JOEL MAGALNICK
President
Joel Magalnick settled in Edmonton in 2019 with his wife Jenn and sons Ben and Oscar. He has been active in various professional roles in the Jewish community, including as editor and publisher of the now-defunct Jewish newspaper that served Washington State, as a board member of Seattle’s Temple Beth Am, and currently as secretary for the Northwest BBYO Parent Society.
Joel runs his own consulting business, The Refined Story, which takes an audience-centered approach to companies' messaging and design, including a recently launched new phone app to connect musicians and fans through live performances. He also sits on the faculty in the school of design at MacEwan University.
Though still new to Edmonton and Temple Beth Ora, Joel’s extended family is not. His wife Jenn was principal of the Hebrew school back in the early ‘90s and the two were married by Rabbi Lindsey Bat Joseph a few years after. Their son Oscar became a Bar Mitzvah in fall 2021.
FONG LOPASCHUK
VP - Administration
Born in Hong Kong, I immigrated with my family to Calgary before coming to Edmonton to study at the University of Alberta and I haven’t left since. After completing my MSc in Occupational Therapy, I have been working for the Alberta Health Services as a Mental Health Therapist. I am kept busy by my husband, David, and our 4 year old “Young Primate” and managing our overgrown yard. We joined the TBO community in 2014. I enjoy baking, knitting, and I’m learning to sew.
JASON HATCH
VP - Finance
Jason was born in Whitecourt AB and has lived in Edmonton since 1978. He is a graduate of Grant MacEwan Community College with a diploma in Management Studies. He started his career at the Edmonton Elks Football Club doing ticket sales and managing merchandise. He has run his own small business IT consulting company, and most recently worked at Firma Foreign Exchange as IT Director before leaving in 2017 to spend more time with family.
He is married with 2 boys. Enjoys hockey, mountain biking, & skiing.
DANA TANNER-KENNEDY
VP - Ritual
Dana Tanner-Kennedy joined Temple Beth Ora in 2014 after relocating to Edmonton with her husband, David, to join the faculty of Drama at the University of Alberta. Their daughter Evangeline is a proud student of Or Shalom, and little sister Arden is looking forward to joining as well. Dana is a scholar and practitioner of theatre, and her research focuses on the intersection of theater, performance, and religion—an interest that may have begun during her star turn as the 1978 New Year’s Baby in the Seven Acres Jewish Home for the Aged’s annual New Year’s show, a chutzpah-induced, Jewish parody-laced musical extravaganza produced for the senior residents there. Originally from Houston, Texas, Dana is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama where she received her MFA and Doctorate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. She is thrilled to serve as the Vice President of Ritual and share her infectious joy for life-long study and sacred encounter.
TUVAL DINNER NAFSHI
VP - Adult Programming
Tuval was born in Israel and has lived in South Africa, Ireland and 3 Canadian cities.
A graduate of MacEwan University and University of Victoria in social work, Tuval has worked for the past twenty years in the field of preventing gender-based violence with an emphasis on engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls. He currently works for the City of St Albert and consults for the Canadian Women's Foundation.
Tuval 's partner, Shelly, teaches in the Or Shalom Hebrew school and all 3 of their children have attended the school.
ASHER KIRCHNER
Director
Asher was born in New York and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a BA degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Johns Hopkins University, JD from U. Maryland Law School, and a PhD in linguistics from UCLA. Asher moved to Edmonton in 1999 to teach linguistics at U. Alberta, but took early retirement in 2013. He is married to Suzanne Gross and they have two wonderful daughters, now grown-up. Suzanne is active in the Mennonite Church and Asher is active with the Quakers as well as TBO.
His hobbies include bicycling, cooking, permaculture gardening, anarchist political thought, and worrying about the climate crisis.
ANDREA KORDA
Director
Originally from Montreal, Andrea has lived in Edmonton since 2009. She is a professor of art history at the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus and a founder of the Crafting Communities project (www.CraftingCommunities.net). Along with her partner and child, she has been a member of TBO since 2020.