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.

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.

Lead Teacher
Danya (she/her) is a public school teaching resident and Jewish educator newly based out of Brooklyn, NY. She received her BA in Political Science and Modern Middle East Studies from Yale University in 2025 and is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Education through Bank Street’s Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Residency Program. She speaks English, French, Hebrew, and Arabic, and loves learning new languages (hopefully Spanish next!). Last year, she participated in the Avodah Jewish Service Corps and worked at a DC-based legal aid nonprofit focused on economic justice. She’s extremely excited to join the Fig Tree community and explore New York—please feel free to share any and all recommendations! In her free time, Danya enjoys doing the NYT crossword, jiu jitsu, and pressing flowers.

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.

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!

Lead Teacher
Aviva (she/her) is a Jewish educator, writer, and performer based in Queens. Aviva was raised in a tight-knit progressive traditional egalitarian Jewish community in Berkeley, California. Aviva has worked in Jewish education since 2018, teaching b’nei mitzvah, Hebrew school, adult education. Aviva loves teaching through her artistic practice, using theater, storytelling, and visual art as a means to teach Jewish traditions, stories, and language. S Aviva’s plays and writing have been featured at venues such as Under St. Marks Theater, the Bell House, and the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum, as well as in print and online journals. Aviva also loves cooking, hiking, and the beach. She holds a BFA in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

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. 

Assistant Teacher
Jocelyn (she/her) is a graduate student at Hunter College where she is studying English Literature, Language, and Theory. She just moved back to NY after a year teaching and living in Savannah, Georgia. Jocelyn has experience teaching English literature, creative writing, and dance to students of all ages. She graduated from Connecticut College in 2024 where she was an English and dance double major. In her free time, Jocelyn enjoys being outdoors, crafting, and spending time with friends.

Assistant Teacher
Rebecca (she/her) is a museum educator and public historian based in Queens. Raised in a reform Jewish community in the Hudson Valley, Rebecca graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon with a degree in history. Since then, she has taken her passion for storytelling and working with people to multiple museums around New York City, including Ellis Island and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Currently she also works as an educator at the Tenement Museum. At these institutions, she has taught students of all backgrounds about Jewish history, tradition, and culture, and she’s excited to continue these discussions and many more at Fig Tree.

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.

Lead Teacher
Bio and photo coming soon!

Assistant Teacher
Bella (she/her) grew up in Columbia, MD, has lived in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and Spain, and is now excited to be making Brooklyn her home. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2025 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. Growing up, she was very involved in her Conservative synagogue and Hebrew school, and Camp Ramah in the Poconos, later serving as a counselor and unit head. She loves joyful Judaism and experiential education, and is very excited to bring those passions to the Fig Tree community. For fun, Bella enjoys listening to audiobooks, reading regular books, dancing, being outside, and schmoozing with almost anyone.

Assistant Teacher
Oscar (he/him) is a writer/journalist/comedian from Dayton, Ohio. He just finished his year in the Avodah Jewish Service Corps in DC, working at an environmental organizing nonprofit. He’s now in New York for teaching, writing, comedy, and pretty much anything that seems cool! Oscar graduated with a degree in English Creative Writing and Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Some weird things he’s good at are hacky sacking, ultimate frisbee, and touching his tongue to his nose.