Education Staff

Faculty : Ann Abrams, Librarian

Ann Abrams has been the librarian of Temple Israel since 1985. She graduated from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science in 1986. She worked as a library assistant at Hebrew College and Countway Medical Library, taught Hebrew to students of all ages, and was an advisor for the Zionist youth group, Young Judaea in Boston and Israel.

Contact Ann Abrams

 

Faculty : Debbie Betesh, Director of Elementary Education 

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Faculty : Sarah Wilensky, Family Educator

Sarah joined the Temple Israel Education team in September 2011 after spending the last three years as the Director of Education at Congregation B'nai Yisrael in Armonk, NY. Sarah grew up in Andover, MA where her family was very active at Temple Emanuel. After receiving her BA in Theater Arts from Muhlenberg College Sarah went on to work in many Jewish organizations in the San Francisco area and in New York, where she attended the Master of Arts in Religious Education program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Sarah is a member of the National Association of Temple Educators, the Boston Area Jewish Family Educators Network, Hazon's Jewish Food Educators Network, she is a StorahTelling trained Educator and a Life Member of Hadassah. Sarah is married to Ryan Wilensky and they have a daughter, Emmy.

Contact Sarah Wilensky

Faculty : Naomi Sobel, Teen Educator

Naomi Sobel joined the Education Team at Temple Israel in July 2010, after a year's involvement in the Riverway Project. She has a long history of involvement in Jewish leadership development and organizing, having held a variety of positions at Jewish Funds for Justice, North American Union of Jewish LGBTQ Students, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice since 2003. She has taught Religious School at two synagogues (K.A.M Isaiah and Rodfei Zedek, both in Chicago's Hyde Park), holds an MA in American Studies from Columbia University and a BA in Jewish Studies and Gender Studies from the University of Chicago, and is a proud alumna of NFTY-NYC, the New York area chapter of the Reform Movement's youth wing. Naomi is also a writer and editor, and has been published in The Nation magazine and through Minuteman Media. She is excited to work with teens again, having supervised a crew of college-age interns at Boston Review magazine, where she was most recently Associate Editor.

Faculty : Esther Kosofsky, TILLI Coordinator

As coordinator of Temple Israel Lifelong Learning Initiative (TILLI), Esther is excited to be working with a community of intellectually curious members (55 and above) who are eager to share their knowledge and learn from each other. In addition to TILLI, Esther also teaches at Hebrew College's Prozdor High School, facilitates interfaith couples' discussion groups for the Union of Reform Judaism, and directs children's musical theatre. Esther lives in Amherst, New Hampshire with her husband David. 


 

Contact Esther Kosofsky


Irina Preys, Education Department Administrative Assistant

 

 

 

 

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FJECC Staff

 Helen Cohen FJECC Director

Helen has been in the forefront of shaping the direction of early childhood education in the Boston area for many years. She served as the director of a Nursery School in Brookline for more than 20 years and has been the executive director of the Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel since 1994.  Helen has a thorough knowledge and understanding of how young children learn and develop. She has been instrumental in developing early childhood curricula. She has trained and continues to train both graduate and undergraduate students at Wheelock and Hebrew Colleges. Helen's work with parents, both on a daily basis as well as in more formal settings such as workshops, lectures and parenting programs, enables her to understand the challenges of parenting and how to support parents in their complex task. 

 

Contact Helen Cohen

                                   

                                           Lisa Scott, FJECC Assistant Director

Lisa Scott has been working in Jewish Education for the past 22 years.  This is her first year as the Assistant Director of FJECC.   She began her career as a Kindergarten teacher and thoroughly enjoyed the exciting world of 5 year olds.  Due to her expansive experiences in Kindergarten she then pursued a Master's degree in Special Education and taught first through third grade in that field.  She then moved in to administration.  First,  as an Assistant Principal, and most recently Lisa was the Secular Studies Principal and coordinator of all Student Support Services at a local Jewish Day School.  She is very excited to get back to where she began her career and where she is the most passionate, working in Early Childhood Education. She looks forward to interacting with this age group and bringing her administrative experience and expertise to FJECC. 


 

Contact Lisa Scott

Ellen Forman, FJECC Judaic Coordinator

Ellen's job is to help the teachers seamlessly integrate Judaica into all aspects of their curriculum. "It is both an amazing and rewarding position.Experiencing the joy the children derive as they learn about the holidays, rituals, and Torah stories connected with Judaism is truly a gratifying event for me daily." Ellen has been involved in Jewish education for most of her life, teaching preschool, Hebrew school and first and second grades at the Solomon Schechter School of Greater Boston. She feels that every day she is able to combine her love of young children with her passion for Judaic teaching as she helps preschoolers begin their journey down the road of Jewish education.

Contact Ellen Forman

 

Becca Lewis FJECC Assistant

 Becca A. Lewis has ten years experience working as an administrative assistant. Six of those years were spent supporting a local private Jewish elementary school. Becca has her BFA in Theatre from the University of Memphis where, following graduation, she worked as a teacher's assistant in both a preschool and kindergarten.

Contact Becca Lewis


 

 

Geri Mistretta, Coordinator of FJECC Extended Day

Geri Mistretta has been an Early Childhood Eductor for the past 25 years. She joined the FJECC staff in 1996. In addition to her Blue Room teaching responsibilities, Geri is the Coordinator of our very popular Extended Day program. In this role she has had the opportunity to get to know almost all of the preschoolers in the program! The other hat that Geri wears is that of the liaison for all PTO activities. One of Geri's great pleasures is seeing "her children" grow up, whether in the Temple or around town.