Dear Friends,
I’m writing to share with you that Erica Leventhal, our longtime and beloved Executive Director, has decided (again!) to move on and gave us notice at the end of June that she will be leaving Beth El as of September 30, after the holidays. This is, of course, very sad news for the Beth El community, as Erica has been such a treasured and valuable member, not to mention key leader, of our staff for the past 20 years. Nevertheless, Erica has made a life choice to focus on family and new opportunities, and we completely understand and respect her decision, and are excited for her, as she charts her new course in Colorado.
It was just over a year ago that we announced Erica was leaving to move with her family to Colorado. [Click here to reach the original notice.] Although tempting, I won’t repeat all of the accomplishments, skills and priceless contributions Erica made to sustain and enhance our community that were highlighted in last year’s letter. But I want to share again something that’s worth repeating and rings as true today as it did when we made last year’s announcement:
When we sent the announcement of Erica’s departure last year on March 2, we had no way of knowing how all our lives, and our world, would change on the very next day, when New Rochelle found itself at the epicenter of the emerging global pandemic. We were fortunate to have worked out an arrangement whereby Erica was able to continue working with us remotely, given that by the end of June last year, and until recently, most people were working remotely anyway, our building was closed and all shul services and programming were being conducted via Zoom. Erica was a critical part of our ability to navigate that period. But now that Beth El is slowly emerging from those dark days, Erica is ready to transition more fully to her life in Colorado with her family and explore new opportunities in the West.
Our Officers and HR Committee have already begun to strategize around next steps. This is an opportunity for the Synagogue to build on the strong foundation Erica is leaving us with and look at what our current and future needs are and how those can best be met. I will update you as plans develop. As I first noted above, Erica will continue working with us through the upcoming holidays and remains committed to helping us, as always, through this next phase.
We will miss Erica deeply and I know you will all join me in wishing her, Josh and the boys all the success, happiness and meaning they so richly deserve.
Please find below a letter that Erica asked that I share.
Rob Patchen
President
