Board of Directors
2024-2025
Michelle G, President
Michelle grew up in Florida and Colorado and has lived in Fort Collins with her husband Benjamin since 2012. Her two children attend religious school and preschool at Har Shalom and Michelle has taught both the 6th and 7th grade religious school classes.
After graduating from Brandeis University with a degree in psychology, Michelle received her Masters in Elementary Education from Vanderbilt University. She then taught middle school math for 9 years. Michelle was fortunate to participate in the 2019 Momentum mission to Israel and returned as trip leader in the fall of 2022. In her spare time, Michelle loves to bake, cook, and garden.
Rabbi Katzir, Co-President Elect
Rabbi Katzir is a retired rabbi and former attorney. Originally from Los Angeles, he lived in Israel for nine years in his 20's and early 30's, and has been in Fort Collins since 2015. He is active with the Fort Collins Area Interfaith Council, and teaches Judaism-related courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU. He looks forward to bringing his perspective as a retired rabbi to his work on the Har Shalom Board of Directors.
Nina R., Co-President Elect
Nina has been a member of Har Shalom since 1979. Within days of arriving in Fort Collins an old friend from USY recruited her to teach the 5th grade religious school class. She is a former President of the Har Shalom Board (1989-1992). Nina has been a Jewish educator for many years, including in the Melton program when it was offered here. She founded and continues to lead the Northern Colorado Chevra Kadisha, the Jewish burial society; she helped create the national curriculum for training Chevrah Kadisha members, and assisted other Jewish communities in creating their own Chevra Kadisha; and she has taught widely on the topic of Jewish mourning and death rituals and related story-telling.
Nina was the president of the of the Fort Collins Area Interfaith Council 1995-1997, returning to that role in 2022. In 1997 she chaired the Faith Flood Recovery effort following the Spring Creek floods.
In every role, Nina shares a strong commitment to engagement, ensuring every person feels welcome and that they belong.
Debbie D, Past President
Originally from Seattle, Debbie has been a part of Har Shalom since her oldest daughter joined the preschool in 2001. All three of her girls graduated from the preschool and the religious school and became b'not mitzvah at Har Shalom. Debbie served as a religious school, Hebrew school, and Hebrew High teacher for nearly 20 years at Har Shalom. She was the b'nai mitzvah coordinator for five years and has served on both the Spritual Practices Committee and the Education Committee (where she currently still serves).
These days, she puts her Masters Degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies to good use tutoring students as they prepare to become a bar or bat mitzvah. As her daughters have grown, Debbie has enjoyed the many Lifelong Learning offerings at Har Shalom. She hopes to play a role in creating welcoming spaces for those congregants, like her, who no longer have children in religious school. Serving the whole community is extremely satisfying. When not at Har Shalom, Debbie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, learning to play Mahjong, knitting and crocheting, writing, and researching her family's genealogy.
Scott B, Treasurer
Originally from Philadelphia, Scott spent several years in Baltimore before moving to Fort Collins with his family in 2012. Scott and his wife, Tal, have two children who are both graduates of the Har Shalom preschool and currently attend the religious school. Scott has become increasingly active volunteering in the Har Shalom community over the years. He participated in the Men’s Momentum trip to Israel in 2022 and is the current Chair of the MENsch Club (Men's Group). Professionally, Scott works as a design engineer, developing test equipment for the semiconductor industry. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis and softball, cycling and running, and chasing his kids around.
Laura A, Secretary
Laura moved to Colorado from South Florida in 2012. Since then, she has acted as Board Member at Har Shalom as well as a preschool teacher and religious school teacher. She has celebrated the B'nai Mitzvahs of her three children, now all young adults, at Har Shalom and enjoys celebrating the Mitzvahs of the community, as well.
Laura is an English Language teacher at a local elementary school and enjoys being a part of book clubs, traveling with her husband Chuck and playing Mahjong. She was part of the first Har Shalom Momentum trip to Israel in 2019 and returned as trip leader during the summer of 2023.
Paul H, Board Member
Paul grew in up in South Florida and has lived in Fort Collins with his wife Alison since 2018, joining the Har Shalom community the same year. Both of their children are involved in Har Shalom's religious school, with his oldest proudly becoming a Bat Mitzvah in late 2023.
After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Construction Management, Paul worked for several years in the home-building industry and then return to school and received a Masters in Real Estate. He currently runs his own real estate company here in Fort Collins.
Paul also serves on the city of Fort Collins Water Commission. In his free time, he enjoys being his family and reveling in the great outdoors of Colorado. Hiking, mountain biking, ski-biking, and stand-up paddle boarding with his kids are among his favorite activities.
Scott R, Board Member
Scott has lived in Fort Collins for the past ten years after growing up south of Denver. He and his wife, Heather, have three children, all enrolled in the Har Shalom religious school. Scott and Heather have enjoyed being welcomed into the Har Shalom community, taking part in numerous celebrations and activities. Scott works as a paraprofessional at an elementary school in Fort Collins. In his free time, Scott likes to read, follow his favorite sports teams and shuttle his kids all about the city.
Pieter T, Board Member
Pieter was born and raised in Northwestern Washington state, just south of the Canadian-American border by Dutch immigrant parents. He attended Colorado State University and received a B.S. in Business Administration and received his Master in Social Science from University of Colorado Denver. Pieter has worked in non-profit public health for many years and is currently a social worker and mediator working with local government.
Pieter is married and lives with his partner and dogs. His interests include philosophy, the arts, horticulture and baking. He and his partner have a keen interest in public health, public policy and international events.
Merav T, Board Member
Merav Tsubely was born in Israel, and moved to Chicago when she was six years old. She grew up in a small suburb just north of Chicago. Merav lives in Fort Collins with her two kids and two dogs (one big, one small). Merav began teaching fourth grade at Har Shalom Religious School in August 2022, and is so happy to be a part of this community.
Lori W, Board Member
After 38 years in Poughkeepsie, New York, Lori and her husband, David, moved to Fort Collins to be near their son, daughter-in-law, and three grandsons. Lori has two other sons, one who lives in Napa, California and another who lives in Chappaqua, NY. Lori works part-time as a licensed clinical social worker in a private practice specializing in individuals and couples. She has served on several Boards in Vermont and Colorado. She has also served on the Board of Directors at Temple Beth El in Poughkeepsie where she taught Sunday school and Hebrew high school. Along with her students, she developed Bright Nights, a program to feed the homeless that is still thriving and vibrant today. Lori also started a program called Here Comes The Sun, a walk to raise money for teens and suicide education and prevention with hundreds of walkers every year. Lori has a love for Judaism and feels strongly about the importance of creating a synagogue that becomes a second home for young families, and a synagogue that will attract new families to create a growing community.
Anne W, Board Member
Anne grew up here in Fort Collins. After graduating from college in New England, she returned to her hometown and decided that this is where she wanted to settle down. After spending eight glorious years teaching middle school, she decided to change careers to become the C.E.O. of the Wera/Dineen household (AKA a stay-at-home-mom.)
She spent 10 years in that position where she was able to spend her days with her stepson and her twin daughters. When her girls started preschool at Har Shalom she began to get involved with the congregation. She met a wonderful group of friends here that made joining the congregation so delightful and fun. Just recently Anne changed careers again and has since returned to education. Now she spends most of her days playing in kindergarten as a paraprofessional. In her free time, she loves building with LEGO, paddle boarding, reading a good book, or creating and building whatever comes to mind.