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Executive Director of Education & Administration
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Shari has worked at Ohabei Shalom for more than seventeen years in many different educational positions including Education Administrator, Youth Educator, and Family Educator. She now serves as our Education Director helping to direct our vision of Jewish Education as we enter the 21st century.
She recently completed a Masters Degree in Jewish Education and also holds a Certificate in Jewish Family Education from Hebrew College. Shari is a member of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE) the National Association Education of Young People (NAEYC) and the Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism (ECE-RJ).
Shari is a graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelors Degree in Jewish Studies and Sociology. In 1994 she studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, taking courses in Jewish Education, modern Jewish culture and Jewish history. While in Israel Shari was a Lainer intern (sponsored by the Jewish Education Service of North America – JESNA) at the National Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) office in Jerusalem and led a six week tour of Israel for 40 Midwestern High School Students. Shari has worked at various synagogues in the Boston area as a formal and informal educator for both school-aged children and adults. She has worked in a variety of camp settings and has served as a part of the administration of several camps including Camp Breakaway, a camp for underprivileged Jewish children and Camp Micah.
Shari and her husband, Mike, have three beautiful daughters, Hannah, Ashley and Julia, and a lovable dog named Moxie.
Shari can be reached at schurwin@ohabei.org.
Ansin Religious School Director
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Amy Deutsch has over twenty years of experience in Jewish education. Her passion is helping learners of all ages find their own path to Jewish life. Highlights of her career include working with college students at Tufts University Hillel, engaging teenagers across the country at the Union for Reform Judaism, teaching religious school students and creating family education programs at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, writing and editing for the Jewish parenting website Kveller.com, and consulting on various projects for The Covenant Foundation, Areyvut, and Park Slope Jewish Center. Amy’s undergraduate degree is from Brandeis University and she completed a master’s degree in Jewish education at the Davidson School of the Jewish Theological Seminary for which she received the prestigious Wexner Fellowship. She lives with her husband and two children in Brookline.
Amy can be reached at adeutsch@ohabei.org.
Director of Early Education
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Anna has been active in the field of progressive early childhood education for nearly fifteen years, in both New York City and the Boston area. She has experience in teaching and teacher supervision, emergent curriculum development, progressive Jewish education, school leadership, and expertise in the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education.
Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Barnard College and a Master of Fine Arts degree in English and Writing with a focus on Children’s Literature from the City College of New York. In 2018 Anna completed her Early Childhood Education Director II Level certification through Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University and the MA EEC.
Anna previously taught at the JCC Manhattan Saul & Carole Zabar Nursery School in New York City, and most recently served for two years as the Executive Director of The Family Cooperative, a Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood center in Watertown, MA.
Anna lives in Brookline with her husband, Nick, who is a play therapist and the school counselor at the Advent School, and Owen, her energetic two-year-old son.
Anna previously worked at TCEE, where she was a teacher, curriculum specialist, and afternoon program coordinator between 2016 and 2020, and is grateful to return to the wonderful TOS community as Director of Early Education. Her philosophy of education holds that young children come to us with their own ideas, experiences, and questions about the world and that we are their guides in turning those questions into deep inquiries and learning opportunities–TCEE is a place in which this happens on a daily basis.
Anna can be reached at agoodkind@ohabei.org.
HomeBASE Program Director
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Executive Assistant
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Daria is originally from Ohio and then spent some time in the Washington DC area before moving to Brookline more than 15 years ago. Daria has two teenage daughters in the Brookline schools (Pierce and BHS). She previously worked at the JCC Greater Boston for Camp Kingswood as the camp registrar. Daria writes, “I am grateful for the opportunity to be working at Temple Ohabei Shalom. Everyone I’ve met has already been so welcoming, and I look forward to getting to know and work with the entire Temple Ohabei Shalom community.”
Daria can be reached at dcohen@ohabei.org.
Music Educator
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Joshua Cohen brings his natural enthusiasm and creativity to Temple Ohabei Shalom as the Music Educator! Josh grew up in Northern California going to Jewish camps and participating in youth group activities. Before he knew it he had fallen in love with Jewish music, playing guitar, and singing. More than a decade later, he is excited to bring his love of spiritual music to TOS. Josh has been fortunate enough to be a Songleader for BBYO, which has allowed him to travel the country spreading ruach to Jewish young adults. Since Josh moved to Boston he has been involved with a variety of Temples in the area, but now is very happy to finally find a home at TOS.
Josh can be reached at jcohen@ohabei.org.
Director of Operations
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Cassie stepped into her role of Director of Operations in May 2023, after working as the Membership and Engagement Coordinator at TOS for the last 2 years. With a deep understanding of operational processes and a passion for finding efficient solutions, Cassie is so excited to continue working with and for the TOS community in this new role. Outside of TOS, Cassie is an avid baker, biker and loves doing 1000+ piece puzzles.
Cassie can be reached at cdezii@ohabei.org.
TCEE Assistant Director
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Emma stepped into the role of TCEE Assistant Director in 2022 after a year as TCEE Toddler Coordinator. Before coming to TOS, she spent 7 years as a toddler teacher at the Brookline-Brighton JCC ELC. She graduated from Brandeis University in 2013 with a degree in Sociology and has been working in early education classrooms ever since. Her favorite activities in the classroom are the ones that get the children involved in nature: gardening, exploring bugs and animals, and incorporating natural materials into play. Watching kids grow and learn to be independent, confident people gives her endless joy. In her free time, Emma enjoys trying out new recipes, running, and learning new art skills. She lives in Brighton with her wife and their two cats.
Emma can be reached at ehahn@ohabei.org.
Music Director
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While David Sparr grew up mostly in New Jersey (Summit and Princeton – where he learned to play piano starting at age six), he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and his maternal grandparents, Hy and Cele Orenberg, were lifelong members at Temple Ohabei Shalom.
Having worked as a full time professional musician since graduating from the University of Michigan in the 1970’s, David has had the privilege of working with a variety of musical celebrities, including Sarah Caldwell, Linda Hopkins and Joel Grey. David loves that he has been able to learn and perform a wide range of music (jazz, reggae, salsa, klezmer, opera, blues, tango, R&B, etc.) and part of his philosophy as Music Director at Temple Ohabei Shalom is to incorporate many of those influences into our liturgy to keep our music fresh, exciting, and inspirational. David says that he likes to think of making the service “dance.”
David has been the Musical Director at Temple Ohabei Shalom since 2000. When he is not playing, his recording studio, Little Dog Studios, takes up much of his time. Through his position at Ohabei Shalom he have gotten to know Cantors from all over New England, resulting in studio recording and live performing collaborations with many of them. David also devotes much of his time to arranging and composition — if you come to services on the High Holy Days you will hear many of his choral arrangements.
David can be reached at dsparr@ohabei.org.
Facility Supervisor
David has worked at Temple Ohabei Shalom since August of 2014.
Facility Associate
Elvida has worked at Ohabei Shalom since 2020.
Communications & HomeBASE Coordinator
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Carrie is originally from Louisiana and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee before moving to Boston in 2023. Carrie most recently worked at the Memphis Jewish Community Center as the Director of Aquatics and the Program Assistant.
Carrie is a member of the Davvenen Leadership Training Institute cohort 12 with ALEPH, a Mikveh guide at Mayyim Hayyim, and is excited to bring their love for Judaism and music to TOS.
Carrie can be found singing with Honorable Menschen, Boston’s premier post-collegiate Jewish a capella group. They have also been a cellist with the Germantown Symphony in Tennessee and a Soprano with the University Singers at the University of Memphis, the Memphis Symphony Chorus, and in numerous other choral and solo settings throughout their musical career. Carrie enjoys swimming, biking, walking, reading, studying Jewish texts, and playing board games with friends. Carrie currently lives in Cambridge with their adorable bunny Gilly.
Carrie can be reached at cwebb@ohabei.org.
