Our People

Rachel Weinstein White

Executive Director & Founder
Rachel Weinstein White (she/her) had her own kids in mind when she created Fig Tree. Seeking a Jewish education program that emphasized social justice, Jewish values, and the joys of Jewish culture, she launched Fig Tree for a dozen kids in the fall of 2015. Today, Fig Tree enrolls 400 students per year in six locations!

Rachel has a Master’s in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College-JIR, and a BA in English Literature from Vassar College. Rachel is currently a Fellow in Cohort II of the Mandel Institute’s Educational Leadership Program in Boston and Israel. In 2022, Rachel was named one of New York Jewish Week’s ‘36 to Watch,’ and in 2023, Fig Tree was highlighted as a thriving model of supplemental Jewish education in a Jewish Education Project report. Prior to founding Fig Tree, Rachel spent nearly two decades as an emerging technology professional, leading business solutions teams at Accenture, Yahoo!, WebMD, IDT/ Net2Phone, and Achieve3000. Rachel lives in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with her husband and three sons.

Ami Weintraub

Rabbinic Director and Director of B’nai Mitzvah
Ami (he/him or they/them) is excited for another year at Fig Tree. He has worked as a Hebrew school educator for over ten years in the DC area and in Pittsburgh. Ami lived in Pittsburgh for eight years and moved to Brooklyn last year after a brief time living in Manhattan and studying at the Hadar Yeshiva last school year. In Pittsburgh, Ami was the founder of a queer Jewish community center called Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance. Ami is also the author of a recently published book called, “To the Ghosts Who are Still Living,” which examines Jewish ancestry in Eastern Europe. In addition to teaching and writing, Ami is pursuing rabbinic ordination through the Aleph Renewal ordination program. Ami is originally from Silver Spring, MD where he grew up attending a Reconstructionist synagogue, going to Jewish summer camp and learning about his Jewish culture with his family.

Michal Lewin Epstein

Director of Programming and Lead Teacher
Michal (she/her) joined Fig Tree after two decades in the field of program evaluation, with a focus on educational programs, curriculum assessment, and community initiatives. Her professional experience spans leading research institutes and organizations – including the Henrietta Szold Institute in Jerusalem and Rosov Consulting – as well as the New York City Department of Education. At Fig Tree, Michal is delighted to spend time in our classrooms as a Lead Teacher, and as an administrator in her new role: Director of Programming. Michal brings warmth, creativity, and enthusiasm into all of her endeavors. She especially enjoys engaging students in Hebrew through interactive games and songs, making language learning fun and accessible.

Daniel Keitel

Operations Manager and Song Leader
Daniel (he/him) is an actor, educator, and musician originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He spent 14 summers of his life at Goldman Union Camp Institute, including five summers on staff, where he eventually became the head of the drama program, and head songleader/head of the Music program. He also spent time as a standby cantorial soloist and substitute teacher at his hometown synagogue, Rodef Shalom. He graduated from Allegheny College with a BA in Theatrical Performance and a minor in Education Studies. Daniel lives in Park Slope.

Fig Tree Teaching Staff

Featured

Tamy Ben-Tor

Lead Teacher
Tamy (she/her) was born in Jerusalem and has been living in Brooklyn since 2004. She has a BA from the School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem, where she studied Puppetry and Performance, and an MFA from Columbia University. She has been teaching Jewish Studies and Hebrew in various Brooklyn Hebrew Schools since 2011, and she effortlessly infuses a love for dramatic and fine arts into her instruction of students of all ages. Between 2013-2022 she built and led the 6th grade Holocaust studies curriculum at Kane Street Synagogue. During that time she co created and taught the Israeli Film Club curriculum to the "Bogrim" high school class. She has been teaching at Fig Tree since 2014, where she is currently a lead teacher for PreK-6th graders in Jewish culture, Jewish history and Hebrew language. She is a lead Hebrew teacher and Hebrew curriculum advisor at Fig Tree. Tamy is the founder and director of the independent study groups initiative ANUאנו, The History of Israel for Teens.

Shira Botzum

Lead Teacher
Shira (she/her) is a rabbi and Jewish educator based in Washington Heights. She received rabbinic ordination from Hadar in 2024 and holds a BA/MA in Talmud and Rabbinics from JTS and a BA from Columbia University. She spent this past year working in Jewish day school and Hillel settings and is currently a chaplaincy intern at NYP. Shira is passionate about expanding access to Jewish tradition, in all of its complexity and beauty, for Jews of all backgrounds. In her free time, you’ll find her cooking, reading sci-fi and fantasy, and playing with her dog. She is excited to be joining the Fig Tree team this year.

Mads Dickman

Assistant Teacher
Mads (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, music educator, and environmental advocate based in Brooklyn NY. They received their BA from Wesleyan University, where they spent four years in The Mazel Tones, a Jewish acapella group with the mission of spreading joy and community through Jewish music and bringing Jewish diasporic languages like Yiddish and Ladino to life in the form of song. Now, Mads is a songwriter, songleader, and piano teacher in Brooklyn and is passionate about teaching music to people of all ages. Mads has a background in working with elementary and middle school-aged students, and enjoys teaching afterschool cooking classes and music lessons. When they aren’t teaching at Fig Tree, you can find Mads hosting community shabbat dinners, performing with their musical improv troupe, or birdwatching in Prospect Park.

Nikkita Flavius

Lead Teacher
Nikkita (she/her), originally from the UK, is a singer-songwriter and interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. She also holds a Diploma in Fine Arts, Textiles and Illustration from the Leeds College of Art, a BA (hons) in Politics and an MA in International Relations. Her academic focus explored the extent and significance of cultural exchange and longevity. She has volunteered many years as a youth leader in a theater and stage school summer program at Bradford Playhouse in the UK. Nikkita is dedicated to bringing her rich experiences as a Jew of color, and passion for the lesser known Jewish communities around the world through culinary history in particular. Each year she focuses on one aspect to deepen her own spiritual growth within Judaism. And she definitely hopes to be a cantor someday.

Debra Fricano

Lead Teacher
Debra Fricano (she/her) was born and raised in Queens. For anyone curious about NYC public high schools, Debra was in the first graduating class of the High School of American Studies at Lehman College. Debra pursued a BA in Sociology from Brandeis University and an MA in Experiential Jewish Education from Davidson School at JTS. Throughout the past 20 years Debra has worked in youth groups, synagogue supplemental schools, Hillels, and Jewish sleepaway camps as a Jewish educator and songleader. Most recently Debra built community at a Reconstructionist synagogue, and is committed to values based education that is accessible and welcoming to all families. As of September 2024 Debra is studying at the Academy for Jewish Religion pursuing both rabbinic and cantorial ordination. Debra brings a passion for educating through creative play, bibliodrama, and song writing, and is excited to return to Fig Tree this year!

Arielle Goldman

Lead Teacher
Arielle (she/her) is an actress, writer and filmmaker. As an actor, she has performed at multiple theaters including Lincoln Center, George Street Playhouse, New Jersey Repertory Company, Ensemble Studio Theater, Pregones PRTT, The Tank, Long Wharf Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, among others. For television, her acting work can be seen in series on HBO, Cinemax, Amazon and independent productions. As a filmmaker, Arielle’s work focuses on intergenerational women and the inherited stories that shape ourselves and our relationship to the world. She received her BFA from The University of Michigan, her MFA from NYU Tisch Grad Acting and is a proud alum of The Colbert Report internship program. Arielle is excited to join the Fig Tree community, bringing a spirit of play and exploration to the long beautiful history of Jewish storytelling.

Naama Greenfield-Simpson

Lead Teacher
Naama (she/her) was born and raised in Israel and has lived in the U.S. for the past 20 years. Naama holds a BA in Costume Design from Empire State College and a Millinery Certificate from FIT, and has taught Hebrew and Judaic Studies at multiple programs for the last decade. As an Israeli mom and educator raising kids in the U.S., she values the importance of passing on the values and experiences around which she was raised as a child. Naama is passionate about teaching Hebrew, Israeli culture and Judaism, combining these aspects with art-making and self-expression.

Tali Kobrin

Assistant Teacher
Tali Kobrin (she/her) is a junior at Barnard College who is excited to return to the Fig Tree family. Tali has a deep knowledge of experiential education with children across a broad age range, having spent her summers as a counselor and division head for elementary, middle and high schoolers at Jewish sleepaway camp and running a local camp for preschoolers. Tali was privileged to spend a gap year studying in Israel, where she honed her Hebrew language skills and knowledge of Torah and Judaism. As a passionate educator and student, Tali is looking forward to learning from all of her wonderful students at Fig Tree.

Lulu Levy

Assistant Teacher
Lulu (she/her) is so excited to be joining the Fig Tree community for her first year. She just moved back to NYC after graduating from Brown with a degree in Judaic Studies and English. During that time, she worked as a Hebrew tutor and 4th-grade Jewish Studies classroom teacher at a synagogue in Providence, Rhode Island. Lulu is originally from the Upper West Side, and spent the early part of her childhood split between there and her extended family’s home in Israel. When she is not teaching, she is doing stand-up comedy all around New York City!

Becky Portman

Lead Teacher
Becky (she/her) is thrilled to be joining the Fig Tree family this year. She is an experienced Jewish educator with a passion for Jewish storytelling and tradition. She is currently a pre-K teacher at the Brownstone School on the Upper West side. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Becky has also spent time teaching in Los Angeles and Jaffa. When she is not teaching Torah or the alphabet, she is pursuing her passion as a screenwriter and filmmaker.