Our Board and Teams
BHA BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023-2024
President: Jesse Lunin Pack
Jesse and his family moved to the Hudson Valley in 2018 and are excited to find a spiritual home at BHA. He lives with his wife, Liz, and two sons, Gabe and Seth, in Putnam Valley where his boys attend the Garrison School and Haldane High School. Gabe celebrated the first BHA virtual bar mitzvah ceremony in a very memorable event in March of 2020, and Seth followed a year later with a hybrid ceremony in June 2021.
Jesse studied History and Judaic Studies as an undergraduate at Tufts University and has an MBA in Finance and Management from the NYU Stern School of Business. He has served in both professional and lay-leadership roles for a variety of Jewish communal organizations, serves as a community member of the Audit Committee of the Garrison Union Free School District, and has volunteered as an emergency medical technician for close to 30 years. Jesse is the Managing Partner of the Lunin-Pack Financial Group.
Vice-President: Ashley Reckess
Ashley Reckess has been an active and involved member of BHA since 2016. She served as the Academic Director and was instrumental in designing BHA’s revitalized Friday night program which includes a mini minyan for our youngest community members, MASA Hebrew School programming for our older children, and a weekly community potluck followed by Shabbat services for all. Ashley is a regular volunteer for community efforts from kitchen clean-ups to interviewing potential new personnel. Ashley is deeply invested in building vibrancy and sustainability in our community through deepening our relationships with Judaism and one another.
Treasurer: Jamie Adams
Jamie Adams grew up in Chappaqua, NY. Received BA in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton and MBA in Marketing/Marketing Research from Wharton. Recently retired from a career of management and executive jobs in media, advertising, and health care. Responsibilities were always focused on quantitative analysis, forecasting and strategic planning. Most recently he was Chief Strategy Officer at Laser Spine Institute. Jamie and his wife, Linda Tafapolsky, have been members of BHA since 1996, where their sons Andre and Micah became bar mitzvah.
Secretary: Steven Jacobs
Steve grew up in a reform congregation in New Jersey. When he moved up to Beacon with his wife Yali, he was immediately struck by the warmth and creativity of the BHA community and clergy and he became a member right away. After volunteering in various capacities for several years, and after his daughter Liora started attending the BHA preschool, he joined the board in 2023.
Professionally, Steve specializes in digital marketing and communications for political campaigns and non-profit organizations.
Trustee at Large: Celia Baczkowski
Celia Baczkowski is BHA's Education Director, and leads the Masa program. Celia has been a member of the BHA community since 2014, and has served on the Board since 2017. She spent over 20 years as a Jewish summer camp professional, and has extensive experience in administration, program and event planning, staff training and supervision. Additionally, she works as a substitute teacher in Cold Spring, and has a NYS TA certification. Celia spends her summers playing the role of "Farmer" at Surprise Lake Camp, planting and maintaining the organic garden, and educating campers about fresh and organic food, composting, and the interconnectedness of all beings.
Trustee at Large: Micah Brown
Micah grew up in the Borscht Belt, working in many different jobs including at The Fallsview Hotel to pay her way through Cornell and Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a retired school psychologist and educator, who appreciates BHA for its richness of Jewish life, people, volunteer opportunities, and programs. She and her husband, Steve Brown, have been members of BHA since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Trustee at Large: Matt Harle
Matt Harle is an artist, musician and writer, with degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art, and the Tyler School of Art of Temple University. Originally from California, Matt moved to Beacon in 2003 with his wife Deb. His son, Sam, was born the following year. Matt is the founder and chair of the Beacon Hebrew Alliance Chevrah Kadisha, and co-founder of the community chavurah, Ruach. He is a past chair of the Facilities Committee, and a current member of the Cemetery Committee. You can also find him each year building the Sukkah in the side yard, and he is always happy to have help!
Trustee at Large: Jenny Kaplan
Jenny has been an active member of BHA since moving to the Hudson Valley in 2014. She lives in Cold Spring with her husband, Josh, and 2 young daughters, Avi and Neta. Jenny is a psychotherapist working locally with kids, adolescents and adults. After being so warmly welcomed to BHA and realizing this was the vibrant Jewish community her family was looking for, Jenny quickly got involved. She has volunteered with the hospitality committee, chants Torah for high holidays, hosts BHA events at her home, chairs the membership committee and has served on the board in a variety of roles. She is deeply committed to BHA and being part of a diverse, inclusive Jewish community.
Trustee at Large: Aaron Pincus
Aaron Pincus has been living in the Beacon area and involved in Jewish life in the Hudson Valley for 18 years. He started off his Jewish education at Solomon Schechter and was a member of Summit Jewish Community Center. He has an engineering and business degree from Union College and currently works in microchip design at IBM. He and his wife are proud parents of two children.
Trustee at Large: Sasha Stim-Fogel
Sasha Stim-Fogel (they/them) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and came to NYC to study art at the Cooper Union. Sasha later got an MSW and has practiced geriatric social work for the last 14 years. They live with their partner Felix and two children (Elan is an alumni and Romy, a current student of the BHA Preschool). Sasha worked as an assistant preschool teacher at BHA for the two years leading up to the pandemic. They loved being a part of the BHA community and working alongside the brilliant Ilana Friedman.
Recently, Sasha has joined forces with Matt Harle and Jess Simkovic to form Ruach! a BHA community group. They are inspired by the members of BHA and the many ways we can support one another and our larger Beacon community.
Committees and Chairpeople
- Education Committee: Ashley Reckess & Deborah Davidovits
- Membership Committee: Jenny Kaplan
- Governance Committee: Karen Mayer and Joan Pirie
- Finance Committee: Jamie Adams & Aaron Pincus
- Fundraising Committee: Celia Baczkowski
- Cemetery Committee: Jeff Gross
- Hospitality Committee: Joan Pirie
- Ritual Committee: Bill Smith
- Facilities Committee:
Other Teams
- Events:
