YOU Lead 2023 - 2024 Mentors

Tamar is the Director of Education at Hidden Sparks, an organization that partners with Jewish day schools to increase their capacity to serve all learners. Previously, she was the Associate Principal of Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls for 12 years. Tamar believes that communication and understanding one’s own areas of strength and opportunities for growth are crucial components of leadership development. Tamar was a member of the 2015-2016 YOU Lead (then YU Lead) cohort and then served on the editorial board of the Prizmah journal HaYidion. She also participated in the 2018 Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Summer Institute for Principals. Tamar has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband and sons in Englewood, NJ.

Rabbi Maccabee Avishur serves as principal at Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, New Jersey and as a consultant for Prizmah, with a focus on leadership development. Previously, Rabbi Avishur worked for the YU School Partnership and served as both a senior school leader and classroom teacher in California, Texas and Michigan. Maccabee is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Cambridge; he received semichah from Dayan Ephraim Greenblatt, zt”l. He did postgraduate work in Near Eastern languages and cultures at UCLA and is currently in the dissertation phase of the doctoral program in educational leadership at Yeshiva University.

Ilisa believes that inspired, informed, and supported Jewish day school leaders are the key to healthy schools. As the Senior Vice President, Engagement at Prizmah, Ilisa works to help sustain and advance Jewish day school leadership through coaching and through serving as the director of YOU Lead, Prizmah’s signature leadership development program. Ilisa is a former head of school, an alumna of Cohort 4 of DSLTI (Day School Leadership Training Institute), and a sought after leadership coach with over 18 years of experience in Jewish education. She is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University and holds a master’s in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Ilisa earned her certificate of nonprofit board consulting from BoardSource and consults regularly with schools on governance. She is certified in The Leadership Circle Profile™ and earned a certificate in leadership coaching from Georgetown University. Ilisa is also an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Ilisa is deeply committed to developing strong lay-head partnerships and creating conditions in schools where leaders can thrive.

Gavi has spent nearly a decade of her career working for the vitality of Jewish day schools, and is deeply committed to the future of the field. She is thrilled to support the growth and development of day school leaders as part of the Deepening Talent team at Prizmah. She is a proud Jewish day school alumna, and a graduate of the DeLeT (Day School Leadership Through Teaching) program at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Prior to joining the Prizmah team, Gavi worked in enrollment management, fundraising, and community engagement for schools and nonprofit organizations in San Francisco and Boston. Most recently, she served as the Assistant Head of School and Director of Admissions at JCDS, Boston’s Jewish Community Day School. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a Certificate in Jewish Day School Teaching from HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Emerson serves as the Principal for General Studies at the Yeshiva University High School for Boys (MTA) in Manhattan, NY. Prior to his arrival at MTA, Dov was the Assistant Principal at DRS HALB Yeshiva High School and Head of School at YULA Boys High School. Dov holds Master’s Degrees in Education and Social Work. Dov has benefited from a wide array of professional growth opportunities, including at Harvard’s Graduate School for Education, the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) Cohort 10, as well as the 2013 cohort of YOULead (formerly YULead). Dov and his wife Rina reside in Bergenfield, NJ and have five children.

Dr. Sandel is the Head of School at Brandeis Marin, a K-8 Jewish day school located in San Rafael, CA. Peg is honored to serve on the faculty of Prizmah’s YOU Lead program, where she enjoys working with school leaders to develop their leadership practice. She is particularly passionate about  building and sustaining healthy school cultures, giving effective feedback, building strong teams, and bringing a coaching stance into supervision. Peg has been working in Jewish education for 30 years in a variety of settings. Prior to arriving at Brandeis Marin in 2014, Peg served as the Dean of Jewish Studies and Hebrew at the Jewish Community High School where she also taught Jewish Thought and Philosophy for 10 years. Peg earned her PhD in Jewish Studies from U.C. Berkeley in 2002. In her free time, Peg loves hiking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Jane is the senior mentor for DSLTI and a mentor in the You Lead Program. Jane is a leadership coach who works primarily with leaders in Jewish day schools to leverage their unique talents and skills. Whether working with heads of school, board chairs, principals, or teachers, Jane believes that each successful leader has his or her own authentic style that is often tied to the culture and beauty of the school. Leadership to Jane involves commitment to reflective practice, focus on values, care and nurturing of a strong team, and clear sense of vision. Previously, Jane was the executive director at YU School Partnership, and before that, she served as head of school at the South Area Solomon Schechter outside Boston for 22 years.