Russ was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota and has lived in Arizona and Virginia over the last 30 years. He holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of North Dakota and an MS in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix. Russ is currently the Vice President of Products for MassPay, a payment services technology company, and is responsible for new product development initiatives.
Russ and his wife Ellie, a social worker, have been members of Temple Kol Ami since 2011. Their son Sam is a recent graduate of Horizon High School and will be attending the University of Arizona in the fall. Their daughter Hannah is attending Horizon High School and volunteers as a madrahim in Temple Kol Ami’s religious school.
Russ was a previous board member and board president and is honored to again be part of the Board of Trustees and have the opportunity to contribute to its continuing growth.
Courtney Beyer and her husband, Marc, have been Temple Kol Ami Members since 2008. They have two sons, Bennett and Blake, who attended TKA’s Early Childhood Center and the temple’s Religious School program. Courtney is committed to “Doing Jewish” and has been actively involved in many of TKA’s life-enriching events/programs; she is passionate about growing our community and ensuring the temple’s long-term success.
Courtney earned a business degree from the University of Arizona and has worked in Human Resources within hotels, hospitality, direct sales, and currently in the insurance industry. Courtney and her family have developed meaningful friendships through TKA and look forward to growing current relationships (and establishing new relationships) through Temple. Courtney is honored to be part of the Board of Trustees.
Irwin and Patti Grossman have been members of Temple Kol Ami since its founding in 1988 and have supported the Temple throughout including the Save the Temple campaign. Our 2 adult, and now married children, Barry and Allison, as well as Patti and I as adults, were B’nei Mitzvahed in Temple Kol Ami. We became proud grandparents of Myles last August, the 3rd generation of our family honored in the Temple.
Irwin and Patti grew up on Long Island, New York, where they met and were married nearly 50 years ago. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Stony Brook University, and followed by a Master’s and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. After spending 7 years in Morgantown, WV, the family moved to Phoenix in 1985. Irwin will be retiring in June after having spent the past 16 years in private practice preceded by 27 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Patti and Irwin enjoyed traveling with Rabbi Schneider on his first trip to Israel with the Temple, as well as to Cuba and Eastern Europe. We look forward to resuming traveling together soon.
Irwin has been a life-long baseball fan, as he grew up as a New York Mets fan, attending games at Shea Stadium, but has been a charter season ticket holder for the Arizona DiamondBacks since 1998.
Irwin looks forward to contributing to the Temple Kol Ami community in a new role as board member.
Ted was born in California but since then has lived in 9 different states. He has a Bachelor of Fine Art from TCU and an MBA from Florida International University. Ted is currently the Group Vice President of Real Estate Development for The Fresh Market. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Development Officer for Sprouts Farmers Market helping to add more than 200 stores during his tenure. Ted has been responsible for new store expansion, property management, site acquisition and disposition, construction and facility maintenance, and strategic relationships and partnerships related to new store development for several well-known retail and restaurant companies.
Ted and his wife Beverly have been members of Temple Kol Ami since moving to Arizona in 2012. Their son Nathan is married to Hillary and they reside here in the Phoenix area and are also members of Temple Kol Ami. Their daughter, Mara, is a Commercial Real Estate broker living in Orlando making her the 3rd generation of Frumkins in the business. Ted is an avid runner having completed 12 marathons so far. He is honored to be serving on the Temple Kol Ami board to help this incredible congregation continue to thrive.
Michael Aurit loves his family more than anything in the world. He and his wife, Karen Aurit, adore Temple Kol Ami because it’s a caring and vibrant place to experience a modern take on Jewish traditions with their daughters, Daniella and Eliana, and develop relationships with others who share our values.
Michael is the Co-Founder and Director, with Karen, of The Aurit Center for Divorce Mediation in Scottsdale, Arizona. Together, they dedicate their lives to helping people lower their conflict, solve problems, and have a healthy divorce. He is passionate about his work as a professional family mediator.
He is also a professor at The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine School of Law and Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law. He currently serves as President of The Academy of Professional Family Mediators.
Michael is honored to be part of the Temple Kol Ami Board of Trustees. He hopes it’s as fun as Tot Shabbat.
Beth grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. She graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she met her future husband Ralph. After Ralph completed his military service, they returned to Wilmington where she assisted him in opening a dental practice. She worked as a dental hygienist while raising their two children Dan and Amy.
Retiring after 20 years as a dental hygienist, she then became a Realtor working in the Southeastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware areas. After retiring the second time, she and Ralph moved to Fountain Hills in 2010 after one of her clients introduced them to Fountain Hills.
They have been members of Temple Kol Ami since 2017.
Marci Gluck-Stewart was raised in NJ and lived in NYC for 15 years before moving to Scottsdale with her husband Craig in 2006, where they are raising their sons, Benjamin (17) and Jack (14). They have been temple members since 2017, initially drawn to TKA because of the welcoming community as well as hilarious and relatable Rabbi! Marci participated in the MOMentum Women’s Trip to Israel in 2016 with the Phoenix Community Kollel and has severed on several committees at TKA.
Marci graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. and earned a PhD in Clinical-Health Psychology from Yeshiva University & Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Currently, she is Director of Behavioral Sciences in the Obesity and Diabetes Clinical Research section of the NIDDK/National Institutes of Health where her research focuses on mechanisms that influence eating behavior and body weight regulation. She also has a small, part-time psychotherapy practice.
In addition to spending time with her family, Marci enjoys hiking, hanging out with her awesome girlfriends (many of whom are TKA members!) canoodling her dog Jerry and complaining about the Arizona heat!
Marci is honored to serve this community and looks forward to her second year as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Nikki DeLeon Martin serves as the Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer at Phoenix Art Museum. In her role, she oversees the Museum’s marketing, communications and PR, web and creative services, publications, public engagement, visitor services, membership, support groups, and annual giving programs.
Prior to her time with the Museum, DeLeon Martin served as a communications consultant with a specialized focus on institutions of higher education, crisis communications, change management, and executive communications strategy. She has held a number of leadership positions within the fields of marketing and communications at organizations such as Maricopa Community Colleges.
DeLeon Martin is also a professional writer, whose work has been nationally anthologized. She has been a featured essayist, storyteller, and playwright at SMoCA Lit Lounge, Bar Flies, Storyline, Space 55, Arizona Women’s Theatre Company, and the Herberger Theatre. She has taught classes and workshops in creative writing and writing as a spiritual practice. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Arizona State University and is a graduate of the Jewish Women’s Leadership Institute led by Rabbi Elana Kanter. She lives in Phoenix with her husband, Scott, and two beagle puppies, Buckley and Maia.
Kenneth (Ken) Reiss was born in Brooklyn, New York but moved with his parents to Southern California at an early age and grew up there.
Ken met Joanne in the early 80’s as she was his son’s preschool teacher. After attending a Judaism class with Rabbi Herring, Ken and Joanne were married in 1985. Along with his son and Joanne’s daughter, they formed a close knit family growing in size with Ken’s step-son from his first marriage joining them several years later,
Ken and Joanne are proud to be one of the founding members of TKA.
Ken has been in the real estate business since 1977, after attending college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He has belonged to the National Association of Realtors since 1977.
In 1991 he formed United Metro Properties, Inc. and United Property Maintenance, Inc. and specializes in the sales, management and maintenance of residential properties in both Maricopa, Pinal and Yavapai Counties.
In past years Ken thought about getting involved with Temple Kol Ami and was thrilled when Rabbi Schneider suggested that he apply to join the Board of Trustees.
Ken looks forward to contributing valuable input to the Temple Kol Ami Board of Trustees and our community.