Pamela Gorin, Director of Early Childhood Education
I am in my fourth year as Director of Early Childhood Education here at Shaare Torah and I have watched my role expand over the last year to include, not only the Nursery School, but also a summer program and the Kindergarten and First Grade of the Religious School.I came to early childhood education through my work as a Religious School teacher, teaching Kindergarten through sixth grade. I found that I enjoyed working with youngest children and when the opportunity arose, I began teaching two year olds. Most of my early childhood teaching was spent with four and five year olds. I became a director in the fall of 1999. There is never a day that I don’t look forward to being at school and welcoming the children as they walk through the door. I am endlessly fascinated by what the children think and say and their enthusiasm and curiosity about the world keeps my youthful spirit alive and increases my appreciation for all that is around me. My post high school education includes a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Theatre, and the equivalent of a Master’s in Jewish Education. I am married to Rabbi Howard Gorin and we have two children; Emma, who is 25 and pursuing a career in opera and classical singing and my son, Yonasan, who is 22, got married in January and is currently learning in a Yeshiva in Queens, New York. When I’m not at Shaare Torah, I love reading, listening to musical theatre and going to the theatre whenever I can, playing with my little terrier, cooking and spending time with my family.

	Bonnie Rubinstein, Assistant Director I was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Towson State University. I’ve been married for 33 years; have two adult sons; and am expecting 3 grandchildren (including twins) in May. The majority of my career was spent as a Human Resource Consultant with the Federal Government, most recently with the National Institutes of Health from which I retired in 2002. For the past several years, I’ve worked briefly as a teacher and then as an administrative assistant with the Nursery School, and I’ve loved every minute of it!
	Alya Bargman, Assistant Teacher My name is Alya. I have worked at Shaare Torah since 2006. I started working with three year olds and have worked with two year olds for the past five years. For fifteen years, I worked at the JCC with three year olds. My Bachelor’s Degree is in Elementary Education. I’m married and have two grown children and two grandchildren. My grandchildren are seven and four years old and I spend a lot of time with them.I love my job as a teacher and enjoy every moment working with the children.
	Marsha Goldberg, Assistant Teacher I am a native of Washington, D.C., born to my parents, Irene and Sidney Rosendorf at Columbia Hospital for Women, which no longer exists. About three years later, I was no longer an only child when my brother Alvin came along. My family moved to Silver spring, Maryland in 1967. I finished high school at Montgomery Blair and went on to Montgomery College to get an AA degree in Mental health. I married my husband David in 1972 and moved to Connecticut where we lived for almost a year and then moved back to Maryland to be closer to our families. Soon after, we began our own family with four wonderful children: Shayne, Todd, Julie and Andy. Our children have given us the precious gift of six grandchildren, four girls and two boys.I started my career in Nursery School at Gaithersburg Hebrew Congregation now Kehilat Shalom, then moved on to the Jewish Community Center in Rockville, and then happily ended up at Shaare Torah six years ago. I love the teachers I work with, but most of all, I love the children. It has been a pleasure to watch them grow, and I especially love when they come back for a visit.
	Bari Handelman, Teacher I work as both a teacher in the Nursery and Religious School and also I lead Tot Services here at Shaare Torah. My family and I are also members and my two children attend Shaare Torah's Religious School. I have a degree in Education from New York University and continue to take classes in Early Childhood at Montgomery College. I have lots of hobbies and interests, but particularly love reading, scrapbooking and needlepoint. I love teaching at Shaare Torah and look forward to many more years in the future.
	Sharon Levine, Assistant Teacher My name is Sharon Levine. I was born and raised in the District of Columbia. I am an only child. After school, I married my teen sweetheart and we have been married for 47 ½ years. We have three children and seven wonderful, beautiful grandchildren. For years I was a stay at home wife and mother. I worked with my husband for many years in two restaurants we owned. I am a friend of our past director and she offered me a job. I then got certified in early childhood education. I began working at STNS the year after it began and have been here ever since. I absolutely enjoy being with some of the most incredible children and their parents. I can’t imagine doing anything else!
	Lisa Lipps, Teacher I am a native Washingtonian. I have 2 daughters, Julie 31 yrs. old, Emily 28 yrs. old, and 1 grandson, Bobby who recently turned 1. I feel very lucky that my children live locally making it easy for me to see them. I also have 2 dogs, Simon, a Golden Retreiver and Charlie, a cavapoo. I don't know who keeps me the busiest, my children or my dogs! I love to travel, mostly to warm weather destinations. I have taken numerous trips to the southwest, where I not only love visiting and learning about the Native Americans, but enjoy the southwestern cuisine as well! I have been teaching pre-school for 26 years. I have taught children from the age of 2 through pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. To a child, the world is fresh, new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. I am so lucky to be a part of that world as your child explores, learns and grows!
	Cara O’Connor, Assistant Teacher I hold an Associate of Arts Degree in Theatre Performance from Montgomery College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance with a minor in psychology from the University of Maryland. I also recently completed the MCCA Training Institute 90-Hour Course in Early Childhood Development & Curriculum. I have been teaching dance and theatre in the DC area since 1977. As a founding faculty member of the University of Maryland Children’s Dance Lab, I developed my own curriculum of young children’s creative movement classes. I also worked extensively at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre, Georgetown University and Montgomery College. In 1986, I became the artistic director at Feet First in Bethesda and immediately expanded that program to include young children. In 1998, I retired from full-time teaching when I became a mom. I live in Gaithersburg with my husband (of over 20 years), Shaun, and our two children Danny and Betsy. I became passionate about the importance of early childhood education when my own children were in nursery school. I couldn’t wait to get back into the classroom. I feel that teaching at Shaare Torah Nursery School is a dream come true!
	Arlene Price, Teacher I started teaching 40 years ago and have taught English and German to high school students; provided special needs tutoring for middle and high school students and am now having lots of fun teaching three's at Shaare Torah. My husband Pete and I have been married 40 years and have two daughters and now four grandchildren. When I am not teaching I like to be in my garden, visiting the Outer Banks, watching a baseball game or reading a mystery.
	Liz Sander, Assistant Teacher I grew up in New York. Before teaching pre-school, my background was in the health and fitness industry. While my son was attending Kehlat Shalom Early Childhood Center, I began to work as a substitute teacher. Throughout the five years I worked at Kehilat Shalom, I worked as a sub, floating assistant, one-on-one facilitator and an assistant teacher. In 2011, I joined the wonderful staff at Shaare Torah. My free time is spent volunteering in the elementary school, exercising, playing with my puppy or attending my son’s baseball, basketball and football games.
	Irwin Slonin, Teacher I have been involved in early childhood education for about twelve years. After spending several years as a floater substitute at Children's Learning Center, I spent four years as an assistant teacher of a pre-K class at Har Shalom. As a member of Shaare Torah, I always dreamed of being a teacher in my own congregation. That dream became reality when a position opened up for a 4s/5s teacher in our nursery school and this is now my fifth year. I also teach grades 1, 3 and 6 in Shaare Torah's religious school, and tutor bar and bat mitzvah students. During the summer, I am a counselor at Camp JCC. When I’m not working with children, I enjoy spending time with my own children, 3 teenaged daughter's, and my wife, Sue-Anne.
	Barbara Smith, Assistant Teacher My husband, Stan and I have been married almost 45 years. We have three daughters and two sons-in-law. We also have twin grandsons who bring us so much joy. I have been working in early childhood education for 12 years. Being with the children at Shaare torah makes me smile every day. Watching them grow and learn is such a pleasure.
	Naomi Webber, Teacher The life and times of Naomi Webber, so far.I was born in Colorado and moved to Washington DC with my husband Keith in 1988. We have two grown daughters. Rachael, our oldest, is married and just had her first baby in August 2011. Katey is a senior at the University of Denver. She is studying accounting and international business. My father-in-law lives with us too. We have two dogs and a cat.I also received my degree from the University of Denver, where I studied Speech Pathology and Audiology with a double major in child psychology. I have worked in the field of early childhood education since 1980.I love being a grandma to Madison!! I also love music(all sorts), reading, the outdoors, and finding ways to be creative. Teaching definitely fills that need.
	Barbara Winderlich, Teacher This is my second year teaching the two year old class at Shaare Torah. I taught the three day three year old class at Har Shalom for many years before coming to Shaare Torah. I have two children—Alyssa, who is a freshman at Quince Orchard High School and Andrew, who is in sixth grade at Lakelands Park Middle School. I am an original resident of the Lakelands, having lived here for more than twelve years. I love working the children in the Nursery School and also enjoy working in the summer program.