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JLA’s commitment to excellence in academics, service, and character begins at the very top. We have therefore assembled a diverse leadership team with extraordinary credentials, vast experience, and deep seated commitment to the values at the heart of JLA’s mission.
Gil Perl
Head of School
Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl is the CEO of the Gisela and Daniel Ades Foundation and the Founding Head of School of the Jewish Leadership Academy.
With a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA and PhD from Harvard University, rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva University, and fifteen years of experience leading highly regarded college preparatory K-12 Jewish Day Schools, Rabbi Dr. Perl is a nationally recognized leader in Jewish education.
In his previous role as Head of School of Kohelet Yeshiva and Chief Academic Officer of the Kohelet Foundation, Rabbi Perl led the team that designed and launched Yeshiva Lab School, a highly innovative elementary and middle school in suburban Philadelphia intended to re-imagine what Jewish Day School can and ought to be. Under his leadership, Yeshiva Lab School merged with Kohelet Yeshiva High School to create the Philadelphia area’s only Modern Orthodox K-12 Jewish day school.
Known for his vision, creativity, and dynamism, Dr. Perl was twice awarded Harvard University’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching and, as an Instructor of Modern Jewish History at Yeshiva University, he was named Yeshiva University’s Lillian F. and William L. Silber Professor of the Year.
In May of 2020, Dr. Perl was named a National Health Hero by JetBlue Airlines for having led the effort to transform Kohelet Yeshiva High School’s Fab Lab into a major face shield production facility to mitigate the severe PPE shortages at local hospitals during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rabbi Perl is the author of the book The Pillar of Volozhin: Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin and the World of Nineteenth-Century Lithuanian Torah Scholarship, published by Academic Studies Press and numerous articles on topics relating to the history of Modern Jewry, contemporary Jewish education, and Modern Orthodoxy. He lives in Boca Raton with his wife Melissa, an accomplished educational leader in her own right, and three of their four children: Racheli, Binny, and Eitan. Shmuel, their oldest, lives in Israel with his wife, Hila.
Follow Rabbi Perl on his blog gilperl.com and on Twitter @gperl
Email: gperl@jlamiami.org
Judd Shapiro
Associate Head of School, Upper School
Born and raised in Miami, Judd Shapiro is a career educator with over three decades of experience.
For the past 25 years Judd has taught Advanced Placement Literature and served as the English Department Chair at Gulliver Preparatory School, where many of his students have published their own novels and won numerous NCTE awards. He has also worked in admissions, designed and implemented professional development for the faculty, written curriculum for the humanities, and he has been responsible for faculty observations and retention.
Judd has received the Deaver Award for Excellence in Teaching, and he has been recognized by M.I.T. and Tufts University as an inspirational teacher. He has a BA degree in English from the University of Miami (where he had the good fortune to study under Isaac Bashevis Singer), and an MS from St. Thomas University in Marital and Family Therapy. In addition, he is a college admissions counselor as well as a competitive youth soccer coach.
He and his wife Melanie have three sons, and they enjoy spending their summers hiking throughout the White Mountains in New England.
Email: jshapiro@jlamiami.org
Lori Kubach
Associate Head of School, Middle School
Mrs. Kubach brings over 20 years of educational experience from K-12 to JLA. A science teacher specializing in Gifted and Talented education, Mrs. Kubach played a critical role in getting Boca Raton’s Grandview Preparatory School up and off the ground, serving as their Talented and Gifted Coordinator before moving on to become their Lower School Principal and eventually the K-12 Associate Head of School. Most recently, Mrs. Kubach served as the Assistant Principal of Academics at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Ft. Lauderdale.
Mrs. Kubach has a BA in Education from the University of Kentucky, an MA in Exceptional Education from the University of Louisville, and a secondary MA in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University. She is the mother of three and enjoys traveling, running by the ocean, gardening, and design projects. She credits growing up on a farm in Ashland, Kentucky for her love of science and the outdoors.
Email: lkubach@jlamiami.org
Joe Sharp
CFO/COO
Born and raised in Chicago, Joe previously served as the Executive Director of Katz Hillel Day School in Boca Raton for 9 years where he oversaw all aspects of the school’s financial and physical plant operations. Known for deploying organization-wide systems and maximizing efficiencies, Joe’s professionalism and accountability have helped fuel monumental growth and unprecedented financial stability at KHDS.
Prior to joining Katz Hillel, Joe spent 15 years in the for-profit sector, serving as both a Controller and as a Chief Operating Officer. He has a BS in Accounting, an MBA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management, and serves on several local and national professional boards and councils.
Joe resides in Boca Raton with his wife Shira, and their 2 children.
Email: jsharp@jlamiami.org
Debbie Stone
Associate Head for Judaics
Originally from London, Dr. Stone holds a BA in Humanities with emphasis in Jewish Studies and a teaching degree from the General Teaching Council for England. Debbie spent a year studying in Michlalah Jerusalem College and received her Doctorate in Education from Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School.
A sought after speaker and educator, Dr. Stone brings over 15 years of experience in both formal and informal Jewish education to JLA. She is the co-author of the Koren-NCSY siddur as well as the Koren Aviv Siddur. Most recently she served as the Director of High School Judaic Studies and Community Engagement at Hebrew Academy (RASG) in Miami Beach.
Email: dstone@jlamiami.org
Success is…
Leadership is…
Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl
Founding Head of School
When dreams collide, the truly extraordinary can happen.
For years I dreamed of creating an educational institution that catered to the unique needs and abilities of our Jewish community’s most driven and capable students. For years I’ve been troubled by the shallow pool of qualified candidates willing and able to give of their time, wisdom, and resources to our community’s most prized and precious organizations and institutions. For years I have argued that at the very core of Modern Orthodoxy ought to be the concept of Or Amim, the Torah’s unequivocal mandate to share light, values, and goodness with the world at large. For years, however, these were nothing more than fervent dreams.
In the Fall of 2020, however, the stars began to align. As the pandemic raged around us, a series of unexpected circumstances and events unfolded which began to make this dream a distinct possibility. In the months that followed a team of dreamers emerged, united by a shared sense of purpose. Their lifelong passions and aspirations met mine. Their wisdom and generosity provided form, texture, and substance to our mingling ideas and to our shared ideals. And from that most beautiful of collisions, today something truly extraordinary is happening.
Today we are building a Jewish school like no other. A school that dares to think differently about what education is and what it ought to be. A school where deep-seated connection to Judaism and Israel doesn’t come at the expense of a first-rate college preparatory education. A school to which every mission appropriate student has equal access, regardless of their ability to pay. A school that will judge its success not merely on the diplomas that adorn our graduates’ walls, but on the difference those graduates make in the lives of others.
If those dreams are your dreams – if you aspire to be part of something truly extraordinary – I invite and encourage you to become part of the JLA community today.
Sincerely Yours,
Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl
A school is only as good as its teachers. They are the guides and facilitators who enable our students to discover the world around them. They are the coaches and mentors who inspire our students to uncover the potential within them.
Their job begins in the classroom and extends far beyond. They challenge our students to accomplish more than they ever dreamed they could; they push, encourage and support our students as they develop, grow, and mature; and they model the character, ethics, and values by which we expect our students to learn and live.
Only inspired teachers inspire students.
At JLA, we believe that excellent teachers should be recognized, appreciated, and supported. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and hiring the best teachers in their respective disciplines and compensating them in a manner that reflects the exceptional work that they do.
“It is the supreme art of he teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
– Albert Einstein
Do you know someone who might be?
Reach out and introduce yourself.
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Rabbi Yosef Albo was born in Israel, and after living in the Dominican Republic for five years, his family made their way to Brooklyn, NY, where he began his eclectic formal Jewish education as a student of various Yeshivot, including Ateret Torah, Chaim Berlin, Ohr Sameach (Jerusalem), Ner Israel Baltimore and Yeshiva University.
Concurrent with his Smicha studies at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Albo pursued a Masters Degree in Jewish Philosophy, thus continuing in the footsteps of his forefather Rabbi Yosef Albo, the famous medieval Jewish philosopher and author of Sefer Ha’ikarim. He also holds a BA in English Literature from Yeshiva University..
Rabbi Albo joins JLA as the Director of Jewish Life in which capacity he will be responsible for overseeing Jewish programming, special events, and our August in Israel Program. He will also be overseeing our daily Sephardic minyan. Rabbi Albo comes to JLA with eighteen years of experience in education, most recently as a highly regarded Judaics Teacher and the Director of Sephardi Programming at the Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where he built curriculum for honors level classes in Talmud, Tanach, Halacha, and Jewish Philosophy. Devoted to Jewish communal life, he held Rabbinic positions at the Hampton Synagogue, Manhattan Jewish Experience, and Riverdale Jewish Center.
Rabbi Albo is also an accomplished artist, illustrator, painter, photographer, composer, and musician. The Albo Band, which he founded and leads, will soon be releasing its third album entitled “Poor Man’s Prayer.” The conversation between Torah and Art is an integral component of everything he does and we look forward to Rabbi Albo inspiring our students and infusing our campus life with his unique set of remarkable talents and skills.
Ms. Frances Alexander will also be joining JLA from Ransom Everglades School where she taught 7th-10th grade English for six years and also served as the faculty advisor to TedX Ransom Everglades School. Prior to Ransom, she taught 10th grade English as well as two elective courses that she designed at Friends School of Baltimore. Ms. Alexander began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member in
Washington, DC public and charter schools. She has also taught English at Lyc e Boissy D’Anglas in France.
An accomplished musician and dancer with fluency in three languages, Frances holds a BA from Northwestern University in Middle Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Anthropology, and an MA in English Language and Literature from Vermont’s prestigious Middlebury College. Widely seen as a rising star in South Florida’s Independent School landscape, Ms. Alexander is currently enrolled in the School
Management and Leadership Program at Harvard University.
Daphna Bar Yosef
B.S., M.S.
Hebrew Teacher
Mrs. Daphna Bar Yosef is excited to join JLA as an Instructor of Hebrew. Daphna grew up in Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a Tank Instructor. She attended Tel Aviv University, studying Tanach, before continuing to earn both her BS and MS from NYU in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. After concluding her studies in 2021, she moved to Miami with her husband and daughter.
Daphna brings over ten years of experience in the teaching and learning world, ranging from teaching in a Jewish Day School to serving as a Division Head and Sports Director in an Israeli summer camp.
As a practicing Speech and Language Pathologist, Daphna has a deep understanding of language development and is excited to teach her students how to incorporate Hebrew into their everyday lives and build exceptional communication skills. During her spare time she enjoys running, biking, and swimming and is also looking forward to cheering loudly at JLA’s sports games “קדימה JLA!”
Alexa Castillo
B.S., M.S.
Executive Assistant to the Head of School
Originally from South Bend, Indiana, RC Ganser has enjoyed over 27 years in education, 18 of them at Gulliver Preparatory as an administrator, teacher, and coach. At Gulliver, RC helped run the most competitive high school sports program, not only in Dade county, but in the entire state of Florida. RC brings 30 years of experience to JLA as an award-winning coach for numerous male and female sports including volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, and water polo. With a B.S.in Education / English from Indiana University South Bend, RC has taught middle school and high school English classes including Honors and Advanced Placement courses. Additionally, RC has served in many facets of education including Activities Director, Admissions, Strategic Planning, Student Advisory, Homework Research, and Faculty Council.
A former 2-sport college athlete in baseball and basketball, RC maintains a passion for being both a participant and spectator in many sports. Daughters Leilani, 25, and Kalei, 19, the loves of his life, are out on their own pursuing their respective educations and careers. Beyond the school setting, RC loves cooking, doing crossword puzzles, and writing poetry.
BS, Central Connecticut State University
Previously at AIPAC
Laura Gill
B.A., M.A
English Teacher
Ms. Laura Gill is a teacher, writer, and editor with over a decade of experience teaching and working with young adults. For seven years, she taught English at The Field School in Washington, D.C. There, she was also an advisor, co-founder of the Peer Tutoring Center and mentor for the literary magazine. During her time at The Field School, she completed an MFA at Bennington Writing Seminars, where she focused on creative nonfiction. Ms. Gill also holds a BA in English from Skidmore College. For the past four years, she has worked in the English Department at Palmer Trinity School where she taught World Literature, English Foundations, and Creative Writing while building curriculum across all grade levels. Laura’s teaching philosophy emphasizes interdisciplinary synthesis between films, books, podcasts, essays, and visual art, helping students recognize the links between different styles of communication and their value.
Aside from her work in schools, Laura has worked with teenagers in youth development organizations ranging from a summer camp on a farm to a nonprofit in D.C. advocating for youth’s rights. She brings with her a love of language and a great enthusiasm for the written word and is excited by the opportunity to build a community of writers and leaders among the JLA students. In her free time, Laura loves to visit museums, read, write, spend time with family, take photographs, explore, and cook.
