Blog

Dear Temple Israel members and Education Center families,  

I want to share that our Executive Director (ED), Rachel Wallis Andreasson, will be leaving her full-time position at Temple Israel in the coming months and returning to a volunteer role with us. Since becoming ED in October 2017, she has helped to accomplish so much, especially in terms of our staffing, and I feel confident that the right people are in the right places, and that TI is in great hands for the future. Rachel shared with me how much she has absolutely loved her role here at TI and getting to work with our board and staff in this capacity, and she is also excited to begin making space to pursue some of her other dreams and opportunities in this next chapter.

Since sharing that news with our Executive Committee, our Board of Trustees has been working to identify the best path forward, and after much consideration, we've decided that the best choice was to promote an ED from within.  

We’re excited to announce that our current staff member, Martina Stern, has been selected as our next Executive Director!

Many of you may already know Martina. She’s the smiling face who greets guests each week at Shabbat services and runs our Temple gatherings, programs, and lifecycle events. Martina has been a member of Temple Israel since 1999 and has raised her three children here. In 2016, Martina took on a volunteer role – she brought so much to the TI community in this capacity we soon turned it into a full-time staff position. Over the last six years, Martina has become a leader, supervising multiple staff and increasing her operational oversight, and has proven herself to be a dedicated employee, committed to a vibrant future for our community. You can see Martina's work in every detail of life at TI, from the floral centerpieces at a B’nai Mitzvah celebration to the safety and security of our campus. We feel incredibly blessed that Martina said “yes” to this role.

Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing updates about the transition from Rachel and Martina and offering ways for the community to celebrate our incredible leadership, starting with the Gala Celebration honoring our Senior Rabbis on Friday, June 28. I hope you’ll join me there to mark this very exciting and bright 138th year as a Congregation!

Should you have any questions about the transition, I’m here for you.

Amy Knoblock-Hahn
President
president@ti-stl.org

"We’ve worked closely with both Rachel and Martina for the past six years and are confident that the transition of leadership will be a seamless one. Rachel has been instrumental in setting us up for the future, and to learn that she’s passing the torch to another deeply dedicated staff member who shares our vision for this community is thrilling!”
- Rabbi Amy & Rabbi Michael

If you'd like to honor Rachel Wallis Andreasson’s tenure, or celebrate our incoming Executive Director Martina Stern, you can make a tribute donation in their honor by clicking here!  
Tribute donations are 100% tax deductible.