Meet our Staff

Penina Teitelbaum

Penina Teitelbaum

Head of School

Prior to joining the HSBY leadership, Mrs. Penina Teitelbaum founded and led Atara Girls High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving as principal for eight years. Her visionary leadership transformed the school into a nationally recognized institution known for its nurturing environment, exceptional student development, and academic excellence in its dual curriculum. Mrs. Teitelbaum holds a Master’s degree from the University of North Texas and received therapist training at the Family Clinic of Neve Yerushalayim. She seamlessly integrates her dual passions for education and social work, guiding her students toward adulthood and lifelong success.

Devorah Lewis

Devorah Lewis

Assistant Principal of Judaic Studies

Mrs. Lewis was Principal of Meira Academy in Palo Alto for 10 years. She proficiently led the school through three accreditation cycles and fostered a community reputation of excellence in education.

Read More

Prior to Meira Academy, Mrs. Lewis taught in Mesorah High School for Girls in Dallas, TX as well as Esther Miller Bais Yaakov in St. Louis, MO. Mrs. Lewis earned a B.A. from Maimonides College, Teacher Training through Yavneh Teacher Seminary, and has completed the prestigious Yesud Maaleh Principal Fellowship program through Torah U’mesorah.

Becca Siegel

Becca Siegel

Assistant Principal of General Studies

Mrs. Siegel was the Director of General Studies at Atara Girls High School for five years–where she taught English and Math for many years in a variety of settings. 

Read More
She attended Loyola University Chicago, where she studied English Literature and Secondary Education, and earned her Masters degree from the University of Illinois Chicago in Educational Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics and Assessment.
Rena Berger

Rena Berger

Executive Director

Rena Berger is the Executive Director of Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School. She is responsible for directing and managing finances, operations, human resources, and administration to support HSBY’s short- and long-term strategic goals.

Read More
Mrs. Berger helped found Torah Day School of Seattle, a non-profit elementary school in Seattle and worked there as the Director of Operations for sixteen years. She has an MBA in Non Profit Management from Touro University; an MEd in Policy, Planning, and Administration in Higher Education from Boston University; and a BSc in Biology, Psychology, and History from the University of Toronto.
Chani Holland

Chani Holland

Dean of Students

Chani Holland recently moved to Chicago from Brooklyn, NY where she was an English teacher and Dean for almost 2 decades in the NYC Department of Education. 

Read More
She specializes in conflict resolution and is trained in de-escalation and Restorative Practices.
Chaya Krohn

Chaya Krohn

Director of Programming

Chaya Krohn is Director of Programming. In past years, Chaya has gotten to know the students of HSBY through the Erev Shira Program, where she has served as its director since 2009.

Read More
She comes to Hanna Sacks from her previous position as Director of Job Link, a division of Chicago Chesed Fund, where for the past 11 years she assisted clients and provided support necessary to help them find meaningful careers and employment. During her 24 years in Chicago, Chaya has worked with a variety of organizations helping them to manage and organize an array of events and fundraisers. She began her work with teens as the Director of NCSY in Ottawa, Ontario.
Reva Landau

Reva Landau

Director of Development & Communications, College and Career Guidance Counselor

Reva Landau is a graduate of Hanna Sacks (grade of 08′) and has previously worked as Director of Recruitment at Lander College for Women in NY. 

Read More
She brings her extensive knowledge of the topic to the position, as well as a passion for helping young women build successful and meaningful careers.

Judaic Studies Teachers

Shayna Berkowitz
sberkowitz@hsby.org

Basya Cohen
bcohen@hsby.org

Rivka Efron
refron@hsby.org

Rivkie Eichenstein
reichenstein@hsby.org

Zelda Francis
zzzzfrancis@gmail.com

Meira Gershman
mgershman@hsby.org

Dovid Meir Greenberg
Rabbigreenberg@hsby.org

Shira Irons
sirons@hsby.org

Esther Kurtz
ekurtz@hsby.org

Yisroel Langer
sruly.langer@gmail.com

Orit Marmel
omarmel@hsby.org

Schmuel Muschel
smuschel@hsby.org

Mindy Reiss
mindyona@gmail.com

Aliza Rosenbaum
alizagreenland@gmail.com

Chany Schlesinger
cschlesinger@hsby.org

Leah Schneider
Lschneider@hsby.org

Shmuel Shapiro
sshapiro@hsby.org

Baila Simcha
bsimcha@hsby.org

Chaya Wender
cwender@hsby.org

Dovid Zucker
s.carron@comcast.net

General Studies Teachers

Michal Leah Albin
malbin@hsby.org

Shevy Castle

Joi Conley
jconley@hsby.org

Sara Dallow
sdallow@hsby.org

Rivkie Eichenstein
reichenstein@hsby.org

Leah Gold
lgold@hsby.org

Jonathan Keller
jkeller@hsby.org

Vera Krinsky
vkrinsky@hsby.org

Josie Levin
jlevin@hsby.org

Alan Loebmann
aloebmann@hsby.org

Richel Deena Miller
rdmiller@hsby.org

Esther Olevitch
eolevitch@hsby.org

Julie Pearlman
jweiss@hsby.org

Malka Reich
mreich@hsby.org

Michael Rosenberg
mrosenberg@hsby.org

Dinah Rubinoff
drubinoff@hsby.org

Samantha Schultz
sschultz@hsby.org

Elana Shapiro
eshapiro@hsby.org

Amanda Smith
asmith@hsby.org

Devorah Tabachnik
dtabachnik@hsby.org

Office Staff

Tzippy Kalman
Secretary
tkalman@hsby.org

Brukha Osnovsky
Building Manager
g.osnovsky@yahoo.com

Nechama Redfern
Executive Financial Assistant
credfern@hsby.org

Yonina Zuckerman
Executive Assistant
yzuckerman@hsby.org

Yana Kolbasov
Executive Assistant
ykolbosov@hsby.org

Chaya Simmonds
Administrative Assistant
csimmonds@hsby.org

Shoshana Berger
Director of Student Services
sberger@hsby.org

Debbie Shmikler
Title 1
debbieshmikler@gmail.com