Hebrew School Teaching Staff

My name is Leo Fuhrman, and it is my great honor to be your new Interim Education Director.  I was born in Argentina and moved to Israel when I was 3 years old, where I lived until 2015. In seventh grade I joined NOAM, the sister youth movement of USY, where I became a counselor and joined the Garin Nahal program. Through this program, I lived and volunteered on Kibbutz Ketura for a year before completing my military service in the IDF. I then went back to volunteer again on Ketura, where I met my wife, Vivian. 

I earned my bachelor’s degree in education and linguistics from Ben Gurion University. In 2015 I moved to the states and earned an MBA and master’s in Jewish Professional Leadership at Brandeis University. I then spent five years as the Education Director at Congregation Beth Am Israel near Philadelphia. Since 2022 I have worked in BBYO as the Senior Regional Director for Liberty Region and as Director of Congregational Learning at Marlboro Jewish Center. In my little spare time, I love to play guitar, watch soccer and Football (Go Birds!), ride my bicycle, and cook.

I am excited to start on this journey with you and am looking forward to meeting everyone.

Mira has been a Hebrew School teacher for 33 years, teaching the same 5 year old class for 26
years straight. She started out assisting in a Sunday School program and in recent years, taught
Aleph and Bet. She also works as a building substitute teacher in an elementary school. She
enjoys swimming, baking, playing the piano and volunteering at an animal shelter. She is
looking forward to teaching at Ohev Shalom, where she was a member of USY.
 

Robin has been a Hebrew School teacher for 20 years as well as a preschool teacher for the past 20 years. Additionally for the past 20 years, she has worked with young children in a day camp setting. She has taught Sunday school to various grades including first and second, at local Bucks County synagogues. Robin is married for 30 years and has two children who are both college graduates. Her daughter Morgan is a teacher assistant and starting a masters program in special education, and her son Max works for Disney World in photography and as a sports mascot in the Orlando area. Robin is excited to a part of the Ohev Hebrew School team for the third year, and can’t imagine doing anything more rewarding than working with young children all year long!

Stacey Salsman and I grew up in the Philadelphia Jewish community, attending a conservative synagogue and graduating from Gratz College. For much of the past decade, she has worked for a conservative synagogue, planning and coordinating services and programs for many holidays and special events. Before that, she taught Hebrew school in Arlington, VA, when my family lived in the Washington, DC area. I graduated from the George Washington University, where I majored in marketing and minored in communications.

Galit received her BA in Jewish Studies and a Certificate of Special Education in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. She has worked for several area schools including Perelman Jewish Day School as an Assistant Hebrew Teacher where she was for 11 years.  Galit mainly worked in the lower grades teaching Jewish Holidays, Hebrew language and traditions.  She also taught Hebrew at Gratz College Ulpan for adults, which was mainly conversational Hebrew and grammar. She is very excited to begin her 10th year teaching at Ohev Shalom Hebrew/Religious School.  She enjoys working with the kids and sharing with them her love of Judaism and Israel.

marla gelfont

Marla earned a Masters of Jewish Liberal Studies in 1997 and earned 30 credits past her Master’s.  Coursework included the study of the Holocaust.  She also studied Secondary Education Foreign Language at Temple University with a Pennsylvania certification to teach Spanish and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1990.  She graduated Gratz Hebrew High School in 1985.  Marla has been teaching Hebrew school since 1987 and has been with Ohev Shalom since 1997.  During the school year, Marla is a Spanish teacher at Northeast High School and has been with the Philadelphia School District since 1990.  Her passion is Spin so she teaches three cycle classes per week at LA Fitness.

Listen and read about our own Morah Marla Gelfont on KYW as Philly Fan of the Week

Suzanne collaborates and partners with the Education Director; Staff; families and clergy to design appropriate, supportive environments and accommodations for students in need of specially designed instruction.  She reviews existing student’s Individual Educational Plans (IEP), 504 Plans and Individual Health Plans that are shared by families and collaborate with teachers to design Hebrew School Action Plans (HSAP).  Additionally, she works closely with the madrachim (teen assistants) to help implement a meaningful, positive program for identified students.  Suzanne is also the Celebrations! @Ohev  Program Coordinator  Celebrations! @Ohev meets monthly for children designed  with cognitive, neuro-behavioral, sensory or physical disorders.  Suzanne contributes to JkidAcess.org preparing material about Jewish Holidays and Values.  She also presents professional development for Jewish Learning Venture making the classroom inclusive for all students within their sacred communities.  Suzanne is a retired Demonstration Special Education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia.  She has enjoyed teaching students diagnosed with a diverse levels of disabilities, including students diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and developmental and intellectual disabilities.  She and her husband Larry are members of Ohev Shalom for over 3 decades.  Her children Ariel and Jeffrey attended Hebrew School and Confirmed at Ohev Shalom.