Educators

Tina Lobel, Nursery School Director

Tina Lobel is the Nursery School Director at Habonim.  She has more than 20 years of experience in Early Childhood Education.  Prior to coming to Habonim, Tina was an Early Childhood Coordinator and Learning Specialist at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School.  Tina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education.  In addition to her overall direction of the Nursery School, Tina plans to focus her attention on meeting new families as they explore the admissions process.  She also plans to support families as they go through the exmissions process when it is time for them to leave Habonim to attend ongoing schools. Tina has been working with children and families throughout her life. She hopes that each child will develop a true love of learning and become an active participant in our warm, nurturing and welcoming Jewish community. 

Ann Obsatz, Associate Nursery School Director

Ann Obsatz is the Associate Director at Habonim Nursery School. She has been with us since September 2012. Prior to joining the Habonim community, Ann was the Associate Director of the Nursery School and Parenting Center at Central Synagogue. As Parenting Center Coordinator, Ann developed programs for infants and toddlers as well as a caregiver program. Ann is a communication skills specialist. She was co-founder and co-director of the Communication Network which provided workshops for parents, teachers and caregivers. Ann was a reading enrichment teacher for the NYC Board of Education as well as an early childhood teacher at the 92nd Street Y Nursery School in Manhattan. At Habonim, Ann continues to work with children, teachers and families to create a warm, caring environment where learners of all ages can thrive and grow.

Karen Sacks, Religious School Co-Director

Karen Sacks has been at Habonim for 9 years, starting as a Youth Service leader, moving on to Gan/Aleph teacher, administrative coordinator and this year, to managing the Religious School day to day. She loves being part of this community and spreading the joy of Judaism through song, stories and art. Karen lives in Teaneck, NJ and has two adult children. Gan/Aleph, Interim Director. 

Barry Waldman, Religious School Co-Director

This is Barry Waldman’s fifth year teaching at Habonim. Outside of Habonim, his daily focus is on helping companies with marketing, business, and customer experience challenges. Barry comes from a family of Jewish educators and rabbis and previously worked as an educator at Camp Ramah Nyack.  Barry is also a part-time comedian and has performed from Lake Tahoe to Tel Aviv. Judaics for Gimmel/Dalet, Hei, Vav/Zayin, Lomdim, Teens, & Co-Director.