Religious School Assistants:
Caroline Goodwin (she/her)
Caroline is so excited to work with the children of Temple Emanu-El as the Sunday Religious School Assistant! She has worked with children for eight years as a nanny and camp counselor. Since joining Temple Emanu-El in October, she has also been actively involved in supervising a USY trip to a waterpark and assisting with numerous other events. In her free time, Caroline enjoys hiking, cooking, baking, and spending time with her beloved pets — two guinea pigs, Ruth and Naomi, and a bearded dragon, Timothy. Outside of her work at the temple, she is a research assistant for Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University.
Jenna Schopen (she/her)
Jenna grew up in Chicago and went to the University of Missouri to obtain her degree in Psychology. Currently, she works as a clinical research assistant with Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. Jenna's hobbies include hanging out with friends and family, reading, playing with her dog, and diamond painting when she has the time!
Teacher Leader:
Morah Lisa Greenberg (she/her)
Lisa is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for the 7th year. She is originally from New Haven, CT and lived in Israel and New York City for many years before moving to Providence with her husband, Brian, and children, Aviv and Yael. She is a certified QED All Kinds of Minds mentor with experience teaching colleagues about learning variations/neurodiversity and how to enhance their instructional decision-making and build their professional expertise. Lisa's favorite Jewish custom is chevruta learning. She is excited to teach Jewish history because it provides context and perspective for understanding our own lives. It gives clarity to our reality! In her free time, you might find her traveling, reading, visiting museums, studying mussar, and walking her dog.
Saturday & Sunday Teachers:
Morah Niamh Maddock-Hallaren (she/her)
Niamh (Neev) will be leading the Parparim playgroup, and is so excited to get started! She grew up in RI and her favorite RI themed activity is going to the beach. She also loves drawing, reading (if you have any book recommendations), and taking care of her many pets. This is her first year at Temple Emanu-El but she is so excited to be here!
Morah Shana Newman (she/her)
Shana has been teaching at Temple Emanu-El for many years and is excited to be back co-teaching the Pre-K/K class for the second year. She is originally from Westerly, RI and now resides in Providence after time in Atlanta, Paris, and all around Israel. Shana's favorite Jewish custom is Havdallah and she loves teaching about Jewish holidays, explaining how our traditions are imbued with deep meaning in addition to being beautiful in and of themselves. In her free time, you might find her enjoying an art museum or trying new recipes.
Morah Abby Ostrovsky (she/her)
Abby will be teaching the Pre-K/k class for the 24-25 school year. She was born and raised in RI and last year moved back to the area after living in Israel for 11 years. She can't wait to do more teaching through art with the youngest kids in the religious school! In her spare time she enjoys making and selling arts and crafts.
Morah Rachael Servidio (she/her)
Rachael is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for the 2024-2025 year. She is originally from Seekonk, MA, but previously lived in New Jersey where she taught preschool at another Jewish temple. She is excited to meet new students and their families. In her free time, you can find her reading, exploring new places, and spending time with friends and family.
Moreh Jed Cosgrove (he/him)
Jed is thrilled to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El this year. He is originally from New York City and his favorite Jewish custom is Kabbalat Shabbat. In particular, Jed looks forward to teaching Jewish history and culture. In his free time, you might find Jed exploring a new area of Providence or getting coffee with friends.
Morah Sonya Rashkovan (she/her)
Sonya is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for the 3rd grade. She is originally from Odesa, Ukraine but lived in Bethesda, MD for many years. Her favorite Jewish custom is preparing and hosting Shabbat dinners. She is excited to teach about the diversity of Judaism around the world and empathy for the experiences of Jews around the world. In her free time you might find Sonya learning in the Hillel Beit Midrash, chilling on the Main Green, and taking walks to India Point Park.
Morah Rachel Metzger (she/her)
Rachel is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for the 2024-2025 year. She is originally from Los Angeles, California and her favorite Jewish custom is Shabbat dinner. She is excited to teach about Jewish traditions and customs, and learn new ones as well. In Rachel's free time you might find her hiking, reading, or trying to cook new recipes.
Morah Molly Menashe (she/her)
Molly is so excited to be a part of Temple Emanu-El’s Hebrew school this year! She is from Los Angeles, and she loves to paint, play basketball, and go to the beach. Her favorite Jewish practice is saying a blessing when you see something beautiful in nature.
Morah Tamar Chameides (she/her)
Tamar is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for her 1st year. She is originally from Los Angeles and her favorite Jewish custom is Sukkot. She is excited to teach about Mitzvot because she loves making other people feel special and valued! In her free time you might find her doing art projects and biking!
Moreh Luke Osborn (he/him)
Hailing from Northern California, Luke Osborn is a senior at RISD studying painting. He is committed to the arts and excited for his final year of school. He spends Shabbat going on long walks to explore Providence and is happy to once again have the opportunity to teach at Temple Emanu-El.
Morah Beth Breinan (she/her)
Beth is excited to be teaching again for her third year at Temple Emanu-El! She grew up in RI but left for almost 30 year. She came back to help with her aging mother and could not be happier! She has a 24 year old son who lives and works in Hartford CT. She is excited (and nervous) to be teaching 7th grade and looking forward to learning about what’s happening in the teen life in Providence! The last couple of years she has been with kindergarten through second grade and loved the students and their families. She loves visiting Israel and it’s been too long since her last visit. In her spare time, she works at Mavens delicatessen and hopes you can visit her! She is a huge fan of music and arts and tries to support live music!
Morah Gabbi Silvia (she/her)
Gabbi is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El for the 2024-2025 year! She lives in Rehoboth, MA and her favorite Jewish holiday is Hanukkah. She is excited to teach in the Makers Space because she loves teaching through art. In her free time you might find her in her craft room creating.
Morah Daisy Gilmore (she/her)
Daisy grew up in Brooklyn, New York where she later married her husband. They moved to New England after his work in the United States Navy led to their being stationed in Newport, Rhode Island. She has three children, two of which you may know-Victoria Gilmore Brier and Gabrielle Silvia. Daisy worked as a district manager for a major cosmetic company for about 20 years and taught esthetics for about 10 years. Now she teaches watercolor, acrylic, and crafts at many senior centers, and she teaches the watercolor class before Shabbat dinner at Kosher kitchen in Cranston once a month. Her love of art stems from her time in college, where she was an art major and a language minor. Daisy also lived in Israel for about 3 1/2 months just before college and worked on the kibbutz.
Hebrew teachers:
Moreh Ilan Brusso (he/him)
Ilan Brusso (he/him) is a current sophomore at Brown University and is thrilled to be returning to Temple Emanuel this fall. He has a passion for Jewish special education, having spent the last two summers as a counselor for campers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Ilan’s free time, you may find him hanging out with friends and family, biking or cooking.
Morah Julia Gallent (she/her)
Julia is a current junior at Brown University studying Psychology. She is excited to be teaching at Temple Emanu-El again, a reminder of working at her old Hebrew School back home in New York. Her favorite Jewish Holiday is Rosh Hashanah- apples and honey are so delicious! Outside of her work here, Julia loves singing, playing bananagrams, reading, and always having her nails painted.
Morah Rivkie Gerber (she/her)
Rivkie has been a teacher at Temple Emanu-El for over 25 years. Her passion and expertise is teaching Hebrew Reading and Prayers. She is an enthusiastic teacher who loves to provide her students with strong fundamental skills and inspire them through a variety of games and activities that make learning fun! In her free time she enjoys being with her grandchildren. Rivkie also finds time to do gardening and home decorating.
Morah Rina Holtzman (she/her)
Rina is excited to return to Temple Emanu-El as a Hebrew teacher. She holds a B.A. in Hebrew and Judaica from Bar-Ilan University and Hebrew University in Israel. Prior to working at Temple Emanu-El, Rina taught Hebrew, Bible studies, Siddur (prayer skills) and weekly Torah stories at Providence Hebrew Day School, and Striar Academy. Every year, Rina looks forward to getting to know her students and speaking conversational Hebrew with them. Rina really loves getting to connect with the neshama (soul) of each child as she teaches and learns from them. In her free time, Rina loves baking, singing t’filot (prayers) and Israeli songs, and needlepoint.
USY Advisor and Shabbat Youth Activities:
Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw (she/her)
Ma'ayan is a sophomore at Brown University concentrating in Religious Studies and English Literature. She grew up in Washington, DC and spent the 2022-2023 school year in Jerusalem, learning with other American and Israeli Jewish teens and traveling the country. She has participated in a plethora of Jewish programming including fellowships, Jewish sleepaway camp, and her own Jewish youth group! In her free time, she enjoys eating good cheese and dancing to bad music. She is super excited to get to know your children and plan meaningful and exciting programming for them!
