New Faculty and Staff Biographies

2012-2013/5773 Rabbi Zachary Silver is our new Rav Beit Sefer. He was ordained in May by the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also received a Masters in Modern Jewish Studies. He graduated with a BA in Jewish Studies and History from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was active on the Hillel board, served as sports editor for the Daily Pennsylvanian and received the President's Award for Undergraduate Research for his thesis on the excommunication of Mordecai Kaplan. He served on staff at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin for seven years and most recently served as the founding director for the Ramah alumni effort, Kikar Ba'Ir. He created and directed the tenth grade (Machon) curriculum and week-long trip to Iowa, a trip exploring American Jewish identity in a multi-vocal world. During rabbinical school, Rabbi Silver served as a group leader for a high school American Jewish World Service trip to Uganda, where he facilitated a service and educational trip devoted to engaging in issues of global responsibility. Most recently he served as the rabbi at Congregation Temple Emanu-El in Reno, Nevada. Rabbi Ayal Robkin joins our Jewish Studies Department faculty. He received his B.A. from the University of Maryland in Jewish Studies, an M.S. in Secondary Education with concentrations in Religious Education and Jewish Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Kollel Level Certificate in Advanced Jewish Studies from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. He has taught most recently at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York. Ayal has also taught at Gann Academy and the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy. In addition, he has facilitated individual and small group learning with gap-year Yeshiva students, and has been a trip leader for Birthright Israel. Ilana Gleicher-Bloom is also joining our Jewish Studies Department faculty. She received her B.A. from Brandeis University in English and American Literature, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and an M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from Tel Aviv University. She received a fellowship in Jewish Studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and completed coursework at the Midreshet Lindenbaum and at the Shalom Hartman Institute (Jerusalem) where she studied Jewish Education/Jewish Philosophy. Most recently, she served as a teacher of Judaic Studies at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in New York. She has also taught Judaic Studies in Israel at the Alexander Muss High School and at Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim. Mr. James Baumstark joins the Mathematics Department where he will be teaching Honors Pre-Calculus. He comes to us after a twenty-year career in business and finance. A graduate of Brown University (B.A.) and the University of Chicago (M.B.A.), Jim is completing his Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree at National Lewis University. Given his background, Jim will demonstrate to his students the practical implications of their coursework in math. He has recently completed his student teaching assignment at Niles West High School where he received accolades from his university supervisor and cooperating teachers.

Peter Roothaan, jazz saxophonist and music educator, joins our Performing Arts faculty as our Jazz Ensemble Director. His professional work includes giving private instruction, performances, and workshops. He was recently the band director at Gordon Tech High School. He has taught beginning through advanced band to a diverse urban co-educational student body, developed intensive curricula, and has been a clinician for Glenbrook South High School’s Jazz Festivals. He has performed at a number of jazz venues such as Symphony Center, Ravinia, Millennium Park, and in clubs throughout the United States. He is a graduate of Northeastern University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. Bob Krakowsky comes to CJHS as Director of Finance and Business Operations after 11 years as Executive Director of Anshe Emet Synagogue of Chicago, a Conservative congregation of some 1,200 members. Prior to that, his career was in the for-profit sector, working for several organizations in Massachusetts, Texas and Illinois. Mr. Krakowsky grew up in the Bronx, in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the City College of New York, a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University. He lives in Northbrook with his wife, Sharon, and has two sons, Ryan and Adam.