Congregational School Staff

Holli Goldenberg

Congregational School Director, Zayin class, Tot and Teen Coordinator

Holli is an accomplished educator by profession. She is currently working as a district administrator within the school district of Philadelphia, where she oversees the English as a Second Language program at multiple schools. Holli has extensive experience in both formal and informal Jewish education and has a background in theater.

Holli is also our current teen leadership and social programming coordinator.

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Congregational School Curriculum Development and High Holy Day Children's Services

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer began her work with Mishkan Shalom as a teacher in our school in 1998 and considers Mishkan to be one of her spiritual homes ever since! Her husband, Fred, and their children, George and Jeremy, have also been part of the Mishkan community for many years. Gabby is now the curriculum creator for the Mishkan school and also leads children's services for the High Holy Days.

Gabreille is well-known as an author and Jewish educator whose work focuses on  spirituality, creativity and disability. She is the proud recipient of the 2022 Covenant Award and currently edits the Jewish Disability Inclusion News.

Gabrielle also leads Feed Your Spirit Writing, facilitating expressive writing workshops focused on spiritual curiosity and also writes a Substack called "Journey With The Seasons," a weekly practice of meditative reading, expressive writing prompts and deepening practices. 

Julia Weekes

Gan, Alef, Bet/Gimel Judaics

Julia has been at Mishkan for years as a teacher and a parent. She is the mom of Judah and Isaiah. Julia has primarily been Mishkan’s Kitah Gimel teacher, but has also taught Kitah Dalet, Bet Hebrew, served as a substitute teacher and occasional tutor. Julia structures the class as a Kehillah where each person is integral in creating the most joyful and productive learning environment. She utilizes cooperative and experiential learning for all aspects of the curriculum. Julia is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds a Master of Arts in teaching from the University of the Arts, where she earned the Oustanding Graduate Student Award.

Amy Goldman

Gimel Hebrew, Vav Judaics, Hay Hebrew

Amy joined our teaching staff in 2020 and has extensive experience in Jewish education. She loves the creative arts and cooking, two passions that she’s already brought to her students at Mishkan. Amy is a graduate of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Hadasah Yaqob-Johnson

Hay Class

Hadasah Yaqob-Johnson is a native Texan and newly relocated to the Philadelphia area.By training, she is an educator specializing in EC-12 Special Education services, teaching courses in the sciences, mathematics, and English language arts and reading. Yaqob-Johnson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at The University of Texas at Dallas, concentrating in Healthcare and Management. She has committed her time to volunteering, with memberships in national service organizations and fellowships with foundations focusing on repairing communities through health. She believes her rabbinical career will focus on Food Justice and Food Security, uniting several pillars of Judaism within her purpose: Tikkun Olam, Hachnasat Orchim, Maakhal Revi’im, and servant leadership. Hadasah lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Ron and three young children and loves to cook for her family and friends, journal and write poetry

Cantor David Acker

Hay Judaics, Vav Hebrew

David holds a master's degree in cantorial studies and Jewish music from Gratz College as well as music degrees from Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music and Swarthmore College. He is also a candidate for a master's in Jewish education at Gratz College.

David challenges his students to invest their own creativity, imaginations and intelligence into the development of their Jewish identity. Through experiential learning, he facilitates his students' discovery of the relevance of Jewish customs, literature, prayers and ideas. He also believes that students feel much more comfortable in the synagogue when they know they are competent in Hebrew, so he designs games and engaging exercises to help them learn.

Prior to teaching at Mishkan Shalom, David served as cantor and music specialist at Congregation Ohev Shalom (Wallingford) and Or Shalom (Berwyn). At Mishkan he has led clubs that created and performed plays and raps for Hannukah, Purim, and Passover, as well as storytelling and trope clubs. He enjoys singing all kinds of music, including opera, musical theater and lieder as well as liturgical music. David is drawn to teaching in the synagogue because within it he experiences the whole gamut of Jewish life: prayer, education, b’nai mitzvah preparation, life cycle, and community.