Our Clergy
Rabbi Eric L. Abbott joins us as our new Spiritual Leader.
Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer is our Rabbi Emeritus after leading the congregation for 21 years.
Synagogue Director
Geryl Baer joins BJC as the new Synagogue Director. She coordinates membership services, engagement and outreach, manages the religious school, and provides organizational and financial administration for the synagogue. Geryl has worked in the Jewish community since 2004 in multiple organizations such as synagogues, Hillel, Federation, and Jewish Family and Children Services. Geryl has Masters degrees in Jewish Communal Service and in Business Administration from Baltimore Hebrew University and University of Baltimore, respectively, and a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University.
Geryl currently lives in Bethesda with her husband Louis and her children.
Program & Communications Director
Amy Kertesz is the Program and Communications Director at BJC. Amy's background is in marketing and communications, having worked in the fashion industry for over 8 years, as part of the marketing teams for Etienne Aigner and Liz Claiborne, Inc. In Miami, she served on the board of Women's March Miami as VP of Communications. She also joined the Florida gubernatorial campaign of Andrew Gillum as a team leader, running the "Women for Gillum" social media platforms. A born-and-raised Jersey girl, Amy and her family moved to Maryland 4 years ago from Miami. She holds a Bachelors in Psychology from Rutgers University, where she met her husband of 23 years, Kevin, who is always called “Mo” (short for Moshe). Amy and Mo have five amazing boys: Michael, Eli, Joshua, Daniel, and Joseph, ages 18 to 8. You may have seen her “15 minutes of fame” back in February 2021, baking hamentashen for a Washington Jewish Week video.