Meet Our Team

As a person born with a disability and parent of a child with a disability, Tamar is keenly aware of the ongoing need for advocacy and accessibility for disability inclusion and education for children and families in the global Jewish community. In August 2020, Tamar became CEO of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, after having served as the Chief Development Officer for the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston. Before that, Tamar had worked for over a decade at Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America and Hadassah International, most recently as Hadassah’s National Director of Annual Giving. Tamar is an active volunteer in the Greater Boston Jewish community, having previously served as a member of Gateways’ Board of Trustees and as Board Chair of Young Israel of Brookline. When she lived in Manhattan, Tamar was a Vice President of Congregation Ohab Zedek, a member of JNFuture’s Leadership Ring, and co-founded ViZion, a growing network of professionals working for Jewish, Israel and Zionist-related non-profits (now managed by the American Zionist Movement). Tamar has a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Yeshiva University’s Syms School of Business. A proud stepmother and mother to five children, Tamar lives with her husband, Allan Galper, in Brookline, MA.

Deirdre has worked in the non-profit field for over a decade, as a Director, Board member, and consultant. She has a passion for assisting growing organizations in developing the systems, structures, data, and strategic vision that allow them to further their impact. Prior to joining Gateways in 2012, Deirdre served as Program Director and then Director of Operations for a children’s health foundation, as well as serving as a consultant to a variety of non-profits on organizational development and strategy. She has held an array of leadership positions on non-profit Boards, focusing on strategic planning and the establishment of best practices. She holds a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in Non-Profit Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a concentration in Race and Ethnic Relations, both from Clark University.

Tali is passionate about inclusive Jewish Education and has worked with youth with and without disabilities in a variety of contexts including schools, synagogues, and summer camps. She has worked extensively as a disability inclusion consultant, partnering with Jewish organizations to improve their capacity to support and meaningfully include all members of the community. Tali holds an M.S.Ed in General and Special Education from Bank Street Graduate School and is a certified DIR/Floortime play therapist. In addition, she received a certificate in Advanced Jewish Studies/Day School Education from the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators and is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholarship.

Sharon has worked with children and families for more than 15 years. She previously worked as the director of early childhood services at The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston, where she managed programs in early intervention, therapeutic childcare, and the development of an early childhood system of care. She has experience working with children (through age 21) and their families, teachers, special education providers and schools, as well as acting as a liaison, regarding case coordination and the IEP process. Sharon received Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She holds Masters in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work and in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is a licensed clinical social worker.

Noah Horowitz’s professional life has been as a database manager and business systems analyst. He is happiest when he helps organizations turn gathered data into useful information. Over the years, this personal mission has supported small and large corporations as an employee, and Jewish organizations (synagogues, summer camps and the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs) as a volunteer. He graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Accounting and International Business and used his auditing skills to launch his career.

Mia Hyman is involved in many aspects of Gateways’ programming, providing services to Jewish Day Schools, synagogues, Jewish preschools and Gateways’ own Jewish Education Programs. Mia has many years of experience working with students with behavioral disorders, Autism and other Developmental Disabilities in many different settings. She has taught Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) classes at the college level, provides professional development to both adults and teens, and has had an article published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Intervention focusing on the strategies implemented for a young man with Autism to successfully experience becoming a Bar Mitzvah. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Masters in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Elianna Mentzer is a graduate of Skidmore College, where she earned her B.A. in International Affairs. At Skidmore, she cultivated a love of writing, minoring in English literature and working as the Head Tutor of the Skidmore College Writing Center, where she tutored undergraduate students from every academic department. Herself a former Gateways teen volunteer, Elianna is enthusiastic about Jewish education and community engagement. She loves working with kids and young people, and has held positions at Temple Israel Hebrew School, MetroWest Jewish Day School, and Camp Yavneh.

Michal joined Gateways after working for 10 years as the medical biller for a physical therapy company. She started at Gateways working part time in the Sunday program and is now working as the Student Services Financial Administrator. Michal graduated New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) in Concord, NH as a certified professional medical coder.

Rebecca began her career in special education as a high school volunteer at Gateways: Access to Jewish Education in 2003. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in Special Education in 2008, Rebecca returned to Gateways as a teacher. In addition to teaching in the Gateways Jewish Education Program, Rebecca has created the many resources available on the Gateways website, https://jgateways.org, and is the author of The Gateways Haggadah.

Jo comes to Gateways with experience in customer service and administration, having worked as an administrator for several different colleges and religious schools, including as the Office Assistant at URJ Camp Eisner. They also served as a queer and disability educator and have a BFA in creative writing from Wheaton College. In their free time, they enjoy cross-stitching, Israeli dance, and reading fantasy novels.

Rachel Sommer joined Gateways’ business office in 2008, and her position has evolved and grown right along with Gateways. She has worked in IT and administrative support for over 20 years, working at computer software start-ups including Transparent Language and Dragon Systems; large companies such as DMB&B, Marsh McLennan, and Lucent; and the Brain Tumor Society. Her first love, however, is working to support education, and her most beloved job before Gateways was as administrative and IT support at Boston University Academy. Rachel graduated from Brandeis University with honors in 1991. Rachel, her husband, and their two children all have neurodiverse challenges and have been grateful for the formal (through the Gateways Jewish Education Programs) and informal support of the Gateways community.

Leslie Zide, former Executive Director of Camp Kingswood and member of the Leadership team of Camp Grossman, brings with her a wealth of experience working with staff of all ages. She joins Gateways’ HR team to focus on the many tasks at hand in updating policies and procedures as the organization moves forward. Leslie is a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a BA in Economics. She lives in Ashland with her husband Lloyd, where she is a member of the Board of Directors of her community. She looks forward to working with her colleagues and promoting the mission of Gateways.