Board of Directors
Cantor Rachel Stock Spilker*,
Founder and Board President (she/her)
Cantor Spilker has served as a cantor at Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul, Minnesota since 1997. She was ordained in 1996 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where she also received a Master’s Degree in Sacred Music. She is the founder of Maayanot Community Mikveh of Minnesota and is also an active member of the Rising Tide Open Waters Network.
Kate Cavett (she/her)
Kate is a retired oral historian, substance abuse assessor, and executive director of a small non-profit. Her passion is stories: listening to individuals share life stories, enjoying theater, movies, books, and creating her own stories with her grandchildren. She is active in her community and participates in Mussar.
Julie Dean (she/her)
As the founder of Twin Cities Mussar, Julie is passionate about cultivating, supporting, and sustaining high-quality Mussar programming for the Jewish communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. She is passionate about providing leadership development, mentoring, and training to Mussar facilitators, both locally and nationwide, and promoting the revitalization of this transformative practice within our Jewish tradition.
Suzanne Fenton (she/her)
Suzanne is a visual artist, filmmaker, storyteller, and all-around curious creature. Born and raised in Southern California, she lives in Uptown with her husband and is the very proud Mom of three totally awesome kind-hearted sons.
Wendy Goldberg (she/her)
Wendy is a Jewish educator, musician, and spiritual Leader, teaching at Heilicher Jewish Day School and Augsburg University, working on racial justice with Rose McGee of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie and the Minnesota Center for Humanities.
Sara Greenhalgh (she/they)
Sara was born in Wonju, South Korea and resides in Minneapolis. They serve on the board of the Asian American Organizing Project.
Adam (Garen) Greenleaf (he/they)
Adam serves as a financial advisor helping people reach their life goals, including philanthropic goals. He serves on Mount Zion’s Board of Directors as a Vice President, the MN Urban Debate League’s advisory board, and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber’s “Keystone” committee for philanthropy. He’s long enjoyed cooking, biking, and reading and has recently become a sauna/cold therapy enthusiast.
Robert Karasov* (he/him)
Bob has been a pediatrician and mohel in the Twin Cities since 1985. He is passionate about education, an avid runner, lifelong learner and active member of Darchei Noam Congregation.
Lucy Marshall (she/her)
Lucy is a queer, Ashkenazi Jewish educator, ritualist, organizer, and facilitator based on Dakota land in Minneapolis. She currently serves as the Senior Director of the Rising Tide Open Waters Mikveh Network, Mayyim Hayyim’s global movement for inclusive and accessible mikveh, of which Maayanot is a proud member.
Robert Mast (he/him)
Bob is Treasurer of the Minnesota JCC and Past President of Mount Zion Temple. Previously he served on the Board of Advisors of the Cincinnati Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Outside of the Jewish community, Bob loves to eat out, play golf, and spend time with his family.
Libby Goldstein Parker (she/her)
Libby has been the Executive Director of Jewfolk, Inc., the parent organization of TCJewfolk, since January 2015. Libby has built a career in nonprofit organizations, having worked on both the funder and nonprofit sides and has spent the past dozen+ years as a Jewish communal professional.
Liz Rappaport*, Secretary (she/her)
Currently serving as the Associate Director, Liz has been on staff at Beth El Synagogue since 2012. Her many hats as a Jewish professional include volunteer coordination, program direction, marketing, and most recently creating and managing Beth El’s vibrant CyberShul. In her spare time, Liz is an avid baker specializing in challah and rugelach.
Aaron Silver (he/him)
Aaron creates websites, makes artwork, bicycles around town, and rarely sits still. He lives in Minneapolis (as a transplant from New York) with his family, a small flock of chickens, and an ever-shifting assortment of guest dogs.
Jim Stein (he/him)
Jim serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Jewfolk, Inc. He is Board Chair of Judaism Unbound, Board Chair of the Makom Community in Philadelphia, and serves on the Board of YourJewish in the Twin Cities. Additionally, he was a past president of the St. Paul Jewish Federation, the Executive Director of NECHAMA-Jewish Response to Disaster, and was privileged to be in the first cohort of the Harry Kay Leadership Institute.
Joel Wilke (he/him)
Joel is a passionate clothing designer, the founder of WILLIM Apparel, and a Professor of Garment Design and Construction at Glasgow University in Scotland. Joel is a mentor for the Council of Fashion Designers of North America. Additionally, he is a Jewish ritual and traditions aficionado.
*Executive Committee Member
Honorary Board Members
Burt Garr (he/him)
Burt served in a leadership capacity in a number of community endeavors, including as CEO of the St. Paul JCC and President of the local United Way and Agency Executives. He also has been involved in numerous leadership roles with the St. Paul Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Center Association.
Heidi Schneider (she/her)
Heidi is the chair of the Center for Contemporary Mussar and a member of Adath Jeshurun Congregation and Tifereth Israel in Des Moines. Her essay about her first mikveh experience, titled "Immersion," is published in Choosing Judaism: 36 Stories. She is passionate about ensuring greater access to the rituals of mikveh that embrace all Jews and that invite people to mark their spiritual transitions through immersion.
Project Manager
Kathryn Klibanoff
Interim Treasurer
Ellen Wolaner
“From celebration to solace,
for education and affirmation,
Maayanot will add a new,
beautiful, and holy dimension
to Jewish life in Minnesota."
-Anita Diamant, best-selling author and founding president of Mayyim Hayyim, the groundbreaking open mikveh in Newton, MA