Lead Teacher
Daniel (he/him), is a theater artist, artistic director, songleader, and Jewish educator, originally from Israel and New Jersey. Daniel has over 10 years of experience in Jewish education as well as a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch with a focus in directing. Education has always informed his theater work. He is currently the Director of Performing Arts at the Perlman Camp where he also serves as song leader, as well as co-artistic director. As the co-founder of the Live-In-Room Collective, a Brooklyn-based new play laboratory, he works with fellow writers to turn their ideas into fully realized plays and produces public readings of their work. Daniel was also a founding teaching staff member of SAM Elementary where he spent years building the program. 

Lead Teacher
Arielle (she/her) is an actress, writer and filmmaker. As an actor, she has performed at multiple theaters including Lincoln Center, George Street Playhouse, New Jersey Repertory Company, Ensemble Studio Theater, Pregones PRTT, The Tank, Long Wharf Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, among others. For television, her acting work can be seen in series on HBO, Cinemax, Amazon and independent productions. As a filmmaker, Arielle’s work focuses on intergenerational women and the inherited stories that shape ourselves and our relationship to the world.  She received her BFA from The University of Michigan, her MFA from NYU Tisch Grad Acting and is a proud alum of The Colbert Report internship program. Arielle is excited to join the Fig Tree community, bringing a spirit of play and exploration to the long beautiful history of Jewish storytelling. 

Lead Teacher
Naama (she/her) was born and raised in Israel and has lived in the U.S. for the past 20 years. Naama holds a BA in Costume Design from Empire State College and a Millinery Certificate from FIT, and has taught Hebrew and Judaic Studies at multiple programs for the last decade. As an Israeli mom and educator raising kids in the U.S., she values the importance of passing on the values and experiences around which she was raised as a child. Naama is passionate about teaching Hebrew, Israeli culture and Judaism, combining these aspects with art-making and self-expression.

Lead Teacher
Debra Fricano (she/her) was born and raised in Queens.  For anyone curious about NYC public high schools, Debra was in the first graduating class of the High School of American Studies at Lehman College.  Debra pursued a BA in Sociology from Brandeis University and an MA in Experiential Jewish Education from Davidson School at JTS.  Throughout the past 20 years Debra has worked in youth groups, synagogue supplemental schools, Hillels, and Jewish sleepaway camps as a Jewish educator and songleader. Most recently Debra built community at a Reconstructionist synagogue, and is committed to values based education that is accessible and welcoming to all families.  As of September 2024 Debra is studying at the Academy for Jewish Religion pursuing both rabbinic and cantorial ordination.  Debra brings a passion for educating through creative play, bibliodrama, and song writing, and is excited to join the Fig Tree team!

Lead Teacher
Daniel Keitel (he/him) is an actor, educator, and musician originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He has spent 14 summers of his life at Goldman Union Camp Institute, including five summers on staff, where he eventually became the head of the drama program, and head songleader/head of the Music program. He also spent time as a standby cantorial soloist and substitute teacher at his hometown synagogue, Rodef Shalom. He graduated from Allegheny College with a BA in Theatrical Performance and a minor in Education Studies. Daniel lives in Park Slope.

Assistant Teacher
Michal (she/her) was born in Givatayim, Israel and grew up between Chicago and Israel. She has a BA in education and international relations and an MA in international relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Israel, she has worked with children in various settings and has taught Hebrew to recent immigrants to Israel. In Brooklyn, where she has lived since 2009, she has been researching educational programs in Jewish and non-Jewish settings. She worked for nearly a decade at the NYC Department of Education in the Division of Early Childhood as a program evaluator and policy analyst. She’s excited to bring her long educational experience into practice.

Assistant Teacher
Yonatan (Yoni) (he/him) was born in Israel, but has moved around as a child and an adult. He has been living in New York for the past year and a half. He moved here to start a business of manufacturing and selling soccer jerseys of unique clubs from around the world, including teams from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Aside from Israel and the USA, he also lived in Poland, Turkey, Australia, Angola and the United Kingdom. In Australia, he worked in Jewish education working to build community and has also worked for MASA programs in Israel.

Assistant Teacher
Sammy Strent (he/him) is a composer, educator, and music director from Bethesda, Maryland. Since an early age, he has been very involved in his Jewish communities, and always seeks to find creative ways to bring music into Judaism. While he attended the University of Miami for his undergraduate degree in music and Spanish, he wrote and premiered an arrangement of “Shalom Rav” at the school’s Hillel. This past summer, Sammy worked at Adventure Theatre as a music director in Glen Echo, Maryland, where he directed three shows for children in elementary and middle school. Sammy is extremely passionate about music and Judaism, and believes that music plays an essential role in bringing people together. He is beyond excited to be a member of the staff at Fig Tree!

B’nai Mitzvah Director and Rabbinic Intern
Ami Weintraub (he/him or they/them) is excited for another year at Fig Tree. He has worked as a Hebrew school educator for over ten years in the DC area and in Pittsburgh. Ami lived in Pittsburgh for eight years and moved to Brooklyn last year after a brief time living in Manhattan and studying at the Hadar Yeshiva last school year. In Pittsburgh, Ami was the founder of a queer Jewish community center called Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance. Ami is also the author of a recently published book called, “To the Ghosts Who are Still Living,” which examines Jewish ancestry in Eastern Europe. In addition to teaching and writing, Ami is pursuing rabbinic ordination through the Aleph Renewal ordination program. Ami is originally from Silver Spring, MD where he grew up attending a Reconstructionist synagogue, going to Jewish summer  camp and learning about his Jewish culture with his family.