Tracey Alalouf, Vice President of Tikkun Olam
My name is Tracey Alalouf and I am the Vice President of Tikkun Olam. I have been an active member of Shaare Torah for 12 years. I am also a Special Education Teacher in Montgomery County Public School. I have 3 children. Alyssa is 12 years old, Jake is 10 years old and Kyla is 8 years old. The first committee I joined at Shaare Torah was the Social Action Committee. I am very passionate about volunteering and helping those in need. I started volunteering in 6th grade and truly believe you are never too young or old to volunteer. I also believe by volunteering, people truly make a difference.As Vice President of Tikkun Olam, which means “repairing the world” I oversee the Hesed committee, the Bereavement committee, and the Social Action committee. The Hesed committee performs acts of loving kindness to members of our community in response to life cycle events (birth, illness, and death). This may include visiting those who are sick in the hospital, sending cards, checking in, driving to doctor appointments or delivering meals. The Bereavement committee offers members support during their time of mourning. This may include attending shiva to make sure there is a minyan or helping to prepare a home after the funeral. The Social Action Committee helps others in our local community, Israel and the world around us. Some of the Social Action activities include food and blood drives, help the homeless walk, preparing and serving dinner monthly at a homeless shelter, making bake goods for local first responders, bingo at a nursing home, mitzvah day, cleaning a stream, and making donations to both local and world organizations. If you would like to get involved in any of the above committees, please e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ken Beecher, Vice President of Finance and Fundraising
As a part of the Finance and Fundraising committee we manage and set policy for all things financials. Specifically, we create the annual budget,manage monthly expenses, review contractual obligations, develop varianceand collection policies, review financial statements, identify innovative approaches to make the financial commitments less burdensome, and last but not least create and execute a fundraising plan. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact Ken at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sara Gorfinkel, Vice President of Religious Life
My name is Sara Gorfinkel. My husband Ron and I joined Shaare Torah in 2006 when we were newly married and new in town—we literally stumbled across the conservative synagogue in our backyard and have never looked back! Since we joined I have taken on leadership roles as Chair of the Ritual Committee, Greeting Coordination, High Holidays, Membership, and also generally coordinated a Young Adult membership cohort. Our daughter Nora was born in January, 2010 and now leads her own cohort of Shaare Torah babies and toddlers to play with on Shabbat! I am the executive director of the Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation that focuses on making grants affecting social change for women and girls in the DC area. In my role as Vice President of Religious Life at Shaare Torah, I work as a liaison between the Ritual Committee and the Board of Trustees. The Ritual Committee, chaired by Amanda Katz, tackles all aspects of our religious life at Shaare Torah and works to create opportunities for spiritual growth, community building, and new areas of meaningful engagement to Judaism through our regular Shabbat Services and Holidays. If you are interested in joining any of these committees, please never hesitate to contact me directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kelli Kahalas, Vice President for Membership and Community Development
My name is Kelli Kahalas and I am the Vice President for Membership and Community Development. My husband, Rich, and I have been members of Shaare Torah for 7 years. I have a 13 year old daughter who just became a Bat Mitzvah this past spring. I have a 10 year old son who was part of the very first class of our nursery school and a 9 year old son who also went to our nursery school. Now they are both students in our religious school. I am responsible for the recruitment of new members to Shaare Torah and retaining the current members. My area also puts on the Hanukkah party, Purim Carnival, and End of Year Summer Celebration. Additionally, we create and deliver welcome bags to the homes of new members. We are always in need of committee members and volunteers for our events. If you are interested in joining any of these committees, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Connie Liss, Vice President of Leadership Development
My name is Connie Liss and I am Shaare Torah’s Vice President of Leadership Development. My husband Alan and I joined Shaare Torah about 10 years ago when we moved to the Washington area. We have 3 grown sons, 2 of whom of whom are married and we now have 3 grandchildren.In my position as VP of Leadership Development, my responsibility is to help fill leadership roles, including chair positions and committee openings. Once the positions are filled, I will work to provide any necessary support. Making sure we have people in place and providing them with support will ensure succession and continuity in Shaare Torah’s organizational structure. If you are interested in joining this committee please contact me at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Rob Maytin, Treasurer
My name is Rob Maytin and I am Shaare Torah’s Treasurer. My wife Deb and I have been members of Shaare Torah for 9 years. We have 2 children, ages 9 and 5 who have both graduated from Shaare Torah Nursery school and who attend Shaare Torah Religious School. This year will be my sixth on the board, I have also served as a trustee and the VP of Operations.In my position as Treasurer I am responsible for all financial transactions at Shaare Torah, tracking our finances and chairing the variance committee. I work closely with all other board members and professional staff to ensure we are managing to our budget. I am also responsible for reporting to the board our financial status at our monthly board meetings and answering any questions from our board and our members about our finances. If you have nay questions I can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jennifer Schnur, Secretary
My name is Jennifer Schnur and I am Secretary of Shaare Torah's Board of Directors. I have been a member at Shaare Torah since 2002 and have children in both the religious and nursery schools. I have chaired many events at Shaare Torah such as the Spring Boutique and Shaare Torah's Bat Mitzvah Celebration and have served on many committees as a member and was chair of the Nursery School Committee for three years. Currently, my role as secretary consists of organizing committee reports from the various committees at Shaare Torah and relaying that information to our Board of Directors as well as taking minutes at our monthly meetings. This is information is kept for anyone who is interested in seeing it. If you have any questions, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jessica Smith, Vice President of Communications
My name is Jessy Smith and I am the VP of Communications for Shaare Torah. My husband Troy and I and our four children have been members of Shaare Torah since 2005. As a part of the communications committee we oversee all general outgoing communications to the congregation and public, including our quarterly newsletter, The Shaare Torah Scroll, our Weekly Announcement Emails, Advertising, Facebook Group Management, Website Messaging and Content Management. We also assist other committees and groups who may require flyers, postcards, ads, posters, webpages and invitations, both printed and HTML Email based. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact Jessy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Lori Yadin, Vice President of Education
There are several opportunities to support lifelong learning at Shaare Torah. You or family members may enroll or participate in the many activities, beginning with our Early Childhood Center that includes a stellar nursery school program and our kindergarten and first grade religious school and informal education. We look forward to seeing you and your children in our supplemental Elementary School Program that looks to create opportunities for all of our youth, grades 2 – 5, and their families, recognizing that every Shaare Torah family is integral to building a vibrant community. Formal and experiential learning supports adolescents and their families, providing them with the support necessary to celebrate important life-cycle events and continuing to expand their knowledge and social networks through participation in our educational and youth activities arm of Secondary Education for grades 6 – 12. The pursuit of knowledge continues as we look to create Adult Education opportunities for all our members, supporting all stages of adulthood. If you are interested in joining an Education Committee: Nursery School, Religious School, Youth Committee, or Adult Ed, please contact Lori at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , I look forward to hearing from you.