanger family has made many friends at Adat Shalom and enjoys being part of the Adat Shalom synagogue family.

At-Large – New Board Member Support, David Factor 

David is a past president of Adat Shalom.  He served as President (2 terms), Chairman of the Board (3 terms), Secretary (2 terms) and as an At-Large Board member. He currently serves on the Asset Management Committee and the Master Planning Committee.  He previously chaired Adat Shalom’s merger committee with Temple Beth Torah and the Property Development Committee.  David is Vice President of Consulting Services for the Executive Service Corps, a non-profit which uses the services of retired business executives to provide consulting, coaching and training to other non-profit organizations.  David has been married to Holly, a registered nurse specializing in pediatrics, for over 29 years.  Their two children, Perry and Reina, both attended Adat Shalom Preschool and Religious School and received their B'nai Mitzvot at Adat Shalom.  Perry is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville, and Reina currently  attends Emory University in Atlanta.

At-Large – Programming Chair, Brenda Ligorsky 

Brenda and her husband Mark have been attending services at Adat Shalom for almost 15 years.  Their older son Greg is a graduate of the Adat Shalom ECC, and currently attends the Adat Shalom Religious School.  Their younger son Ryan is about to graduate from the ECC and begin attending the Religious School as well.  Brenda recently was involved in the Rabbinic Search Committee, and hopes to continue to contribute to Adat Shalom’s continued  Success as a member of the Board of Directors.  Brenda received bachelor’s degrees in English and history from Tufts University, and her juris doctorate from USC Law School.  She is a partner in the Long Beach office of Carroll, Kelley, Trotter, Franzen & McKenna, where she focuses her practice on professional liability defense of physicians, medical groups, hospitals, HMOs, and other health care providers, particularly cases involving birth injuries and other catastrophic damages.  In her non-existent free time, Brenda likes to play tennis, read and root for the Phoenix Suns.

At-Large – Social Action Chair, Steve Schneider 

Steve, his wife, Robin, and their son, Harrison, are long-time members of Adat Shalom.  Steve is an attorney currently employed as a Manager at Raytheon.  Steve previously served as an At-Large Board member, Coordinator/ Recruiter for Social Action activities and is a Member of Men's Club and Usher High Holiday Services.  Additionally, he volunteers his time as a parent member of the site council at Farragut Elementary School and the Culver City Middle School as well as AYSO soccer head coach and little league Baseball Coach. Steve is looking forward to rejoining the board and hopes to make a difference at Adat Shalom.
 

At-Large – Youth Commissioner, Marla Knoll 

Marla, her husband, Jaime, and their three children have been members of Adat Shalom for over 11 years.  Her oldest son, Jonah, attends LAHHS, graduated Religious School and had his Bar Mitzvah at Adat Shalom.  Her daughter, Hannah, who recently became a Bat Mitzvah, is a graduate of the Early Childhood Center and the Religious School and is now attending LAHHS.  Her son, Samuel, is an Early Childhood Center graduate and is in the fifth grade at Religious School.  Marla has been co-president of the Religious School Parents Association and remains involved to support the success of the education of the youth at Adat Shalom. Professionally, Marla works as a Clinical Social Worker with the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Team at UCLA Medical Center.  In addition to her  professional work, she is an active volunteer at her children’s schools, in the classroom, doing fundraising and planning and  articipating in events.  Her goals as a Board member are to assist the synagogue and community to maintain the involvement of our youth in the synagogue community past bar mitzvah and to create a feeling among the young people in our community that they belong at Adat Shalom and have a place where they have a home for their lives as young Jews.