Board

Gimel/Dalet Judaica/Hebrew
Holiday Coordinator

Steven R. Bogad, M.A.
Head of School
steve@yavnehdayschool.org

Steve Bogad brings to Yavneh Day School a depth of experience in public and private education and an exciting vision for Jewish day school living and learning. In his early years, Steve was a teacher and then principal in the Goleta Union School District and the Education Director at Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara. In the private sector, Steve served as the long-term Head of School at Valley Beth Shalom Day School in Encino, CA and was the Founding Head for the Columbus Jewish Day School in Columbus, OH. Steve also brought his vision for Jewish education during his tenure as Head of School at the B’nai Shalom Day School in Greensboro, NC and as the High School Principal at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, FL. He was on the Board of Directors for the California Association of Independent Schools and for the Jewish Community Day School Network (RAVSAK).

Steve received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology with a minor in Religious Studies from the University of California (Santa Barbara). He continued his studies at UCSB, earning an M.A. in Educational Administration and Curriculum. Steve did further graduate work in the area of Educational Technology. Concurrently he earned California credentials in Teaching, Pupil Personnel Services and Administrative Services. Recently, he has pursued studies at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and at the Harvard Principals’ Center.

Joni Quintal, M.A.
Principal
joni@yavnehdayschool.org

Joni Quintal, General Studies Principal for Yavneh, has always infused her work with a strong commitment to positive communication, leadership development, and social justice. Joni attended the University of California (Berkeley), earned a degree in elementary and special education from the University of Nevada (Reno), followed by a master's degree in Educational Leadeership. She holds an Administrative Credential from the State of California. Over the years, Joni has taught second grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and special education for grades K-6. She also taught PE and art to first through fifth graders and ran a summer camp for kids and their families living with HIV/AIDS for seven years here in the Bay Area. Prior to Yavneh, Joni served a large public high school in Sacramento as the Vice Principal of Student Services. She also worked with an organization that helps organizations -- from large corporations to small nonprofit groups -- learn to communicate in an environment that supports creative problem solving, strengthens teams, improves business and enhances customer service.

In the summer of 2007, Joni received a prestigious year-long fellowship from the Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University in Israel and traveled to Israel for the first time. Throughout the year, she will be working on a project emphasizing "Integration through Collaboration," analyzing Yavneh's curriculum to enhance ways in which both its general and Judaica curriculum and better serve each other. In whatever she does, Joni says, "I am passionate about social justice and teaching our kids that privilege means responsibility to all the people on this planet."

Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper
Judaic Studies Coordinator, Rabbi-in-Residence
rabbi@yavnehdayschool.org

Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper's path to the rabbinate began when she was a teenager at Camp Swig, watching the sunrise with her bunkmates on top of a mountain.  After graduating from Stanford University (where she played on the Varsity Softball team), she lived in Israel studying Talmud and working  for Hillel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. An alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, she was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2005 and received an MA in Education.

Prior to coming to Yavneh, Rabbi Hahn Tapper served as the Director of BCI and Adult Programs at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, a trans-denominational Jewish experiential education retreat center.  She has served as the Director of Prayer and Spirituality (Rosh Tefilah) at Camp Ramah Darom, a chaplain at UCLA Medical Center, and has taught Hebrew Bible in various Jewish day schools in both the New York City and Los Angeles regions.  Rabbi Hahn Tapper is committed to engaging the Jewish community in creative forms of education and spirituality, particularly through the arts, the outdoors, and alternative tefillot.   She lives in Redwood City with her husband Aaron Hahn Tapper.

Melissa Fehl
Business Manager
melissa@yavnehdayschool.org

Dana Lowy
Director of Admissions
dana@yavnehdayschool.org

Arlene Mitchell
Operations Manager
arlene@yavnehdayschool.org

Randi Lamb
Office Administrator
randi@yavnehdayschool.org

Carlos Hernandez
Facility Administrator
carlos@yavnehdayschool.org