Anna Janet has a hand in much of what goes on at Beth El Congregation of Baltimore, from advertising to keeping things organized on the board of directors.
The Pikesville resident has served as the secretary of Beth El’s board since June. She sits on the shul’s budget and finance committee and the family-teacher organization for Beth El’s preschool.
“This has become sort of my full-time position because I’m not working anymore,” Janet said of her volunteering at Beth El. “I’ve been involved in a lot of projects there and it’s very meaningful.”
The Pikesville Conservative synagogue has become a second home for Janet, who moved to Baltimore in the summer of 2018. “I felt right at home as soon as I walked in the door,” she said.
Being new to Baltimore and knowing no one aside from her in-laws, Janet met Amanda Beitman, Beth El’s director of development. (Beitman also currently serves as chief advancement officer.)
“We became friends, and she knew about my design background, so I started working with her on different projects,” Janet said of Beitman.
Janet earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, then a master’s in communication design from the Pratt Institute. She worked for Harper’s Bazaar magazine in New York before making the move to Maryland.
She put her graphic design skills to use advertising the synagogue’s special event “Live! From Beth El” in 2019. Every two years, Beth El’s “most highly anticipated event” is an evening with a well-known actor, musician or comedian. The most recent of these events, featuring actor and film producer Henry Winkler, raised more than $400,000 for the synagogue.
Janet’s artistry has also benefited The Soul Center, part of Beth El that focuses on personal development and community building through Torah study, yoga and team-building exercises. She’s designed the advertising for The Soul Center’s annual fundraiser, “Wit, Wine and Wisdom,” for the past three years. The most recent event raised more than $315,000.
Janet creates social media announcements, posters, billboards, window clings and feather flags for “Live! From Beth El” and “Wit, Wine and Wisdom.” “Any sort of advertising that you see for these major events at Beth El is usually designed by me,” she said.
She also designed a customized prayer book that The Soul Center uses for Shir Joy, its Friday night service event.
As secretary of the board, Janet “helps keep everybody organized.” She takes minutes at monthly board meetings and created a directory of the board members for a collective “board binder.” The binder also contains infographics Janet made about Beth El: its membership numbers and a map of the facility, for example.
Because she no longer works professionally, Janet gives much of her time — when she’s not actively caring for her three young sons — to Beth El.
Her inspiration for volunteering in the Jewish community stems from her late mother-in-law, Rina Janet. When Anna Janet first moved to Baltimore, Rina had been the general chair of Israel Bonds Maryland and previously served as chair of the women’s division.
“I just saw how amazing the community that she created for herself [was], working with Jewish Baltimore and creating all these wonderful, beautiful connections with people,” Janet said.
Her own parents were also heavily involved in the Jewish community. Growing up in Wilmington, Delaware, Janet’s father was the president of the family’s synagogue and her mother was always involved in Sisterhood or other volunteer capacities, having previously worked for the Jewish Federation of Delaware.
“They’ve always been a constant inspiration to make Jewish life part of my life,” Janet said.
“I definitely knew that my participation [in the Jewish community] would be meaningful to my parents, but truly, I think it was the Janet family connection to Beth El particularly,” she said, adding that her husband’s great-grandparents had been founders of the synagogue. “Beth El has been a central part of the Janet family life for all of my husband’s life growing up, and as soon as we came here, we became independent members.”
Janet described Amanda Beitman as her “lifeline,” who introduced her to fellow preschool parents and community members around her age.
“I became close friends with all these people and it made me really want to be part of this community,” Janet said. “So I have found it deeply meaningful to volunteer my time there, and it’s something that I have a special talent for, so it’s a good way for me to be able to provide for the synagogue in a capacity that they don’t have.”
She has no plans of slowing down in terms of design projects and serving on the board of directors.
“I want to keep working with the synagogue on these projects,” Janet said. “It’s very meaningful to me to help raise funds for the synagogue, to know that I’m helping to provide for the health of the synagogue’s future is very important to me.”
