Our Team

Rabbi Ranon Teller 
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Rabbi Ranon Teller was born and raised in a traditional Jewish home in Southfield, Michigan. He attended Akiva Hebrew Day School through middle school and then moved to Chicago to attend Skokie Yeshiva High School. After high school, Rabbi Teller spent two years of intense yeshiva study in Israel. He has always been a creative soul, passionate about Judaism and the field of education. Although both his parents are Jewish educators, Rabbi Teller initially pursued scriptwriting as a career. He graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in television writing. His writing career began in Chicago, led him to Los Angeles, and then continued in Jerusalem. As he continued to write, Rabbi Teller enrolled part-time at Machon Shechter, the Conservative rabbinical school in Israel. Finally, he embraced his calling and enrolled in a joint rabbinic and education program at the University of Judaism. Rabbi Ranon Teller began his career in the pulpit as an Assistant Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amoona in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2004, he was recognized and honored with a promotion to Associate Rabbi. He joined the Brith Shalom family of Houston in 2005. Rabbi Teller's wife, Vicki, is actively involved with our synagogue. Rabbi Teller and Vicki have four beautiful children, Ariella Pearl, Maya Naima, Jake Aaron, and Nava Liba, and one very happy dog, Jessie Afikomen Teller.

Check out Houston Rabbi Ranon Teller's Blog.

Cantor Mark Levine
email | ext. 324  

Cantor Mark Levine grew up as part of a traditional Jewish family in New Jersey. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the State University of New York and a Judaic degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary, he earned a master's degree as a Chazan at the Manhattan School for Cantors. Cantor Levine served as Chazan and Youth Director for seven years at the Nanuet Hebrew Center in Nanuet, New York before moving to Dallas where, during a fourteen year period, he served Congregation Shearith Israel in a number of capacities: as Cantor, as Middle School Director and counselor for its Solomon Schechter Day school, and as Educational Director for the entire synagogue. Following seven years as Education and Executive Director at Congregation Eilat in Mission Viejo, California, Cantor Levine was brought to Congregation Brith Shalom as Director of Education. After 15 years working at Camp Ramah, Nyack and having led two summer-long Dallas Teen Tours to Israel, Cantor Levine brings a wide range of educational experiences, both formal and informal, to Congregation Brith Shalom.

Melissa Magenheim
Executive Director
email | ext. 321

Melissa Magenheim was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a former member of East Midwood Jewish Center, a conservative synagogue in Brooklyn. She attended Camp Ramah in the Berkshires for several years and was a counselor for one summer. She was also an active member of USY. Melissa graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Finance.  After graduating from college, Melissa opened Special Effects, a specialty toy shop in Brooklyn. Melissa moved to Houston in 1995 and joined Brith Shalom as a member in 2005. Previously, she was employed with Freeman AV company as an Office Manager at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Melissa has two beautiful daughters, Talia and Gabi.

David Krohn
Hazzan
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David Krohn was trained as a Cantor by his late father Rabbi Philip S. Krohn, of blessed memory, who helped shape the curriculum still used today by the Cantor’s Assembly and School of Sacred Music. Raised in a Rabbinic home in Portsmouth, Virginia, David grew up to Yiddish bedtime stories by Shalom Aleichem and an endless supply of Sidor Belarsky and Moishe Oysher recordings. After obtaining a master’s degree from Juilliard, his Cantorial engagements brought him to some of the most prominent synagogues in the United States for High Holiday and Shabbat services. David has enjoyed solo engagements with the New York Philharmonic, debuts on stages in over forty opera roles with leading opera companies throughout the world, and solo performances in all four theaters of Carnegie Hall. In addition to his Cantorial and operatic work, in 2005 David began a series of successful Yiddish and Hebrew concerts, continuing his father’s legacy by sharing Jewish music with audiences across the United States. His recent concert of Yiddish Music sold out the ERJCC Kaplan Theater and has led to many subsequent appearances in our Houston community. David is a proud member of Congregation Brith Shalom, member of the Board of Directors for TORCH (Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston), and Associate Director of Development for Houston Grand Opera. He is proud to come from a long line of distinguished Rabbis, dating back to Tosafot Yom Tov.

Erin Lepselter
Religious School Principal
email | ext. 303

Erin is a Dallas, Texas native, former member of Temple Shalom Dallas, and 2002 Bat Mitzvah alumnus of Congregation Kol Ami, of Flower mound, Texas. She began her work experience for the Jewish Community in 2004 as a counselor at Camp Chai of the JCC Dallas. Erin studied for her Early Childhood Education undergrad at the University of Kansas and various places in Texas and Israel. In 2013, Erin attended her Birthright trip and loved it so much she moved to Tel Aviv four months later to start a six month MASA Israel immersion program. While interning, she eventually landed a position as a teacher as the school behavior specialist at CityKids, the first international English center for young families in Tel Aviv. Erin continued working, studying, learning Hebrew, and living like a local in Tel Aviv ,which eventually led her to make Aliyah in the fall of 2014. After recently moving back from her four years traveling the world and living in Israel, Erin is excited to bring cultural experiences and knowledge to the Hebrew school program.

Lori Jacobs
Administrative Assistant
email | ext. 319

Lori Jacobs graduated from the University of Judaism in California with a BA of Judaic Studies and from the University of Pittsburgh with a Masters of Social Work. Lori has spent most of her career working for Jewish non-profit organizations including Hillel, and with several JCC entities. For the last several years, Lori has been the office manager for an insurance agency in NY. Lori moved from Brooklyn, NY to Houston to be closer to her family. Lori is married with three children.

Karen Ross
Marketing Specialist
email | ext. 320

Karen Ross was born in New York City, but grew up primarily in Sarasota, Florida, where her family still resides. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in mass communications and with an honors in screenwriting.  In addition to work in advertising, website management and arts marketing, Karen is also a part-time professional actor, and does school and hospital visits with her trained therapy dog.

Shlomit Alon
Events Coordinator
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Shlomit Alon was born in Israel, where her family still resides. Shlomit studied Art and Business development and served in the Israeli Army for two years. She moved to Houston 14 years ago and has 4 children. Shlomit has spent most of her career in advertising , marketing, and medical technology. Shlomit owns an ETSY shop selling digital designs she creates. In her free time, she paints realistic acrylic and oil on canvas.

Zach Rouah
Clergy Assistant
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Zachary Rouah was born and raised in Houston and attended religious school at Congregation Brith Shalom where he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in 2012. He attended Camp Young Judea over the summers and was active in USY through his high school years at Glenda Dawson High School in Pearland. He studied physics at The University of Houston. Zach worked as a madrich at Brith Shalom and then as a tutor through college before coming back to Brith Shalom to work as a clergy assistant and Hebrew reading tutor for the religious school.

Daniel Pena
Facilities Coordinator
email | ext.