Midrasha Faculty
Erica Crowell Altobelli begins her twenty-second year at Midrasha. She is a clinical social worker and has her M.S.W. from U.C. Berkeley and her M.A. in sociology with a specialization in religion from U.C. Davis where she also received her B.A. She teaches behavioral science at Santa Rosa Junior College.
Erica Fink has a B.F.A. from the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. Besides being a painter, she is also in an indie rock band.
David Henkin begins his twenty-fourth year of teaching at Midrasha. He is a professor of history at U.C. Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in American History from U.C. Berkeley and B.A. from Yale University. He is a co-founder of the Mission Minyan.
Noemi Hollander, a Midrasha alumna, begins her fourth year teaching at Midrasha. She holds a degree in comparative literature from Barnard College and has spent her time since then in religious education and publishing. She is the 2009 staff recipient of the U.C. Berkeley Chancellor’s Award in Public Service and was selected to attend the 2010 Institute for Educators at the Jewish Women’s Archive in Boston.
Rabbi Yoel Kahn, rabbi at Congregation Beth El, is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. He was ordained at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion and has a Ph.D. from the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union.
Sacha J. Kopin begins her fourteenth year teaching at Midrasha in Berkeley and her twentieth in the Midrasha system. She has served as Director of Midrasha in Contra Costa and of Beth Chaim Religious School in Danville. She is a graduate of U.C.L.A. with a B.A. in Psychology, has done graduate work in Judaic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, is a former Ti-ke-a Fellow, was awarded the 2005 Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, is a 2007 winner of the Helen Diller Family Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, was an MTEI fellow, and was staff on the 2008 Shalhevet trip to Poland and Israel.
Oren Kroll-Zeldin begins his third year teaching the Abraham’s Vision Unity Program at Midrasha. He received his B.A. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Skidmore College and is currently a PhD student in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies where he recently received his M.A.
Anna Martin, a Midrasha alumna, begins her fourth year at Midrasha in Berkeley and her fifth teaching in the Midrasha system. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Barnard College and a teaching credential from San Jose State University. She is an instructional coach at a middle school in San Jose, has staffed the Let’s Go Israel! trip and in 2010 studied on a Fulbright Fellowship in Morocco.
Beth Midanik-Blum, a Midrasha alumna, begins her second year at Midrasha. She graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in both International Studies and American Ethnic Studies. She also studied at the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea and the Child & Family Health International Women’s Reproductive Health Program in Mexico. Her day job is working at Planned Parenthood.
Ilan Persing begins his second year at Midrasha. He has a B.A. in Communications and a Film Studies Certificate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also teaches at Midrasha in Oakland. Ilan grew up in both Haifa and Boston.
Waafa Sabil has undergraduate degrees from the University of Paris VI and the University of Montreal. She received an M.A. in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a professional architect with a diverse portfolio ranging from affordable housing project to community centers and retail stores.
Muni Schweig begins his eleventh year at Midrasha. He has a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley in Comparative Literature, an M.A. from the Hebrew University in Jewish Civilization and has been a student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Jewish Studies of U.C. Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union.
Day Schildkret begins his fourth year teaching at Midrasha in Berkeley. He has a B.A. in Judaic Studies and Political Science from Binghamton University and has studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Art Student League in New York. He is the Director of Tri – Valley / Tri – Cities Midrasha.
Lara Walklet completed her B.A. in Jewish Studies from McGill University, with minors in Linguistics and Middle Eastern Language [Hebrew and Arabic]. She recently returned to Berkeley after finishing her M.A. in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a Midrasha alumna and begins her second year on the faculty.
Desmid Lyon, Midrasha’s Assistant Director, has a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies and an M.S.W., both from U.C. Berkeley. She begins her fourteenth year at Midrasha and is the parent of four Midrasha graduates.
Diane Bernbaum begins her thirty-first year as director of Midrasha. She graduated from Brandeis University majoring in Near East and Judaic Studies and in History and has a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Harvard University School of Education.
