Senior Rabbi

Dr. Dennis C. Sasso has been the Rabbi of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, Indianapolis, Indiana since 1977. He is a native of the Republic of Panama, and a descendant of Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese Jewish) families who settled in the Caribbean during the 17th century.

Assistant Rabbi

Rabbi Shelley Goldman was born in Chicago, IL and grew up just outside the city in Oak Park, IL. After graduating high school, she lived for a year in Israel on a kibbutz, attended Oberlin College and did her first formal community organizing for healthcare justice as a Midwest Academy summer intern.

Cantor

Cantor Melissa Cohen grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey and earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Master of Music from DePaul University.

Senior Rabbi Emerita

Rabbi Sandy served as Rabbi from 1977-2013 and is now the Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.

Hazzan Emeritus

Cantor Bob was our beloved cantor at Beth-El Zedeck from 1961 to 1989 and is now our Hazzan Emeritus.

Executive Director

Shari grew up at Beth-El Zedeck. She worked as our Program Director for seventeen years before becoming our Executive Director in 2014.

Education Director

George has been our Education Director since 2002. He currently serves as the Chair of the Reconstructionist Educators of North America (RENA).

Early Childhood Director

Joanie started our Early Childhood Center in 1980 and has grown it into an amazing program for children 12 months through pre-kindergarten.

Rabbis' Assistant

Sharon has been the Rabbis' Administrative Assistant since 2002. She's also the contact for the Mi Shebeirach list and unveilings as well as handling many details of baby namings, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and weddings.

Membership Services Coordinator

Pam keeps our membership data up-to-date, enters financial data, maintains yahrzeit reminders and plaques, sends donation cards, and more!

Human Resources and Foundation Coordinator

Bonnie handles human resources, administration for the Beth-El Zedeck Foundation, payroll, various IT and communications projects, and is the editor for the print newsletter, the Besamim.

Staff Accountant

Kelly Butler manages day-to-day financial activity, overall budget and individual staff budgets, and accounts payable. She's been at Beth-El Zedeck since 2016.

Program Facilitator and Outreach Coordinator

Jennifer organizes our volunteers, manages adult education events, creates publicity pieces, and works on fundraising events such as Table Settings.

Education Administrative Assistant

Deb is the Administrative Assistant for Religious School, Early Childhood, and the Cantor. She's been on staff since 2014 and is typically here Wednesday-Friday and Sundays when Religious School is in session.

Mashgiach and Early Childhood Chef

Becky has been our Early Childhood Chef since 2004 and took on our Mashgiach role in 2006. She's devoted to providing nutritious meals for our children and keeping our facility kashrut.

Librarian

Building Supervisor

Willie has been on our staff since 1990, first as a member of our maintenance team and then as our Building Supervisor. He and his maintenance staff keep the building and grounds clean and beautiful.

Organist

Charles Manning earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He's affiliated with a number of musical groups in central Indiana and has been Beth-El Zedeck's organist for many years.