The cai team
Dorit Elie is the Administrative Assistant for Cantor Joel Caplan and has worked in this capacity for the past 20 years. Born and raised in Israel, she has resided in the USA for the past 26 years and has a BA in Jewish Studies. Dorit manages the Yahrzeit database and informs our members of upcoming Yahrzeits. She is the administrator of the Happy Purim program and the Purim fundraiser. Email Dorit Elie at deli@agudath.org
Karen Frank, our Congregation Nurse, integrates physical and spiritual health. Meeting with our members and their families, Karen consults on health concerns, assists in making lifestyle choices, helps to grapple with spiritual issues, and connects families to community resources. Karen makes hospital visits to our members, listening to their concerns and helping in many ways to make their return home more seamless. She visits the frail and homebound members of our congregation to keep them connected to the community and safe in their homes. Providing guidance to congregants dealing with difficult medical diagnoses or conditions, Karen consults to aid them in navigating both their treatment options and their spiritual distress. She helps families cope with challenging situations and gives them support. Email Nurse Karen Frank at kfrank@agudath.org
Adina Galatz is super excited to take on the role of Office
Manager and join the CAI community. A Rutgers University graduate with a degree in psychology, she's spent most of her career in administration and event coordination for Jewish non-profits, having fallen for the pace, the values, and the people unique to this sector. Adina joined the CAI team after a nine-year engagement with Sharsheret, The Jewish Breast and Ovarian Cancer Community, where she learned to do all sorts of fancy things in Excel and to believe in her own abilities. When not at work, she spends all her time and energy raising four girls with her husband, Evan, and survives almost exclusively on laughter and love. Email Adina Galatz at agalatz@agudath.org
Andrea Malmud is the Zeller Jewish Family Service of MetroWest Social Worker at Congregation Agudath Israel. Andrea came to our synagogue in September, 2018 through an affiliation with Jewish Family Service of MetroWest and the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. She feels honored to have become part of our loving community, so that she can have the chance to listen, dry an eye, offer support, educate, and celebrate resilience.
Andrea's role is to provide consultation, training and other services to staff, lay leaders, volunteers and members. Further, crisis intervention, brief therapy, information and referral, mutual support groups, and community education programs... and a cookie here and there. With more than 30 years of experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Cognitive-Behavior Therapist, and a Certified Grief Counseling Specialist, Andrea works with people of all ages struggling with anxiety, depression, anger, loss, relationship issues, parenting, substance abuse, domestic violence, and the like. She has served in the roles of Chief Professional Officer, Clinical Director, therapist, in outpatient and inpatient facilities, and has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers.
She and her family love Synagogue life, and have done everything from making latkes to reading Torah to participating in Purimspiels to planning Israel trips with their Shul. Email Andrea Malmud at amalmud@agudath.org
Melissa Steb is the Communications Manager. Prior to joining the CAI team, Melissa was the Member Services Representative at JCC MetroWest for five years. Email Melissa Steb at msteb@agudath.org
