Administrative Staff
Ken Turkewitz, Executive Director
Ken serves as Executive Director of Temple Shalom, overseeing temple operations, including management of the office and the property, fiscal operations for the temple, staff liaison to the board and outside organizations, member relations, and staff management of the administrative and operational personnel.
Ken has previously served as Executive Director in New Bedford, MA, and Worcester, MA, and as an Interim Executive Director in Pittsburgh, PA and Princeton, NJ. In addition, his Jewish community volunteer and lay leadership experience is deep, having served as a synagogue President and in numerous other committee roles. He recently completed eight years as a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, and is a past volunteer with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston and of Big Brothers of Greater Boston. Ken is a past Regional President of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), and remains quite active in the organization, including chairing the organization’s Leadership Development Institute in January 2020, and currently serving as Treasurer of the foundation arm, The Foundation for Jewish Life.
Ken is on his second career. In the past, he has held roles as a high tech Program Manager, working on programs such as the establishment of Internet infrastructure and creation of new driver license systems for several U.S. states.
Ken grew up in New York (Long Island), and now lives with his wife, Carol, in Walpole, MA. Ken and Carol have five adult sons. Ken holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from M.I.T.
Connect with Ken, ext. 102
Gray Schulman, Administrative Assistant
Gray Schulman joined the Temple Shalom team in 2023 with previous experience in administration and
customer service. Originally from Edison, NJ, they have been involved in the Jewish community in various capacities,
including becoming Ba’al Tekiah at Temple Neve Shalom in Metuchen, NJ. Gray received a BA in History
from Muhlenberg College in 2016. They made the move up to Massachusetts in 2020 and currently
reside in Newton Lower Falls. Gray enjoys baking, writing, watching hockey, and playing tabletop games.
Connect with Gray, ext. 116
Simone Bordage, Assistant to the Clergy
Simone Bordage joined the Temple Shalom team in 2023. They have a background in community support and care, as well as technology and administration. They previously worked at the Brookline Public Library and they are now excited to work as the Executive Assistant to the Clergy. Simone has lived in Boston their whole life and currently lives in Roslindale with their dear friends and two energetic cats. They enjoy exploring, adventures, and discovering new books to read.
Connect with Simone, ext. 109 (Please also contact Simone to get in touch with our Clergy)
Scott Shore, Bookkeeper
Scott Shore joined the staff at Temple Shalom in September 2022. He previously worked for many years at a physical therapy clinic, in the front office, performing various administrative and financial tasks. He currently resides in Wilmington unencumbered by roommates. Scott enjoys watching and attending various sporting events, especially those involving Boston’s professional teams, the Connecticut Sun and Northeastern hockey.
Connect with Scott, ext. 104
Alonso Batista, Facilities
Alonso is dedicated to maintaining a safe and clean Temple. He lives in Framingham with his family.
Learning and Engagement Staff
Lucy Banerji, Temple Shalom Nursery School Director
Lucy became director of the Temple Shalom Nursery School in 2017. Lucy studied psychology and sociology of childhood at Saratov State University, Russia and holds a doctorate in Sociology of Childhood. She is passionate about children's rights, equity, inclusion and anti-bias curriculum. Lucy's professional experience includes work with preschool children, academic research and teachers' training, including at Tufts University.
Connect with Lucy, ext. 119
Liz Corman Shiro, Director of Hebrew Learning and Program Development
Liz has been with Temple Shalom since 2013. Liz wants to help our kids and families find their connection to Judaism. She values mentoring teachers and helping teachers find their authentic voice in their teaching. Liz received her Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew College in 2007. She has also completed the MEAH program through Hebrew College and the DeLeT program through Brandeis University. Liz lives in Sharon with her husband Lee, their twin girls, Eliana and Rose, their son, Jacob and their dog, Luna.
Connect with Liz, ext. 112
Marriah Vengroff, Director of Judaic Learning and Inclusion
Marriah grew up primarily in Storrs, Conn., but has lived in Newton Centre for a decade. Marriah’s family joined the Temple Shalom community in 2013 when her son, Henry, entered the Nursery School. She was a history major at Wheaton College and earned her Masters of Education from Regis College. She taught elementary school in Weston for two years. Marriah and her husband, Chris, both avid volleyball players, are the parents of Henry and Norah.
Connect with Marriah, ext. 111
Becca Yudkoff, Director of Early Childhood Engagement
Becca joined Temple Shalom staff in 2017. She has a bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Lesley University and a masters in Early Childhood Education from the University of British Columbia. She taught elementary school for six years before becoming the Program Director at a community center in Beacon Hill. Becca lives in Newton with her husband, Ben, and their three children. Becca enjoys singing, biking, sewing and going out to hear live music - especially if it involves a banjo!
Connect with Becca, ext. 118
Aleeza Schoenberg, Programming Coordinator
Aleeza started as Temple Shalom's programming coordinator in 2023. Previously, she worked in Jewish student engagement and programming at a university near her residence in Cambridge. Her studies at Princeton University included psychology, creative writing, theater, and computer science, which inspired her to find ways to use creativity and problem solving in people-centered work. Aleeza grew up in Newton. In her free time, she enjoys taking walks, traveling, befriending cute puppies, and pretending to be useful at weekly trivia nights.
Connect with Aleeza, ext. 115
Talia Elliott, Peah Garden Director and Nursery School Judaic and Nature Curriculum Coordinator
Talia is the Peah Garden Director for the temple & Judaic and Nature Curriculum Coordinator at the Nursery School. With more than 20 years of teaching experience in the field of Early Childhood Education, Talia has a broad range of skills. She taught infants, toddlers and preschoolers, developed nature-rich curricula and led young children in Judaic studies. Talia is fluent in Hebrew. She effectively supports our bilingual students and organically involves all children and adults at the Nursery School into the process of learning Hebrew words, songs, and blessings. Talia studied at Solomon Schechter Day School and later at Hebrew College Prozdor as well as Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. Talia is passionate about working with children outdoors and developing our gardening program with a Jewish lens.
Mitchell Harris, Lead Teacher and Administrative Assistant for Jewish Learning and Living
Mitchell grew up in West Newton, and in many ways he has grown up at Temple Shalom. His family joined Temple Shalom when he was in fourth grade, and the journey has never stopped. In addition to discovering his passion for Jewish learning while preparing to become a Bar Mitzvah, Mitchell uncovered his love for Jewish living through his participation and leadership in Temple Shalom’s youth group and the regional Jewish youth organization NFTY-Northeast. He then used this experience while serving in several leadership positions, including Executive Vice President, in the Hillel program at Clark University in Worcester, MA. He earned a BA in Communication & Culture and a Minor in Management from Clark. In Worcester, he also worked in the marketing and communications department at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Since 2012, Mitchell has returned to Temple Shalom and served in many educational positions, including head classroom teacher and classroom aide. He is excited to continue serving this community now as Administrative Assistant for Jewish Learning and Living, while still teaching children in Small Group Hebrew. He lives in Watertown and enjoys swimming, traveling, meeting new people, listening to good music, and anything having to do with game shows or trivia.
Josh Conescu, Lead Teacher
Josh Conescu (he/him) has been teaching "Jewish" in the Boston area for almost 25 years. It all began right here, one Shabbat before Torah Study. (Former Education Director) Julie Vanek walked in and asked if anyone might be interested in teaching a Sunday class in the Religious School. "Well, I'm a teacher," he thought, "...and I'm going to drive my kids here on Sunday mornings anyway..." Thus began his journey into Jewish education. He is happy to say he's never looked back.
Nancy Peel, Lead Teacher
Nancy joined the Temple Shalom staff in June of 2020, but has worked in Jewish Education for over 20 years. She has taught Hebrew School at almost every age level and is also a Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor. Nancy also taught Public School in Jacksonville, Florida as well as several towns in Massachusetts. She lives in Mansfield with her husband Tom and has 3 grown children. Nancy also enjoys pickleball, biking and playing mahjongg!