A Jewish Hebrew Immersive After School Program
Our Staff and Teachers
Lori Kipnes
Executive Director
lori@keshernewton.org
(617) 244-5390
Having shepherded Kesher through a change in administration and a move back to our renovated space on the Temple Reyim/Hebrew College campus, Lori is excited about leading Kesher into a new year.
Lori joined Kesher in 2017 and has served as Director of Curriculum, Learning, and Inclusion;, Hebrew Coordinator; and a teacher. Lori reinvigorated Hebrew proficiency principles at Kesher and moved our Yahadut curriculum to full project-based learning.
Lori has experience teaching children from preschool through 8th grade in day school, supplementary school, camp and tutoring settings. She has a background in Jewish pluralistic settings, including the Jewish Community Day School of Greater Boston (JCDS) and Gann Academy. As a teacher and a parent, Lori has worked with children with many different learning styles and is well-versed in differentiated instruction and inclusion protocols. She lived, worked, and raised four children in Karmiel, Israel; two of her daughters live there still. Lori holds a Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education with a concentration in Hebrew additional-language instruction from the Delet Program at Brandeis University. She also earned a Master of Social Work from Simmons University and a BA from Wesleyan University in Women’s Studies and Religion. In her spare time, Lori enjoys reading, theater, and spending time with her family and friends.
Beth Kozinn
Education Coordinator
beth@keshernewton.org
Beth Kozinn, who has been with Kesher since 2021, is excited to be back at Kesher for another year. In addition to Kesher, Beth also supports the Temple Emanuel Religious School. A graduate of Brandeis University and Suffolk Law School, Beth has worked primarily in the non-profit sector. During her 25 years working for the Union for Reform Judaism, Beth served as a regional office manager, executive assistant, event planner, and program coordinator for Introduction to Judaism programs. When not at Kesher Beth enjoys volunteering at Temple Beth Avodah and Mayyim Hayyim Community Mikveh, gardening, reading, exercising and enjoying music. Beth lives in Newton with her husband and they have a young adult daughter who also lives in the Boston area.
Cassie Seinuk
Anafim Teacher
(grades 4-5)
Rosh Drama, Rosh Yahadut
cassie@keshernewton.org
We are thrilled to welcome back Cassie Seinuk to the Kesher team! Cassie began at Kesher in 2013 as an Assistant Shorashim teacher, and has taught Hebrew and Judaic Studies, as well as directed the Hebrew-infused Kesher musical and Kesher's arts-based learning program for many years after. Cassie is a Jewish Cuban playwright and AEA stage manager with a BA from Brandeis University with High Honors in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing, and her MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen from Lesley University. Currently, she is an Instructor of Theater Arts at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Cassie has experience working with all ages, including running youth services at Temple Reyim, and directing the Hebrew-infused musicals at Camp Yavneh and Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. Cassie lives in the metrowest area with her husband and two young children.
Saja Azem Khawaled
Ivrit Teacher
saja@keshernewton.org
Before coming to the US, Saja was an elementary school math and science teacher at the Yad b'Yad school in Jerusalem, an integrated, bilingual school for both Jewish and Arab students in Israel. Saja was also a summer science school program instructor for Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology, a children's instructor for ALUT-Israeli Society for Children with Autism, as well as a computer and robotics instructor at Taibe High School. Saja holds a B.A. in chemical engineering from Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, as well as General and Advanced teaching certificates from the David Yellin Academic College of Education in Jerusalem. Saja taught Shorashim Hebrew and was a Lifnei Kesher teacher in the Spring of 2021 at Kesher Newton. Saja currently lives in Cambridge with her husband, who is doing a post-doc at MIT, and her young daughter.
Anne C. S. Kalis
Shorashim Teacher
anne@keshernewton.org
Anne C. S. Kalis is a Jewish Educator, Songleader and Justice of the Peace who finds joy in bringing people together through teaching and music. For nearly two decades, she has worked with local synagogues by teaching tots to teens, leading services, teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies, and preparing students for their B’nai Mitzvot. Through her private business, Ceremonies by Anne, she helps families celebrate life’s milestones, from officiating customized B’nai Mitzvah ceremonies to Jewish and civic weddings. She served as Congregation Eitz Chayim’s Education Director for the past 8 years, and is so excited to embark upon a new adventure at Kesher Newton! Originally from Milwaukee, Anne holds a double degree in Secondary Education and French from UW-Madison. She is passionate about strengthening Jewish identity; and loves music, theater, travel, cooking and making challah! She lives in Newton with her husband, Newton City Councilor David Kalis. They have 2 children (Ben just graduated college and Talia is a college Junior) and 2 adorable Havanese fur babies.
Lior Perry
Ivrit Teacher
lior@keshernewton.org
Hi, I’m Lior Perry, a mom of four wonderful children. I was born and raised in Israel, and I’ve lived in Newton with my family for the past two years. I hold a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Ben Gurion University. I also studied parent guidance at the Adler Institute for two years.
I spent fifteen years in high-tech at Amdocs and Percepto, where I trained people and made complicated things feel simple. Moving here gave me the chance to make a difference and do something closer to my heart.
I love children. I love teaching, and I learn just as much from them.
Hebrew is the language of our home, and I believe children pick up a language through conversation, games, songs, and real relationships.
I see this role as a chance to connect children to Hebrew, to Jewish life, and to Israel. It feels like a calling, and it gives me real meaning and joy.
Naomi Sullum Rouach
Shorashim Teacher
naomi@keshernewton.org
Naomi Sullum is a Jewish educator with experience teaching and developing educational programs in Israel and the United States. She holds a B.A. in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an Ed.M. in Teaching and Teacher Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In Israel, she worked as a Judaics teacher and pedagogical coordinator at a pluralistic Jewish school. She also spent nearly a decade with Kids4Peace Jerusalem, developing programs and facilitating dialogue among Jewish, Muslim, and Christian youth.
Tadese Yitzhak
Ivrit Teacher
tadese@keshernewton.org
My name is Tadese, I live in Lowell with my wife and our daughter. I was born in Ethiopia and made Aliyah to Israel during Operation Moses in 1991. We moved to Massachusetts when my wife received a scholarship to pursue a PhD at UMass Lowell. I have a degree in Computer Science, and I’m passionate about learning, teaching, and explore new things. I’m excited and happy to be part of the Kesher.
Liz Levin
Project Based Learning Consultant
Liz Levin grew up in Baltimore in an active Jewish family, belonged to Jewish youth groups, and attended summer camp affiliated with Habonim Dror, a Labor Zionist organization. As a teen, Liz began working in Jewish education as a tutor and youth group counselor, and she served as a delegate to the World Zionist Congress in Israel.
In college, Liz majored in History and Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal. She holds a Certificate in Jewish Informal Education, Leadership, and Camping from Hebrew College and a Certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners from Cambridge University. She earned her MA in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College in 2014 and has been running formal and informal Jewish educational programs in the Boston area for a decade. She is currently the Jewish Experiential Educator at the JCC of Greater Boston. Liz lives in Waltham with her husband and three young daughters.