Our Board

President, David Shemano 

David and his family, including his wife, Tracy, have been members of Adat Shalom for 12 years. Each of their three children, Daniel, Jana and Jonathan, attended the Early Childhood Center and the Religious School.  Daniel celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Adat Shalom in 2009, and Jana celebrated her Bat Mitzvah this past June.  After benefiting so much from Adat Shalom’s programs over the years, David joined the Board in 2008 to ensure that Adat Shalom’s future is as successful as its past, and was elected President in 2010.  David has been a business lawyer for 20 years and has used his legal and business experience to assist the Board as it addresses the challenges and issues all organizations face.

Executive Vice President, Esther Margulies  

Esther has been an active member and board member since 2006.  She and her husband Richard Destin joined Adat Shalom in 1999.  Their children Josiah and Lilia are graduates of the Adat Shalom ECC and Religious School respectively.  She is currently co-chairing the Adat Shalom Campus Master Planning Project and is active on the Website Committee.  She is the managing principal of the ValleyCrest Design Group, a landscape architecture and planning office located in Calabasas but hoping to move closer to Culver City.  Esther is a graduate of Cornell University and obtained her Masters Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.  As the principal in charge on many large and complex projects throughout her career, she has been responsible for project management and collaboration on projects ranging from park master plans to corporate campus enhancement projects.  She is a part time lecturer in the USC School of Architecture.  The Destin-Margulies family resides on a small lot with many edible plants, 2 cats and some fish in Venice.

Treasurer, 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.

Secretary, John Gordon

John and his wife, Henny, have been members of Adat Shalom for over fifteen years.  John was previously on the Board from 2002-2008, including Chairman of the Board and Executive VP, and now as Secretary.  His committee participation included the Ritual Committee, Rabbi Advisory Board, Merger Committee (Beth Torah), and Rabbi Negotiating Committee.  John’s background includes over 34 years in the aerospace and electronic industries with a B.A. in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree.  He is a past president of the Child Survivors of the Holocaust, Los Angeles; he is currently Treasurer and Editor of their newsletter.  John is also active in speaking about the Holocaust to children and young adults in elementary schools, high schools and college since 1987.  Since 1986 he has been a volunteer at Café Europa of Jewish Family Service and member of a couple of Holocaust Advisory Boards. Henny is a licensed clinical social worker; their two daughters and three grandchildren all live in Los Angeles.

Vice President of Community, 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 Education, Lisa Schechter

Lisa and her husband Dave have been members of Adat Shalom for nearly 14 years. Their two boys attended preschool and now attend Religious School at Adat Shalom.  Lisa chaired the Early Childhood Center Parent Association when the boys were in preschool.  This past year, she co-chaired the Religious School parent association.  Dave has served on the board several times and has just finished a term as Vice President of Ritual.  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, Shaye Remba 

Shaye and his wife Laila have been members of Adat Shalom since 1999, when they joined looking for a religious school for their older son, Adam.  Their younger son, Eli, was recently Bar Mitzvah’d and is currently attending the Religious School.  Shaye has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, with a specialty in design.  He has applied this knowledge in his fine arts publishing business, developing several printing processes.  Shaye joined the Board this year as Facilities Manager and hopes that his background and experience in developing projects will be a valuable resource to finding solutions to maintain and improve Adat Shalom’s campus and installations.

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 of 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 has been a member of Adat Shalom’s Ritual and Community Committees and now becomes Vice President of Ritual.  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 (Univ. of Michigan) and an MBA in Management Theory (UCLA).  In 1959 Kent moved to Los Angeles from his home in north central Wisconsin and began his 40-year career in the aerospace industry.  He performed engineering, engineering management and business management tasks for Douglas Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing Aircraft.  Kent and his wife, Nancy, have one married daughter and three grandchildren.

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 Psy.D. 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 current 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 involved with the ECC since 2008.  She has two boys, one in Religious School and one entering the Early Childhood Center.   Melody was the ECC Parent Association Events Chairperson before joining the board.  She is a graduate of CSUN and a CPA by profession.  She has worked for Disney and Warner Bros in Financial Accounting & Consolidations and currently works part-time.  Melody is proud to be a member and involved with the Adat Shalom community.

At-Large – ECC Relations, Julie Zeff

For over a decade, Julie, owner and founder of Vivid Living, has been combining her passions and expertise as a Life Coach and Yoga Instructor to help her clients, especially busy and working moms, live vivid and extraordinary lives.  Her commitment to vivid and extraordinary living is what brought Julie to the Adat Shalom Board of Directors.  She deeply believes that Adat Shalom can continue to be a thriving and dynamic Jewish home and community for her, her family and all ECC families.  She is committed to doing all she can to foster communication and a seamless connection between the ECC, the Board of Directors and the synagogue as a whole.  She joined Adat Shalom almost four years ago when she and her family moved to L.A.  She has three children, two are currently in the ECC and one is in the Religious School.

At-Large – Membership Chair, Natalie Stanger

Natalie Stanger and her husband, Doug, have been Adat Shalom members for 8 years.  Their sons, Howie and Elliot, were B'nai Mitzvah here and graduated from our Religious School.  Howie will be attending Brandeis University in the fall and Elliot will attend Culver City High School and L.A. Hebrew High School.  Natalie has a background in Organizational Development and Management Training and currently assists 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. In addition, this year she co-chaired the Community Committee.  She is also a member of Women's League.  Doug is an active member of the Men's Club.  The Stanger family enjoys being part of the Adat Shalom synagogue family and looks forward to watching it grow under the leadership of Rabbi Perlo and the Board of Directors.

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 Mitzvah at Adat Shalom.  Perry is pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville, and Reina currently attends Emory University in Atlanta.

At-Large – Programming Chair, Judy Paz

Judy and her husband, Dubie, have been members of Adat Shalom for nine years.  All three of their children have grown up in the Religious School and have been B’nai Mitzvah in our sanctuary.  Judy has been very involved in the Religious School and in the education committee.  For the past three years she has been the Youth Commissioner, in charge of our Kadima and USY programs as the board liaison.  These programs engage our youth at a critical time in their Religious School experience, extend through high school and help to reinforce teens’ Jewish identity as they become adults. Judy has been on the board of directors of Adat Shalom for three years, during that time the Adat Shalom USY received a regional award as the most improved chapter.

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 – Ways & Means Chair, Lisabeth Lobenthal

Lisabeth has been working as a professional in the Jewish Community since 1990.  After living in Israel, she knew that was where she would like to dedicate her efforts. After working in Federations and synagogues, she recently began work for the Jewish Agency for Israel focusing on Jewish identity, and connecting Israel to the diaspora and vice versa.  She has been a member of Adat Shalom  since she served on the staff in 1998.  During her time at Adat Shalom, she became very connected to the community and after leaving as a professional, immediately began work as a volunteer, serving on the Board and Executive Committee.  She is a professional fundraiser and looks forward to putting her skills to use helping the Adat Shalom community.

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.