Josh Cohen grew up with Temple Kol Ami. His parents, Roger and Victoria Cohen, were founding members of the congregation, and he received his Jewish education at Temple Kol Ami.
Josh and his wife, Danielle, met in high school as camp counselors at Camp Swift, were married by Rabbi Herring, and they and their family have remained involved as active members through baby namings, religious school and their three oldest daughters each becoming a Bat Mitzvah with Rabbi Schneider. Josh and Danielle have four beautiful daughters, Taylor (20), Makayla (20), Riley (16), and Cassidy (12).
Josh graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.A. and from Arizona State University (ASU) with an M.B.A. He is a Vice President with CAA ICON, the industry-leading owner’s representative and strategic management consulting firm for sports and entertainment owners and operators, professional sports franchises, and leagues.
Josh is honored to lead the Board of Trustees of Temple Kol Ami and to assist in the continued growth of the congregation
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.
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.
Mikelle Belfore has loved Temple Kol Ami from growing up at the congregation, and now being part of the community with her husband, Jay, and two children, Max and Hannah. She is thrilled to join the Board of Trustees and support the Temple in this way.
Mikelle received her BA in Psychology from The University of Arizona and masters from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University. Mikelle worked many years in the counseling field, at treatment facilities and teaching at Paradise Valley Community College. After participating in the inaugural Honeymoon Israel trip in 2015, Mikelle joined the national team at Honeymoon Israel as the Director of Operations. She enjoys hiking and yoga in her free time.
Mikelle is honored to join the board and contribute to a congregation and community she cares so deeply about.
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.
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.
Michael Blaire and wife, Dorothy, are long-time Temple Kol Ami members. Michael is the CEO and founder of Diamondback Drugs, a veterinary compounding pharmacy.
Since joining our temple 22 years ago, Michael and Dorothy have made many treasured family memories at TKA: from watching all four of their daughters become Bat Mitzvah, to playing Esther and Mordecai in the Purim Spiel (twice!), dining at Cafe Kol Ami and carrying the Torah at services. They’ve also served our community in leadership roles: Michael has acted as Board President and Immediate Past-President, and Dorothy volunteers as a kindergarten Religious School teacher. They are proud to be part of our growing, yet tight-knit community, and were honored to be recognized at the 2017 spring gala among the many generous families who’ve donated time, talent and resources to the Save the Temple and Capital Campaigns.
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.
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.
Ben Himmelstein is a local attorney practicing at Radix Law whose practice focuses on business disputes and transactions. In addition, Ben currently volunteers his time as a Fee Arbitrator for the State Bar of Arizona, arbitrating disputes between clients and their attorneys regarding attorneys’ fees. He also serves as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Maricopa County Superior Court where he conducts Settlement Conferences for parties involved in active litigation. Ben is also frequently hired as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
Ben has significant board level experience. He spent several years on the Arizona Small Business Association Board of Directors, eventually becoming the Chair of the Board. He was also a founding member of the Arizona Jewish Lawyers Association and served on the Board of the New Foundation. Ben is also active in Phoenix Rotary 100 and was recently appointed to the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix’s Cardozo Society.
Both Ben and his wife, Lisa Bienstock, have been members of TKA since 2017. Their son Eli attends religious school at TKA and, when their daughter Eve is old enough, she will too. Ben is honored to help out this special community and is passionate about giving back.
Pete Kubitz, her husband Carl, and son Lewis, are founding members of Temple Kol Ami. Lewis received his early Jewish education under the watchful eye of Barbara Herring and became a Bar Mitzvah with Rabbi Herring, who instilled in all of them the power of Jewish love, laughter, and acceptance. There is no greater joy than to see the Temple charge into the future.
With over 30 years of professional experience in executive management, Pete Kubitz has built a career as a high-profile strategist with years of experience in entrepreneurial and global business. Recently named Board Member CEC – Women in Entrepreneurship Institute, DePaul University, and has accepted a CEO Position at Appletree Management LLC. Pete holds an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Pete is honored, once again, to serve the congregation as a member of the Board of Trustees at Temple Kol Ami, supporting Rabbi Schneider and Nancy Drapin as they lead the remarkable Kol Ami Team.
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.
Anat Schure was born in Israel, but grew up locally in Phoenix, attending Beth El Congregation with her parents, older sister, and younger brother. Anat graduated from the University of Arizona and received her Masters degree in Professional Counseling from Ottawa University. She is currently a licensed professional counselor with the State of Arizona.
In 2001, she married Adam Schure, after being set up by her sister because she “wanted a veterinarian in the family.” They have two children, Ayden (14 years old), and Arik (9 years old). As their family grew, they continued to look for the right congregation. In 2012, when Ayden was in kindergarten, she befriended the only Jewish girl in her classroom. Anat became fast friends with that girl’s mom, Kari Workman. Kari told Anat about TKA, and it only took one Friday night service for Anat and her family to join because of its beautiful campus, the warm and welcoming congregants, and the newly appointed (inspiring, humorous, handsome) Rabbi Schneider!
Since joining the temple, Anat has volunteered in the religious school teaching Hebrew and Judaica, and has co-chaired the Youth and Education Committee and the 2019 TKA gala. She is honored to be a part of the TKA Board of Trustees!