Our Staff
Join us
Working for the Jewish Federation and our local community can be a rewarding experience. Please check back for seasonal, full or part time positions postings.
Assistance
Need assistance with a particular program? Use the links below
Mindy Haas
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Most recently from Raleigh, NC, Mindy Haas is eager to serve Lexington’s Jewish community.
Daniel Baker
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Find Daniel and his four-legged “assistant,” Levi, at the office with a large coffee and tons of plants.
Paula Mertens
DIRECTOR OF JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES
Paula, husband Eli, and twin sons Henri and Matthew moved to Lexington in 2000 and found a warm and welcoming home at Temple Adath Israel.
Susan Voglesong
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Susan loves to volunteer and you can generally find her at a meeting either for PTA, her HOA, Girl Scouts or various Jewish activities.
Carly Conatser
PJ LIBRARY COORDINATOR
Carly is a writer and yogi who somewhat recently landed in Lexington and is excited to meet and serve the Jewish community of the Bluegrass.
Joy Fisher
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Joy BIO
Mindy Hass
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Born and raised in New York, Mindy moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 1987 with her husband Russell (34 years). Both proud of the success of their children Skylar (28) living in Nashville, Tenn. as the Regional Program Director for BBYO, Inc. and Marissa (32) proud mom of Darby (12) and Xander (9) living in Charlotte, NC. Mindy has a bachelor’s degree in Education and Child Development from the State University at Oneonta, NY.
Daniel Barker
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Daniel Baker was born in Paterson, NJ and moved to southern Kentucky with his family in 2006. He decided to call Lexington home after receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Kentucky (UK) in 2011. Daniel is a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA) who loves to give his time back to the community, especially through his involvement in Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a national coed service fraternity. In APO, Daniel is currently an advisor to the chapter at UK and the Co-Founder and President of the APO Bluegrass Alumni Association.
Daniel joined the JFB team in July 2016 after having assisted with a variety of Federation initiatives, including Yom Ha’Atzmaut festivities and coordinating Young Bluegrass Jews (YBJ) programming. His local involvement came shortly after a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip in 2012, where he fell in love with the Jewish community. Daniel has been active at Temple Adath Israel (TAI) through Generation TAI, the Temple’s chavurah for adults ages 20-40.
At JFB, Daniel’s work includes managing JFB’s website and social media accounts, coordinating YBJ outreach and programming, and assisting the Executive Director with Annual Campaign development and materials. You’ll often find Daniel typing away at his keyboard with his dog, Levi, asleep beneath his desk.
Paula Mertens
DIRECTOR OF JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES
Paula Lopez Mertens was born in Tucson, AZ. She grew up in an Air Force family living overseas as well as numerous states. This upbringing introduced her to many different cultures and ways of living that she says formed one of her basic traits of being able to adapt to new situations quite easily.
She returned with her family to her parents’ home state of Kansas when her father retired from the Air Force and graduated from Kansas State University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work. Paula has always been dedicated to helping others but her passion lies in assisting the elderly. Her 30-year career includes working in nursing homes in Kansas, Iowa and Florida in long-term and skilled care, physical rehabilitation and psychiatric care. She has also worked in home care as a Case Manager in Iowa, a Humana Care Manager, and Care Coordinator at Comfort Keepers in Lexington.
Paula, husband Eli, and twin sons Henri and Matthew moved to Lexington in 2000 and found a warm and welcoming home at Temple Adath Israel. Though she hasn’t been heavily involved in the community in recent years, she’s very excited about returning and serving in a much more active role.
Paula also helps her husband in their business with editing, writing, and distribution of TravelHost of the Bluegrass magazine. Eli is the love of her life as well as her sons, but in close second is their beloved dog, Lexi. An avid animal-lover, Paula also enjoys reading, attending concerts with music of all varieties and traveling.
Carly Conatser
PJ LIBRARY COORDINATOR
Carly Conatser (Sachs) is the PJ Library Coordinator. She is the author of her own collection of poems, The Steam Sequence, as well as the editor of the poetry anthology, The Why and Later. Her most recent collection, Descendants of Eve is forthcoming in the Delphi Poetry Series from Blue Lyra Press. In addition to working at the Federation, Carly teaches yoga at Baby Moon and Sterling Hot Yoga.
Susan Voglesong
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
Susan Voglesong has lived In Lexington since 2009. She was born in Indiana and went to Indiana University where she majored in history and political science and met her husband, Travis. She keeps busy with her four kids, Brayden, Josslyn, Genevieve and Charlotte. She loves to volunteer and you can generally find her at a meeting either for PTA, her HOA, Girl Scouts or various Jewish acitivities. She loves dogs, cats and baking. Susan is excited to be sharing her love of reading with Jewish Families in Lexington with the PJ Library program.