Nevei Kodesh Board of Directors
The Board of Directors oversees our practical operations, including our employees, building, and budget. Equally important, it holds our community's vision, and guides us toward our future, helping us develop goals and policies aligned with Jewish Renewal.
Board members serve for two years, and they are elected at the community’s annual meeting in May/June.
Email Contact for the Board of Directors: board@neveikodesh.org
Deborah Skovron, President
Deb and her family have been members of Nevei Kodesh for over 20 years. She has watched her children make lifetime friends through their religious school and b'nei mitzvah experiences. These events had such a profound experience on her that Deb joined the adult b'nei mitzvah class a few years later and joined other adults in a journey of Jewish learning and self discovery.
Deb has served the Nevei Kodesh community in many different roles over the years including leadership team of the school, Outdoor Beautification and Sacred Arts Committees and a strategic planning advisor. She loves volunteering and bringing arts projects to the Nevei Kodesh Religious School and anything else that seems to need doing, big to small.
Professionally, Deb's career has focused around project innovation in the social engagement realm, training and group process leader.
In her work and personal life, Deborah believes that we must never underestimate the desire of everyone to connect deeply with each other and become known to others in ways that nourish their relationships and community.
Glenn Spitz, Treasurer
I discovered Jewish Renewal while living in New York, when I attended some weekend retreats at Elat Chayyim.
Reb Zalman's teaching's resonated with me, and it was a thrill to actually meet him in Boulder in 2006.
Since then, my wife Reb. Patrice (an ordained Rabbinic Pastor) and I, along with our two children, have been members of Nevei Kodesh.
We love the joyful, inclusive atmosphere at all NK services and events, and I am excited to continue to extend that to the larger Boulder community.
Zhenya Gallon, Secretary
I didn’t know I was looking for an egalitarian, welcoming, inclusive, and enspiriting Jewish congregation until I walked through the doors of Nevei Kodesh (then the Jewish Renewal Community of Boulder), some time in the mid-1990s. As tears filled my eyes, I knew I had found a spiritual home alongside my growing Buddhist meditation practice. Over the years, I’ve found no conflict between the two. In these challenging times, I value the way our NK community strives to embrace body, heart, mind, and soul, more than ever.
I'm a retired communications professional. I appreciate the commitment, energy, and spiritual friendship of fellow board members and the chance to contribute with them and our spiritual leaders to the health and vitality of our wonderful congregation, our community, and our world.
Nancy Hutchinson, Board Member
Following my retirement, I moved to Boulder in 2016 and began attending Nevei Kodesh with my partner, Hollace Westfeldt.
I joined as a member and started studying with Rabbi Diane and Ruth Seagull; in September 2021, I officially became a Jew.
Nevei Kodesh has brought me such joy and community that I felt it was time to give back by joining the Board of Directors.
Heidi Schoen, Board Member
Heidi and her family relocated to Boulder from the Boston area in 2013. Heidi has found a warm and welcoming community in Nevei Kodesh, creating an energetic and spirited foundation and connection to Judaism. Being part of a Jewish Renewal congregation has provided me and my family with a deep, personal connection to spirituality, a commitment to social justice and a celebration of Jewish tradition with a Jewish Renewal twist. The religious school has deepened the spiritual experience of Jewish life, providing countless opportunities for spiritual growth and continued learning. For Heidi, and her family, Nevei Kodesh is a place where lifelong memories, celebrations, and community connections are the framework for one’s spiritual growth.
Heidi has served the Jewish Community faithfully on the Advisory Board for Boulder Jewish Family Services and most recently in the Nevei Kodesh community in a variety of roles, including the beautification committee and landscaping projects and felt a calling to do more to serve the community she so cherishes.
Jay Stein, Board Member
My family and I have been members of Nevei Kodesh for over 20 years. Our family learned the value of Jewish community from this congregation. Both of our daughters became b’not mitzvah here, and we’ve made good friends with whom we celebrate, mourn, and work for social justice together. I’m a member of the Nevei Kodesh board because I want the rich experiences we treasure to be there for others to share.
As for myself, I’ve been married to my wife, Lynn, since 1996. I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Boulder in 1990. For my career, I worked in the twin fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. I’ve been semi-retired since 2019, and I write a blog about energy technology and do some consulting work. Over the years, I’ve supported our community’s efforts to reduce our synagogue's carbon footprint by installing solar panels and other energy efficiency measures. Other interests of mine include meditation, yoga, bike riding, cross country skiing, and political organizing.