Program Director
Elie Salomon has been involved with NYA since her oldest child joined the program in 2014. She has been active in curriculum development as a parent, beloved teacher and now Program Director. Prior to joining the Nefesh Yehudi family, Elie was a television producer for Martha Stewart, Jane Pauley and MTV. Her classroom feels like "fun segments" on a TV show where you are actively learning while experiencing many modalities. Morah Elie is known for her love of the siddur and tefillah and has made the "Kabbalat Siddur Ceremony" in 1st grade and "Amidah Fair" in 3rd grade staples of the NYA experience. The students also love her "Guess What's In The Box" game for various holidays. She is the parent of 4 students at NYA and treats every class like it is her own or has one of her children enrolled in it. She is friendly and open to all ideas which makes her the perfect Program Director. Elie holds a B.A. in Judaic Studies and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Teachers and Staff
The students of Nefesh Yehudi Academy learn from a team of fun, enthusiastic, and experienced teachers.
Robyn Perlman is a highly motivated, seasoned early childhood educator. She has been teaching at Nefesh Yehudi Academy since its creation in 2009. Prior to teaching at NYA she spent six years at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison. Every day students see and feel Robyn’s deep love for Judaism, Torah and Israel. She views every child “as her own” and gives them the attention that they need to feel comfortable.
Ricki Dayan joined the NYA family in 2017 as a teacher of our Bogrim (5th-7th grade) and then in 2018 was moved to 3rd grade to introduce the Lehavin U'Lehaskil Chumash curriculum to our school, which is now the focus of 3rd grade at NYA. As the 1st grade teacher currently, she is in her natural habitat, nurturing young children through her native Hebrew language and art skills. Born in Yerushalayim, Morah Ricki came out of the womb with scissors and glue and is a talented artist who fuses the learning of parshiot and chagim through various artistic techniques. She spent 20+ years at Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick as the main Hebrew kindergarten teacher, a year at the Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore, and currently runs a special Hebrew language program at Shalom Torah in the mornings. As native Israeli, she brings her unique perspective and stories about her life growing up in Israel. The students still talk about the day Morah Ricki shared her experiences during the Yom Kippur War. She is beloved by her current and past students and children look forward to having her.
Hildy Zonis is thrilled to return to NYA 2nd Grade. She is famous among the students for her very extensive and, at times, bizarre collection of themed earrings, which she changes daily to correlate with the Jewish topic being taught. The students can’t wait to see what the new day will bring. Her engaging teaching style was honed during her 10+ year tenure at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick, where she served as an assistant Jewish studies teacher and site manager of their computer lab. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, she is passionate about imbuing a love of all things Jewish into the hearts of the next generation. Hildy is a Yeshiva of Flatbush High School graduate, and holds a BS in Economics (major in Accounting, with Honors) from Brooklyn College.
Tali Keigher is a teacher in NYA for the second year and enjoys teaching the older grades where she can balance intellectual Jewish learning with creative, engaging, fun learning. Tali has experience as a cooking class teacher, as well as experience in working in Hebrew schools and Jewish day schools.
Last year Morah Tali finished her Masters degree in Jewish Education and exited to put to use the knowledge she attained in her lessons.
Robyn Perlman is a highly motivated, seasoned early childhood educator. She has been teaching at Nefesh Yehudi Academy since its creation in 2009. Prior to teaching at NYA she spent six years at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison. Every day students see and feel Robyn’s deep love for Judaism, Torah and Israel. She views every child “as her own” and gives them the attention that they need to feel comfortable.
Ricki Dayan joined the NYA family in 2017 as a teacher of our Bogrim (5th-7th grade) and then in 2018 was moved to 3rd grade to introduce the Lehavin U'Lehaskil Chumash curriculum to our school, which is now the focus of 3rd grade at NYA. As the 1st grade teacher currently, she is in her natural habitat, nurturing young children through her native Hebrew language and art skills. Born in Yerushalayim, Morah Ricki came out of the womb with scissors and glue and is a talented artist who fuses the learning of parshiot and chagim through various artistic techniques. She spent 20+ years at Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick as the main Hebrew kindergarten teacher, a year at the Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore, and currently runs a special Hebrew language program at Shalom Torah in the mornings. As native Israeli, she brings her unique perspective and stories about her life growing up in Israel. The students still talk about the day Morah Ricki shared her experiences during the Yom Kippur War. She is beloved by her current and past students and children look forward to having her.
Hildy Zonis is thrilled to return to NYA 2nd Grade. She is famous among the students for her very extensive and, at times, bizarre collection of themed earrings, which she changes daily to correlate with the Jewish topic being taught. The students can’t wait to see what the new day will bring. Her engaging teaching style was honed during her 10+ year tenure at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick, where she served as an assistant Jewish studies teacher and site manager of their computer lab. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, she is passionate about imbuing a love of all things Jewish into the hearts of the next generation. Hildy is a Yeshiva of Flatbush High School graduate, and holds a BS in Economics (major in Accounting, with Honors) from Brooklyn College.
Tali Keigher is a teacher in NYA for the second year and enjoys teaching the older grades where she can balance intellectual Jewish learning with creative, engaging, fun learning. Tali has experience as a cooking class teacher, as well as experience in working in Hebrew schools and Jewish day schools.
Last year Morah Tali finished her Masters degree in Jewish Education and exited to put to use the knowledge she attained in her lessons.