Educators
Meet the Teachers and Staff
Abbey Nadera
Abbey has worked at BTEE since 2013. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cal State Fullerton, with a major in Graphic Design and Illustration. She also has a master’s degree from Pacific Oaks College with a major in Human Development, specializing in Early Childhood Education. Education is at the forefront of Abbey’s life, and she aims to make a difference in the lives of others through her professional work in Early Childhood Education.
Yaneyda Felipe
Yaneyda has worked at BTEE since 2014. Her emphases in class (and in life) are kindness and compassion. She approaches these through breathing exercises, open talk about feelings, and spending time in nature. She has one teenage daughter who is a BTEE preschool alum. Yaneyda loves photography, long walks and reading books.
Lea Levin
Lea was born in Israel and has lived in the United States for the past forty years. She has been in the field of Early Child Development since 1986, including running her own daycare center. Her specialty at BTEE is Hebrew curriculum. She has two college graduates and is a very proud mama. Lea loves to sing, dance and torture your children with love and affection.
Alvart Minasian
Alvart graduated from Glendale Community College with an AS and child development credentials. When her own youngest child was attending the Head Start education program, she began to volunteer as an aide there and at their kindergarten program. That’s where Alvart discovered the profound love for children which inspired her to enter this field and become a preschool teacher. After receiving her credentials, she began working at Burbank Temple Emanu El in 1999.
Alejandra Beltran
Support Staff – Monkeys/Leopards
Alejandra has been working with children for over 9 years, primarily as an Infant and Toddler Teacher as well as a Behavioral Shadow Teacher. She graduated from Los Angeles Valley College with Certifications in Child Development with an emphasis in Infant and Toddler Studies. Alejandra is also an Illustrator and loves encouraging children to explore all aspects of art, as she believes it can be one of the strongest tools for self-discovery, learning and self-expression.
Yaneyda Felipe
Yaneyda has worked at BTEE since 2014. Her emphases in class (and in life) are kindness and compassion. She approaches these through breathing exercises, open talk about feelings, and spending time in nature. She has one teenage daughter who is a BTEE preschool alum. Yaneyda loves photography, long walks and reading books.
Lea Levin
Lea was born in Israel and has lived in the United States for the past forty years. She has been in the field of Early Child Development since 1986, including running her own daycare center. Her specialty at BTEE is Hebrew curriculum. She has two college graduates and is a very proud mama. Lea loves to sing, dance and torture your children with love and affection.
Alvart Minasian
Alvart graduated from Glendale Community College with an AS and child development credentials. When her own youngest child was attending the Head Start education program, she began to volunteer as an aide there and at their kindergarten program. That’s where Alvart discovered the profound love for children which inspired her to enter this field and become a preschool teacher. After receiving her credentials, she began working at Burbank Temple Emanu El in 1999.
Alvart Minasian
Interim ECC Director
Alvart graduated from Glendale Community College with an AS and child development credentials. When her own youngest child was attending the Head Start education program, she began to volunteer as an aide there and at their kindergarten program. That’s where Alvart discovered the profound love for children which inspired her to enter this field and become a preschool teacher. After receiving her credentials, she began working at Burbank Temple Emanu El in 1999.
Cindy Cohen
Temple Administrator
Cindy has been a part of the BTEE family since 2017. She is our Temple Administrator. Cindy has been working with children in the Jewish community for over 20 years. She lives with her husband, Barry, and their Dachshund, Casino. Aside from working with children, she loves to bake and travel.
Julie Lockman
Program Director
Julie has been part of the BTEE team for almost a decade. Having grown up in both the conservative and orthodox movement gives her a wider perspective of Judaism, as well as her focus on the growing needs of interfaith families in the Jewish community. Her passions include neuroscience, ethics, music and, of course, chocolate! Her dislikes include dusting, chopped liver, littering, and algebra, but more on that later.
Hannah Gere
Bookkeeper
Hannah has been with BTEE since 2019. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she is a mother of two small humans and one perpetually hungry dog. She is a lover of baking, coffee, nature, and puns.
Audrey Freedman-Habush
Receptionist
Audrey has been a part of BTEE since 2014. She is a long time member of the Jewish community in the Valley. When she is not at the temple she is spending time with her three granddaughters.