Staff

Michael Garlin was the Executive Director from 2014-2020 and has recently returned to this role in December of 2021.

Michael was originally from Morton Grove, moved to Plantation, Florida as a child and back to the Chicago area in the early 90’s. Michael graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Urban Recreation, received his Master Degree from Nova University in Human Services and received his CPCC as a life coach in 2008 from the Coaches Training Institute.

Michael’s career has been in the Jewish Community of Chicago. Over the past 30 years, Michael has worked for the JCC’s of Chicago, Jewish Council for Youth Services, Temple Jeremiah, AIPAC and recently The ARK. Michael is a member of NAASE (North American Association of Synagogue Administrators) and a member and past president of CASA (Chicago Association of Synagogue Administrators).

Michael’s hobbies include comedic writing, radio personality, author and an avid Chicago Sports Fan. 

Michael resides in Northbrook with his wife Mindy. Michael and Mindy have two children, Marisa, a recent graduate of Michigan State University and Bradley along with his wife Gemma, who all reside in Chicago.

Leann Blue is a graduate of both Emory University (Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in religion) and the Benjamin S. Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service of Brandeis University (Master of Arts in Jewish Communal Service).

After graduation, Leann put in 3 years with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism as Regional Youth Director of Seaboard Region and then Hagalil Region. It was at International USY Convention in 1988, that Leann was leading a delegation of teens from New Jersey to Chicago, when she met the CHUSY Region Fieldworker, Michael Blue, and the rest is history.

Upon moving to the Chicago area in 1989, Leann worked as Youth Director for North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park for six years. In 1995, Leann joined the staff of Congregation Beth Shalom as Youth Director, leading the chapter during many award winning years.

In 2001, while still Youth Director, Leann began focusing on Adult Education and family programming, and in 2002, she took on her current role of Director of Jewish Life and Learning at Congregation Beth Shalom. Some of the programs she has developed are the CBS Shabbaton, Lamazel!, Megillah Mania, Making Sukkot Simple, Ideas Cafe and CBS University.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Leann now calls Chicago home with her husband, Michael, and three sons, Adam, Marc and Paul.

Stacy Ybarra was born in Highland Park but at the age of five moved to Tucson, Arizona where she spent her childhood.  Stacy graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor in Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with a Latin American Emphasis.  She received her Master in Social Work from Boston University where in addition to individual, family and group clinical work her degree focused on management, program development and community organizing.  Her social work career began with working for Early Head Start and then moving into work with teen parents and at-risk teens.

Stacy’s Mom is an educator and began working in the Jewish community when Stacy was nine.  Stacy grew up helping her Mom and began teaching in the Jewish Community at age 15.  Since then, Stacy has taught in synagogues and Jewish camps in three states in Reform, Conservative and Chabad communities.  Stacy has taught every grade from Mommy & Me through adult education; there is not a grade she has missed.  Stacy has been on a curriculum committee and served on a synagogue board.  She has also been a Religious School Director for a Conservative synagogue in Arizona.

Stacy moved to Deerfield in September of 2016 with her husband, George, and her sons, Jonathan and David. George is career Army and is currently the First Sergeant of the Chicago Medical Recruiting Company.  When Stacy is not working in the Jewish community she is working as a social worker for the military or volunteering as an Army wife.

Susan Karlinsky serves Congregation Beth Shalom as its Controller. Susan joined our staff in 2010 and works closely with the clergy, staff, and the Executive officers of the Board of Trustees. She is responsible for day-to-day accounting, member billing, budgeting, and financial reporting.  Susan, with the dedicated support and leadership of the Financial Committee and Endowment Board, manages all of the donation funds and endowments at Congregation Beth Shalom.

You’ll likely find Susan greeting our members at the door for programs, special events and holiday celebrations at CBS. She works behind the scenes on many committees including HUGS and Social Action.

Susan grew up in Skokie, and earned her accounting degree at Bradley University. Before she joined CBS, Susan managed a private family foundation for over 13 years following her work with the family’s investment office. For many years, she served a variety of small businesses and individuals as a CPA, advisor and tax preparer. She lives in Vernon Hills with her husband Sheldon (also a CPA). Their twin sons, Marc (engaged to Carol) and Aaron (married to Randi) live in the Chicago area. Susan and Shelly recently became grandparents – a role they both cherish every day! They are looking forward to 2022 when the family will celebrate another grandchild and a wedding.

Maria has been with CBS since September, 2001.  She manages the office as well as catering, holiday Kiddushim and the kitchen. Additional responsibilities include overseeing donation opportunities (memorial plaques, leaves, bricks), various High Holiday duties, ordering office supplies and paper goods, and day to day happenings at the synagogue.

Maria lives in Glenview. She enjoys playing with her dog, Bailey, going to dinner, the movies, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.

Lisa is new to Congregation Beth Shalom and supports Rabbi Melman, Cantor Stoehr and Rabbi Ferratier.

Lisa was born in New York, grew up in West Bloomfield, MI, and attended college in California before moving to Illinois 30 years ago. She earned a double major in History and Communications from the University of California, San Diego.  Lisa lives in Northbrook and is the mother to twin sons that are grown and have flown. She loves spending her free time seeing theatre, watching movies, reading, traveling, and being outdoors.

Deanne began working for Congregation Beth Shalom in 2011 as the Programming and Communications Assistant. In her role in communications, she managed the website as well as prepared the weekly e-newsletters, The Shalom Byte and The Shabbat Byte. She also helped in many other areas of CBS communications. In Deanne’s other role with programming, she assisted Leann, the Director of Jewish Life and Learning, in all areas of coordinating classes and programs for CBS University and Adult Education. On March 1, 2017, Deanne began in her new role as CBS Communications Manager. She will be working on all areas of communication, social media, the Congregation Beth Shalom website and bulletin.

Deanne has a Master’s of Science in Public Service Management from DePaul University. She sits on the Board of Directors of Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute where she was once employed and where her children have all attended overnight camp.

She and her husband Jeff, an attorney, love to travel with and without their three daughters. Deanne also loves to read, shop, and laugh with her family and friends.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education) and National Louis University (Master’s of Education in Math Education).

She has been a teacher for over thirty years teaching toddlers through high school students in public/private schools all over the Chicagoland area. Most recently, she taught for the Board of Jewish Education and Temple Chai in Long Grove.

At Beth Shalom, Lisa is the assistant to the Educational Director and Director of Life and Learning. She is around to answer your questions regarding school, adult education and HAZAK programming.

Lisa lives in Buffalo Grove with her husband and three children who are currently away at school. In her spare time, Lisa loves to travel. She enjoys visiting Washington DC, where her daughter attends law school, Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit her twin boys and anywhere Disney. She is a huge Michigan Wolverines fan and even painted the rock in front on her home blue with a maize “M” on it. Go Blue!

Pamela (she/her) grew up in Ontario, Canada and has lived in the United States since college.  She graduated from Calvin University with a degree in Biblical Theology with an emphasis in Torah studies.  She received a Master of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary where she studied the Tanakh with a focus on social justice, inclusivity, and spiritual formation.

Pamela began her career working alongside marginalized people at an urban ministry and coordinated an experiential learning program for elementary through college age students in the city center of Grand Rapids, MI.  From there she went on to be the Associate Pastor for children’s religious education and youth fellowship at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Iowa, also functioning as the staff liaison to the mission committees and local Boys and Girls Club. Pamela next served as the Executive Director of a L’Arche community, an intentional community of people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Following her move to the Chicago area in 2015, Pamela fulfilled her lifelong affinity for Judaism by becoming a Jew by Choice.  Since then she has been a Shabbat Coordinator, overseen family High Holiday programming, and worked as a religious school teacher at various synagogues alongside being a nanny.

Creative endeavors such as knitting, crochet, needlepoint, and painting are all of interest to Pamela, as well as reading historical fiction and Jewish literature.  She enjoys being with her family and loves her cat.

Mara recently started at Beth Shalom as an administrative assistant and is loving meeting all the CBS members!

Mara grew up in Skokie and attended Niles North High School. Mara then attended The University of Kansas and then graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts in Recreational Studies.  

Mara spent over 25 years working at JCC Chicago beginning her career at Camp Chi, where all three of her children attended, as well. She went on to become the Day Camp Director at the Mayer Kaplan JCC Day Camp as well as Apachi Village.

Mara lives in Deerfield with her husband Richard, whom she married a year ago combining their five children and their dog, Kody. Mara has three children, Lev who is graduating from the University of Alabama, Lily who attends Columbia College Chicago and Eli who will be a senior at Highland Park High School and Richard’s two children, Emma who will graduate from the University of Arizona and Lily (yes two Lily’s!) who also attends the University of Arizona. To say there is never a dull moment, might be an understatement.

Susan grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada attending Congregation Beth Sholom with her family. While working towards receiving her undergraduate degree at UCLA Susan was a senior staff member at Camp Alonim in California and attended Brandeis Bardin Institute for adult Jewish learning where she was inspired by Dennis Prager and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. She went on to gain her Masters in Jewish Education from the University of Judaism. Her love of the Hebrew language has found her teaching students, adolescents and adults, privately and in class settings for CBS as well as in the Chicago area.

Susan is a vibrant and cherished teacher to our Bnai Mitzvah students as well as our adult learners of all levels.