Education Director

Mindy Lessem Pollack
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Mindy has been active in Jewish life seemingly forever. She credits strong ties with her childhood synagogue, Temple Judea in Coral Gables, her involvement with Young Judaea and Camp Judaea (Hendersonville, NC) for setting her up to be a leader in Jewish education.
Mindy attended Young Judaea Year Course in Israel, followed by Brandeis University and the University of Florida, earning a B.S. degree in Psychology and Certificate of Jewish Studies. After working for Young Judaea as the Assistant Director for Florida/Puerto Rico Region, Mindy attended graduate school at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studying Social Psychology. Now fluent in Hebrew, Mindy held positions at Yissum, the Research and Development Company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and also worked at the School Psychological Services, mentoring volunteers who worked with at-risk students in the public schools.
Five fabulous years of living in Israel later, Mindy returned to the United States to join her soon to be husband, Dan, another native Floridian. Living in Clearwater, Mindy worked as the Program Director at the JCC in Madeira Beach and also counseled children of divorce through the Family Counseling Center. In 1992 the Pollacks moved to Vero Beach and Temple Beth Shalom. Since then, Mindy and Dan have been active members of this congregation and Vero Beach community, raising three children, Elana, Aryeh and Michal, under the ark-like roof of our “little Temple in the woods.”Teaching and volunteering at TBS since January 1993, Mindy held numerous leadership positions within the synagogue, including President of the Board of Trustees. But if you ask her, she will say that the position most dear to her heart is instilling a love for Judaism in our guarantors…the children of Temple Beth Shalom.