Leadership

Stuart Skolnick, Director of Temple Operations

sskolnick@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x13

Stuart Skolnick has been the Director of Temple Operations at Temple Beth Abraham since January 2013 and in this capacity serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Temple Beth Abraham. He came to TBA after serving as Administrator at Temple Emanu-El in Livingston, NJ and Executive Director at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ. Before entering this field Stuart held various senior management positions in the jewelry manufacturing industry. He also has a strong Judaic background including college course work, graduation from the Florence Melton Adult School and post-Melton courses. Stuart graduated from the University of Rochester and attended business law courses at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

As Director of Temple Operations Stuart watches over the Temple’s calendar, budget, and, together with the facility staff, physical plant. On a daily basis he interacts with the Clergy, Professional Staff, Committee Chairs, and TBA members. His work supports the initiatives of the TBA Board and implements Board policies. Stuart also supervises the production of regular Temple communications including the weekly electronic news, Shabbat Handout, and monthly Bulletin.

Rabbi Allison Berlinger, Director of Education

aberlinger@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x22

Rabbi Allison Berlinger joined Temple Beth Abraham as our Director of Education in July 2014, after serving in a similar capacity at two other area synagogues. Rabbi Allison received her MA in Jewish Education with a focus in Faith Development from the Jewish Theological Seminary along with Rabbinic Smicha from ALEPH: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Known by all as Rabbi Allison, she has dedicated her rabbinate to childhood education and for her the title “Rabbi” very much means “teacher”. She has taught age groups ranging from infants to adults and in settings of all sizes from one-on-one to large groups, consulted on the creation of a new religious school, created several original and innovative curricula, and is the creator of an award-winning original arts education program. She and her husband Rob are raising 3 beautiful girls and they are all happy to be part of the Temple Beth Abraham community.

Irene Metz, Clergy Coordinator

clergyassistant@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x19

Irene Metz has been the Clergy Coordinator at Temple Beth Abraham since March 2014. She is a long term member at Community Synagogue of Rye where her personal volunteer involvement started small and has grown over the years. She has chaired the membership committee, served 6 years on the Board of Trustees, was a part of Reimagine, participated on search committees and is currently recording secretary on the Executive Committee. When her 35 year professional career in supply chain management at Scholastic, Inc. (publisher of children’s books, including Harry Potter and Hunger Games) concluded, the logical step for the next phase of her career was to combine her prior work experience with her commitment to the Jewish community – Temple Beth Abraham seems like that perfect workplace. She feels particularly lucky to have two synagogues to call home!

She and her husband Jonathan live in Rye Brook in an almost empty nest, with their two adult children, Joshua and Isabel, off pursuing careers and education. Irene enjoys attending the ballet, theater and movies, reading, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

Alix Brown, Education and Program Coordinator

hebrewschool@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x10

Alix Brown is a professional photographer and educator. After working in museums, galleries, non-profit arts organizations, a stint in the corporate world, and teaching in non-traditional classrooms from nursery to high school, she has recently returned to commercial photography. Her work can be found in private collections, restaurants, synagogues, and on websites, as well as in both print and online publications. She earned degrees from Cornell University and the School of Visual Arts.

Alix has lectured on “Photography and the Jewish Image” and is currently working on a book on that subject. She continues to work with teens to help them learn about and use photography as a way to explore identity, and empower them to make positive change in the world around them. Alix has collaborated with FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES and THE JEWISH LENS to enhance, design and develop curriculum with these goals in mind.

Maggie Lissy, Bookkeeper

bookkeeper@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x14

Larry Murray, Facilities Supervisor

lmurray@tba-ny.org
914-631-1770 x25

Jaime Valencia, Assistant Facilities Supervisor

jaime@tba-ny.org