Rabbi Pam Mandel has served as an Associate Rabbi at Am Shalom since 2012. She is involved in all aspects of congregational life, with a particular focus on families with young children. Rabbi Mandel coordinates Tot Shabbat and Young Families programming and is passionate about finding creative, meaningful ways to bring these families closer to Torah and to one another. She is also excited about spiritually engaging those further along in their Jewish journeys. Rabbi Mandel developed Am Shalom Young Adults (ASYA), a vibrant group that helps individuals in their 20’s and 30’s remain connected to Judaism and to their temple family. Rabbi Mandel was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio – the birthplace of Reform Judaism (and Graeter’s ice cream!). She earned her degree in Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University. She then attended the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and was ordained as a rabbi in 2007. While there, she was awarded prizes in human relations and Jewish History. Her rabbinic studies included chaplaincy training at New York -Presbyterian Hospital, and she has taught in many dynamic congregations, including the Hebrew Association of the Deaf in New York City. Following ordination, she served for five years in Boca Raton, Florida, before finding her way back to the Midwest.