Sherry Gutes - Religious School Principal, sgutes@shjc.org South Huntington Jewish Center welcomes Sherry Gutes as the Principal of our Religious School. Sherry is a good fit for our school and for our congregation. n fact, she may be something of a 'poster child' for Conservative Judaism. She grew up in Temple Beth El in Poughkeepsie, NY (the same synagogue where Hazzan Joseph Wieselman z'l, beloved father of Suri Jacknis, was the cantor for many years). She attended Camp Ramah for five consecutive summers, forming what would become a lifelong love and appreciation for the importance of informal Jewish educational experiences as a key to leading a meaningful Jewish life. Throughout high school, she was active in USY on the local, regional and international level. Following college, Sherry married her husband Greg, a sports copy editor for Newsday. heir two sons Adam and Joshua attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Suffolk County, where Sherry served several years on their Board of Directors. The family joined a local Conservative synagogue, and Sherry became active in the synagogue, in the Sisterhood, and in Eastern Long Island Branch for Women's League for Conservative Judaism. She was also among the first group to be inducted into Kolot B'kdusha, a group of women recognized by WLCJ as being capable of leading Shabbat, holiday and midweek services. Sherry came to Jewish education as a second career.(For 15 years she ran her own Jewish cultural arts business, representing Jewish performing artists - singers, comedians, bands, etc., and managing numerous concerts and other special events. For more than 25 years she has been a freelance comedy writer.) Sherry began working for SAJES, the central agency for Jewish education, in 1998, where she served as the Director of Communications. She is also a graduate of its three professional certification programs: Morasha Teacher Preparation Institute, Principals Leadership Institute, and Jewish Family Educators Training Institute. As part of SAJES Mentor and Protégé Program, she has been trained to provide ongoing support to new and novice teachers. Her two trips to Israel with SAJES, as part of a group of Jewish educators, have been highlights of her career. Sherry taught religious school at synagogues in Huntington and Commack (she admits to missing being a classroom teacher) and served as the Principal of Temple Beth Sholom of Smithtown for four years before coming to SHJC. Sherry is a person of great energy, and she is passionate about her work on behalf of the children and families of SHJC. She sees her position as Principal as multi-faceted: teacher, learner, administrator, convener, role model, consensus-builder, conversation starter. She finds great joy and satisfaction in living life Jewishly, and understands the challenges that face Jewish families today. Sherry believes that her work in Jewish education is holy work - a sacred responsibility that she takes very seriously. She also loves to schmooze and share a good laugh.

Sherry Gutes , Principal Sherry Gutes Principal ext. 12 sgutes@shjc.org

Sherry Gutes, Director of Communications sgutes@sajes.org

Sherry Gutes, Principal (631-421-3224, ext. 12; sgutes@shjc.org)