The Temple Beth Sholom Professional Staff:
Rabbi Heidi M. Cohen
rabbicohen@tbsoc.com
Sermon Archive
Rabbi Heidi Cohen has served as a Rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom since 1998. She possesses a desire to share and adapt traditional Jewish concepts to a modern Reform context and a gift of being able to teach people of all ages to embrace the joy of Judaism. Her energy and enthusiasm have made her an important presence on the pulpit, while her knowledge and empathy have been evident in sermons, classes, retreats, and life events.
Rabbi Cohen studies with Jew-by-Choice Students, counsels congregants and non-members, provides hospital and home pastoral counseling, and conducts pre-marital counseling sessions prior to weddings. She has established high standards and created demand for top-notch youth and camp programming, now in the capable hands of April Akiva.
Rabbi Cohen is a graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. Rabbi Cohen is the Immediate Past-President of the Orange County Board of Rabbis and serves on numerous community associations, including: the Executive Committee of Clergy for Choice through Planned Parenthood of Orange County, the Interfaith Council of Central Orange County, the Fish Interfaith Center Advisory Council, and the Advisory Committee for Spiritual Development at Children's Hosptial of Orange County. Rabbi Cohen also serves on the Pacific Southwest Regional Boards for PARR, (Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis), ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America) and ADL (Anti-Defamation League).
She is married to Matt, a web designer, and has one daughter and one son.
Cantorial Soloist Mark Thompson
mthompson@tbsoc.com
Mark Thompson, his wife, Elizabeth, and two children have been members of the Temple Beth Sholom family since 1994. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Master of Arts from California State University Long Beach. He has held the position of Cantorial Soloist at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs and has served as guest soloist in many locations in Southern California. In addition to his responsibilities at Temple Beth Sholom, Mark is a vocal coach, playwright and actor. He has written and produced one-man shows on the lives of famous scientists and philosophers, such as Galileo Galilei and Baruch Spinoza, which he has performed on university campuses across the country. Complementing his love of singing, he plays the guitar and lute and has a special interest in Early Music. He is also an avid amateur astronomer.
Rabbi Emeritus Shelton J. Donnell
Sermon Archive
Publications by Rabbi Donnell
Rabbi Shelton J. Donnell served Temple Beth Sholom as Senior Rabbi from 1991-2005. In July 2005, he fulfilled a lifelong dream and made Aliyah with his wife Wendy Bocarsky and now resides in Jerusalem, Israel.
Rabbi Donnell now serves as the Rabbinic Advisor to the the Fourth Year Rabbinic and Cantorial Program of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. He is also pursuing his scholarly interests through various writing projects in the areas of Bible and rabbinic history.
Susie Amster, F.T.AExecutive Director
samster@tbsoc.com
Susie Amster has been employed as the Executive Director of Temple Beth Sholom in Orange County, California since March 1992. She served as President of the Pacific Association of Temple Administrators and currently is Vice President of the National Association of Temple Administrators. Susie earned her Fellowship in Temple Administration (FTA) in October 1998. Susie taught workshops for administrators from around the world at the World Union for Progressive Judaism conventions in Moscow in 2005 and in Jerusalem in 2007. She is married to husband, Bruce, for 36 years, and has three daughters, Sharon, Lisa and Julie, a son-in-law, Adam, and three grandchildren, Johanna, Brandon and Sadie.
Rabbi Jocelyn HudsonDirector of Education
jhudson@tbsoc.com
TBS Religious School
Weekly D'var Torah
Rabbi Hudson's Torah Blog
Rabbi Hudson, who hails both from Huntington Beach, California, and Nixa, Missouri, is thrilled to serve as our Director of Religious Education. When she was two years old, Rabbi Hudson thought she would grow up to be an orange juice taster; ultimately, though, she decided she would have greater impact as a Jewish educator. Rabbi Hudson loves teaching in a variety of settings, but is currently most excited about exploring biblical texts through a literary lens.
Rabbi Hudson holds Master of Arts degrees in Jewish Education and Hebrew Letters and was ordained as a Rabbi in 2007 from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. During her course of studies at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Hudson received awards in bible, liturgy, and Jewish education. Rabbi Hudson is also one of the distinguished commentators for Women of Reform Judaism's "The Torah: A Women's Commentary".
Before joining us as Director of Education, Rabbi Hudson served as the rabbinic-education intern here at TBS. Prior to this internship, Rabbi Hudson served as a student rabbi for Temple Israel in Marion, Ohio, as a teaching-assistant at the University of Southern California, and as an education intern at Congregation Ner Tamid of the South Bay. Some of her other cherished learning experiences include serving as a chaplain-intern at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and teaching at a Jewish preschool.
Rabbi Hudson graduated with high honors from Brandeis University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in socio-cultural anthropology and a minor in Near Eastern Judaic Studies. She credits her love of Jewish education to the formative years she spent camping at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, learning at Congregation B’nei Tzedek in Fountain Valley, California, teaching at Temple Israel in Springfield, Missouri, and discovering at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel.
Rabbi Hudson is grateful for the well-rounded Jewish education she received as both a child and an adult, and feels blessed to be studying with so many dedicated learners at TBS.
April Akiva, M.A.J.E.
Director of Youth, Camp, and Temple Programming
aakiva@tbsoc.com
TBS Youth Web Site
April Akiva is excited to return to Temple Beth Sholom full time after serving as an education intern and running the Family Learning Circle programs and retreats. She brings with her an innate curiosity and love for learning that is contagious and has particular interest in the impact family education programs have on the Jewish community. A graduate of the Orange County High School of the Arts, April has an extensive background in the performing arts and is eager to integrate the arts with Judaic programs at Temple Beth Sholom.
April holds a Master of Arts degree in Jewish Education from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She graduated with high-honors from the University of Southern California, where she played an active role in a Jewish sorority and served as the President of USC’s Reform student group, Kesher. Prior to her joining the TBS staff, April worked in a variety of Jewish settings including camps, youth groups, and religious schools. She was privileged to share her musical talents while serving as a cantorial soloist at Temple Ner Tamid of Downey. Most recently, April taught Judaic Studies at Tarbut V’Torah Upper School in Irvine. She has served on the board of the Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life and currently sits on the recruitment committee of the National Association of Temple Educators.
April is married to Daniel, a software architect.
Lindy Lane-Epstein
Preschool Director
lepstein@tbsoc.com
TBS Preschool
Originally from Kansas City, Lindy has been in Jewish Education for over 16 years. She has taught Religious School, Family Education, & pre-school. Lindy was Judaic Educator and Assistant Director at the JCC Preschool.
Married 21 years to husband, Bill with 3 children, Laura, Jonathan & Molly.
Board of Directors and Committee Chairs
Temple Beth Sholom encourages your volunteer participation in our numerous committees. Leadership opportunities in our Board of Directors, Temple Sisterhood and Men's Club follow committee involvement. Get involved today and lead our congregants into the future!
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President |
Howard Mitzman |
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Directors |
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Other lay leaders include: |
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Sisterhood President |
Elizabeth Cohen |
| Kol Sholom Editor Webmaster |
Ilene Schneider Matt Cohen/ It Won't Byte |
