Last month Rabbi Maura Linzer of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester was one of the recipients of the Young Pioneers Award from the Jewish Education Project, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering educators to create transformative Jewish experiences that help children, teens, and families thrive in today’s highly complex and challenging world.
As Associate Rabbi-Educator, Maura Linzer has dedicated her rabbinate to building positive Jewish memories in a family-centered, experiential, and inclusive environment. Under her leadership, she built a program of more than 45 teen volunteers, whose primary focus is to assist the 30 percent of students who have unique learning or emotional needs. Beth El’s Religious School has become known for its experiential learning units, Artist-in-Residence Programs, which expose the students to music, yoga, mural art, theater, pottery, and dance. The religious school has expanded greatly under her leadership with 368 students enrolled this year.