Rachel Berman Adjunct |
Rachel grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. She attended college in Los Angeles before moving to Washington D.C. to work as a Legislative Aide for a U.S. Congressman from California. In 2013, at the height of the Syrian war, she moved to Beirut, Lebanon where she worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) supporting Palestinian refugees. After two years in Lebanon, she moved to New York where she earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in international development and humanitarian assistance. In 2017, Rachel moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she worked for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Save the Children, and Relief International in program development and fundraising to provide lifesaving services to vulnerable refugee and host communities.
|
After two years in Ethiopia, she and her fiancé Max traveled around South America for two months and spent five weeks exploring the southern U.S. driving from Florida to Seattle.
Rachel is now based in Seattle and honored to be serving as an Adjunct Director for TBIPS. She looks forward to joining her father, Norman Berman, in contributing to the efforts of the Preservation Society in loving memory of her grandparents, Bluma and Misha Berman, who were founding members.
Rachel is now based in Seattle and honored to be serving as an Adjunct Director for TBIPS. She looks forward to joining her father, Norman Berman, in contributing to the efforts of the Preservation Society in loving memory of her grandparents, Bluma and Misha Berman, who were founding members.
Eric Blumenthal ADJUNCT |
Eric Blumenthal grew up in Danielson and at Temple Beth Israel until his family moved to New Hampshire in 1976. He is the son of Mort and
Joyce Blumenthal, who were active leaders at the synagogue for many years. He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at TBI in 1973. Eric is a recently retired college administrator and finance officer and was a higher education leader for nearly 40 years. He has served a multitude of colleges and universities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice of Administration & Finance at Portland Community College, the largest post secondary institution in Oregon with more than 50,000 students and a $1.5 billion biennial budget. |
In 2021, he was recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a CFO of the Year honoree in the non-profit category. He hopes to continue to serve the higher education community as a consultant and in interim and temporary positions.
He currently serves as a peer evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. He has also been involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), formerly serving the NAMI-Clackamas affiliate as a board member and treasurer.
Eric earned his master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and a bachelor's degree in Accounting cum laude from Boston College. He is married to Dr. Patricia ("Pat") Blumenthal, a clinic psychologist. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his family which includes his daughter, Tovah, daughter-in-law, Azia, and sons, Max and Eli. He loves being a "Zaydee" to his granddaughter, Halle Grace.
He currently serves as a peer evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. He has also been involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), formerly serving the NAMI-Clackamas affiliate as a board member and treasurer.
Eric earned his master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and a bachelor's degree in Accounting cum laude from Boston College. He is married to Dr. Patricia ("Pat") Blumenthal, a clinic psychologist. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his family which includes his daughter, Tovah, daughter-in-law, Azia, and sons, Max and Eli. He loves being a "Zaydee" to his granddaughter, Halle Grace.
Jeffrey Blumenthal ADJUNCT |
Bio coming soon.
|
Martin Drobiarz director |
Marty lives in Old Saybrook, CT with his wife Elizabeth and has 3 children, Heather, Alison and Jonathan. A graduate of UCONN School of Pharmacy in 1978, Marty owns Northeast Medical Products, Inc. – a retailer and wholesaler of medical equipment, supplies and pharmaceuticals. Marty’s bar mitzvah date was June 22, 1968 and following that, he became active in USY, serving as its president the following year.
Marty stayed involved by helping to lead services with his father Henry for several years until moving away from the area. The Drobiarz family has deep roots in Temple Beth Israel and Marty feels honored to serve on the Board of Directors. |
Richard Dvorin director |
Richard is honored to serve on the TBI board. He lives in Brooklyn, CT with his wife Janice. Richard grew up in West Hartford and was Vice President of Corbin Motor Sales in New Britain, CT for over twenty years. He was active in synagogue life serving on the Board of Trustees at the Beth-El Temple of West Hartford, CT as House Chairman.
Richard also served as Men’s Club President for two terms and served as Connecticut Valley Regional President. Richard joined the board in January 2016. |
Sari Elston-Trzepacz Director |
Bio coming soon.
|
Elsie Fetterman DIRECTOR |
Elsie was born in Danielson. Her parents, Nathan and Dora Blumenthal, moved to Danielson in 1924 and were the first practicing Jewish family in the town.
She was named the first President of the Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood in 1950. She was recently honored at the Temple for her 85th birthday celebration with 120 friends and family. Elsie now lives in Amherst, MA and has just completed the research for a book on the Blumenthal family published by the Killingly Historical Society. |
|
Jack Helfgott Director |
Bio coming soon.
|
Jack Hodys Director |
Jack Hodys is the son of Holocaust survivors, Anna and Henry Hodys, who were founders of Temple Beth Israel. Jack lives with his wife Nancy in Pascoag, Rhode Island. They have two children, Ethan and Karen.
|
Jacob Gawendo ADJUNCT |
Bio coming soon.
|
Michael Gawendo director |
Michael Gawendo is the son of Lisa and Evert Gawendo and the grandson of Ray and the late Jacob Gawendo, founding members of Temple Beth Israel and the late Anne and William Shwartz.
He is a graduate of Wentworth Institute of Technology and is employed at the Nutmeg Companies, Inc. in Norwich, CT. Michael lives in Norwich, CT with his fiancé, Kristine. |
Matthew Goldblatt DIRECTOR |
Matthew Goldblatt is the son of Rosa and Michael Goldblatt and the grandson of Henry and Sophie Drobiarz. He is the full time accountant for the Gilman Corporation in Gilman, CT. He graduated in 2004 from Assumption College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a Concentration in Business. He currently lives in Norwich, CT. Matthew joined the board in January 2016.
|
Rachel Goldblatt DIRECTOR |
Rachel Goldblatt is currently the Business Manager for Research Operations at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she manages the Institutional Research Budget. In her previous role at Dana-Farber as Project Manager, she managed a software vendor, overseeing software integrations, demonstrations, training and interface usability testing in addition to being part of the management team for Core Facilities and Strategic Centers.
She received her Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and her Master of Business Administration from the Boston University Questrom School of Business. |
Martin Israelit DIRECTOR |
Martin joined the board in 2016. He lives in Providence Rhode Island with his wife Betty Ann. He graduated Killingly High School in 1963, attended college and in 1976 he founded Coldmasters Temperature Control. CTC is a commercial and industrial HVAC/R service, design and installation firm and in 2014 his son Jonah took over as President and CEO.
Martin’s parents were Holocaust Survivors and settled on a poultry farm in Killingly in the early 50’s. Leon and Anna Israelit were among the early founders of the community and served as Hebrew School teachers. Leon served on the board of directors and Anna was active in the Sisterhood. |
Henry Mondschein DIRECTOR |
Henry Mondschein grew up in the synagogue from a young age. His parents, Urek and Hanka Mondschein were active in the synagogue and sisterhood. Henry started reading on the Bima at age 9 and after his Bar Mitzvah, took part in the services, ultimately leading Friday nights and parts of the High Holiday services in the 80’s and early 90’s before ultimately conducting the services mostly by himself for many years. He is a past president of Temple Beth Israel.
Henry is a Partner with Connect Financial Group LLC, a full service financial services firm. He lives in Ellington, CT with his wife Amy and has two children, Aron and Sima. Henry has a long history in non-profit leadership, ranging from Rotary International, local youth organizations and Jewish causes. |
Bailey Rosenberg Nascimento DIRECTOR |
Bailey is granddaughter of founding members Shirley & David Rosenberg and Temple Beth Israel has always been an important part of her and her family’s life. As a young girl she spent many days at the temple for services and Sunday school and was excited to celebrate her Bat Mitzvah there as well. She has always appreciated the temple but as she grew older, she further realized the importance that the temple had not only in the history of Northeastern Connecticut but also in the community for bringing many different people together.
Currently, Bailey is a Sales & Event Manager working out of Boston and calls the North Shore home with her husband Jhonatas. She is very much looking forward to being an adjunct member of the board and is honored to continue its work and partnerships for years to come. |
Alan Turner ADJUNCT |
Al Turner is a Yeshiva of Hartford graduate. He was a past president of the Connecticut Valley Region of United Synagogue. He also served as lay-leader for Sons of Zion Synagogue and Temple B’nai Shalom for 33 years. He served on two Interfaith councils and has taught in the public schools and at QVCTC. He and his wife Marcia have lived in Danielson for 36 years.
|
Heather Drobiarz Waters ADJUNCT |
Originally from Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Heather Drobiarz Waters resides in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband Dan, daughter Sophia, and 100-lb Bernese Mountain Dog, Brewster. Daughter of TBI Board member, Martin Drobiarz, she’s proud to carry on the tradition of supporting Temple Beth Israel as her grandparents, Henry and Sophie Drobiarz did so many years ago.
After graduating from Emerson College, Heather moved to Los Angeles to begin a career in the television industry at NBC. She continued on this path for the next decade, working her way up to Supervising Producer on Bravo series’ Southern Charm and Southern Charm Savannah. Soon after welcoming her daughter, Heather was diagnosed with breast cancer and with the support of her family, battled for the next year. Soon after feeling healthy, she pivoted to a role in the tech industry as a Content Strategy Lead at Wayfair, where she plans, organizes, and creates on-site content. You can often find Heather surrounded by family and friends, spending time outdoors on hikes with Brewster, enjoying the beach, golfing, and skiing. |
Claire Zweig DIRECTOR |
Claire Israelit Zweig resides in Morris Plains, New Jersey with her husband, Gil and they have a daughter, Eliza. Claire is the daughter of Anna and Leon Israelit and sister of Martin. Anna and Leon settled in Danielson in 1950 on Cook Hill Road. Both Leon and Anna were involved with Jewish and Hebrew education at TBI. While Anna was active in Sisterhood, Leon led the Holocaust memorial committee at TBI and they were both very active fundraisers for Israel Bonds. Anna and Leon were partisan/resistance fighters during WWII along with Leon’s brother, Borys (Brooklyn, CT) and sister, Liza Shuster (Plainfield, CT). Claire was active in USY and served as President for one term.
Claire and Gil founded Glenbrook Technologies in 1983. Glenbrook Technologies is a global technology company that manufactures x-ray inspection systems used for quality control purposes in various industries and for medical research purposes in the life sciences. |