Har Sinai Congregation Elects Joseph DeMattos Board President

Har Sinai Congregation in Owings Mills has elected Joseph DeMattos Jr. its new board president. DeMattos, who has more than 20 years of experience leading organizations, serves as president and CEO of the Health Facilities Association of Maryland (HFAM), the state’s largest and oldest post-acute and long-term care association. Har Sinai Congregation consists of close to 400 families and is the oldest continuously Reform congregation in the United States.

“I am thrilled to be elected president of Har Sinai, a vibrant Reform Jewish community of faith and social action,” DeMattos said. “We are proud of our incredible history and of our growing membership and dynamic centers of Jewish education. I look forward to working with our board and the rest of our congregation to continue growing as a community and meeting the challenges of the modern era.”

Prior to joining HFAM, DeMattos was state director for AARP in Maryland and director of integration, state and national initiatives for AARP in Washington, D.C., as well as the interim national director of government relations and advocacy. DeMattos also held leadership positions for AARP in Texas and Hawaii. Previously, DeMattos was a senior account executive for Becker Communications and communications deputy for the governor’s office in Hawaii.

In addition, DeMattos is an adjunct professor of leadership in management of aging services at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He serves on the Maryland Higher Education Commission and the Maryland Medicaid Advisory Council. He also sits on the board of the Baltimore Jewish Council. DeMattos was chair of the American Health Care Association Brand and Communications Committee and graduated from Leadership Maryland.

DeMattos graduated with a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii. He also holds an Essentials of Management certificate from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. He is a graduate of the Pacific Century Fellows in Hawaii and the ACHARAI Fellows Program of The Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Development Institute.

Other officers of Har Sinai Congregation serving with DeMattos are Anne Berman as first vice president, Samuel Dansicker as second vice president, Dr. Kenneth Bell as third vice president, Nina Roa as secretary, Craig Hoffman as treasurer and Sonia Samuel as assistant treasurer.