Staff – IKAR

Ask

Are you a synagogue or what? Yes and no and kinda. Words like “synagogue” can feel constraining, and we want to think expansively about what Jewish life can be… so we think of ourselves as a spiritual community, and let the experience define itself.

Pray

“Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.” –Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “On Prayer”

Learn

“To educate means to cultivate the soul.” -Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Act

“Love your neighbor, and love yourself. That is the whole Torah. All the rest is commentary.” –Hillel

Meet

This community is crawling with good folks — from longtime members to newbies — and there are so many ways to connect.

Join

IKAR is fueled by the love, talent, and creative investment of each of our community members. Our membership is an expression of individual commitments and a way for each person to expand their Jewish horizons through learning and spiritual growth.

Donate

“All beginnings require that you unlock new doors. The key is giving and doing. Give tzedakah and do kindness.” – R’ Nachman of Bratslav

Search

We are all searching for something. What’s your thing?

Team

Each and every member of our staff and our board is integral to making our community run. From the clergy to our education team to our communications and program heads to our board members—each role is instrumental in making IKAR what it is.

Melissa Balaban

Director of Education

Podcast and Video Coordinator

Education Assistant

HR and Operations Manager

Executive Assistant

Director of Communications and Content

Elad Dvash-Banks

Chief Advancement Officer

Development Associate

Assistant Education Director

Programs and TRIBE Assistant

Ilyse Pallenberg

Director of Events and Production

Director of Membership & Community Giving

Director of Early Childhood Education

Arianna Sikorski

Database and Systems Manager

Justin Rosen Smolen

Director of the Jewish Emergent Network

Communications and Content Associate

Andrea van Leeuwen

Community Engagement Coordinator

Director of Parenting and Admissions, ECC

ECC Operations & Office Manager

Brooke Wirtschafter

Director of Community Organizing