Suesan Phillips, Bookkeeper
Suesan was born and raised on Long Island and grew up in a Conservative home where her family was very active in their synagogue including Youth Group activities. She received her B.S. in Phys Ed with a concentration in Sports Medicine from SUNY Brockport in 1986. She worked for the JCC on Long Island for 8 years before relocating to Roswell in 1995. Her commitment to raising Jewish children has kept her closely tied to the Jewish community. After 3 years of being involved with KLUB 345, she believes more than ever that it is never to early to form strong ties with other Jewish children in a social atmosphere. Suesan can be found during the week in the bookkeeping office. She began her work association with TKC in 2005 teaching in the preschool. Since 2007 she has been a 2nd grade teacher in the Religious School. When the need surfaced to engage our younger students socially, she jumped at the chance to lead KLUB 345. Suesan has witnessed first hand the power of connection through her children Ian (25) and Alexa (20).
Michelle Erste, Director of Religious School and Family Programming
Michelle Erste (nee Shmukler) has been an active member of TKC since her parents joined the congregation in 1989, when she was in 1st grade. She and her husband Lou rejoined in 2007 when they were married. TKC is where she received her Jewish education, became a Bat Mitzvah, was involved in RAFTY’s early days, and held her babies’ naming ceremonies. In 2011, she taught one year of 7th grade before taking a break to have her second baby, returning in 2014 to teach PreK for 4 years. In 2018, she moved to 3rd grade and in 2019, added Hebrew and Theater to her teaching resume! She also served on the Board of Trustees for 2 years and on the Rabbi search committee.
Beyond TKC, Michelle and her husband Lou have two children, Leah, a rising 5th grader, and Gabriel, a rising 3rd grader. In addition to her day job as a Marketing Director for an engineering consulting firm and helping out with her kids’ school PTA, Michelle can be found driving her children to and from dance and soccer practices, volunteering in her industry associations, or reading a book in her favorite hammock in the backyard. The Erste family also includes Daisy the dog and three cats - Harry, Charlie, and Mimi.
Amy Deich, Administrative Director
Amy (Rossman) Deich grew up in Wayland, MA, as part of a founding family at Temple Shir Tikva, a Reform synagogue. She was very involved in all areas of synagogue life and became an active participant in the temple youth group (STIFTY, which was part of NEFTY at that time) during High School. Amy attended Union College in Schenectady, NY where she received her B.S. in Psychology in 1998, and later received her M.A. in Child Development from Tufts University in Somerville, MA. Amy worked in the Boston area for a number of years in child development and early intervention, before moving to San Diego, CA. While in San Diego, she worked with children and adults with developmental disabilities at the county’s Regional Center. In 2006, Amy and her husband Sam moved to Roswell, GA and she began working as a Family Support Coordinator at Sheltering Arms Child Development Center in Chamblee. Amy worked there for 3 ½ years before becoming a full time stay at home mother to her two daughters, which also allowed her time to volunteer within the community.
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Amy and Sam spent their first few years in GA looking for a Jewish home, and after attending High Holiday Tot services with Caroline & Danny, they knew Temple Kehillat Chaim was the right place for their family. Both daughters, Emily and Talia, attended preschool at TKC, and Amy coordinated the Tot Shabbat monthly program. Amy later served on the Board of Trustees, Education Committee and the Rabbi search committees. The Deich Family moved to Plano, TX from 2018-2021 where they were members of Temple Shalom in Dallas, but then returned to Roswell and their community at TKC.
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Amy continues to volunteer with her kids’ schools through PTA and other organizations. She spends much of her time driving her daughters to and from rehearsals and performances for their various theater programs, but also can be found happily reading on their screened in porch with an iced coffee in hand.