OUR PEOPLE
Suburban Temple – Kol Ami is blessed with a dedicated professional staff and active board of trustees.
Our Rabbi:
Rabbi Allison B. Vann has been the spiritual leader of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami since 2011. Suburban Temple-Kol Ami is a 70-year-old congregation known for its’ innovative and welcoming approach to membership and learning.
She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1999, and served Temple Beth-El in San Antonio, Texas from 1999 to June of 2011. Rabbi Vann is part of the leadership team of RAC Ohio, one of the first statewide community organizing efforts for the Reform Jewish movement. Through the Leadership Cleveland Center, she is proud to be one of Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 2019. She is Immediate Past President of the Cleveland Board of Rabbis,and served on the Board of Trustees for both the Jewish Family Services Association and the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.
She is married to Charlie Vann, and together they are raising their son, Isaac. They also have three rescue dogs, Annie, Mag, and Cosmo.
Our Education Director:
Rabbi Shoshana Nyer, Director of Lifelong Learning, joined the Suburban Temple – Kol Ami community as Director of Lifelong Learning in July 2012, after serving Temple B'nai Shalom in Fairfax Station, VA for nine years as first Assistant, then Associate Rabbi and Educator.
Before arriving in Northern Virginia, Rabbi Shana earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish Studies at the University of Maryland, and then studied at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where in addition to achieving her ordination in 2003, she earned a Masters of Arts in Hebrew Literature in 2002, and her Masters of Arts in Religious Education in 2016. Rabbi Shana is also the Jewish Educator at Camp Wise is Chardon, OH, returning to her childhood summer home.
Rabbi Shana loves teaching students of all ages and is passionate about advocating for the inclusion of all learners. She has published two articles on the subject, “How to Say ‘Yes And…’ to Inclusion” and “Creating Sacred Partnerships: Parents and Educators Working Together to Meet the Needs of All Learners”. Rabbi Shana is a gifted storyteller who loves to teach Jewish values through this medium and gets excited when her lessons combine her knowledge of and passion for Judaism and her interest in all things pop culture.
When she is not at work, Rabbi Shana enjoys spending time with her husband, Stephen Langel, and their daughter, Emily.
Our Executive Committee:
Matt Lehman, President
Lori Rosenberg, Vice-President
Bruce Sherman, Secretary
Howard Feldenkris, Treasurer
Dorothea Polster, At-Large
Kim Rosner, Immediate Past President
Our Past Presidents:
Jack Alan Bialosky
Dr. Stanley Brown
Dr. Richard L. Cohen
Beth N. Curtiss
Barbara Feldman
Thomas E. Galvin
Donald S. Jacobson
Kenneth M. Lapine
Richard D. Margolius
Sara Stashower
Our Board of Trustees:
Dr. Dave Aron
Tessa Gable
Matt Greenfield
Alan Hazzard
Susan Hirsch
Nancy Huntsman
Irving Katz
Ginny Lehman
Susan Long
Susan Gordon Merdler
Shellie Nyer, President of Kol Nashim
Dorothea Polster
Svetlana Pundik
Ellyn Ross
Linda Schneider
Sandy Shapiro
Rich Silver
Andi Wasserman
Ellen Weber
Our Executive Director:
Brett Shankman joined Suburban Temple – Kol Ami as Executive Director in April 2014. He has worked in the organized Jewish community for most of his professional career, including the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Menorah Park Foundation.
Brett is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He lives in Shaker Heights with wife, Marcy and children, Rebecca and Joshua.
Our Director of Engagement and Marketing:
J.B. Davis , Director of Engagement and Marketing, most recently was the Senior Consultant for Strategy and Marketing at MAGNET, a Cleveland-based non-profit that helps Northeast Ohio manufacturers grow. Before moving to Cleveland, J.B. managed market research, strategic planning, and marketing programs for a wide variety of brands in retail, healthcare, and financial services. A former four season head coach of his daughter's soccer team, J.B. is currently working with the Cleveland Leadership Center on its social entrepreneurship capacity building initiative. He's a graduate of Wesleyan, Columbia, and Northwestern.
J.B. and his wife Rachel live in Shaker and have three children, Josiah, Eli, and Abby.
Our Music Director:
Deb Rogers, our highly creative Music Director, joined ST-KA in 2019. She brings her musical skills, vast repertoire, and deep knowledge of Jewish musical traditions to Friday night services, holidays, and other Temple events and programs.
Her artistic talents have long been “at play” in music as a classically trained pianist and keyboardist, a talented singer and a guitar player. Before ST-KA, Deb served for eight years at Congregation Kol Chadash as cantorial soloist, bar and bat mitzvah tutor and Jewish Educator. Among her many accomplishments at Kol Chadash, she formed a congregational band and directed a high holy day volunteer choir.
As the owner of a boutique cake making company, Deb lets her creativity shine beyond her duties as Music Director.
Our Staff:
John Farragher, Maintenance Supervisor
Charles Hickerson, Retired
Dale Hopkins (z"l), Administrative Assistant
Charlotte Versagi, Administrative Assistant