Meet Jacki Katzman
A Profile by Annie Hoyer
Every year, each NH synagogue chooses a valuable member to receive the Shem Tov award, given by the Jewish Federation of NH. BHC’s awardee this year is Jacki Katzman. Jacki received her award in a ceremony held on August 17.
As the publisher of the BHC newsletter, Jacki Katzman keeps the entire congregation connected and informed. During the summer, when the newsletter goes out about every other week, it’s a huge undertaking. She also keeps our website up to date and regularly hosts one of the Film Festival’s pre-film socials.
Jacki was born in The Town of Tonawanda NY, near Buffalo. At the time of her bat mitzvah, her father was the president of Temple Beth El, a 200-family conservative congregation. Jacki accompanied and sang with her dad Saturday mornings. “He may have been an atheist, but my Dad loved tradition, family and ritual,” Jacki says. “I know most of the prayers by heart from that time. Being active in BHC is my paying it forward for my Dad.”
Jacki attended Smith College, majoring in biochemistry with thoughts of medical school, but shifted gears to explore New York City’s Upper West Side. “I lived an artsy, bohemian life.” As in, with two other young women, she shared a tiny apartment facing an air shaft.
That adventure ran its course, and she shifted gears, attending the MBA program at the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. She gravitated to a career in technology in Boston, the 80’s tech epicenter. “I was a young feminist who wanted to change the world, and at that time, the smartest people – idealistic and capitalistic - went into tech. Over the years, she held various positions in marketing, eventually landing as a “user story expert” at a public relations firm.
She had been renting a house in Bethlehem that had been built by her karate instructor. In 2000, she discovered High Holiday services at BHC; it was a big reason for her choosing to buy in Bethlehem.. Then came the dot com recession. “I was squeezed out,” she says. During the down times, she worked as a gardener, a PR freelancer, and VRBO host for her Bethlehem home. A brief return to tech work taught her the newsletter and Web publishing skills that she uses for BHC.
The great recession of 2008 ended her corporate career: “Nobody over 50 survived that one,” she says. But the layoff had a silver lining. She began spending more time in NH and at BHC. “The only thing I miss about the work world is collaborating with brilliant women,” she says. “At BHC, there’s a circle of brilliant women making things happen,” she says. She uses Eileen Regen as an example. “When Eileen stepped down, it took 6 people to fill her shoes.”
When Jacki’s curiosity is piqued, she becomes dedicated to learning more. And more! While she lived in Boston, she pursued several interests. “I’m a klutz,” she insists, so when the Newton Jewish Center offered karate, she signed up. “It was at the center of my life for about 10 years,” she notes. She attained Brown Belt status.
It was also in Boston that she heard about the Feldenkrais Method. “I took a free Awareness Through Movement® class, and it immediately resonated with my inner klutz who dreamed of being graceful,” she says. “Moshe Feldenkrais’ approach to biomechanics, deeply informed by his family’s rabbinic tradition and his pioneering work in the martial arts resonated deeply with me. It really transformed my body awareness and inspired me to help other klutzes fully inhabit their bodies.” She went beyond simply participating to become certified as a practitioner. Today, she has a small but stable private clientele and teaches weekly group lessons on Zoom. She dreams of reviving her “Awareness in the Sanctuary” program at BHC - wake up people!
Music is another passion. “1995 was the Golden Age of World Music in Boston. So many amazing musicians were in Boston. It was a real global community.” she explains. Meeting reggae musician Christopher let her transform from listening to music to learning to play the electric bass and join Christopher’s band. When, late in 2024, Christopher decided to stop chemo, she cared for him in NH until he died. Jacki says she was surprised, and so grateful, when BHC members pulled together a shiva honoring him.
She recently moved into her dream home in Sugar Hill. “I often drove by this house and admired it. It’s a Japanese house for Americans.” When it came on the market, Jacki jumped on it. “I later learned that Geoff Fages and Gordon Bennet were exploring purchasing the now-defunct dog grooming business that ran out the house’s back garage. Sorry guys,” she teases.
Jacki is busy and engaged in every aspect of BHC activity. Whether she recognizes it or not, she is, indeed, one of the “brilliant women making things happen” here in Bethlehem.