Leadership & Staff
At Kahal B'raira, our team of lay leaders and staff are dedicated to guiding our congregation and responding to our dynamic needs.
Staff
Lidia Pruente (she/her), managing director
Lidia Pruente (she/her/hers) is delighted to work at Kahal B'raira as the managing director. Lidia graduated from Cornell College in Iowa with majors in religion and history, and has spent time studying in Israel and working in Vermont before settling in the Boston area. Lidia participates in a number of different Jewish communities, and believes strongly in the Humanistic mission of solving human problems. When not working, you can find Lidia Irish dancing, biking, and taking intro circus classes!
Zach Mayer, Music Director
Singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and teacher, Zach Mayer brings people together through the power of nigunim, spiritual wordless melodies, rooted in Jewish tradition. Zach channels his family lineage of the four-generations of chazzanim (cantors) before him, as he helps communities around the country find their own joyous voices in song.
With over 38 million hits on YouTube for his “Subway Sax Battle,” Zach Mayer has performed with John Zorn, Frank London, Michael Alpert, Joey Weisenberg, and Bobby McFerrin. He performs internationally with Zion80, a 10-piece Jewish Afrobeat band inspired by the music of Shlomo Carlebach, and his folk sextet, Night Tree, has toured internationally and has released two albums produced by Seamus Egan of SOLAS. He has been on the faculty at the Brandeis Institute of Music and Art and Laguardia Arts High School in Manhattan, and teaches workshops around the US and at KlezKanada. Mayer is the musical director of Kahal B’raira, the humanistic Jewish congregation in Cambridge. He received his Masters of Music from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and is a member of Hadar’s 2020-2022 Rising Song Fellowship. He has composed two albums of original Jewish melodies, and sings his music with communities around the country.
Listen to his album “Zamru” here: https://zachmayermusic.bandcamp.com/album/zamru
www.zachmayermusic.com
Sophia Brion-Meisels, Education Director
Gladys Maged, Managing Director Emeritus
Gladys Maged has been a member of KB for more than 20 years. She is grateful to have found KB and Humanistic Judaism. She joined seeking a Jewish community for herself and her family. Her children, now adults, went through all of KB’s youth programs. Gladys served as the managing director of KB and now is an active member volunteering with B Mitzvah, liturgy and holidays. She and her husband Stan cherish the friendships they make in KB.
Executive Committee
Terms of office begin on July 1. Presidents and Vice Presidents are to be elected to two-year terms. Other officers and at-large members serve one-year terms. If you're interested in serving on the board, please contact the president or vice-president.
Executive Committee July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025:
Officers:
Co-Presidents: Cathy Cabrera, Melinda Rothstein
Treasurer: Lee Feigenbaum
Secretary: Todd Bearson
At-Large Members:
Neil Faiber
Lynn Feigenbaum
Sam Feldman
Sam Grabelle
Debbie Siegel
Larry Slotnick
SHJ Representative:
Carolyn Schneyer
Immediate Past Presidents:
Nancy Pinn and Steve Kumins