Our People

Our Staff

  • Rachel Nussbaum co-founded Kavana in 2006 and serves as its Rabbi and Executive Director. Thanks to her leadership, Kavana has received lots of recognition for its innovative approach to building Jewish community, and Rachel’s responsibilities run the gamut… from teaching and counseling, to dynamic prayer leadership, to re-working the synagogue model for the 21st century. Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Rachel holds degrees from Duke University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She has been a recipient of the Bronfman Youth Fellowship, the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, the AVI CHAI Fellowship, and the Joshua Venture Group Fellowship; more recently she helped to found the Jewish Emergent Network and serves on its executive committee. Rachel resides in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood with her husband Noam Pianko and their three children, and the whole family enjoys the outdoorsy, low-key vibe of the Pacific Northwest.

  • Rabbi Jay Asher LeVine is a life-long learner and seeker of wisdom and beauty. He is married to Rabbi Laura Rumpf and together they have two children, Ami and Nava. Rabbi Jay grew up the son of two music teachers in Willcox, Arizona, attended college at the University of Arizona where he earned dual degrees in Finance and Judaic Studies, and then entered rabbinical seminary at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. For the past six years, he has served as one of the rabbis at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, CA. He has been trained in community organizing and mussar facilitation, and is a trained Jewish Studio Project Facilitator, using a Jewish art methodology promoting healing and belonging.

  • Liz is proud to serve as Kavana's Director of Operations. She joined Kavana’s staff in 2010, bringing a background in human development, a certificate in nonprofit management, work experience from the arts and culture world, and personal warmth to bear as she took on the management of Kavana's day-to-day operations and the high-level administration of our organization. Liz has a passion for building authentic community, and this shines through in the work she's done to create and professionalize organizational systems that are people-centered and relationship-based. She jokingly calls herself “an accidental Jewish professional”; although Liz isn’t Jewish herself, after all these years, Kavana has become her community too! She resides on Bainbridge Island -- a short ferry ride away from Kavana's Seattle office -- with her husband and two active boys, and enjoys beach-combing year-round.

  • Rachel Lena Osias, or “RLO '' serves as Kavana’s Director of Education. RLO strives to build communities in which teaching, learning and the pursuit of educational equity are derived from challenging systemic norms and embracing the identities, experiences and stories of all individuals. Her exploration of Judaism and Jewish identity is cultivated through question-asking, relationship-building, story-telling, and play. RLO's professional and educational background has been an intentional interweaving of environmental sciences, educational equity, social and environmental justice, and experiential education. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy; a K-5th grade Teaching Credential; and a Master’s Degree in Urban Environmental Education.

  • Yoela Zimberoff uses organization and creativity to build Kavana spaces that are immersive, interesting and warm. Yoela has a Bachelor's degree in Religion, and a Master's degree in Communication Leadership, with a focus on Organizational Development. Yoela brings a unique perspective to community and relationship building, through human centered design, team building, and inclusive design principles. Outside of work, Yoela can be found reading, playing DnD, and working on a new craft project. 

Our Board Members

  • Steve is from the Seattle area and attended Garfield High School, Whitman College and the Evans School of Public Affairs at the UW. He and his wife discovered Kavana in their search for a community that was a good fit for their energetic young family that was searching for a catalyst for their own self-discovery about their own faith and traditions. Steve is currently on hiatus from his role as a non-profit Executive Director to pursue volunteer travel in Saipan with his family. He is father of two (son, Noah, 11 Anya, 14) and husband to Sarah Bergman Lewis, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital. Steve is also an avid kayaker, aspiring off-hours marine zoologist and is training for an Olympic triathlon.

  • Katie is passionate about building intentional, interdependent community and strives to create spaces where we can all feel comfortable leaning on each other just a little bit more. She joins the Kavana board because this community's value-driven approach aligns with her personal mantra that how we do the work is just as important as what work we do. Raised in Texas, Katie has made Seattle her home so that she may have the privilege of being near the Pacific Northwest mountains, trees, and water every day. Alongside her wife Robin, who introduced her to Kavana, she is proud to be a partner and raise their young daughter Madrone among such a loving community. As someone who is not Jewish, she is deeply grateful for the warm welcome she's received as she continues her lifelong journey to live an open-hearted life. Katie is a writer, an educator, and a people-person. Professionally, she currently works as an educator with young people and is in the midst of a career pivot from non-profit policy work into environments where she can teach and write every day. Her happy places are on the dance floor with her LGBTQIA+ country-western and line dancing community, digging in her garden, and singing nigunim by a campfire.

  • Callista has been an active member of the Kavana community since 2015, when she and her family moved to Seattle from southern Africa. She loves the diversity of our community and that it truly welcomes Jews of color and interfaith families. She also appreciates how much the programs and focus of Kavana are driven by the needs and interests of community members, in partnership with the Kavana staff. Before joining the Board, Callista co-chaired the Communications Committee. Professionally, Callista is the Senior Director of Programs at Reboot Representation, a coalition of major tech companies working to support Black, Latina, and Native American women in computing. Her professional experience includes roles in nonprofit leadership, international development, and management consulting. Callista holds a BA from Stanford University in Human Biology, as well as an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. She is an active community volunteer and served as the President of the Beacon Hill International School Parent Teacher Association for the last two years, where she led a successful effort to raise funds to be distributed equitably across a coalition of Title-1 public schools in South and West Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Callista lives in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle with her husband Peter, their kids, Aviva and Franklin, and their adorably small cat, Mao.

  • Seeking a contemporary Judaism that included reflection, discussion, and personal engagement, Dana found Kavana in 2010 and became a partner in December of that year. She was an early host for Kavana's home hospitality program, and still enjoys any excuse to gather in community, especially around food. Dana is a past co-chair of the Communications Committee and has continued to be involved in conversations around how we communicate our information and values. During the first part of her professional life, she worked as an architect in NYC and Seattle, and then spent twelve years teaching an array of fine arts courses as a full-time faculty member at University Prep. She also taught as an adjunct instructor with Seattle University's Master in Teaching program, working for six years with pre-service graduate students. Dana holds a B. Arch from Pratt Institute, an M. Arch from Yale University, and an MIT from Seattle University. She believes the point of our time here on earth is to live a life of purpose, connection, and empathy. She lives in Phinney Ridge with her young daughter.

  • Allan has lived in Seattle long enough that he doesn't know his way around any of the places he used to live. He is an architect, father of two young adults, and still married to Wendy - an entrepreneurial fashion designer who somehow tolerates his poor fashion sense. He has a terrible time writing brief bios in the third person. He’d be happy to tell you about himself in-person, but for now maybe this will help:

    1964-1969 Bethesda, MD 

    1969-1974 Jerusalem

    1975-1982 Bethesda, MD

    1982-1986 Kibbutz Hatzerim & IDF

    1986-1989 Philadelphia (undergrad), summers at Hatzerim

    1989-1993 Seattle (UW grad school), summers at Hatzerim

    1994-2024 Seattle, architecture practice 

    1999 Wendy

    2003 Ben

    2005 Josh


  • Rachel joined Kavana in 2017 after searching Seattle for a Jewish community that would feel like home. Starting with a baby naming and then an incredibly long run attending Prep and Practice, Rachel and her family are now regulars at Moadon Yeladim, Havdalah Club, and the Shabbat Morning Minyan -- with the Middle School Program and Bat Mitzvah preparations just around the corner! Rachel is especially appreciative of Kavana's diverse and welcoming approach to Jewish life. Rachel and her family live in Northeast Seattle. She spends her days as public policy professor at UW, with evenings and weekends spent figure skating, connecting with friends, and shuttling kids to activities.

  • Lesley and her husband Todd have been Kavana partners since 2017. They were seeking a congregation with a strong sense of community, a pluralistic approach to Judaism, and one that was willing to engage with social issues and found them in Kavana. Lesley spent much of her career in software development, largely in Silicon Valley. She has just retired after seven years of teaching Computer Science at UW Bothell, with a particular focus on encouraging women and under-represented communities in technology. Lesley is thrilled to have to be able to devote more time to Kavana and wants to contribute to the vibrancy of a community that has added so much richness to her own life. Boards she has served on include Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and Palo Alto Community Child Care (overseeing 15 preschool and after school centers). Her family was active in a Palo Alto Congregation similar to Kavana and hopes that having observed their experience with growth and balancing multiple approaches to Judaism will inform her work at Kavana.

  • Yelena has been a proud Kavana Partner for 15 years. She shares her northwest Seattle household with her husband, former board member Steven Neuman, and three kids, Henry (10), Theo (8), and Max (5). In 2022 Yelena worked with the board as a key contributor on the Rabbinic Search Committee, leveraging her recruiting expertise throughout the process. Yelena was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and immigrated to Portland, Oregon when she was three years old with her family. Through Yelena’s grandfather, who secretly practiced Judaism in Soviet Ukraine, she learned about the rich Jewish traditions and strong community, shaping her identity and fostering a profound connection to her heritage. Through this experience, she has a deep connection with her roots and dedication to the community. She is excited to give back to the community that welcomed her and her family.

  • Dee was raised in North Haven, CT., the oldest of three and raised in a secular Jewish home. She attended college in Colorado and then debated whether to apply to Law school or Graduate school of Social Work. In 1973, Dee went to Israel on an ulpan program to contemplate this decision but while there had a transformative experience, discovering a deeper appreciation for her Jewish roots. Upon returning to the States, she entered the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver and has worked in a variety of social work settings, primarily in the field of hospice and palliative care. She has had the joy of raising two wonderful daughters and is now enjoying being a grandmother. She and her husband Bill live in Queen Anne and share a meaningful life together. She has served on several Boards including PTA, Kadima, and two condo HOA Boards. For years she has been searching for a Jewish community and has found a spiritual home at Kavana, having been drawn to the values of social justice, intention, diversity and inclusion. It would be an honor to serve on the Kavana Board as a meaningful way of giving back to an organization that has been so welcoming and accepting.

  • Upon moving to Seattle in 2022, Jack went searching for community. His mother knew of Kavana and suggested he look there. Jack did, finding connection in observing Jewish tradition and breaking bread with strangers who quickly became friends. He felt the West Coast vibe he loved in his childhood in Los Angeles. Most of all, though, Jack loved that everybody was bringing their own intention, their own version of what being Jewish means to them. That was different. And it inspired him to find his own. Along his journey through Kavana, Jack has attended Shabbat programs, hosted young adult socials, and taught in the Middle School Program. Jack joined the Kavana board because he wants to contribute to this community’s effort to be a pluralistic cooperative that invites everybody to find their path, their intention. Professionally, Jack has worked as an organizer in the labor movement since graduating from college. Outside of work, he loves sailing, skiing, yoga, reading, and spending quality time with loved ones.