Temple Kol Ami Staff

A native Texan, Rabbi Jeremy Schneider grew up in Houston at Congregation Beth Israel, attended the University of Texas in Austin earning a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development, and attended rabbinical school at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and a Master of Arts in Jewish Education. Rabbi Schneider wrote his rabbinical thesis with Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Ph.D. on Jewish-Christian Relations: From Tolerance to Pluralism to Partnership. Rabbi Schneider came to Scottsdale from Dallas, Texas where he was the Associate rabbi at Temple Shalom (2006-2011).

Rabbi Schneider has earned certificates in Synagogue Management and pre-marital & marital counseling. He completed Clinical Pastoral Education with Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas where he honed pastoral skills and a special rapport with children. Rabbi Schneider is a charismatic teacher and is actively involved in early childhood education, religious school and adult education, and is an enthusiastic supporter of NFTY, Jewish teen programs and camps. He grew up as a camper and a counselor at the URJ Greene Family Camp and URJ Jacobs Camp, including leading trips to Israel.

In January 2019, Rabbi Schneider was presented with the title, “Reform Jewish Educator” (RJE) to signify the achievement of academic and professional standards of excellence as an educational leader, given by the Association of Reform Jewish Educators, American Conference of Cantors, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Union for Reform Judaism.

In the spring of 2014, Rabbi Schneider completed a year-long Interfaith Fellowship Seminar with the Monsignor Ryle Fund designed to inform Arizona faith leaders to be advocates for sound public policy and social justice in our community.  In 2012, Rabbi Schneider was selected to be a Brickner Fellow by the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C.  to be a more effective social justice advocate. In 2009, Rabbi Schneider was selected to participate in the executive leadership program Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal: Professional Education for Excellence in the Rabbinate.  His writings have been published by the Arizona Republic, Phoenix Jewish News, Union for Reform Judaism and has an article published in the book Reflections and Experiences of Religion and Society.

In 2008, Rabbi Schneider was chosen as one of six Americans for an interfaith study tour in Egypt and Syria sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. In 2009, Rabbi Schneider was given the “Citizen Diplomat – Peace Quilt Award” from the National Peace Foundation in Washington, D.C. for his grassroots work in durable peace building. In 2010, Rabbi Schneider was a keynote speaker at the 47th Annual Islamic Society of North America Convention in Chicago. In 2017, Rabbi Schneider was asked to participate in the American Peace Caravan in 2 Forums for Promoting World Peace: May in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and October in Rabat, Morocco. In February, 2018,  and, again in February 2023, Rabbi Schneider was one of the Arizona delegates to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. In December, 2019, Rabbi Schneider attended the Fifth Assembly of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Rabbi Schneider is considered a national leader in Interfaith relations.

Currently, Rabbi Schneider serves as the President of the Greater Phoenix Board of Rabbis.

Rabbi Schneider is married to Rachel, a teacher at Pardes Jewish Day School in Scottsdale, who also holds a Master of Arts in Jewish Communal Service and a Master of Arts in Public Service. They are the proud parents of 4 children: Ezra, Micah, Naomi & Sarah and 4 dogs: Deli, Caleb, Lily and Elsa.

Noa Shaashua was born in Jerusalem and inherited her love for Judaism from her father, Rabbi Shlomo Tucker. Noa proudly joined the Israel Defense Forces when she came of age and was assigned to teach underprivileged and academically challenged soldiers. That experience influenced her to pursue teaching as part of her career when she moved to the United States.

Noa’s love for music brought her to America to attend the Berklee College of Music located in Massachusetts. At the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world, Noa studied jazz and modern American music, which influenced her love of all music. There she also met her husband, fellow musician and duet partner, Shai Shaashua.

Noa is best known for her joyful spirit, her soulful singing, and her passion for Jewish learning. She is dedicated to integrating the ancient sounds of Jewish tradition with contemporary music. With a rich and varied background in both Judaism and music, she brings life and a unique energy to all she does. Noa’s passion for education drives her as she aspires to make Jewish tradition accessible to all.

Noa served Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills, California where she worked for seven years. While on this journey, Noa discovered her true passion was in the cantorate and enrolled in the Cantorial Intern Cantors Assembly Cantorate program and was ordained as cantor in June 2022.

Noa and her husband Shai have two children, Lavee and Yair, who are their pride and joy.

Nancy Drapin, Kol Ami’s executive director, is a specialist in nonprofit management with more than 35 years experience in public education, arts and culture, and Jewish communal organizations.

After 10 years teaching art to students with learning disabilities in Cleveland and San Francisco, Nancy brought her creative and organizational abilities to the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, where her 18-year career included increasingly responsible jobs in adult programs, public relations marketing and development, eventually becoming executive director. In the mid 1990s, Nancy moved to Washington D.C., where she opened the District of Columbia JCC as associate director.

Returning to the Bay Area in the late 90s, Nancy headed up Community Impact, a nonprofit organization that developed community service projects for large corporations. But Jewish communal work called her back, and Nancy joined the staff at congregation Sherith Israel, a Reform congregation, serving as the Membership and Marketing director and as interim executive director. Lured back to the private sector in 1998, Nancy joined a software security company as their administrative director. In 2001, Nancy was asked to return to Congregation Sherith Israel, where she served as Executive Director for ten years. In 2011, Congregation Kol Shofar, a Conservative community, recruited Nancy to help build the congregation’s programs and infrastructure for five years while a rabbinic search was conducted, and as community partnerships were rebuilt as congregation moved into a newly renovated facility.

Always community focused, Nancy has been an active volunteer in national organizations. She served on the boards of the Western Regional Association of Jewish Communal Professionals and the Bay Area Substance Abuse Institute. Nancy’s other community involvements have included the Business and Professional Women’s Association, the program development committee of the UJA Federation of Greater Washington, Congregation Emanu-El’s community service board, the JFCS disabilities task force, and the community relations committee of the San Francisco YWCA. Nancy served as president of the Bay Area Temple Administrators association and also was actively involved with the Jewish Community Federation’s capacity building task forces for membership development.

Nancy has continued her dedication to the community in Scottsdale. She serves as co-chair of the Jewish Women’s Professional group, is a member of the Board of the Women’s Leadership Institute, and a member of the Jewish Advisory Board of the Phoenix Police Department. She has organized a regional group of synagogue executive directors in Arizona and New Mexico who meet weekly. She is also co-chair for local planning for the upcoming National Association of Temple Administrator’s (NATA) conference to be held in Scottsdale in November 2021.

Nancy, her husband, Stewart Reichlyn and their dog Lucy (a wildly-happy Woodle rescue) are looking forward to continue meeting new friends and enjoying unique adventures in the city and the Southwest.

Nancy’s door is always open and she invites everyone into her office for a piece of chocolate and discussion.

Nicole L. Stokes is the Early Childhood Director at Temple Kol Ami as of July 2022. She brings her firsthand experience to TKA as a Master Teacher with over 25 years of classroom experience in elementary & early childhood education.

Nicole earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from S.U.N.Y at Fredonia in New York. Her first teaching position was with the Head Start Program in NY prior to relocating to Phoenix in 1998. Upon arrival in Arizona, Nicole spent the next ten years of her career at Tesseract School where she taught Kindergarten, Fourth Grade, and Pre-K in a team-teaching model. She also served as the Early Childhood Coordinator of Tesseract’s ECC Program. In 2008, she went on to pursue her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a focus on Administration through Northern Arizona University. While doing so, she returned to the classroom at Pardes Jewish Day School for the next fifteen years teaching Kindergarten, First, and Third Grade.

In 2019, Nicole was selected as a Teacher Leadership Fellow, where she implemented a school-wide initiative focused on Responsive Classroom and the social-emotional needs of the students within the school. She continued on, and pursued a M.A. in Educational Leadership at Brandeis University and graduated in May of 2021. Nicole has held multiple positions and certificates throughout her professional career including but not limited to: Early Childhood Director, Pre-school Assistant to Lower School Head, NYS Teaching Certification, AZ Teaching Certification, Bullying Prevention Committee Chair, Dance & Pom Coach, Events Coordinator, Enrichment Teacher, Private Tutor, Enrichment Coordinator, Genius Coach, as well as Lower School Dean.

Nicole’s family, working with students, and serving in the community is what fuels her soul and keeps her continually inspired. When she is not working with children, she loves spending time with her husband Derek, their son Bryant, two older sons, extended family, and grandchildren. In

her free time, Nicole loves utilizing the creative side of her brain decorating, organizing, and designing spaces for different venues and projects. She also enjoys reading, shopping, traveling, writing, relaxing with their rescue pup, and sinking her toes in the sand on any beach.

A true “Arizonan,” Carly grew up in the Valley, attending religious school and youth group at an area Reform congregation. She received her undergraduate degree in Theatre for Youth and Communication at Arizona State and completed her Master’s in Education through Northern Arizona University. In addition, Carly worked with the JCC Shemesh Day Camp for four years and spent six summers at Camp Charles Pearlstein (now Camp Stein) as a Counselor, Administrator, and Program Director and is an experienced Youth Group Advisor.  Carly is also fond of her professional experiences with the Walt Disney Company, where she held several diverse positions over five years, including her work with Radio Disney’s youth education outreach program.

As the Director of Youth and Education and KATY (youth group) Advisor, Carly enjoys creating experiential learning methods and programming to engage the youth of our community. Carly is thrilled to be a part of such a warm, caring, and energetic community and looks forward to the amazing things this community will accomplish as she continues her work with the youth and family members of Kol Ami.

Nobody wants to be marketed to… but everybody loves a good story.

The days of the ‘hard sell’ are over. Modern marketing is all about authenticity: finding ways to engage customers with a product, service, or organization so they truly ‘get’ what a brand is all about—and, most importantly, understand the value of what is being offered.

Danny combines strategy with storytelling to identify a brand’s special sauce; bringing that story to life in a way that’s both engaging and cost-effective—no matter what the medium. Since 2007, this award-winning advertiser has executed over $1 Billion in marketing campaigns, creating compelling content that sells without sounding salesy.

Ken’s career has included a variety of companies and industries that have broadened his skills and provided opportunities to broaden his horizons. Ken has held various accounting positions from the beginning level of accountant to the more rewarding and complicated controller/CFO/Treasurer positions. He has worked in the entertainment/amusement park industry with Walt Disney World in Florida and in communications with international Community Marketing and Net One International.

Ken is a New Yorker who moved to Florida and then moved out to Arizona in 2005. He brought his diverse skills to Golf Club resorts where he also gained retail experience. His 5+ years of non-profit experience as Controller for the Challenger Space Center in Peoria is invaluable to his work with TKA.

Ken has an adorable 10 year old rescue dog names Vivian and a wonderful girlfriend who moved from Virginia to be with him.