ADMINISTRATION
JENNIFER LEVIN-TAVARES: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jennifer grew up in Tennessee in a background of conservative Judaism. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Indiana University, Jennifer attained her law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law. She went on to hold management posts at National Public Radio and Yale University before starting her career in synagogue administration in 1997.
Prior to coming to Ohef Sholom, Jennifer served as Executive Director of Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, CT and Congregation Kol Tikvah in Parkland, FL.
Jennifer is active in the National Association for Temple Administration. She is a former Board member and Secretary as well as chair of NATA’s mentoring program. She attained senior status in 2013 and earned her Fellow in Temple Administration in 2014.
Charles Woodward: Music Director
Chuck has served as Music Director of Ohef Sholom Temple since 1982. In addition, he is the Music Director of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk, and the Artistic Director and Conductor of The Virginia Chorale, the Commonwealth’s premier professional choral ensemble. From 1986-1993, Chuck was the choral director and collaborative pianist for the Governor’s School for the Arts. During the spring of 2016, he served as director of the Christopher Newport University Chamber Choir.
As pianist, Chuck is a frequent collaborator in both vocal and instrumental chamber concerts, having performed with the Virginia Arts Festival, Virginia Chamber Players, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Norfolk Chamber Consort, among others; at the Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), Jordan Hall (Boston), and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; and, in Germany and Italy. In April 2011, he served as Principal Coach for the premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Rappahannock County, a music theater work co-commissioned by the Virginia Opera and Virginia Arts Festival. Chuck’s performances have been heard on American Public Media’s Performance Today.
Chuck holds the master of music degree from Northwestern University and has served on the adjunct music faculties of The College of William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, and Old Dominion University.
Alyson Morrissey: Director of lifelong learning
Alyson obtained her undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University in Education, specifically Physical Education and Health. She then went on to earn her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Alyson began working as a teacher in OST’s Religious School in 2016. In June of 2022, after spending 4 years with Norfolk Public Schools, Alyson took over as Director of Lifelong Learning.
As the Director of Lifelong Learning, Alyson oversees all educational programming. This includes the Hebrew and Religious School, B’nai Mitzvah prep, youth group, and adult and family programming. Alyson strives to provide an engaging and innovative approach to Jewish learning.
Alyson is the proud mom to 3 kids. Leia, Jacob and Elijah. All three are products of OST’s Hebrew and Religious School. She is also married to her high school sweetheart, Chris. In their spare time her family enjoys traveling. They can typically be found at Disney, on a Disney Cruise, or traveling to a baseball stadium to check another one off our list.
Eric Eaton: BOOKKEEPER/Controller
Eric grew up in New York, about an hour south of Buffalo. He graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics. He has worked in finance and accounting for 15 years in multiple industries from Sole Proprietorships to Private Postsecondary Education. As Temple’s Controller, he oversees all financial and accounting processes as well as Temple’s Human Resources needs.
Liz Vincent: Clergy administrative assistant
Liz grew up in Upstate New York and moved to Virginia Beach in 2017. As the Clergy Assistant, she provides administrative support for the Rabbi and Cantor, including scheduling b’nai mitzvah, weddings, britot/baby namings, conversions, and other lifecycles. She also coordinates logistics for the Temple events with staff, vendors, and committees.
For fun, Liz enjoys singing. She has even starred in 5 musicals and four purimshpiels. Liz and her husband Matt have a son Mathias and a daughter Kayla.
Jim Dunn: Administrative Coordinator
Jim started at OST as a temp filling in as administrative support for Rabbi Forman in 1995. He has been here in some capacity ever since.
He is currently the administrative coordinator for temple operations as well as for the Religious School.
A fun fact about Jim is that he finally took the ‘plunge’ (literally and figuratively) and converted to Judaism in 2015.
Rebecca Sitrin:Events and Marketing Coordinator
Rebecca grew up in Northern Virginia, where she was an active member of her reform congregation. She graduated from Christopher Newport University in May 2024 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and minors in History and Digital Humanities. She worked at OST part time during her last semester of college and began working full time in June of 2024.
Rebecca enjoys learning about the OST community and meeting everyone. She is excited to partner with staff and leadership to create engaging marketing and events that enhance everyone’s experience at OST.
rebecca@ohefsholom.org
Burgess Hodges: Graphic Design
Burgess attended The Governor’s School for Art, The Corcoran School of Art, and VCU. Burgess was originally a member of Temple Sinai in Portsmouth before it merged with Ohef Sholom. He has taught various Sunday School Classes here and at Temple Sinai. He has created art in many forms over the years from miniatures, to painting, cakes, and more.
EDUCATION
Kathryn morton: INTRO TO JUDAISM INSTRUCTOR
Kathryn Harris Morton grew up in Norfolk as a secular American. At age 23 she was invited to become book columnist for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper, for whom she also wrote occasional features and editorials over the next two decades. Her essays have appeared in books as well as in periodicals as diverse as Mademoiselle and the New York Times Book Review and she’s been quoted in Scientific American. She also taught for ODU’s Writing Center. In the 1980s, during the time of the illness and death of her middle child, she began to discover Judaism. With her husband and three surviving children, Kathryn converted at Ohef Sholom in 1988 and began teaching Sunday school and Hebrew school, going on to train 50+ OST bar and bat mitzvah students. Then, she spent 16 years as Director of Education for Temple Israel and six years as Principal of the United Hebrew School. Her book Judaic Artisans Today was published in 2000. In retirement and widowhood Kathryn returned to OST to sing in the choir and take on various teaching tasks. She began teaching the Intro to Judaism course in 2017.
Paul & Robyn Weiner: OSTY Teen Advisors
“Helping the next generation blossom.” That is how Robyn Weiner describes her joint role as teen advisor for Ohef Sholom Temple, alongside her husband, Paul.
Robyn is a Florida native, a graduate of the University of Central Florida. As a teen, she was part of United Synagogue Youth movement through her synagogue in South Florida and attended USY on Wheels. When she’s not serving as OSTY advisor, Robyn is an editor at Virginia Business magazine.
Paul is a Maryland native who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and is now a middle and high school English teacher in Norfolk. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business and his master’s in leadership from the College of William & Mary. When Paul was a teen, his NFTY youth group was a source of leadership training and temple connection.
Together, Paul and Robyn guide teen programming through OSTY (8th-12th grades, JOSTY (6th & 7th grades), and Madrichim teaching assistants to strengthen our teens’ voices in the spiritual growth of our community. They joined Ohef Sholom Temple as teen advisors in 2016. They have two children, Noah and Molly.
OPERATIONS
Gillian Donovan: Operations manager
Gill has worked with Ohef Sholom since 2005. She has lived in Florida and Phoenix, but Ghent is her first and forever home. As Operations Manager she oversees the maintenance, appearance and safety of the building and grounds, janitorial and general facility operations. She is the liaison with IT, AV, landscaping, cleaning and security personnel. She is the primary staff person for Services, Temple Events, private functions and Religious School.
Jim Gurlea: building engineer
As Building Engineer Jim oversees the general maintenance of the building. He ensures the mechanical systems are functioning at peak performance. Some fun facts about Jim are that he was once featured in the Florida Fishing magazine for the biggest largemouth bass caught in the St. Johns River. He also makes a great chili. He once entered a chili contest in St. Croix, but didn’t win because his chili wasn’t hot enough.
Ohef Sholom Facebook
Ohef Sholom Instagram
OST Religious School Facebook
Ohef Sholom Friends
OSTY/JOSTY