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Rabbi Pinchas Allouche is the founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Tefillah and the founding Dean and Spiritual Leader of the Nishmat Adin High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he resides with his wife, Esther, and ten children. He is a respected rabbinic figure, a renowned lecturer, and a prominent author of many essays on the Jewish faith, mysticism, and social-criticism.  Besides his academic pedigree, Rabbi Allouche is richly-cultural, having lived in France, where he was born, South Africa and Israel. He is also fluent in English, Hebrew, French and Italian. Rabbi Allouche is a member of AIPAC's National Council, and a member of the Vaad Harabanim, the Orthodox Rabbinic Council of Arizona.  Rabbi Allouche's wise, profound, and sensitive perspective on the world and its people, on life and living, is highly regarded and sought-after by communities and individuals of all backgrounds. Rabbi Allouche is also tremendously involved in the Jewish community of Greater Phoenix, and he teaches middle-school Judaics at Pardes Jewish Day School.  Rabbi Allouche is a blogger for many online publications, including the Huffington Post and The Times of Israel. Rabbi Allouche was listed in the Jewish Daily Forward as one of America's 36 Most Inspiring Rabbis, who are "shaping 21st Century Judaism."

Michelle Crincoli has almost two decades of classroom teaching and professional writing experience. She works closely with our Scottsdale students on day-to-day general studies assignments, executive functioning skills, and offers extra support to our students with learning disabilities. Michelle spent the 12 years prior at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles. As the English Department Chair, Michelle has redesigned the curriculum to reflect a more writing-centered approach to learning literature. She currently teaches Creative Writing and Film, Literature and Composition. She is the student advisor for the Women's Luncheon, the book club and the literary magazine. Michelle is also a professional screenwriter and has won multiple awards for her original TV pilots and short films. In her personal time, she loves to read and spend time with her husband and her dog.

Josh Meisel has been involved in formal and informal education for over a decade. After graduating from Shalhevet High School, Josh attended Yeshivat Hakotel and then joined the IDF, serving in the Golani Brigade. Josh worked with NCSY in Israel, helping to create a new program for American teenage olim, many of whom were having trouble adjusting to life in Israel. He began his experience in formal education at Shalhevet High School, serving as a learning specialist in Judaic studies to assist students with learning difficulties and help integrate students of various backgrounds into “mainstream” courses. While in Los Angeles, Josh also spent his time with Bnei Akiva as City Coordinator of Programming and led Teen Minyan at Bnai David Young Judaea. Josh has also spent summers at Moshava Wildrose as Education and Sports Director, as well as the Machal High School Program Head and Coordinator. Josh also served as the Mashgiach Ruchani and Director of Student Life in Seattle at Northwest Yeshiva High School, while teaching Tanakh, Jewish Practice and Law and Middle East studies. Currently, Josh leads the Jewish life, learning and studies on campus while overseeing the social, emotional and spiritual well-being of students. In his free time, Josh enjoys learning Torah, reading, playing sports and spending time with his family.

Avi Rosengard has been teaching and tutoring math since he was a high school student, starting with an internship at Phoenix Hebrew Academy working with struggling students in mathematics. He then went on to learn for a year and a half in Israel at Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah.  With a knack for understanding mathematics and science in detail, Mr. Rosengard obtained his Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering at ASU, where he excelled in several STEM classes involving advanced mathematics, coding, physics, mechanics, anatomy, and several other disciplines. Mr. Rosengard has several years' experience teaching math to students of varying abilities in both advanced and remedial math classes and to high school and upper-middle school students throughout Maricopa County. While teaching at these schools, Mr. Rosengard has undergone professional development in several math teaching styles and curricula, with an emphasis on the use of technology to enhance instruction. In his free time, Mr. Rosengard enjoys studying Jewish Philosophy and Halakhah, drawing with a computer program called Inkscape, learning new skills, and spending quality time with his family.

A native Hebrew speaker, Ms. Pony-Levitin has over 20 years of experience teaching Hebrew Language to elementary through high school-aged students in Jewish day schools.  Ms. Pony-Levitin has worked with Hebrew High, where she has taught Hebrew to students of varied skill levels, coordinating curriculum, and training teachers in curriculum and differentiated learning.  She has taught at some of the most exclusive private schools in the New York Metro area, as well as private, charter and public schools in Arizona, including Great Hearts and Pardes Jewish Day School.  Ms. Pony-Levitin also has extensive experience providing support to students with learning challenges in a variety of classroom settings and with Gesher Disability Resources, as well as supervising, mentoring, and training general and special education teachers. She has experience effectively implementing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 plans and working as an Exceptional Student Services (ESS) and English Language Learner (ELL) Coordinator.  She holds a Bachelor of Education in Special Education and is a certified teacher in the State of Arizona with SEI (Structured English Immersion) endorsement. Ilanit Pony-Levitin greatly enjoys working with our community and supporting our students to achieve success, through empowering them to accomplish their personal best.  When home with her family, Ms. Pony-Levitin enjoys listening to music, reading, baking, watching movies, traveling, and volunteering in various Jewish organizations in the Valley. 

Rabbi Tzvi is originally from Melbourne, Australia.  He mastered Talmudic training at schools in London, Los Angeles and New York and obtained his Smicha (Rabbinic Ordination) at Rabbinical College of America. He previously  served as Assistant Rabbi of Chabad of the East Valley, where he further directed their camp, the Hebrew school and CTeen programming.  Rabbi Tzvi is the previous Judaics and Hebrew Director at Desert Jewish Academy and currently directs CTeen of Phoenix.  As a teacher, he is known for being attentive to each individual while teaching Jewish concepts and values in a fun, interactive way.  "I believe that in order to engage and inspire the next generation of youth, Judaism must be taught in a positive and exciting light. I enjoy using relevant contemporary concepts as a way of explaining timeless Jewish traditions."  Rabbi T, as the teens call him, loves to rap, play piano and will never say no to a game of soccer.

Dana’s unique background in college and graduate school admissions counseling, career counseling, and student development services at both the high school and collegiate level span nearly 20 years. She has served as Director and Assistant Director for College Counseling at multiple schools, including The Idea School in Tenafly, NJ, Magen David Yeshivah High School in Brooklyn, Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, MD, and Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach. Dana has tremendous experience in all aspects of college guidance, including test prep, college list development, extracurricular and summer program planning, financial aid options, essay and application development, interview prep and gap year planning. She also has expertise in understanding campus Jewish life and the factors that are vital to a Jewish students' college experience and quality of life.