Dear HEA Members,On behalf of the HEA Board of Directors, I am reaching out to share some important changes taking place at the HEA.
Today we are announcing a restructuring of our staff aimed at reducing costs and delivering greater value for our members. Please read on to learn more about staffing changes you can expect to see in the coming weeks, but first a little bit of background.
As a direct result of the pandemic and the economic downturn that followed, HEA experienced a reduction in membership and dues revenue over the past four years. Thanks to generous assistance from the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program, HEA was able to retain our talented staff through the pandemic years. We also drew on savings and reserve funds to meet rising costs in healthcare, wages, and, notably, security.
Today, we are proud to say that HEA is growing once again. Our members are excited and engaged by what we have to offer. Since July 2022, when Rabbi Gruenwald took over as Senior Rabbi and was joined by Rabbi Sarah Shulman and Eitan Kantor, membership has been steadily rising. Enrollment in our preschool and religious school is also growing. Volunteers are stepping up, and our donors are enthusiastic about the future, reflected in this year’s successful Pathway’s campaign. HEA continues to have a reputation as a warm, welcoming, and caring spiritual community.
Nonetheless, we have not yet recovered from the pandemic’s effects, and our revenues have not yet caught up with expenses, especially with the increased security needs of our community. As leaders and fiduciaries of the organization, it is the responsibility of our finance committee and Board of Directors to manage our funds prudently. After months of work by senior staff and board members, we produced a balanced budget proposal for our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2024. As a result, we are on track to have the first balanced budget since before the pandemic.
Budget cuts are not easy, but sometimes they are necessary. Responsible organizations must sometimes right-size their staff in response to changing circumstances. With this goal in mind, our board of directors has approved the following staff restructuring.
Caryn Osterman will be stepping down from her position as Executive Director at the end of June 2024. During her tenure as Executive Director, Caryn was instrumental in updating and improving our business processes and accounting practices. Caryn guided our organization through a challenging transition. Recognizing the organization's budgetary needs, Caryn volunteered to transition out as part of this staff restructuring.
For the indefinite future, we will not be filling the Executive Director position. Rabbi Gruenwald and Rabbi Shulman will – in partnership – assume the executive leadership of the organization, overseeing a restructured staff designed to distribute tasks once carried out by the Executive Director. The rabbis will oversee and coordinate a team of three senior managers.
Amy Karp, our Director of Engagement, will oversee all aspects of membership enrollment and direct service to our members. Rather than outsource our bookkeeping, as we have for the past two years, we have onboarded a
Staff Accountant – Crystal Haug – who will manage the synagogue’s finances. Other daily functions will be overseen by our
Director of Operations, Yuri Tavbin. Together, this strong executive team will support the rabbis in their leadership of the organization.
The board will immediately engage in a process to redefine the roles of the rabbis and create a plan for co-equal rabbinic leadership. HEA is blessed with two inspiring rabbis who are also skilled and capable organizational leaders with many years of executive experience between them. They are a great team with complementary skill sets and have grown into true partners in the work of guiding the congregation, managing staff and programs, and overseeing operations. We are incredibly grateful to them both for stepping up to this leadership moment.
At the same time, budget cutting requires hard choices, and it is with sorrow that we announce the elimination of some staff positions. We are saddened to have to let beloved staff go. We thank them for their dedicated service to our community and wish them well in the future.
The position of Program Coordinator will be eliminated as of May 1. Mordechai (Michael) Kadovitz has served in this role for the past few years and has done tremendous work with every age group and demographic in our synagogue. He has been a warm presence on Shabbat and at programs. We thank Mordy for his lifelong dedication to our community.
Moving forward, member engagement and programming will be overseen by Director of Engagement, Amy Karp. At the end of the school year in May, Jenn Zucker will be stepping down from her position as Religious School Assistant Director and B’nai Mitzvah Coordinator. Jenn has been an integral member of our staff for several years, often going above and beyond to serve our religious school and b’nai mitzvah families. We will miss her attention to detail and generous spirit. The religious school will continue under the capable leadership of our Director, Amanda Eckert. Eitan Kantor and the rabbis, along with their assistant Debbie Buchanan, will continue to provide our
b’nai mitzvah with the care and attention our families have come to expect.
We will soon open a search for a talented youth professional to guide our vibrant youth and teen programming. Once hired, this person will also provide support to the religious school.
Lastly, the front office will also be downsized.
Joyce Perlmutter, who has been with the synagogue for over two decades, will be moving to part-time before stepping down at the end of October 2024, and the position she held as an office assistant will be eliminated. Joyce has been the heart at the center of a bustling office, always attentive to the needs of our members and ready to make someone’s day a little easier.
In the coming weeks we will be honoring our outgoing staff members and taking time to thank them for their service. We understand that this is a lot of information to process. We value clear and candid communications, and we will continue to provide updates as we implement this restructuring plan.
We welcome you to join us for two upcoming Q&A opportunities to speak with me and the rabbis: Tuesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m., in the HEA Chapel; and Wednesday, April 17 at 12:00 p.m. via Zoom. We invite you to reach out to the rabbis and board members to discuss your questions or concerns.
The Jewish world today is changing, and so must we. HEA has always been a resilient congregation that has adapted to the circumstances of the time. We are optimistic about our future, and we believe that with prudent planning, responsible leadership, and engaged volunteers, we are poised for success in the coming years. The organizational plan we have described here greatly reduces costs and sets our congregation on the path toward sustainable growth, so that we can continue to meet the needs of our members and ensure that our children and grandchildren will have a spiritual home at HEA for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Evan Kline,
HEA Board President
