Members of our Advisory Board are vital to the congregation’s sustainability and well-being. This working board helps with vision, staff recruitment, programming, and development.
All board positions are full at the moment, but members cycle off each January, so if you are interested, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Shari Annes has counseled clients in the life sciences and financial services industries, primarily in Investor Relations, for over 30 years. She focuses on communications strategies to attract new investment in private and public companies. Her clients have spanned the world, from the US to the EU and Japan. Combining direct experience in corporate management, investment banking, and public relations, she began her career as a White House intern, moved to the US Senate Commerce Committee, then to American Can as a lobbyist, and later into investor relations at Burson-Marsteller.
She founded Annes Associates in 1987. She holds a degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and has completed graduate programs at Columbia, Stanford, and Harvard.
Her family has supported the State of Israel since its inception and raised funds for a non-profit organization that provides rest homes for soldiers. Her brother and nephew are ski instructors for an Israeli veterans group that comes to Challenge Aspen each year.
Rachel Biederman has been involved with Adventure Judaism since 2009, when she brought her family, including her 18-month-old daughter, to Passover in Moab. Rachel was raised in a Reform Jewish family on the East Coast and moved to Colorado in 1991. Rachel’s two children, Jasper and Delilah, have both grown up in the Adventure Judaism community and associate their religion with big ideas and great adventures.
Rachel has spent her career in business-to-business marketing and communications. She has worked in a number of industries, including biotech, aviation, and software; her favorite part of the job is helping share complex ideas about technology and science in ways that anyone can understand. She is currently the vice president of marketing at ReedGroup, a Guardian company. Rachel lives in Lafayette, CO, with her kids and two dogs.
Betsy is the Associate Director of Learning Assistant Development within the CU Boulder Learning Assistant Program, a peer-teaching and peer-mentorship program that increases educational equity and access to evidence-based, student-centered teaching and learning in higher education. Her academic degrees span biochemistry, chemistry, and biophysics, with a doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and postdoctoral work in STEM education research.
After spending her youth in a traditional Reform congregation, Betsy was inspired by the level of community engagement and connection co-created within a small Reconstructionist congregation in Philadelphia. After moving back to Colorado, she systematically tried out congregations up and down the Front Range, looking for something special.
Betsy would like to say a huge “thank you!” to Noah Finkelstein for referring her to Adventure Judaism, her family’s Jewish home since 2017, because of the unique blend of outdoor adventure and authentic connection that this community creates. Betsy has been on the board since 2020 to facilitate programming that continues fostering a connection between the transformative Adventure Judaism retreats. Get in touch if you have any ideas you’d like help bringing to fruition!
Emily Norman has been part of the Adventure Judaism community since 2007, drawn to its blend of outdoor experience and meaningful Jewish practice.
As an event planner and founder of Boulder-based SpunGlass Events, Emily facilitates celebrations across Colorado. With a Master’s Degree in Educational Theatre, her background in directing and stage managing productions taught her to see both the big picture and the crucial details, skills she brings to every event she plans. Emily especially loves planning Jewish celebrations, where shared understanding and tradition make the work feel like home.
Emily also works as a standardized patient at CU Anschutz, extending her theater experience by portraying patients so that medical learners can practice communication and clinical skills in a supportive environment.
Emily’s involvement with Adventure Judaism runs deep. She taught in the Adventure Rabbi Kids (ARK) program and later consulted on curriculum development. Recognizing a need for adult community-building, she founded Shalom Adventure, an adult social group. She joined the Advisory Board in 2024 to give back to the community that has shaped her Jewish life for nearly two decades.
Rochelle has been active in Adventure Judaism since 2016 and relishes the experience of celebrating and honoring the Jewish holidays outdoors. She was raised with ample exposure to Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform (all indoor) Judaism and values the creative and innovative Jewish adventuring within our congregation. Rochelle’s family is involved with the congregation and never miss a chance to celebrate Passover in Moab. Her husband, Dan, converted to Judaism with an Adventure Judaism Rabbi, and her son, Avi, completed the Adventure Class before his Bar Mitzvah (outdoors) on the Pastures of Plenty Farm.
Avi and Rochelle ran the Adventure Teen program following his Bar Mitzvah, and following that, Rochelle joined the Advisory Board in 2021. She and Dan host a member party in the summer; Rochelle is the tech for Zoom services during the high holidays; and as of 2024, she organizes and sings in the Kol Nidre choir for our Yom Kippur service.
Rochelle has worked as an Executive Assistant in many settings, including business-to-business, corporate marketing, financial services, and non-profit. She holds a Master’s degree in Creativity Development and worked as an Art Therapist in her early career. She recently completed training in an innovative approach to group therapy and intends to return to the practice of Art Therapy and Creativity Development in her retirement. She is an artist, a poet, a potter, and a baker.
Fran Taffer has been involved with Adventure Judaism since 2024, when her oldest son began his incredible B’nai Mitzvah journey with the congregation. Following his Bar Mitzvah, he continued his involvement as an intern, which inspired Fran to deepen her own engagement with the community. She looks forward to helping develop meaningful programming for teens and families throughout the year.
Fran works at the Colorado School of Public Health on the Youth and School Survey Team. She lives in Golden, Colorado, with her husband and two sons.
Mike Berkow has been involved with Adventure Judaism since 2008. Raised in a traditional Reform congregation, he valued his Jewish upbringing but felt a strong pull toward experiencing Jewish life in more natural, outdoor settings. Adventure Judaism’s unique integration of religious practice and the outdoors resonated deeply with both Mike and his wife, drawing them into the community.
An avid outdoor enthusiast throughout his life, Mike spends his free time pursuing a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, climbing, skiing, and photography.
Dan McGrady
