Programs & Operations Staff
Rabbi & Education Director Rabbi David Basior
rabbidavid@kadima.org
schedule a one-on-one with Rabbi David
Rabbi David joined Kadima in 2015. He has worked with a number of Jewish organizations and agencies in the Seattle area as an educator, spiritual leader, officiant, pastoral counselor, community organizer, interfaith partner, public speaker, and clergy activist. Prior work includes pre-school assistant teacher, produce clerk, cashier, educator, camp counselor, teen program director, non-profit administrator, pizza delivery, and Jewish community organizer.
Receiving his bachelor of science in business management from the University of Florida where he marched in the marching band, and his rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbi David currently serves as co-chair of the Washington Coalition of Rabbis, membership of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, and recently served on the task forces for antisemitism and the Jewish community relations council with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. He is a public endorser of Real Rent Duwamish.
Growing up in Westchester County, New York; Manhattan, NYC; and Parkland, Florida, Rabbi David's roots are Ashkenazi secular familial Judaism. His ancestors empower him to build Jewish community with purpose, justice, healing, and solidarity; his partner and kids teach him humility, play, healthy living, and connection. Current interests include running, biking, bridge-building, Star Wars, and reading fantasy with his kids.
You can read writings by or about Rabbi David on the Kadima blog, South Seattle Emerald, Real Change, Crosscut, The Seattle Times, Jewish in Seattle Magazine, Sojourners, YouTube, Facebook, and more.
Receiving his bachelor of science in business management from the University of Florida where he marched in the marching band, and his rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbi David currently serves as co-chair of the Washington Coalition of Rabbis, membership of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, and recently served on the task forces for antisemitism and the Jewish community relations council with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. He is a public endorser of Real Rent Duwamish.
Growing up in Westchester County, New York; Manhattan, NYC; and Parkland, Florida, Rabbi David's roots are Ashkenazi secular familial Judaism. His ancestors empower him to build Jewish community with purpose, justice, healing, and solidarity; his partner and kids teach him humility, play, healthy living, and connection. Current interests include running, biking, bridge-building, Star Wars, and reading fantasy with his kids.
You can read writings by or about Rabbi David on the Kadima blog, South Seattle Emerald, Real Change, Crosscut, The Seattle Times, Jewish in Seattle Magazine, Sojourners, YouTube, Facebook, and more.
Director of Operations Morgan Scherer
morgan@kadima.org
Morgan Scherer first joined the Kadima community in 1998. They re-joined as our Operations Manager in 2018, and describe coming back to Kadima as “coming home”. Morgan brings a background of community activism and a wealth of experience in non-profits, most recently with Familybike Seattle, Bike Works, and Washington Water Trails Association.
Morgan has worked in small non-profits their entire career, and in 2008 founded Familybike Seattle, a non-profit that supports families in biking as transportation. In addition to biking-related organizations, Morgan has also enjoyed working at organizations dedicated to public shoreline access, culturally appropriate education for Deaf children, and sex workers’ rights and self determination. Morgan is also a certified Pilates instructor, and used to be a professional dancer, kayaking instructor, and athlete.
Morgan is a bit of a self-described “data geek” who thinks databases are fun, and is also a conceptual and big-picture problem solver. They are committed to personally working towards undoing systems of oppression in whatever ways they can, and have been particularly focusing on disability and racial justice over the past several years. They have several invisible disabilities, which give them plenty of challenge and learning opportunities! They also coordinate the Kadima disability justice committee and event accessibility.
Morgan has three children, Tui and Asher, who are 19 and 29 respectively, and Pippin who is just two years old! Morgan lives with their wife Sofia, as well as Tui, Pippin, their mom, dairy goats, a cat, and a dog, in a lively home in Rainier Beach. One day, Morgan hopes to add a tortoise to the mix. Their family buses and bikes everywhere, and Morgan particularly enjoys reading, babywearing, weaving, dancing, kayaking, watching vampire TV shows, and connecting with good friends.
Morgan has worked in small non-profits their entire career, and in 2008 founded Familybike Seattle, a non-profit that supports families in biking as transportation. In addition to biking-related organizations, Morgan has also enjoyed working at organizations dedicated to public shoreline access, culturally appropriate education for Deaf children, and sex workers’ rights and self determination. Morgan is also a certified Pilates instructor, and used to be a professional dancer, kayaking instructor, and athlete.
Morgan is a bit of a self-described “data geek” who thinks databases are fun, and is also a conceptual and big-picture problem solver. They are committed to personally working towards undoing systems of oppression in whatever ways they can, and have been particularly focusing on disability and racial justice over the past several years. They have several invisible disabilities, which give them plenty of challenge and learning opportunities! They also coordinate the Kadima disability justice committee and event accessibility.
Morgan has three children, Tui and Asher, who are 19 and 29 respectively, and Pippin who is just two years old! Morgan lives with their wife Sofia, as well as Tui, Pippin, their mom, dairy goats, a cat, and a dog, in a lively home in Rainier Beach. One day, Morgan hopes to add a tortoise to the mix. Their family buses and bikes everywhere, and Morgan particularly enjoys reading, babywearing, weaving, dancing, kayaking, watching vampire TV shows, and connecting with good friends.
Director of Youth & Family Learning Gilah Barker
gilah@kadima.org
schedule a one-on-one with Gilah
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Gilah grew up in Western Massachusetts, where they developed a love of all things wildlife, Torah study, and sustainable farming. Since then, they've lived in five states and on three continents, teaching and studying Judaism, science, and outdoor survival and adventure skills. They have a BA in Midrash (Jewish Scriptural Interpretation), an MSc in Ecology, six years of classroom teaching experience, and they've spent many years in experiential education. As an educator, Gilah is especially passionate about incorporating disability justice and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in all aspects of the student experience. Gilah joined the Kadima team and moved out west in 2022 and is deeply enjoying integrating into and learning from this beautiful community.
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Kadima School Faculty
marion reader
Nitzan (infants to 3-year-olds)
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marion is a life-long learner who relishes in spending their time with the youngest members of our communities and their families. With a background in arts education, infant mental health, and being a rambunctious, outspoken child, marion is over the moon about playing and learning alongside the Nitzan class. Jewishness was not something marion knew ran deeply in their family until their adulthood - since discovering this and exploring what it may or may not mean, marion has been diving deeply into Jewish learning, singing, dancing, teaching, and ritual. They are excited to continue learning about and experiencing all the different ways we can be Jewish together. Outside of Shabbat School it is very likely you will find marion with their nose in a book, petting some neighborhood cats, and singing karaoke with friends.
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Maia Brown
Geshem (Pre-K & Kindergarteners)
B'mitzvah madricheh (guide & tutor)
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Maia was raised in the Kadima community and is continually grateful for the ways she got to grow up knowing that there was no one way to be Jewish. She has been teaching in early childhood education for over a decade and now teaches Elementary Creative Arts with Pre-K through fifth grade learners during the week. She wears other hats as well: as a Klezmer in the Yiddish anti-fascist folk-punk trio Brivele, and as a student in Goddard College's Interdisciplinary Arts MFA program. This year, she teaches and learns with Geshem, is a madricha for Kadima’s B'Mitzvah program, and sings with a lovely Kadima crowd during Yontif and with Kadima young people exploring our musical liturgy on Saturdays.
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Franke Bychko
Shemesh (1st & 2nd Graders)
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Franke is a wanderer, a creature of evolving names and interwoven interests. A Russian immigrant (see: Post-Soviet Jew), their path is one of spiritual, linguistic and religious reclamation through dauntless curiosity. They’ve worked in early childhood education for five years, now in their second year as a burgeoning Jewish educator with Kadima families (you ARE my sunshines, Shemenschen)! Essentially a performance artist, Franke works best on their feet, and wants to get your meddling kids on their feet: Playing, acting, dancing, singing, chattering and moving through the great unravelling mysteries of Torah. Franke’s into theatre, language, music, social networks in real life, joyous failure, and run-on sentences. They’re all process, no product. They’d like to sing and study with you. They’d like to translate things into whatever language comes to you when called.
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Shelby Handler
Keshet (3rd & 4th Graders)
B'mitzvah madricheh (guide & tutor)
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Shelby's grandma likes to say that Shelby came out of the womb speaking French. This isn't true (Shelby's grandma loves to exaggerate) but their early years did involve a lot of impassioned gibberish. Once they actually learned to talk, Shelby and their sister Zoe spent much of elementary school acting out storylines starring their barbie dolls. The plots were intricate, strange, and dramatic, often ending with at least one of them sobbing while in character. Shelby hopes to bring some of that joyful weirdness to their fifth year with Team Keshet, in service of justice-centered Judaism! When they aren’t at Kadima, Shelby is writing poems, organizing with Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle and working as an adjunct professor in English at the University of Washington.
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Sarah Freyd
Keshet (3rd & 4th Graders)
bio coming soon!
Eli Zavatsky
Ra'am (5th & 6th Graders)
bio coming soon!
Gillian Locascio-Drutis
Ra'am (5th - 6th Graders)
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Gillian is thrilled to be returning to Kadima School for her seventh year, delving into the oft-neglected and somewhat subversive corners of Jewish history with Team Ra’am (5th-6th grade). Born and raised in Tacoma, she spent a formative decade organizing around community health and human rights in the Southeast US and Central America before returning to Washington, where she worked with laborers, public health advocates, environmentalists, and students to build a vision and momentum for fair and just international trade policies. A few years back, she decided to dig deeper into long-time passion for plants and her zest for healing our broken food system, and she now runs her own small vegetable farm, Dancing Sprouts Farm, in Orting, WA. When she isn’t caring for vegetables, she can be found cooking, teaching, organizing songful lefty Jewish spaces, and reading up on the histories she never learned in school.
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Michal Waldfogel
Barak (7th graders)
B'mitzvah madricheh (guide & tutor)
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Born in Jerusalem and raised in the epicenter of the Reconstructionist movement (Philadelphia), Michal now calls Seattle and Kadima home. For over fifteen years she has shared Jewish-inspired experiences as a Hebrew school teacher, Hebrew tutor, Rosh Hodesh group facilitator, Jewish summer camp counselor, B'Mitzvah madricha, Jewish Wellness Retreat+Workshop facilitator, and founder of Deep Breath Baking (a yoga and challah baking workshop). When teaching, she asks herself, “How does this empower my students and improve their quality of life?” In her spare time, she practices naturopathic medicine and writes songs.
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Rabbi David Basior
Ra'am (5th - 6th Graders)
Barak (7th Graders)
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Entering his seventh year as Kadima Rabbi, Education Director, and youth educator, Rabbi David is excited to work with Team Ra’am and Team Barak on Tuesday evenings. He is committed to giving young people and adults the tools to create space for grappling with what it means to be Jewish now -- grounded in history, informed by tradition, and paced by the calendar and rhythm of Jewish time. He is excited to guide young people through key learning toward celebrating their emergence as emerging Jewish adults in today's world equipped with ancient and contemporary tools, connections, and modes of inquiry.
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Abby Brook
Barak (7th Graders)
Yekum Program Coordinator (8th & 9th Graders)
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Abby (she/they) is thrilled to be teaching Barak on Shabbat mornings for a second year as well as kicking off the Yekum youth group! Abby is thrilled to be able to learn with and from Kadima teens, host big conversations about Zionism, the ongoing Nakba, and antisemitism, and figure out how to make change in the world together. Outside of Kadima, she spends much of her time organizing, both as the student organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace and with local Seattle organizations fighting for Palestinian freedom. Abby was born in Seattle, but has many homes in places she has lived including Washington DC, Jordan, and Lebanon. Abby loves to spend time in her little city garden, baking bread, making music with friends, and swimming in Lake Washington whenever possible.
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Ariel Zaslav
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Emmett Stanfield
B'mitzvah madricheh (guide & tutor)
bio coming soon!
Sarah Edelstein
B'mitzvah madricheh (guide & tutor)
bio coming soon!