Alana Kardon Adams -

A graduate of the Temple Beth-El Religious School and Confirmation program, Alana returns as a classroom teacher.  She will teach both 5th grade Judaics and Gimel level Hebrew studies. 

Dylan Ashworth is on his second stint as a religious school teacher here at Temple Beth-El. In the past, he has taught grades 2nd and 3rd. He presently teaches 8th grade on Sundays and Pre-Confirmation.

Currently, Dylan is an assistant Pre-Kinder teacher at the JCC school for young children. A newly wed, he also enjoys traveling and watching his favorite sports teams.

Rabbi Allison Bergman Vann joined our Temple staff in July of 1999, after ordination from the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in June, 1999. Rabbi Bergman is the first ordained female rabbi to serve in San Antonio. A native of Easton, Pennsylvania, she earned her B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. While at Hebrew Union College, Rabbi Bergman served several student congregations, including Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, Ontario; Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana; Mt. Zion Temple in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Anshe Emeth Congregation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In addition, she has taught extensively in the Jewish community. Rabbi Bergman currently serves on the Boards of Jewish Family and Children's Service and the San Antonio Association for Jewish Education (SAAJE).

Cindy Berman -

Cindy is taking a leave of absence this school year to be a mommy!  We look forward to her return as our Family Education Specialist.

Rabbi Barry H. D. Block has served Temple Beth-El in San Antonio since 1992, and became the congregation's Senior Rabbi in 2002. A Houston native, Rabbi Block received his undergraduate education at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated magna cum laude and was tapped to phi beta kappa . He was ordained in 1991 at the New York Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, after having been awarded the degree, Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, at the Los Angeles Campus in 1988.

Rabbi Block serves Reform Judaism nationally and regionally as Chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis' Resolutions Committee and Treasurer of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis. He represents his colleagues throughout Texas and Oklahoma as Rabbinic Advisor of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Greene Family Camp for Living Judaism in Bruceville, Texas.

Locally, Rabbi Block is a Director of Methodist Healthcare Ministries and serves on the Board of Governors of the Methodist Healthcare System. He is a Past Board Chair of Planned Parenthood of San Antonio and South Central Texas and currently serves as Secretary of Family Planning Associates of San Antonio. He serves on the Boards of the American Jewish Society for Service, the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, and United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.

Rabbi Block is married to Toni R. Dollinger Block, M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice. They are the parents of two sons, Robert and Daniel.

Ginny Burris - has worked at Temple since her Confirmation, first as a ma'aseh, then as a teacher's assistant, a storyteller, historian, and now office assistant. She loves seeing children grow up through pictures and helping the new generation see their own talent and fun.

Calla Pfeifer-Campos:

Yes, she added another name after her marriage last Spring!  Calla is teaching Kindergarten this year at Temple Beth-El.  She was confirmed at Temple Beth-El.  During the week, she teaches at the JCC Block and Dreeban School for Young Children.  She previously worked with school age and middle schoolers in the youth department at the JCC.  She also spent nine years as a Girl Scout leader.  She has two children, Stormy and Elijah.

Rachel Gray-Castro:

Rachel shares her experience as a public school teacher with our third graders as she helps them explore what it means to be Jewish in San Antonio.  Rachel is married to Jesse, and is active in the the San Antonio Writers Guild.

Jessica Dangott :

Returning after a semester of studies in Israel, Jessica will be adding her personal Israel experiences to enrich the 5th Grade class curriculum.  She will also assist in teaching Bet level students the basics of Hebrew prayer.

Katie Denton -

Katie is a Senior at UTSA.  She returns as a first grade teacher this year.  She is from north Houston and helped with 7th and 5th grades for three years.  She has also served as a counselor at Greene Family Camp summer sessions.

Vicki Jo Meyerson-Garcia: has s earned a B.S. degree in Health Education and Kiniseology, with a minor in Chemistry, from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has also completed post-graduate work in Educational Counseling. In the past, she has taught high school chemistry and biology and also taught preschool at Gan Gani and the Agudas Achim Jewish Preschool. Over the years, Vicki has taught art at Temple and swimming and gymnastics at the Jewish Community Center. This will be her ninth year teaching in our Religious School.

Dena Hoenig Valdez, M. Ed.

Dena is taking a leave of absence this year to be a mommy. 

Dena has been a Temple member since she was 17 months old! She celebrated her Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation at the Temple. She has worked at the Jewish Community Center and Greene Family Camp. Dena has been teaching in the Religious school for six years. She loves children and she looks forward to another successful year. Dena is also the Director of the Heintz Preschool at Congregation Agudas Achim.

Gesena Houy -

Gesena has a son, Bodie, and a daughter, Charity with her husband Robert.  She is eager to work with the young people in 6th grade to develop a love of Jewish learning through prayer and communal worship.

Spring Janiszeski:

Spring leads our music program each Sunday morning, backed up by the voices and instruments of our ma'aseh music team.  During the work week, Spring teaches the children at the Block-Dreeben Early Childhood Center at the JCC.

Natalie Joss

Natalie is taking this medical leave this school year to fully recover from back surgery.  We pray for her continued recovery and a return to full strength!

Natalie is the recepient of the of the national Grinspoon Award for Teaching Excellence. She has a combined total of over 20 years as a Religious School and Hebrew school teacher at Temple for 20 years.  A former member of the Religious School Committee and Board of Trustees, her contributions included developing Yachad and chairing the Refurbishment Committee for the Temple's Religious School in the mid- 80's. She is married to Alan Joss, and they are the proud parents of two children, Kevin and Elisha, and the latest addition to their family, their wonderful son-in-law, Greg Stigall.

Hagit Lifschitz is a native Israeli who holds a B.A. from Hebrew College in Brookline, Massachusetts, and another from Pardes Ha-Gedud in Netanya, Israel. She has over 25 years teaching experience. She has taught at Jewish Day Schools and at Hebrew schools, tutored B'nai Mitzvah students, taught adult classes and given numerous in-services. Hagit and her husband moved to San Antonio four years ago. Hagit teaches at the EKA, Temple, and the Jewish Federation.

Rachelle Mann is a native of San Antonio, whose Confirmation picture hangs along the Temple's wall with those of her two daughters. She is a Temple member who has worked with the Preschool at the Jewish Community Center. She has taught Religious School at Temple for over 20 years. It has been her privilege to watch many of your sons and daughters grow up into young adults, and she is proud to have had a part in their Jewish education.

Heather Marcks:

Heather is a sophomore at UTSA.  A former Hebrew teacher at her home congregation, Heather has also been a counselor at Greene Family Camp.  This year, she will teach both Dalet level Hebrew and 6th grade Judaics.

Kellie Ojeda Johnson -

Kellie is taking a leave of absence to be a mommy!  We hope she will return next school year when the newest addition to their family gives her a little more "free" time.

Kellie has held several positions in our school -- 4th grade teacher, pre-Confirmation teacher, and now Sunday assistant to the Education Director. During the week, she is a high school teacher and tennis coach at Lee High School. Kellie is married to a wonderful guy named Patrick and they share three awesome dogs: Libby, Willie, and Waylon. Kellie has two children, Barrett, 2 years, and Landry, 8 weeks. Kellie's favorite hobbies are hiking, fishing, camping, playing tennis, and spending time with friends and family. She is a graduate of Texas Tech University and holds a Master's degree in Education from Southwest Texas State University.

Teresa Parker - Teresa Parker joined the Temple Beth-El team on July 1, 2004, after completing the Joint Masters program in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education and a second degree from the School of Jewish Communal Service, both on the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Prior to entering HUC-JIR, Teresa worked at Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, TX. A native of Dallas, where her two daughters, two brothers, and mother still live, Teresa feels very blessed to be able to return to her home state of Texas and make her new home in San Antonio.

Rebekah Planto -

Rebekah Planto is a San Antonio native who grew up attending Religious School at Temple Beth-El. In 2006, she received a B.A. in Individualized Study from New York University (NYU), where her areas of interest included Cultural Anthropology, Visual Art, and Psychology. Rebekah's lifelong passion for art and interest in working with children has led her to teaching art and craft classes at Alamo Heights ISD's "Summer at Heights" programs, at Paint, Paper, Scissors, and at Temple Beth-El Religious School. Presently, she is teaching 2nd grade at the Eleanor Kolitz Academy.  She has also worked extensively with children as a camp counselor, substitute teacher, and as a nanny and babysitter, both in San Antonio and New York . As an artist, Rebekah enjoys drawing, painting, collage and experimenting with other media and handcrafts.

Dr. Roxanne Henkin - Chair of the Religious School Committee.

Scott Reiner -

Scott is a Senior at UTSA.  He is from Sugarland and has worked as a 1st grade teacher in our school for the past two years.  He has worked as a counselor at Greene Family Camp.    He is super excited for this school year!

Hilla Tuller Revell, originally from Herzliyah, Israel, recently moved to San Antonio with her husband, Dennis, whom she met in Israel several years ago. She previously lived in Los Angeles and studied at Santa Monica College. She is planning to study communications in San Antonio. She likes dancing.

Marlene Reynolds - Marlene Reynolds is the librarian of the Bendiner Library.  She has been a librarian at the Wilson County Library and a school librarian.  She also works part time at the Beldon Library at the Jewish Community Campus.  She hopes everyone will check out the Bendiner Library and see the many wonderful items in the collection.

Cathy Rosenthal - Cathy shares her love of animals, the environment, and studying World Religions and how they are a part of the San Antonio culture with our Pre-Confirmation Students.  She is the mother of Elliott, a 2006 Confirmation Student and Ma'aseh.

David Rubenstein:

Jeff Shapiro -

Jeff is teaching 7th grade this year at Temple Beth-El.  He is eager to share his knowlege of Holocaust studies with his students.

Jeff  has lived in San Antonio for ten years and is active in the Jewish community.  He is currently the chair of the Federation's San Antonio Association for Jewish Education.  In his professional life, Jeff provides training to local companies through his management consultant firm. 

Amy Strickland:

cooking specialist

Amy Rubenstein Strickland has taught at Temple Beth-El for the last 25+ years in several capacities.  For the last three years she has shared her talents and creates a wonderful cooking experience with all our students.  They make great Jewish foods for holiday celebrations and life-long memories.

Daniel Vela

Daniel is the Hebrew enrichment specialist for students in the Mitkadem Hebrew program.  Starting in the fall of 2009, he will also be teaching a 3rd grade Judaics class at Temple Beth-El.  He is a software engineer by training, and is also a member of Temple Beth-El's volunteer choir.

Tim Williamson:

Tim, has done volunteer work with youth groups, Boy Scouts, and foreign exchange student programs.  An electrical engineer by formal training, he is currently employed by CPS Energy.  Tim is active in the Temple Brotherhood.  He is married to Lori who is a member of Sisterhood and sings with Kol Simcha.   Together, Lori and Tim have one son, Daniel.