Ms. Leebie Mallin is Director of College Guidance. She is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counselors, the New Jersey Association of College Admission Counselors, and Counselor Advocacy for the Jewish University Experience. She previously worked as Director of Hillel at the College of Staten Island and subsequently as Executive Director of the Hillels of Westchester Foundation, a multi-campus Hillel serving 1300 Jewish students. This experience gave her an intimate understanding of campus life, which serves her well in her work as a college guidance counselor. Ms. Mallin holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stern College, an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. in Jewish History from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, and certification in Talmud and Jewish Law from the Drisha Scholars Circle.
Ms. Margolin has served as chair of the social studies department at Katzhanelson High School and as a teaching assistant at Tel Aviv University. She has also worked at The Abraham Joshua Heschel School, where she was a Hebrew teacher. In addition, she has various work experiences outside of the field of education in the start up world. She holds an MBA and an LLB in Law and Business Management from Tel Aviv University, a teaching certificate in social studies from Beit Berl and is a member of the Israeli bar.
Mrs. Chana Meyers is Director of our Learning Center. She has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Stern College and a MS.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in learning disabilities from Hunter College. Prior to joining the Ma'ayanot faculty, Mrs. Meyers taught for 19 years at the Moriah School as a classroom teacher, student support teacher, and teacher in the maximum support of the Gesher Yehuda program. She also worked at the Stephen Gaynor School in New York.
Ms. Rebecca Mintz, Ma'ayanot Class of 2006, returned to her alma mater as a faculty member of the Math and Science departments and now serves as the Chair of the Math Department. Ms. Mintz holds an MSW from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and a B.A. from Stern College in Philosophy and Jewish Studies, where she was valedictorian in both General and Judaic Studies. She is a Shoel U'Meishiv for Drisha and Mechon Hadar summer programs and a mashgicha at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. She has also been a Fellow at Mechon Hadar, where she engaged in immersive study of Jewish texts, and at Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps Fellowship, where she studied and analyzed tools for combating poverty and building community in New York City. She has supervised the care of adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness at HASC Residential Services and has worked in a wide array of social services.
Mrs. Delia Nagar joined Ma'ayanot's faculty to teach Spanish. Born in Mexico, Mrs. Nagar studied to be a “Tecnico Profesional en Turismo,” a Professional Technician in Tourism at Colegio San Agustín in Mérida Yucatan, Mexico. She also received vocal training at the prestigious Ampaaro Rubins in Mexico City and worked for many years as a professional performer, including being the recorded voice for children’s programming for Parson Education. Most recently she has worked as a Spanish translator for early intervention programs and as a Spanish teacher for the Yeshiva Ketana of Passaic High School.
Mrs. Adeena Pultman holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a B.A. in English from Queens College. Her course Film & Law brings to life our most important constitutional rights through the use of film and other media. Mrs. Pultman has also taught Current Events at Ma'ayanot, in which she engaged her students with challenging discussions about the state of affairs in Israel, the Middle East, and throughout the world. She exhibits her great communications skills and attention to individualized instruction as a talented fitness instructor.
Mrs. Tammie Rapps has joined our English department. Mrs. Rapps most recently served as Head of School at Akiba Academy of Dallas from 2014-2018. Prior to that she worked at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, MD for 20 years, first as an English teacher and English Department Chair and then as Assistant Principal. She has also taught English at Yeshiva University High School for Girls. She has worked on the editorial board of BabagaNewz, an educational magazine and website, and created their accompanying teachers' guide. Mrs. Rapps has an A.B. in English literature from Princeton University, cum laude, and an M.A. in Secondary English Education from Teachers College of Columbia University, where she was a Mellon Fellows-in-Teaching fellow.
Mrs. Chani Rotenberg is the Chair of our History Department, Co-Director of Interdisciplinary Programming, and Co-Director of Humanities Enrichment. She graduated from Barnard College with a major in Political Science and a minor in US History, and earned two Master's Degrees: a Master's in Public Administration from NYU and a Master's in Adolescent Social Studies Education from Hunter College. Prior to joining Ma'ayanot's faculty, Mrs. Rotenberg was a student teacher of US History at Manhattan/Hunter Science High School. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Rotenberg has tutored groups of students as part of the AVID College Preparedness Program and has conducted research on various education topics, including STEM schools, teacher quality, charter schools and small high schools, at NYU's Institute for Education and Social Policy.
Mrs.ChanieSaffern, our Math Department Facilitator and teacher of AP Calculus AB, has been teaching and tutoring all levels of mathematics for over 25 years. She currently works for the district in our Learning Center building the confidence and skills of our students.She graduated from Queens College with a major in mathematics and completed her Master of Arts in mathematics education at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her thesis on math anxiety was propelled by an interest in understanding its origin and what we can do to allay it. Mrs. Saffern takes pride in her ability to convey complex information to all students by breaking it down into smaller components. She takes the time to comprehend how the individual student preliminarily understands the material. She taught all levels of mathematics classes at Ma'ayanot from Algebra through Pre-calculus in the early years of Maayanot from 1999-2005.
Mr. Yaakov Samuels teaches History and serves as the adviser for the Model U.N. team. Mr. Samuels received his B.A. in History from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He holds K-12 State Teacher Certification in Social Studies and designation as a “Highly Qualified Teacher of Social Studies” from New Jersey City University. Mr. Samuels also works with students in all grades to handle any tracking changes or residency issues. He is a practitioner of martial arts and competes in Spartan obstacle course races.
Ms. Jennifer Sanders, fondly known as "Coach Jen," serves as Ma'ayanot's Athletic Director. She teaches Physical Education in all grades as well as Health in 10th grade. She holds a B.S. in Psychology, with concentrations in sport psychology and social psychology, from the University of Florida. She is LGI/CPR/FA certified, holds Lifeguard and ACE Personal Trainer certifications, and is a Silver Sneakers Instructor. She is a personal trainer and has worked as an Aquatics Director for Camp Shalom for more than 10 years teaching swimming and supervising lifeguards. Prior to joining Ma'ayanot's faculty, Ms. Sanders worked as a Physical Education teacher at Yeshivat Noam and Ben Porat Yosef, she was the Director of Fitness, Recreation and Aquatics at the YM & YWHA in Clifton, NJ.
Mrs. Shifra Schapiro teaches Tanakh and serves as Co-Director of Professional Development, Middle States Accreditation Coordinator, and faculty adviser of Ma’ayanei Torah. Mrs. Schapiro earned her B.A. in Biology and Judaic Studies as a Distinguished Scholar from Stern College, where she was the Judaic Studies valedictorian. She earned an M.A. in Bible from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. Before coming to Ma’ayanot, Mrs. Schapiro assisted in the preparation of several volumes of the series MeOtzar HoRav: Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and she continues to edit Jewish scholarly works during the summers.
Mrs. Madeline Schmuckler, Administrative Staff, works in the front office and produces The Stream, Ma’ayanot’s online newsletter. She received her B.S. in Biology and French Language and Literature, Magna Cum Laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at City College of New York. She earned an M.A.T. in Biology and Education at Yale University and an M.A. in Educational Administration at St. John’s University in Queens. She also holds New York State Certification in Administration and Supervision.
Mrs. Esther Slomnicki teaches Biology and AP Biology, and serves as a mentor for Math and Science teachers during their first two years at Ma'ayanot. Prior to coming to Ma'ayanot, Mrs. Slomnicki worked at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, where she taught Biology and AP Biology and developed her own syllabus for teaching Genetics and Anatomy. She has also worked as a research technician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she investigated genes possibly related to prostate cancer. Mrs. Slomnicki holds a B.A. in Biology from Queens College, where she won the Laura H. and Arthur L. Colwin Prize in the Biology Department.
Mrs. Gila Stein is Science Department Chair and STEAM Department Chair at Ma’ayanot, where she also teaches Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Physics and Forensics. In addition, Mrs. Stein co-founded Ma’ayanot’s STEAM program and oversees the integration of project-based learning in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. Mrs. Stein strives to provide each of her students with a passion for science and a broad and deep knowledge of fundamental scientific principles. She has been invited to present her research and experience with other educators and students at numerous science and STEM conferences. She earned her B.A. in Biochemistry from Queens College and her M.A. in Secondary Science Education from Columbia Teachers College. In addition, Mrs. Stein conducted laboratory research for two years at Queens College and later as part of Columbia University's Summer Research Program for Science Teachers. Prior to joining Ma’ayanot’s faculty in 2004, Mrs. Stein taught Biology and Physics at the Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan.
Mrs. Shira Steinfeld is a welcome addition to our math department. Most recently, she taught high school and middle school math at Ateres Bais Yaakov in Spring Valley, NY. Passionate about math education, Mrs. Steinfeld has a Master’s Degree in Mathematics Education from Touro College (grades 7-12) and a B.A. in Education/Math from Thomas Edison State College. With more than a decade of teaching experience, she has also taught at Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway, NY, and Nefesh Academy in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to teaching mathematics in a school setting, Mrs. Steinfeld is also a certified swimming instructor, an avid hiker, and a private math tutor.
Mrs. Merav Tal-Timen is the Hebrew department Chair at Ma'ayanot. She moved to the USA from Israel in 1998 to join the Ma'ayanot faculty and since then had been teaching all levels of Hebrew in all grades as well as preparing students for the Jerusalem Exam. Mrs. Tal-Timen holds a Bachelorette degree in Education from David Yelling College for Education in Jerusalem and a Masters of Arts in Education from the JewishTheological Seminary (JTS) in NYC.
In her many years at Ma'ayanot, Mrs. Tal-Timen developed the current Hebrew curriculum and continues to upgrade and adjust it to fit the needs of our students. She implemented co-curricular activities to connect students with the land of Israel, its culture and language and is striving to maintain the close connection of her students with our national home.
In addition to teaching Hebrew language, Mrs. Tal-Timen strives to promote a love for the land of Israel and a devotion to the people of Israel in all of her classes.