Staff Bios

Bryna Leider        Education Director
Bryna has worked in education for 13 years. She received a B.A. in English and Education from Touro College, and then became the lead teacher in a Pre-K class, a position she held for seven years. She also worked as a Judaic studies teacher for 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades and taught English Language Arts to 11th and 12th graders. These diverse experiences led her to pursue a M.S.Ed in Curriculum and Teaching (N-12) at Fordham University. After graduating summa cum laude, she accepted a position as the education coordinator of a large Head Start program. In 2006, she became an education consultant. She traveled to schools on the East and West coasts where she evaluated programs and guided implementation of changes, including creating customized curricula, and presenting a variety of staff development topics. In 2007, she joined Luria Academy as a consultant and shortly thereafter accepted her current position. Bryna attended Montessori training at the Montessori Teachers College of San Diego.

Hila Daee        Teacher, 2-3 Class
Hila holds dual certification in Early Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities. She graduated from NYU with a B.S. in Early Childhood & Special Education, and Psychology. She was an NYU Honors Scholar and a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education. For the past two years, Hila was a Special Education Teacher at Mill Neck Manor. Prior to that, she worked in a second grade classroom at P.S. 41, a Kindergarten classroom in P.S. 163, and Pre-K inclusion class at Manhattan Kids Club. Although Hila lived on Long Island for most of her life, she was born in Israel and is fluent in Hebrew. She also speaks Spanish and Farsi.

Devory Saks        Teacher, 2-3 Class
Devory is currently multi-tasking by taking graduate courses while completing her B.A. in Psychology and Early Childhood Education at Touro College. Her extensive teaching experience with children ages two through four includes two years at a preschool in Birmingham, Alabama; a year at the Mashadi Jewish Center in Great Neck, and four years at the Gan of Greenwich. Devory is returning for her second school year as a staff member of Luria Academy. During the summer, she attended a training program at Princeton Montessori Center.

Jennifer Matthews        Lead Teacher, 3-5 Class
Jen earned a M.A. in Literacy Education (b-6th) from NYU and a B.S. in Elementary Education, with a minor in English, from Boston University. She holds New York State certification in Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Literacy Education. Previously, Jen taught Pre-K at Preschool of the Arts. She also worked at the NYU Literacy Clinic and taught ten and eleven-year-olds at Dundonald Primary School in London, England. In addition to multiple other assistant teaching, tutoring and literacy coaching positions, Jen was a Children's Cooking Class Instructor for Cupcake Kids!. Jen attended a summer training program at Princeton Montessori Center and is completing the 3-5 Montessori training from the North American Montessori Center.

Symie Lipkind        Teacher, 3-5 Class
Symie has been part of the staff of Luria Academy since its inception. She is working toward a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Intervention and is completing her 3-5 Montessori certification at West Side Montessori Teacher Education Program, which is affiliated with NYU. Her earlier experience involved working with children with special needs. She was a para-professional (supervisor of a child with special needs, usually in a regular education classroom) for a young boy, and a home care supervisor at the Jewish Board and Women's League. She also worked at HASC, where she did ResHab (relieved parents of children with special needs), worked one-on-one with autistic children, and provided ABA and massage therapies.

Sara Malasky        Lead Teacher, 5-7 Class
Sara is returning for her third year at Luria Academy. Before joining our school, she worked at the Preschool of the Arts in Chelsea. For four years prior, she taught Kindergarten at Yeshiva Ketana of Manhattan's early childhood center. Earlier, she worked in the special education department in the NYC public school system for two years and taught and developed curriculum for the Early Childhood Department as well as the fifth and sixth grades at Hebrew Academy in Austin, TX. Additionally, she taught literacy privately in many one-on-one and small group settings. Sara graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor's degree in education and is currently enrolled in a Literacy Education graduate program at Hunter College. She also has two years of training in the AUSSIE method, a balanced literacy approach. Sara trained at the Taryag Torah Montessori teacher training seminar with Rabbi Jonathan Rietti.

Shani Shumowitz-Wellisch        Lead Teacher, 5-7 Class
Shani is originally from Israel and currently lives in Prospect Heights with her husband and 16 month old twins. She is a skilled educator, having graduated from The Open University and Kibbutzim College of Education in Tel Aviv. She was a teacher at schools in Ra'anana and Petach Tikva before moving to New York, where she worked at The New Shul. During the last two school years, she was a Judaics teacher at Ramaz. Shani is trained in Chalav U'Dvash and Tal Am.

Tiphanie Rosenblatt        Lead Teacher, 7-10 Class
Tiphanie is beginning her second year at Luria. She has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and a M.S. in English for Middle School. While in graduate school, Tiphanie taught sports classes for toddlers, ran a nursery/Pre-K camp, and was a nanny for three children. She is a New York State Certified teacher. Tiphanie has been a Hebrew School teacher for the past six years for grades four through seven. She also taught Kindergarten and Third Grade in various public schools. Tiphanie completed the Montessori Lower Elementary training program through the North American Montessori Center.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR STAFF

Jacqueline Fritz,        Yoga
Jacqueline earned a B.F.A. in dance from North Carolina School of the Arts. She trained at the Jeffrey Ballet School, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and School of American Ballet. She received her yoga training at the Iyengar Yoga Institute. She has been teaching dance since 1999, and currently teaches yoga in a number of gyms and studios.

Gili Levy,        Ivrit and Art
Gili was born and raised in Israel. She worked as a psychological interviewer for the IDF and also studied painting with the Israeli artist Zvika Lachman. Gili received an MFA from the New York Studio School, where she also taught classes. She will teach a unique combination of Hebrew Language and Art and will also be available for small group after school art lessons.

Chana Rosenberger,        Physical Education
Chana is a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer. She has taught in a variety of gyms and schools since 1998. She recently earned a B.S. in Physical Education at Brooklyn College.

Wendy Ultan,        Music
Wendy plays the violin, viola, and piano. She majored in Classical Music at the University of New Mexico and Jazz Studies at The New School and City College of New York. She continues to play with a number of orchestras. Previously, Wendy taught theory, ear training, violin, and ensemble at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and created music curricula for public schools on the Lower East Side. In addition to teaching at Luria, she gives private music lessons using the Suzuki Method and guides the music study of her two daughters (who play the flute and cello).