Meet the Team
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Emily Dalton
EDUCATION DIRECTOR
Emily has a masters in education, achieved National Board Certification in Teaching, and has 15 years of experience in public education. She took on the role as the education director of B’Yachad Oakland Mills Jewish School in the summer of 2023. With her two children as a part of the B’Yachad community, Emily has dedicated her time and energy towards building an engaging program rooted in Jewish values and growing the B’Yachad community.
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Cantor Stephanie Weishaar
CLERGY & B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
Hazzan Stephanie Weishaar has served as the Spiritual Leader of Kol Nefesh congregation in Columbia, Maryland, since 2014. Prior to her work in Jewish music, she earned a degree in international relations and spent many years in nonprofit development in Ukraine, Russia, and the US. Stephanie’s volunteer work has centered around interfaith collaboration, education, and the arts. After raising two wonderful children, she followed her dream to study in seminary and was ordained by ALEPH in 2021. Stephanie lives on a farm in Clarksburg with her husband and their two ridiculous dogs.
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Rabbi Michael Hess Webber
CLERGY & B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
Rabbi Michael Hess Webber has served as the spiritual leader of Columbia Jewish Congregation in Columbia, MD since 2021, when she received her ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Before becoming a rabbi, her life was a wild and holy adventure - earning her degree in archaeology and working as a traveling pizza maker in Israel. Born into a multi-faith family, Rabbi Michael advocates for Jewish folks with interfaith and intersectional identities - seeking to create safe spaces for all within Jewish community. She lives in Catonsville, MD where she loves to paint and dig in the dirt. She is oozing with love out of her eyeballs for her husband, Scott, and little one, Billi.
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Nate Balis
B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
Nate serves on the B’Yachad Oakland Mills Jewish School Board of Directors as a representative of Columbia Jewish Congregation. The father of two B’Yachad students (one current, one graduate), he is enthusiastic about the promise of a community Jewish school that can be a welcoming, fun, and educational space for all kinds of Jewish children and families in the area. In his day job, Nate works to promote youth justice reform at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Nate and his family live in Catonsville, where he and his wife, Nancy spend lots of time cheering on their boys on the basketball court, baseball diamond, and soccer field.
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Jennifer Roby
B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
Jennifer is a member of the B’Yachad Oakland Mills Jewish School Board of Directors, serving since its inception. With nearly two decades of experience in education, she has previously served as a preschool teacher, Jewish school teacher, as well as a Jewish school director. In 2011, she was honored by the Howard County Jewish Federation for her dedication to secure the future of the Jewish family in Howard County. Jennifer is deeply passionate about instilling a love for Judaism in the next generation and believes in making learning engaging and fun! Jennifer enjoys traveling, baking, and painting.
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Larry Katkow
B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
Larry serves on the board as a representative of Kol Nefesh. His two daughters have finished their hebrew school education but are still engaged in helping younger children in their education. Larry grew up attending the community hebrew school at Oakland Mills Interfaith Center. He is an active member of the community, also serving multiple non-profits in addition to his day job as a dentist!
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Lori Feldman
B’YACHAD BOARD MEMBER
B’Yachad Educators