Leadership and Faculty

Rachel Greer
Teen Engagement Leader, grade 6-12, & 5th grade

Rabbi Michael Silbert
Kesher

Kathy Adams
Sprouts (pre-K)

Jolie Baron
Kindergarten

Leah Saada-Sherman
6th Grade

Alex Reeder
Music 

Susan Rizzo (Interim Education Director) 

Susan has served the Sinai community in a variety of capacities, including most recently as Trustee, Accessibility & Inclusion co-chair, and Adult Education chair.  Susan has long been drawn to education.  Her educational background already included biology, medicine, deaf education, and linguistics when, in May 2022, Susan earned an additional degree - Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies (Spertus Institute) with a Master’s Concentration in Israel Education (The iCenter).  Her Jewish learning was catalyzed by participation in the Wexner Heritage Program.  

Susan aims to share her excitement about Jewish learning with her own children - Toby (Confirmation; a third-year madrich) and Simon (Kesher; a second-year madrich) - and with yours!

Kathy Adams (Sprouts)

Kathy has been a part of the Temple Sinai team teaching our young Sprouts since September 2021.  She brings her love and passion into teaching young children. Kathy has worked in the education field for over 20+ years. She has worked at the JCC of Greater Rochester in the Wolk Children’s Center and After School Care for 11 years.  Kathy was born and raised in Rochester, NY, and she has two adult children. 

Jolie Baron (Kindergarten)

Jolie grew up in Northern California. She has a BA in Child Development and a Multiple Subject K-8 teaching credential. Most of her career was spent in the K-2nd grade classrooms in public schools as well as over 20 years teaching Sunday school. She has three adult children and 3 young granddaughters.

Barbara Schwartz (1st grade)

This is Barbara's fifth year teaching Sunday School at Temple Sinai. Before moving to Rochester, she was a teacher/director for many years at a synagogue in Jamestown, New York. Judaism is a very important part of Barbara's life. It made her feel special growing up in a small town with a very small Jewish population. Her friends all knew and respected their differences. And her synagogue felt like a big extended family! This is what Barbara enjoys most about teaching in the SJLL. Even though Sinai is larger than other synagogues she has been involved with, it still feels like a family. Barbara hopes to instill in her students a love of Judaism such as she has felt her entire life.

Bobbi Simmons-Sarnov (2nd grade) 

Bobbi has taught in the SJLL for several years, including fifth, fourth and second grades. She has a BA in Biology from the University of Rochester and conducted research and development at Bausch & Lomb before leaving to be a stay-at-home mom. Bobbi has been involved with the Temple Sinai religious school since 2007, when her daughter Hannah started first grade and her son Matthew started Sprouts. Bobbi has a second-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate and teaches karate to students ages 4 years old through adult. 

Pamela Komorowski (3rd grade) 

Pamela was an elementary school teacher for many years and has worked at Temple Sinai for several more.  She has a passion for working with children and works both as a nanny and at The Brighton Memorial Library in The Discovery Room.  Pamela likes to work in the yard/garden in good weather and enjoys crafts and jigsaw puzzles during the Rochester winters.  

Lindsey Hagan (4th grade) 

Lindsey has been involved with Temple Sinai since her family moved to the Rochester area in 1998, when Lindsey was 7 years old! Lindsey attended SJLL, was Bat Mizvah at Temple Sinai, participated in Kesher, Confirmation and Bogrim and was a Midricha. Following college, Lindsey returned to Rochester and joined the SJLL faculty in 2015 as the 4th grade teacher. Lindsey also serves as VP of Religious Practices at Temple Sinai. Lindsey enjoys spending time running, road biking and time at the beach with her dog. 

Rachel Greer (Teen Engagement Leader - Grades 6-12 and 5th grade)

Rachel has been a part of Temple Sinai since she was a little girl.  She attended the SJLL, became bat mitzvah, and served as a madricha throughout middle and high schools.  She was also part of both SAWCY and RATSY Jewish youth groups and participated in Confirmation and Bogrim.  After school, Rachel moved to Israel and taught English.  When she came back to Rochester, she substitute taught and helped out at the SJLL whenever she could.  She started teaching 2nd grade, then took a break to finish a master's degree in social work.  The school year 2022-2023 marks Rachel's fourth year teaching 5th grade.  A member of the Temple Sinai Board of Trustees and Teen Engagement Leader since 2021, Rachel works with and supervises teens creating and promoting teen-oriented social, cultural, and leadership programs.  EMAIL RACHEL

Pauline Kolman Rosenberg (assistant director and 7th grade)

Pauline is a seasoned Jewish Educator. She began teaching in synagogues in the early 1990s. She moved to Rochester in 1996 and began her career at Temple Sinai in 1997. In addition to teaching 7^th grade, Pauline taught in the Kesher program (grades 8-1) for about 20 years. She has also been the Assistant Principal for over 15 years. In that role, she mentors teachers, helps with curriculum development, and facilitates professional development for the faculty.  Pauline is also an experienced b’nai mitzvah tutor. Pauline’s love of teaching led her to spend two years at the Hillel School as the Hebrew language teacher. Pauline received the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education in 2011. As a result of this award, Pauline participated in the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers’ trip to Eastern Europe. In 2022, Pauline trained as a Teen Facilitator with the Mussar Institute.  Pauline does not only work with young people; since 2018, she has spent every Friday welcoming in Shabbat with the residents at Wolk Manor (the assisted living facility of Jewish Senior Life). Before she began teaching in synagogues, Pauline lived in Israel for several years and was a Tour Guide, licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. While in Israel, Pauline taught English. She is a qualified ESL teacher, teaching both in-person and online. She has had students from all over the world: Israel, Japan, China, and Columbia. Recently, Pauline co-founded the nonprofit Rochester’s LACE which aims to heal our community through English Language Acquisition and Cultural Exchange. Pauline has been an active community volunteer.  She has a B.A. in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College as well as certificates in TESOL (foundational and advanced) and TEFL.

Leah Saada-Sherman (6th grade)

Leah has a background in Music Education with a BA from Fredonia and an MA from the Eastman School of Music. After 8 years of teaching music in the Churchville Chili school district, she decided to temporarily step away from public school teaching when she and her husband decided to start a family.  Leah is very involved in her daughters' school, is on the board and an active member of Color Fairport Green, and is a member of the Fairport Central School District Sustainability Committee. In her spare time, Leah is part of an African drum and dance company and creates opal jewelry in her basement studio. 

Alex Reeder (music)

Alex Reeder has a degree in Music Education and Tuba Performance from the Eastman School of music. He has experience teaching music in public and private schools, as well as teaching pre-K and Kindergarten, and has taught early childhood music classes through the Eastman Community Music School for almost 10 years. He lives in Rochester with his wife Julia and children Caleb and Bella.

Rabbi Michael Silbert (Kesher)

Rabbi Silbert is an experienced educator of Jewish teens and young adults. The leader of the congregation at nearby Temple Beth David, Rabbi Silbert was previously executive director and rabbi of the University of Rochester Hillel. He earned a masters degree in Jewish studies from the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, in Newton, Massachusetts, and his undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He also holds master's degrees in management of human services and Jewish professional leadership from Brandeis University.

Rabbi Debbi Till (Kesher, Confirmation, and Bogrim)

Rabbi Till is the leader of our congregation and a dedicated educator committed to congregants of all ages and stages. She believes group study helps foster connections; as she puts it, "something wondrous occurs when people come together to study and find themselves connecting not only to tradition, but also to one another." Rabbi Till brings that sentiment to young adults, helping our post-b'nei mitzvah teens find lasting meaning and connection to Judaism and to one another. A native of Toronto, Rabbi Till graduated from the University of Toronto, continuing her studies in New York at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute for Religion where she earned her master’s degree in Hebrew Literature and Rabbinic Ordination. Read more about Rabbi Till on our clergy page.

Cantor Renata Braun (Kesher, Confirmation, and Bogrim)

Cantor Braun brings to her teaching both her love for children and her strong desire to inspire b'nei mitzvah students to remain engaged in Jewish life. Born and raised in Ukraine, she began her music studies at the age of four, ultimately receiving a master's degree in choral conducting from Donetzk State Conservatory in the Ukraine. In 1999, six years after immigrating the the United States, Cantor Braun received a master's degree in sacred music and was invested as a Cantor from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Cantor Braun brings a wide range of musical styles to her Cantorate and is a passionate advocate of children and young adults as they develop their musical and Jewish selves. She and her husband, David Braun, have two sons, Daniel and Jonathan. Read more about Cantor Braun on our clergy page.