Seth Young, Executive Director
Seth Young brings a wealth of strategic, financial and operational experience from tenures at multiple Jewish organizations in Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT. Seth’s most recent position was as Associate Head of School at Carmel Academy (Carmel), a Jewish day school, in Greenwich, CT, overseeing Communications, Admissions and Development services. Seth also supported volunteer engagement while at Carmel, working closely with the Director of Facilities Management, supporting the Security Committee, engaging heavily with the Board of Trustees and as a strategic partner with the Head of School.
Prior to Carmel, Seth spent three years as a Development Executive at UJA-Federation of New York, cultivating relationships and supporting many campaigns and initiatives. Seth also spent time at Westchester Jewish Center (WJC), holding several roles in formal and informal education for multiple cohorts as an educator and administrator. Seth was the Assistant Principal of the Hebrew High School at Westchester Jewish Center (WJC) for 10 years, continuing in his role while working at UJA-Federation and at Carmel. Seth is also an active volunteer in his Jewish community in Stamford, CT. Seth grew up in Syracuse, NY, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Bible Studies through a joint program at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
Mindy Citera, Nursery School Director
Mindy (Bailin) Citera has been the director of Bet Torah Nursery School since 2001 and has been a teacher in the religious school since 1995. She holds a Master's degree in elementary education from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in English Education from SUNY Albany. She has taught at the college, high school, middle school and elementary school levels, as well as pre-school and parenting classes. Mindy is the author of Around New York City with Kids, a Fodor’s Guide published by Random House. She has also written for numerous parenting magazines and newspapers over the last 30 years on parenting, education and children’s health. Mindy began teaching at her childhood synagogue in Bellmore, New York in 1970 and has worked in youth groups, religious schools, day schools, camps, and preschools in Long Island, Albany, Buffalo, Boston, Virginia, and Chappaqua before coming to Bet Torah. Mindy and her husband Jerry are the proud parents of Michael, Jennifer and Rachel and grandchildren Ava Leila and Sophie Harper.
Gina Fass, Director of Education
With over 25 years of experience in Jewish education, Gina Fass joined Bet Torah as the Director of Education in July 2016. She holds dual Master's degrees in Jewish Education and Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion and is an alumna of the prestigious Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Prior to joining Bet Torah, Gina served as director of education at synagogues and Jewish camps in Minnesota, California, Texas, and Connecticut. She has also taught high school and middle school Jewish Studies at Day Schools in Houston and Stamford. She has directed youth programs, a community Hebrew High, and inclusion programs for Jewish teens with special needs.
Gina is an aluma of the first cohort of Pardes: Senior Educator Learning Fellowship (2021- 2023), studying Torah and pedagogy with dozens of peers in Jerusalem and on-going virtually. She currently serves as Co-Chair for WATE/ Westchester Innovators, a group of over 40 congregational educators from Westchester and Fairfield, CT, who meet monthly for professional development with the partnership of the Jewish Education Project. She is an active volunteer at Schoke JFS, delivering Kosher Shabbat meals to home-bound seniors. Gina has lived in 13 cities across the United States, France, and Israel. She and her husband Jonathan live in Stamford and are the proud parents of Michal and Erez.
Nili Ionascu, Director of The B'nai Mitzvah Program and The Schleifer Learning Center
Nili Ionascu was born and raised in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. She concentrated on Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in high school and utilized that knowledge in her service with the I.D.F.’s intelligence division before and during the Six-Day War. After completing her army service, Nili continued her focus on Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she also ran track.
Nili obtained a graduate degree in education from Hebrew University, and taught Hebrew and Arabic at schools in Jerusalem and East Jerusalem before leaving to work as a film editor in Israeli television. After moving to the United States, she began working at Bet Torah in 1981, teaching Hebrew and tefillot to students with special needs. Since then, Nili has been directing Bet Torah Religious School's special needs program and preparing students for their b’nai mitzvot. She is a recipient of the Westchester Association of Hebrew Schools Teacher of the Year Award and the Ernest Rothschild Award for excellence in education.
Hannah Salzberg, Assistant Director of Youth and Education
Hannah Salzberg grew up in the Lower Hudson Valley and is a graduate of SUNY Purchase with a degree in History and a minor in Jewish Studies, where she served as Hillel President for three years. During her post-academic journey, Hannah interned at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, and served as an Israel Associate at UVM Hillel in Burlington, Vermont. In this role, she educated and mentored Jewish and non-Jewish college students on Israel-related topics and facilitated trips to Israel.
Driven by her childhood dream of being Israeli, Hannah made Aliyah more than 6 years ago and has lived in Jerusalem, Modiin, and Herzliya. In Israel, Hannah helped manage educational and social programs for Jewish young adults on Taglit-Birthright and Masa-Onward Israel trips. Hannah returned to the East Coast in September 2023. Most recently Hannah brought her enthusiasm, love of Judaism, and knowledge to students in first to eighth grade as a middle school science teacher and substitute at Jewish day schools in New Jersey.
Hannah is also proud to call herself a lifelong athlete. In college, she competed in swim and lacrosse at a NCAA- D3 level. She is a certified CrossFit coach, competes in Olympic Weightlifting, and plans to be lifting with Team USA for The Maccabi Games Summer 2025 in Israel.
Hannah is now eager to begin as the Assistant Director of Youth and Education and leverage her knowledge and experiences to create dynamic learning and community events for the teenagers and youth at Bet Torah.
To connect about Teen programming: email at youth@bettorah.org