Community
What do you want from your kehillah (community)? We could use your insights and ideas.
In this community, we are all needed. Volunteers keep Shir Tikvah running. Giving a few hours of your time here and there not only strengthens our community, it’s a fun and easy way to get to know others here. As you attend services and events, please ask questions of anyone you see in kitchen, moving furniture or greeting folks at the door.
Need a phone number or email address? See your member directory for contact information or ask Amelia Schroth for help accessing your member page.
Committees and Working Groups
Board of Directors
Board members can be reached as a group with board@shirtikvahpdx.org
Bruce Birk, MD: Chair bruceb@shirtikvahpdx.org
Emma Lugo: Vice-Chair emmal@shirtikvahpdx.org
CJ Alicandro : Treasurer Alicandro.CJ@gmail.com
Caitlin Bagwell; Secretary justcaitlin2000@gmail.com
At Large:
Hillary Barbour hillaryb@shirtikvahpdx.org
Nehama Bennet-Teasdale nehamab@shirtikvahpdx.org
Sonia Acharya soniaa@shirtikvahpdx.org
Seymour Hanfling seymourh@shirtikvahpdx.org
Angela Michtom angelam@shirtikvahpdx.org
(See bios below)
Randy Bluffstone, Past Chair
Aron Borok: Past Co-Chair
Leora Troper: Past Co-Chair
*Members can access board meeting minutes by logging in on "My Account".
COMMITTEES of the Board
Member Services and Outreach Committee:
This committee coordinates the following groups to foster a sense of community Kesher, of Yad l’Yad, Kesher, K’vod haMeyt, and Volunteer Support.Yad l’Yad (Hand to Hand): Provides emotional and physical support needed for members during a difficult period. Visiting the sick, running errands, providing meals, transportation, writing letters, or even making phone calls are ways we have helped members. Kesher (Welcoming): Welcomes new members, answering questions and greeting at events, helping to familiarize new members. K’vod haMeyt (Cemetery Group): Maintains our cemetery in partnership with Congregation P’nai Or and Kol Shalom and takes the lead in the mitzvot of helping to bury the dead and comfort the bereaved. Volunteer Support: Implements volunteer appreciation and supports volunteer recruitment and retention. Outreach Representative: Answers prospective member's questions about financial obligations
Tefilah (Prayer and Ritual) Committee
This group enhances religious services and experiences at Shir Tikvah by supporting lay leaders, helping to educate members about Jewish prayer and ritual practice, and by developing prayer materials.
Fundraising Oversight Committee
These volunteers provide broad oversight, planning and coordination for all fundraising events.
Other Working groups: Legal & Governance, Investment, Life and Legacy Giving, Social Justice Working Group
BOARD MEMBER BIOs
Bruce: I was raised in Texas by Canadian immigrants and attended a large, Reform synagogue where my father was active in their leadership. I have lived in Portland since 1999 and am a Pediatrician at a local group practice. We have been members of CST for 14 years plus. I am a devotee of Jewish music and have played guitar with services and Nashira. I am also the Mohel for our shul and the community at large. Beyond that I love to fix things, practice Tae Kwon Doe, and golf (poorly). It has been my pleasure to serve on the board since 5778. I have worked on many projects including our security plans, the EJC, our use of technology, and much more.
Emma: Emma is a community activist and programmer at KBOO community radio. As a trans, queer woman she became involved in organizing within the transgender community and also served as a panelist and organizer on a range of queer community projects including the Transgender Day of Remembrance Interfaith Vigil. Emma is married to Nini and they share their home with six cats. Professionally she comanages their landscape business with her wife and sister. On air Emma co-hosts the radio program Transpositive and Prison Pipeline and serves as the Treasurer of KBOO. Emma has been a member of Shir Tikvah for five years and hosts Torah Chat on Saturday mornings before Torah study.
Hillary: Hillary has been a member of Congregation Shir Tikvah from the beginning. In that time she has been a Nashira teacher and a regular Torah chanter at Shabbat services and High Holidays. Her daughter, Piper, is a 3rd grade Nashira student. Hillary is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Burgerville where she oversees the company’s participation in the Pacific Northwest’s food and business economy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, and is a founder of the Rocky Butte Farmers Market. She loves backpacking, gardening, and doing just about anything outdoors.
Nehama: I was born of Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri but had no Jewish upbringing. We moved to SanDiego when I was 12 and I spent my teen years at the beach. As an adult I was attracted to Judaism through Jewish dance and the public lighting of the Hannukah menora. In 1998 my husband and I made aliyah and lived in Israel for 15 years. We returned to Portland to be part of our grandchildren’s lives in 2013 and joined Shir Tikvah. I’ve taught Kita Alef and Hebrew Through Movement in Nashira for 7 years. That’s my passion! I’m also active in Torah study, Talmud study and Tephilot.
Angela: Angela joined Shir Tikvah with her family in 2006. She has volunteered over the years during the Purim Shpeil, for Hannukah events and coordinating early fundraising/community building events. She is excited to be in the role of Board Member during this momentous time in Shir Tikvah's history. You can find her on many a weekend evening onstage at ComedySportz Portland.
Seymour: I grew up in religious Jewish family in the Chicago area attending a Conservative congregation. I spent three and half years in the Peace Corps (Sri Lanka and Liberia) and ended up in Portland when I ran out of money and needed to get a job. It has worked out well. My wife, Julia, and I followed Rabbi Ariel as Shir Tikvah was being created so that our daughters, Naomi and Mira, could experience a diverse progressive congregation. Both our daughters attended Nashira and had their Bat Mitzvahs here. I retired in 2018 after a long, varied career in education. I am happy to have joined the Board during our transition to a new facility and excited by the opportunities offered through our collaboration with the Eastside Jewish Commons.
Partnerships
Eastside Jewish Commons
Congregation Shir Tikvah actively supports the Eastside Jewish Community, creating a new kind of Jewish space east of the Willamette River.
TischPDX
Congregation Shir Tikvah was the first fiscal sponsor for Tisch PDX, mentoring millenial entrepenuers as they build Jewish community among unaffiliated Jews on the Eastside.
Program/Event Proposal Form
Programs at Shir Tikvah are a collaboration between staff, volunteers and the Rabbi. Thank you for bringing us ideas that promote Torah (study), Avodah (prayer) and G'milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness). Programs will be evaluated in terms of staff and volunteer capacity, as well as broad appeal to the congregation as a whole. After the proposal has been submitted and reviewed, staff may contact you about creating a budget for a program.
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