MEET OUR PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Listed in alphabetical order by first name.
Please note: many of our staff work part-time or seasonal hours; our offices are closed during all Jewish and federal holidays.
Board information, including minutes, bios, and financial information is located in the members area for members who are logged into the website.
Amy Stein, Engagement & Program Manager
Amy Stein (she/her) is the Engagement and Programming Manager. Her work at CBI includes membership, b’nai mitzvah coordination, the Havurah Initiative, and program planning. She is the point person for prospective and new members, and helps them find ways to engage in the CBI community. As the b’nai mitzvah coordinator, she works closely with Rabbi Ariella to support families through all aspects of the preparation and planning process. For the Havurah Initiative, Amy has expanded the program to over 25 active havurot (micro-communities). She also works with the CBI staff to plan major events for the Jewish holidays.
She earned a BFA from Parson’s School of Design and an MBA in Nonprofit Management from Boston University. She is deeply committed to helping people find meaning and belonging in community.
Aram Rubenstein-Gillis , Music Director
Aram Rubenstein-Gillis is a songleader, storyteller and music teacher who believes in the power of music to help people work in harmony and move forward with purpose. Aram is the Alma Director and Music Director for Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, Massachusetts, and the Music Teacher at the Lander Grinspoon Academy. Aram is a graduate of Vassar College, where he studied the role that music and religion play in creating social change.
Rabbi Ariella Rosen, Interim Lead Rabbi
Rabbi Ariella Rosen (she/her) joined the CBI clergy team as the Director of Youth and Family Education and Engagement in 2022. Previously, she served as the director and Jewish educator at Hillel at the University of Toronto. She also worked as the assistant rabbi at Adath Israel in Merion, PA, and the rabbinical and cantorial admissions director at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York City. Rabbi Ariella was ordained as a rabbi from JTS where she also earned a MA. She earned BAs from JTS and Columbia University in midrash (biblical interpretation) and psychology. Rabbi Ariella strives to embody a mindset of welcoming and joy in both work and life.
Cathy Cohen, Interim Executive Director
Cathy Cohen has been a member of B’nai Israel for more than 30 years and has served on CBI’s personnel, development, and organizational restructuring committees.
Beginning in November, 2024, she will serve as CBI’s interim executive director while a search is conducted for a permanent successor to Emily Kieval. During this interim period, she looks forward to supporting the work of faculty, staff, and board members and assisting Rabbi Ariella, Rabbi Jacob, and the congregation as needed.
Professionally, Cathy is a consultant to for-profit and nonprofit clients in Connecticut and Massachusetts in the areas of strategic planning, capacity building, board development, executive transitions, and organizational assessments. She has served as an interim executive director for nine other nonprofit organizations. Cathy holds a B.A. from Temple University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Eliana Echols, Communications & Administrative Coordinator
Eliana Echols (She/They) serves as the CBI Communications & Administrative Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from the University of Montevallo with a specialized focus in Interpersonal, Spatial, and Crisis Communications. Eliana believes strongly in the power and importance of robust and vibrant community, and lifelong learning. Her hobbies include loitering, lollygagging, extreme porch sitting, and aimless wandering with an occasional dabble in transcendental awe.
Emily Bristol, Building Services Associate
Emily Bristol (she/her/hers) serves as a part-time custodian and integral member of the kiddush team at CBI. Emily graduated from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting and Information Systems. She has always loved to clean and organize and enjoys being able to put these skills to use at CBI. Emily loves being a part of the CBI community and cherishes the relationships she has formed over the years with both staff and congregants.
Rabbi Jacob Fine, Director of Abundance Farm
Rabbi Jacob Fine (he/him/his) has served as the Director of Jewish Life and Abundance Farm since 2013. Previously, he served as a rabbi and educator for a number of leading Jewish environmental organizations including the Teva Learning Alliance, Adamah, Hazon and the Jewish Farm School. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and former Rabbi and Assistant Director at Hillel at the University of Washington, Rabbi Jacob was ordained as a rabbi from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies where he also received an MA in Rabbinic Studies. He is also a graduate of Vassar College where he received a BA in environmental studies and religion.
Reach out to Rabbi Jacob to:
- Learn about the CBI Campus Capital Campaign
- Learn about opportunities to get involved on Abundance Farm, our environmental justice project
- Learn about opportunities to partner with Abundance Farm
- Learn about Jewish values of stewardship and food and environmental justice
- Learn about Jewish spiritual and meditation practice
Kate Holdsworth, Director of Gan Keshet Preschool
Kate Holdsworth (she/her/hers) is the Director of Gan Keshet Preschool. Kate has been an integral part of the CBI and Gan Keshet community since she first joined the Gan Keshet faculty as a Parpar teacher back in 2007. Kate has a background in Early Intervention, Special Education, Art, Theater, and Puppetry--including her work with PJ Library Page to Stage. She is a recipient of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation award for teaching excellence in Jewish Education. Kate is deeply committed to the work of cultivating community and a love of the natural world with young children and their families.
Contact Kate Holdsworth.
Lennie McKemmie, Maintenance Supervisor
Lennie McKemmie (he/him/his) serves as CBI's Maintenance Supervisor, overseeing our building and grounds with great care. He has a background in HVAC and can build just about anything. When he isn't at work, you might find him engrossed in his art, creating intricate woodburned illustrations of animals.
Lindsay Rowe, Development Manager
Lindsay (she/they) is excited to talk to the CBI community about the future of the campus and what is important to ensuring the future. Lindsay has experience in development, grants, communications, and government. Lindsay has worked in Western Massachusetts for over 15 years, including in Development at Hampshire College, in the Mayor’s Office and Community Development at the City of Greenfield, as a Legislative Aide for a State Representative for the Second Berkshire District, and consulting for government, non-profits, and start-ups. Lindsay earned an MBA from UMass Amherst and a BA from Bryn Mawr College.
Matti Weisberg, Abundance Farm Educator
Matti (they/them) is a student of interconnectedness. Their love of multiplicity - conceptual, political, historical - manifests in the classroom through awe of the beautifully complex relationships between humans, land, and spirit. They are excited to create space for young people to explore the richness of these relationships and to begin building frameworks for a more nourishing and just future. In addition to farming and teaching, Matti bakes bread, plays trumpet and mothers a lineage of slime mold.
Nat Ross, Abundance Farm Manager
Nat (they/them) is delighted to be joining the CBI community as the Farm Manager of Abundance Farm! They have grown food and taught students on a variety of community and educational farms both in the Connecticut River Valley and in Northern California, and they hold a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst in Sustainable Food and Farming. Having personally experienced the internally and externally transformative power of ecologically oriented agriculture, Nat is passionate about facilitating bountiful farm spaces where people of all ages can connect with farming, gardening, and the more-than-human world. Find them crouched over a farm bed, where they are always eager to have a casual chat about photosynthesis or to hear about your favorite variety of heirloom tomato. When not at the farm, Nat can be found cooking chaotically playful vegetarian meals, playing jazz piano and contemporary keyboards, and talking to trees and rocks.
Thomas Bradbury, Facilities and Events Coordinator
Tom (he/him/his) and his wife, Sheryl, live in Florence along Mill River and enjoy bird watching and walking along Mill River to Smith College’s Botanical Gardens and into downtown Northampton. Their daughter, Hope, is a Junior High School Science Teacher in Indiana. Tom is a guitarist with the Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra and he plays several solo acoustic guitar shows a year in which he highlights fingerstyle playing and the Country Blues. In his heart he is a songwriter, a poet, and a writer. Tom has a Bachelors in English Literature and a Masters in Business and Analytics. Tom also is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson and is a member of the Jones Group Realtors working out of the Amherst office.