Ed Fleishman (email: execdirector@betheldurham.org) – Executive Director
Ed joined Beth El in July 2023 after a long career managing people and budgets through his work in leadership positions with major companies like Cigna and Aetna and operating a successful HR benefits consulting company. Ed is no stranger to synagogue life. In Ed’s 10+ years of involvement with Temple Beth Or (TBO) in Raleigh, he served on and led committees at all levels of organizational structure, direction and functioning, including serving as TBO President. Ed brings a wealth of leadership, synagogue experience and a positive attitude to this work and strives to continue building an inclusive and welcoming community at Beth El. A native to North Carolina, Ed most recently resided in Moorehead City before moving to Durham in 2023.
Amy Granick (email: amy@betheldurham.org) – Director of Marketing and Member Engagement
Amy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri before moving to Raleigh, North Carolina as a junior in high school. She went on to attend North Carolina State University where she studied Psychology and Business Administration and graduated in 3 years! After graduating, Amy relocated to Columbus, Ohio where she worked as a Jewish Education Springboard Fellow at The Ohio State University Hillel. In the triangle, Amy can be found exploring new sushi restaurants, hanging out with her dogs, and taking day trips to the beach! Amy is passionate about sharing her love of Judaism with others and is ecstatic to begin working with the youth and families at Beth El.
Amy Ripps (email: education@betheldurham.org) – Interim Education and Youth Director
Amy is a seasoned Jewish educator, having served as the Education and Youth Director for Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh for 19 years before retiring to do consulting work. She has most recently served as the Interim Education Director for B’nai Israel – Wilmington, NC and Beth Israel – Roanoke, VA, as well as continuing to do online teaching for Adult Education and B’nai Mitzvah students. Previously, she was a Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning instructor for 12 years and has Chaired CAJE31 and the Program Committee for NewCAJE, a national Jewish education organization for Jewish educators.
Noelle Satterfield (email: bookkeeper@betheldurham.org) – Bookkeeper
Noelle is a lifelong Person County resident with a background in bookkeeping and accounting. She has always had a great love for numbers, taking six math classes in high school when only four were required. She has two sons, who are her inspiration in life. She is also a huge animal lover, with four dogs and a cat and enjoys hanging out at home and spending quality time with her two and four legged kids.
Zachary Marshall (email: Zachary@betheldurham.org) – Head of Building Maintenance
Zachary is a United States Coast Guard veteran who moved to the Durham area in 2006. He has worked in maintenance for the last 8 years and is looking forward to being a part of Beth El and learning more about the community.
Eliana Light (email: eliana@elianalight.com) – Artist-in-Residence
Eliana’s life was forever changed when she met Rabbi Greyber at the Ramah Darom Passover Retreat in 2018. After a few visits over that summer, Eliana fell in love with the Beth El community and moved to Durham in the summer of 2019. After undergrad at Brandeis and Masters in Jewish Education at JTS, she was happy to be back in the south. (She grew up in Memphis with Alexandra!) Eliana has been artist-in-residence since 2021, and loves engaging folks of all ages in prayer and song. When she’s not at Beth El, Eliana writes, records, and shares her original Jewish music (three albums so far,) offers weekend residencies and professional development at synagogues around the country, and hosts the Light Lab podcast. Besides Beth El, Eliana’s favorite things about Durham include the incredible trees, good food, friendly people, live music, and the airport. Reach out to Eliana if you like singing with other people and want to do more of it!
