Meet Our Faculty & Staff

Administration

Rabbi Don Pacht, Head of School

Rabbi Pacht joined the VHA family in August of 2004, coming to us from Rochester, NY, where he served as Principal of General Studies and Adjunct Professor of Talmud for the Talmudical Institute of Upstate New York. He holds both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Talmudic Studies as well as a Masters Degree in Education from the State University of New York, College at Brockport.

Rabbi Pacht’s familiarity with both Judaic and General Studies pedagogy makes him a unique fit for our school. Rabbi Pacht is also a Mohel, a Sofer, and is certified as a Shatnez Tester.

Rabbi Eleazar Durden, Principal, Judaic Studies

Rabbi Durden joined the VHA administrative team as Principal of Judaic Studies in 2010. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Vancouver Hebrew Academy. Originally from New Zealand, Rabbi Durden earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Talmudic Studies from the Yeshivat HaNegev in Neviot, Israel. In 1989, Rabbi Durden received his Rabbinical Ordination from the Midrash Sefardi in Jerusalem. In addition, Rabbi Durden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from the Michigan Jewish Institute and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership/Administration from Touro University International.

Most recently, Rabbi Durden served as the Assistant Principal at the Akiva Hebrew Day School in Detroit – a position he has held since 1998. In addition, Rabbi Durden serves as a professor at the Michigan Jewish Institute. Rabbi Durden has many years of teaching experience at both the elementary and high school levels. He has been involved in curriculum development, in designing and implementing discipline plans, and in supervising teachers.

Ms. Alaina Smith, Principal, General Studies

Ms. Smith has been working at Vancouver Hebrew Academy for fourteen years and has taught Grade 6/7, Grade 4, Grade 1, and Kindergarten. In recent years, she became more involved in school administration as Director of Student Services. In 2010, she became Principal of General Studies, providing further opportunity to apply her experience, training and passion for education in a leadership role.

Ms. Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from UVic and a Bachelor of Education from UBC. This November, she will complete her Masters in Special Education. Before joining the VHA family, she worked for three years in West Vancouver, teaching Kindergarten and Learning Assistance.

In her free time, Ms. Smith enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially her 8 nieces, and going on adventures where she can take great photographs. She also enjoys scrapbooking, quilting, furniture restoration, and is a bit of a bookworm.

General Studies Staff

Mrs. Sonia Tamana, Kindergarten, Grade 1

Mrs. Tamana is very excited to join the VHA staff this year as a Kindergarten and Grade 1 teacher. Last year, she taught Grade 3/4 and has been teaching at the Sylvan Learning Center for the past two years. At UBC, she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2006 and her Bachelor of Education in 2008. Currently, she is working towards a Language and Literacy diploma at UBC which will be completed by the end of the year. In the future, she plans to obtain a Masters in Education.

Mrs. Tamana was born in Victoria and grew up in Richmond with her two brothers. Currently, she resides in Richmond with her husband. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially with her adorable niece. Also, she loves to travel, play sports, and scrapbook. She is very much looking forward to a great year at VHA.

Mrs. Judy Cox, Grade 2, PE

Mrs. Cox was born in Witbank (now called eMalaheni), South Africa. After four years at the Johannesburg College of Education, majoring in History and Art, she began her teaching career at Farrarmere Primary School in Benoni. Shortly after they were married, Mrs. Cox and her husband, Tony, immigrated to Canada. They first settled in Prince Rupert where she received her B.C. certification and taught grade 1 and Kindergarten. She started teaching at VHA in January 1990 and over the years has taught Kindergarten, Grade 2 and Grade 3. This year she is teaching Grade 2 with Rabbi Estrin as well as some PE classes.

Mrs. Cox currently lives in North Vancouver with her husband, her daughter Samantha, and dog Mikki. She tries to keep fit and healthy by going to the gym regularly, cycling as much as possible, and walking her dog everyday. She loves reading, doing crossword puzzles and spending time with friends and family.

Ms. Wendy Goodman, Grade 3

Ms. Goodman was born in Vancouver and raised in Richmond. She has one older brother who lives in Ontario. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, listening to music, cooking, baking, watching movies, watching baseball and hockey games, riding her bike, and solving Sudoku puzzles.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Simon Fraser University and her Bachelor of Education from The University of British Columbia. This is her third year teaching Grade 3, but she has experience working with students in Kindergarten through Grade 7. Mrs. Goodman looks forward to another great year teaching Grade 3 at VHA!

Ms. Cummings, Grade 4

Ms. Cummings is delighted to join VHA family and to be teaching Grade 4 General Studies this year! She is a graduate from the University of Alberta where she received her degree in Elementary Education specializing in General Studies. Ms. Cummings taught two years in Alberta, both Grades 1 and 6 as a Homeroom Teacher, for a private school called Oski Pasikoniwew Kamik. She began her career assisting children with Autism as an Applied Behaviour Analysis.

Ms. Cummings grew up in Edmonton, AB and moved out to the lower mainland two years ago. During her job hunt for classroom teacher positions, she worked as a Tutor with elementary aged children and as a Learning Facilitator with adults returning to post secondary or upgrading their employment skills. In her spare time, Ms. Cummings is currently learning how to speak Spanish; in the winter months you can catch her on Mount Seymour snowboarding down the mountain slopes. She looks forward to meeting all the members of VHA this school year.

Mrs. Lisa Altow, Grade 5

Mrs. Altow is thrilled to be a grade 5 teacher this year. She has taught grade 1 at VHA, grade 2 at West Point Grey Academy, grade 5 at York House, and grades 4 and 6 in the public school system in Kirkland, Washington. She feels lucky to have been able to experience a variety of grades and schools.

Growing up in Bellevue, Washington, she knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was in Kindergarten. She practiced on her stuffed animals and then on her unsuspecting younger cousins. She received a BA in Psychology and her teaching certificate at the University of Washington in Seattle. She now resides in Richmond with her husband and four children. She enjoys reading, playing with her children, spending time with friends, watching movies, and baking.

Ms. Shannon McDonald, Grade 6 /7 Girls, Grade 6/7 Boys

Ms. McDonald is excited to be teaching Grades Six and Seven this year – her third at VHA. She previously taught in West Vancouver for 7 years, and in Calgary for 5. Ms. McDonald has a B.A. and B.Ed. from the University of Calgary, and has completed one year of her Master’s degree – in Educational Psychology – at Simon Fraser University.

Ms. McDonald grew up in New Zealand and hopes to visit it again one day with her family; her beautiful daughter Sophie is entering Grade Three this year, and her husband Steve’s youngest daughter is beginning high school. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends: reading, watching films, listening to music and walking her dog, Farley; she also appreciates tasty food prepared by somebody else!

Parents and students can follow Ms. McD\\\'s class blog at http://msmcdonaldvha.edublogs.org/

Judaic Studies Staff

Mrs. Devorah Brody, Preschool

Mrs. Devorah Brody was born and raised in Israel. She moved to New York when starting high school. After attending Touro College for her Bachelor\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s degree in Speech Therapy, she received her Master\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s degree in Special Education at Adelphi University. Mrs. Brody has five wonderful children. Sarena attends Shalhevet Girls High School, Moshe attends Pacific Torah Institute, and Malka, Avraham and Yisroel attend VHA. Her husband, Rabbi Hillel Brody, works at Pacific Torah Institute and is the chaplain at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. The Brody family moved to beautiful British Columbia in 2005, and they love being part of the Jewish Community. Mrs. Brody loves to read, and is still a huge fan of Harry Potter. She loves art and scrapbooking, especially when doing it with her kids. She also loves taking pictures and spending time with her family. She has been working at VHA for the past six years, and feels so lucky to work in such a warm and loving environment. She is very excited to be the new Morah in the Pre-School and looks forward to a fantastic year.

Mrs. Estarisa Laye, Kindergarten, Grade 1

Morah Estarisa, as her Kindergarten and Grade 1 Judaic students call her, has enjoyed teaching at Vancouver Hebrew Academy since its inception in 1987. Morah Estarisa and her husband, Ron, have four daughters, and a son. They belong to Congregation Beth Hamidrash. Morah Estarisa was born in New York City on the second night of Chanukah in a blizzard. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree with a specialty in Fine Arts at the University of Alberta.  In addition to her passion for teaching Judaic subjects to Gan and Kitah Aleph, she has had the pleasure of teaching art classes at VHA to several of the upper grades.  She especially enjoys introducing her young students to Tefilah, Parashat HaShavua, and reading and writing Hebrew. She enjoys hiking, weaving, painting, tending her organic fruit, flower, and vegetable garden, cooking vegetarian dishes, learning Torah, and being a Savta.

Rabbi Shlomo Estrin, Grade 2 / Grade 5

Rabbi Estrin has been teaching at Vancouver Hebrew Academy for more than nine years! He is a graduate of the Nachlas B’nei Shimon Kollel in Beitar, Israel and received his Semicha (Rabbinic Ordination) from Rabbi Dov Schwartzman of Jerusalem. In addition, he holds a Bachelors degree in Media Arts.

He loves learning and teaching Torah. Rabbi Estrin’s hobbies include mountain biking, frisbee, and skipping stones.

Mrs. Dina Acoca, Grade 3

Mrs. Dina Acoca has been teaching in Vancouver at VHA for the last eleven years. She was born in Montreal, Quebec and was blessed to receive a Jewish education from elementary throughout high school. She is married and now has six wonderful children, five of whom attend VHA. She is a lover of nature and enjoys spending her free time on nature walks, biking, swimming or sitting on the beach. She is pleased to be returning to VHA and teaching Judaic Studies in Grade Three. She is a graduate of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (Universite de Montreal) with a Bachelors degree in Marketing and Management. Her passion, however, has always been teaching and has experience at various grade levels, both from Montreal and here in Vancouver. She is looking forward to a wonderful year with her students and will do her utmost to inspire them with a love of Torah learning.

Rabbi Tzvi Goldman, Grade 4, Grade 6/7 Boys

Rabbi Tzvi Goldman will be starting his eighth year as a teacher at the Vancouver Hebrew Academy. He came to Vancouver from Israel where he had been living together with his wife Etti for the previous four years. During those years he completed his Smicha and received his Teacher Certification. Rabbi Goldman has four children Bayla, Nechama, Bentzy, and Shira who will be students at our school this year, and his recent addition, Teheela Tziporah will join them here in a few short years. Rabbi Goldman very much enjoys playing sports and being out in nature. This year he is excited to be teaching the Grade 4 and 6/7 Boys Judaic classes, and is looking forward to a fantastic year.

Mrs. Chanie Yeshayahu, Grade 6/7 Girls / Hebrew Language

Morah Chani, a VHA alumna, is the Hebrew Language Student Services Assistant. She studied in Bounemouth, England, and Kiryat Malachi, Israel, where she earned her Teaching Certificate. After teaching for three years outside of BC, Morah Chanie returned to her roots and moved back to Vancouver. She lives in Richmond with her husband, Rabbi Shimi Yeshayahu, and their children.
Morah Chanie has specialized training in Special Education and enjoys working with a variety of children. She looks forward to helping to build the next Jewish generation of Vancouver.

Ms. Liron Redden, Student Services Assistant

This coming year will be Ms. Redden’s second year at VHA as a Student Services Assistant. She is very excited to meet all the new children and staff joining VHA and looks forward to another inspiring year.

Ms. Redden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Victoria. In her spare time, she loves spending time with friends and family. She likes to travel, hike, bake, watch hockey and play Scrabble.

Support Staff

Ms. Nancy Scambler, Administrative Secretary

Ms. Nancy is a self-described "Prairie Girl", having been born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Since her graduation from the University of Alberta, she has worked in both administrative and direct service positions in the social services and education areas.  She loves cycling and enjoying the natural beauty of Vancouver. When not at work, she can be found quilting, card-making, baking, drinking tea with family or friends, or providing volunteer leadership to a program for children in Downtown Vancouver.

Mrs. Gayle Taylor, Financial Secretary

Mrs. Gayle absolutely loves her job doing the finances at VHA. The kids, admin, staff, parents, and Board make her position in the office wonderful. Mrs. Gayle and her husband, Jack, spent 18 years with their three children in Kenya. They loved that experience as their children grew up. The Taylors have been settled in Vancouver since the summer of 1999 and Mrs. Gayle has been working at VHA ever since. Her interests include scrapbooking, singing, hospitality, friends and family, and especially her eight grandchildren.