Mara Suskauer joined Temple B’nai Abraham as executive director in November 2021. Prior to joining TBA, she was the director of lower school admissions at Golda Och Academy and before that was the executive director of Israel advocacy and education at Jewish National Fund. She has spent her career leading Jewish non-profits and has family roots at TBA, as her husband’s family members belonged to TBA when it was in Newark.

Mara has a Master of Public Administration, Non-Profit Management, from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business and International Affairs from Kennesaw State University.

While Mara has southern roots and grew up in Marietta, Georgia, she’s been in New Jersey for almost 20 years. When not at TBA, you can find her around town with 3 kids, trying to sneak in runs with the SOMA Foxes, or walking a very friendly Bernese Mountain Dog with her husband.

Debbie has been an early childhood educator for over three decades and has been associated with B’nai Abraham’s pre-school programs for over 36 years. She is a graduate of Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and a minor and training in Special Education and Day Care Management. Debbie, a pre-school math and language arts specialist has developed the school’s literacy related curriculum for all age levels. She has been instrumental in formulating the latest theories and translating them into curriculum and programming. Debbie is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Sheila founded the Temple B’nai Abraham Nursery School in September of 1974. Before that, she taught and established other nursery schools in the area. In addition to her degree in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College, she has been trained in a variety of therapy models. Her strong background in the arts from the High School of Music and Art and from Hunter College enabled her to incorporate many creative activities into the program. Her love of Judaism began with her attendance at a Yiddish school as a child. Her continuing education, studying Torah and Jewish subjects, is clearly visible during Shabbat and holiday experiences she shares with the children and their families. She is enjoying retirement— on occasion coming by to delight all with her unique style of teaching about Shabbat and the Jewish holidays.

(photo courtesy Jan Press PhotoMedia)

Before joining Temple B’nai Abraham in 2012,  Melissa had served as the Director of Education and Lifelong Learning of Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael, Morristown, NJ,   Previously serving Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative synagogues in Massachusetts, Missouri and New Jersey, she has created curriculum for CAJE in St. Louis and presented workshops on Family Education in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Missouri.

Director Weiner has earned a BA from Brandeis University and MA from Brown University, and has studied in Israel. She has been honored with both regional and national Solomon Schechter Awards for her many innovative programs such as the Jewseum, Lions of Jerusalem Day and Lech Lecha. She was the Recipient of 2007-2008 United Synagogue Conservative Judaism NJ Region Norman H. Winter Professional Excellence Award.