Kehillah High’s faculty includes a variety of unique professionals from the greater Houston community including local clergy, Jewish, and secular educators.
Take a look at our amazing Kehillah High faculty!
Katelyn Bleiweiss
Katelyn Bleiweiss is a 4th generation native Houstonian, who is proud to be serving her community. She attended HSPVA and then went on to do Young Judea Year Course in Israel. Upon her return, she attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Jewish Studies. After a few years in Austin, she returned to Houston to attend the University of Texas Health Science Center- School of Public Health, and earned her Masters of Public Health with a focus in program planning, implementation, and evaluation. As the need for suicide prevention was increasing, Katelyn was recruited into the new mental health programs department to serve as a mental health program coordinator. She is now the first and only certified Sources of Strength instructor in Texas, and is very passionate about finding the positives in life. In her free time, she likes to hike, pet dogs, play music, and create crafts.
Sheryl Eskowitz
Sheryl Eskowitz is the Education Director at Congregation Beth Yeshurun. She is a native Houstonian and has loved coming full circle to work at the synagogue she grew up in. After graduating with a degree in Elementary Education from The University of Texas at Austin, she attained her Master's Degree in Reading Education and her Mid-Management Certification. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in public school. She served as the Elementary School Principal at The Shlenker School for fourteen years and held a dual position of Acting Head of School/Elementary Principal for two of those years. She later became the Regional Director for Lonestar Region BBYO, where she worked for five years. In her spare time, she enjoys playing mah jongg and spending time with family and friends.
Cantor Kenneth Feibush
Cantor Kenneth Feibush (he/him) serves as Cantor of Congregation Beth Israel. He was ordained as Cantor at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, served congregations in Louisiana, Alaska, New York, and New Jersey, and led Passover seders in Belarus. He was a volunteer with the Memorial Scrolls Trust which allocates 1,564 Czech Torah scrolls that survived Nazi and Communist destruction. With a passion for history, language, travel, and culture, Cantor Feibush believes in finding the joy in a Jewish life while facing the challenges of the modern world. He is a graduate of Rutgers College where he served on the Rutgers Hillel board and produced a concert with YouTube star Miranda Sings with his a cappella singing group. While he does not drink coffee nor know how to ride a bike, Cantor Feibush is excited to connect with Kehillah High and connect individually with Houston Jewish High Schoolers.
Melissa Cohen-Nickels
Originally from Libertyville, Ill., Cohen-Nickels earned her B.A. in history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She earned her Master’s of Education from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Cohen-Nickels came to the Houston area to teach history in 2007. She taught for 10 years in Fort Bend ISD, serving as Social Studies Department chair for three years. Most recently, she taught history at The Emery/Weiner School. Today Cohen-Nickels is the curator of the Joan and Stanford South Texas Jewish Archives at Rice University. As the curator of STJA, she strives to collect, preserve, and educate others about the many stories of the South Texas Jewish community. On Sundays, Cohen-Nickels teaches at the religious school for Congregation Beth El in Missouri City. She loves history and travel and was selected as a Fulbright-Hays scholar to Greece and Turkey in 2011. She also has worked closely with the Houston World Affairs Council as a member of its Core Teacher Council, creating programming and curriculum.
Ari Schroder
Dr. Schroder holds a BA in Criminal Justice, MA in Criminology, and completed his PhD in Juvenile Justice at Prairie View A&M University, where he taught criminal justice classes. He has previously worked with at-risk, court-involved, exceptional, and special education youth, alongside summers working with youth in Israel. He now works as a research scientist in the criminal justice/mental health field. He enjoys House music, Doctor Who, soccer (FC Bayern Munich!), and traveling the world. Depending on the weather, he also loves to bike, hike, fish, and/or camp. He keeps kosher, attends weekly Torah lessons, is active in the young Jewish professional community in Houston, and enjoys helping pass down our Jewish values, customs, and traditions to our next generation.
David Scott
David M. Scott, RJE is the Director of Lifelong Learning & Engagement at Congregation Beth Israel. He has served the congregation full time since January 2014, after practicing law for thirteen years. In 2017, he graduated from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Executive Master’s (EMA) Program with a Master of Arts Degree in Religious Education in 2017 and subsequently received his RJE certification in 2018. He also serves as a national Board Member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE). David completed his undergraduate studies with a major in Government at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 followed by a law degree at the University of Houston Law Center in 2001. David is also an alumnus in the Wexner Heritage Foundation class of 2006. David enjoys music, playing piano, performing magic, and is a licensed hypnotist. He also enjoys working with his wife, Rabbi Adrienne Scott, who is Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, and they have two children, Beryt and Ezra.
Rabbi Samuel Rheins
Rabbi Rheins grew up in Denver, where both of his parents are Reform rabbis. He grew up in the Reform movement, attended Reform Jewish summer camp, and graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder, with a major in history and a minor in Jewish Studies in 2017. After college, he spent a year in Israel at Pardes Institute for Jewish Education before entering rabbinical school at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem and Cincinnati.
Rabbi Rheins enjoys being with people, preparing for his role as rabbi on the bimah, teaching Torah to all ages, engaging with children, and sharing his joy of Judaism. Rabbi Ranon Teller
Rabbi Ranon Teller is the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Brith Shalom in Bellaire, Texas, where he has served for the past 19 years. Rabbi Teller earned a master's degree in education from the Fingerhut School of Education where he received the Fingerhut School of Education Award for Outstanding Achievement. He earned his rabbinic ordination from Ziegler School of Rabbinic studies where he received with the Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence.
Rabbi Teller serves as a guest lecturer at Rice University. He is a Past President of the Houston Rabbinical Association and co-author of the book Peaceful Bones. Rabbi Teller is a guitar player, a songwriter, and a juggler. |
Barrie Skalsky
Barrie Skalsky is a dedicated community leader with experience in program development, education, and social media. As the Teen Program Supervisor at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, she creates and leads social, leadership, and philanthropy programs for teens, while managing large events like summer camps. Barrie has also taught Judaic Studies at Goldberg Montessori School, interned with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in Learning and Development, and managed social media for Gotham Image Works. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Houston.
Rabbi Sarah Fort
Rabbi Sarah Fort is an associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Yeshurun. She graduated from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California in 2017, and holds a BA in Government and International Politics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. A native of the DC area, Rabbi Fort spent years working in Jewish formal and informal education: youth group advisor, religious school instructor, Hillel president, and assistant preschool teacher. While in rabbinical school, Rabbi Fort was awarded the Jacob Pressman Award in Homiletics, interned at Shomrei Torah Synagogue, and had the opportunity to travel to Birobidzhan, Russia to serve as a camp rabbi at the JDC Bar/Bat Mitzvah Family Camp. She loves binge-watching TV, cooking, and traveling the world with her son David.
Mike Mason
Mike Mason is the Director of Young Family Education and Music Engagement at Congregation Beth Israel. He also spends part of his summer as the Music Director at Greene Family Camp. Mike has been songleading in a Jewish setting for a long time and believes that music has the power to bring people together.
McKenzie Sigle
McKenzie currently serves as an Assistant Director at URJ Greene Family Camp focused on hiring and supporting the best counselors and staff members. Residing in Houston during the year and working with the Houston Jewish community, McKenzie feels fortunate to be able to create camp magic all year long! Prior to her current role at Greene, McKenzie was a student at the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!) studying elementary education and Religious School Director at the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation. During her free time, McKenzie enjoys yoga and exploring the best of Houston parks!
Lisa Stone
Lisa Stone is a native Texan and a Jewish educator since age 14, when she became a teaching assistant at Congregation Emanu El. Lisa graduated from Yale with a BA in “Literature and Society” and later a Masters in Public Health. Since returning to Houston, she served as Upper School Principal at Emanu El from 1992-2012. She now works for ADL, the Anti-Defamation League, which has been fighting prejudice and hate since 1913. She is very happily married to Scott Cantor, an enthusiastic karaoke singer, volunteer at Congregation Beth Israel and professor of medical decision making; together they have three wonderful adult children. In her spare time, Lisa really enjoys being in the mountains, yoga, exercise while reading science fantasy by women writers, and knitting while watching movies or traveling!
Dr. Stephan Wexler
Dr. Stephan Wexler has been a member of Congregation Beth Israel since the 1960s. After retiring from Plastic Surgery practice in 2001, Dr. Wexler went on to receive a masters degree in Theatre, an MBA and a JD. He has been teaching religious school since 2002. Among the many hats he wears, Dr. Wexler practices Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law working with authors, artists and musicians, teaches Art Law at Glassell School of Art, is Chief Medical Officer for Arcos, a local startup designing software for critical care medicine and he started a legal aid clinic for patients at Legacy Community Health.
Dolph Simon
Dolph Simon has been teaching religious school for 15 years. He was recognized as one of the 2016 Irving L. Samuels Outstanding Teachers for Judaic Studies award recipients. When not teaching religious school, he works for a steel company where he trains personnel, manages sales representatives, develops large accounts and directs change management. Dolph is married and is the proud father of four children, three turtles, two dogs, and one snake. His hobbies include: golf, tennis and cooking.
Rabbi Adrienne Scott
Rabbi Adrienne Scott is the Senior Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, she received her B.A. with Honors in Judaic Studies in 1998. Rabbi Scott served a one-year fellowship with the Hillel Foundation of Greater Houston, working as a Jewish Campus Service Fellow focusing on outreach programming for the undergraduate students at Rice University and the University of Houston. She received her ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and served student pulpits in Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, and Florida. Additionally, she was very involved in both choral and orchestral groups. Rabbi Scott has been recognized as a Woman of Influence by the National Council of Jewish Women.
Erica Winsor
Erica was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010 with degrees in Psychology and Jewish Studies and graduated from South Texas College of Law Houston in 2013. Erica was an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County from 2013-2023. She tried over 25 misdemeanor and felony jury trials and spent 7 years of her prosecutorial career handling a specialized caseload of offenders with severe mental health diagnoses. Erica coauthored a textbook, Mental Health Law for Prosecutors, which was distributed to every prosecutor in the State. Erica was the chair of The Houston Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division from 2015-2016. She has been involved in Antidefamation League from an early age, first as a high school intern in the Southwest Regional Office, then as a college intern in the DC Counsel’s office, as a participant in the Glass Leadership Institute, as an Associate Board member and chair, and now as a Southwest Regional Board member. Erica was married to her husband, Lawrence, one month before the COVID pandemic began, and her biggest accomplishments are her two children. Erica now serves as the Public Affairs Officer at the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.
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Carol Lahana
Carol Lahana is a native Houstonian who grew up attending Congregation Brith Shalom. Carol was involved in USY and was on the original Kehillah High Leadership Team when Kehillah High started in 2015. She attended UT Dallas to obtain her BA and MS in Criminology. While there, she was very involved with Hillel, even serving as Jewish Life Coordinator for her last semester. During the week, Carol currently works for The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Carol is very excited to be back at Kehillah High, this time as an instructor. She hopes to bring her experience as a Kehillah High alum to continue making Kehillah High amazing.
Rabbi Gideon Estes
Rabbi Gideon Estes is the Rabbi of Congregation Or Ami, a Conservative Synagogue in West Houston. Rabbi Estes was Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2010. He got his BA from UCLA in 2003 in Jewish Studies. He is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is very excited to be teaching at Kehillah High.
Murray Adelstein
Murray has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work. He has a wife of 40 years, Sandy, a son Zach, daughter Brittany, son-in-law Jessie, and two dogs, Bonnie and Clyde. Murray currently works for Kuraray, a global manufacturing organization. He serves as the Learning and Development Specialist for Kuraray America.
For over the past 50 years Murray has worked with Jewish children and youth, professionally and as a volunteer. His experience includes working at the JCC Dallas day camp as a Counselor, Unit Head and Assistant Director. He has served as a Religious School Teacher and Educational Director at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin. He was a NFTY Regional Advisor, and Unit Head at Greene Family Camp. In Houston, he worked at the JCC for 8 years in rolls including Director of Children and Youth and Director of the Day Camp at the Gordan Campsite. He was a Religious School Teacher, and volunteer NFTY Advisor for 10 years at Congregation Beth El. He is currently starting his 10th year as a BBYO Advisor, for Douglas Loeb AZA. He has staffed two BBYO international conventions, substituted at Emery Middle and High School. Additional roles include leading 4 Birthright trips to Israel, and serving as Director of Education and Youth at Congregation Or Ami for 7 years. Joseph Mabry
Joseph Mabry is a third-generation Houstonian committed to public service and Jewish communal leadership. Joseph received a B.A. in Government with a minor in Hebrew from the University of Texas at Austin in 2021. He also earned a commission as an Infantry Officer in the Texas Army National Guard through Texas Army ROTC. Before attending university Joseph participated in City Year Americorp teaching fifth grade students and running afterschool programs in the South Bronx. Joseph deployed in 2023 as part of Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo leading a Liaison Monitoring Team to work with local civic, community, and religious leaders to improve peace and stability in the Balkans.
Joseph participated in BBYO in Houston before moving on to multiple leadership positions with San Antonino and Texas Hillel. Joseph joined the inaugural cohort of Roland S. Lauder fellows at the World Jewish Congress partnering participating in the 75th Liberation of Auschwitz Ceremony. Joseph was also awarded the Army Achievement Medal for his exceptional service as the Jewish Distinctive Religious Group Leader, programming Jewish services with the Chaplain throughout the duration of his deployment. Cantor Mark Levine
Cantor Mark Levine is the Director of Education at Congregation Brith Shalom. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the State University of New York and a Judaic degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary, he earned a master's degree as a Chazan at the Manhattan School for Cantors. Cantor Levine has taught in Religious Schools, Day Schools, and The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning programs across the country. He has led several teen trips to Israel and worked for more than 15 years at Camp Ramah. Cantor Levine brings a burning passion for Jewish learning, psychology, and professional sports, all of which he utilizes in his teaching.
Rabbi Steven Morgen
Rabbi Steven Morgen is an Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Yeshurun. He graduated from UCLA School of Law and practiced corporate and securities law in Los Angeles for over nine years. Rabbi Morgen was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1998. He has written action papers for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism on "Courtesy and Civility" and on "Organ Donations" and wrote and edited the text for a CD ROM on Kashrut for the Conservative Movement. Rabbi Morgen coordinates Adult Education programs at Beth Yeshurun and runs the Conversion Program for those interested in joining the Jewish faith and people. He is married to Cantor Diane Dorf. Their son Daniel is a Kehillah High alum.
Rabbi Brian Strauss
After serving for 18 years as one of Congregation Beth Yeshurun’s associate rabbis, Rabbi Brian Strauss became the new senior rabbi on August 1, 2018. His number one goal as the senior rabbi is to bring the wisdom and richness of the Jewish tradition to your life. In our busy, modern day world, he strives to be there to help you make sense of your daily struggles -- To show you that Judaism has much to say to bring more meaning to your life. He is the author of the new book, “To Life, To Family, To Me: 6 Keys to a Good Family Life.” Rabbi Strauss grew up in Dallas and was very active in BBYO serving as the president of the Dallas Council. He is a graduate of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu and president of the UT Hillel. He is still a huge Longhorn fan. Rabbi Strauss was selected as the winner in the men’s spiritual leader category in Houston’s city-wide “Gen Next” contest, which recognizes Jewish professionals in their twenties and thirties. He was also a member of the prestigious program Rabbis Without Borders, sponsored by the National Jewish Center for Learning & Leadership (CLAL). Rabbi Strauss is married to Lisa Shapiro Strauss, a practicing attorney and a previous fellow in the Wexner Heritage Program. They have three children.
Tamara Richter
Tamara Richter has been involved in education for over 12 years, teaching and conducting research. Her interest in intercultural learning environments has led her to study in 6 countries: the USA, Mexico, Israel, Argentina, Copenhagen, and Spain, giving her a global perspective on education. Growing up in a "Jewish bubble" in Mexico City has instilled in her a deep sense of belonging to the international Jewish community. Tamara's quest for understanding her identity has motivated her to explore the intersection of Zionism, Nationalism, and Jewish identity through her academic research. Her passion for education began in high school with her involvement in Jewish non-formal education as a youth leader in Hanoar Hatzioni. She has never ceased to be amazed by the power of experiential learning. Besides her work in education, she is also a certified yoga teacher with over a decade of experience. Tamara believes in integrating yoga and meditation into her teaching, as she considers these practices instrumental in guiding her through life's challenges. Since relocating to Houston in 2022, she has fully embraced the city's offerings and looks forward to connecting with the local Jewish youth.
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