Our Administration

Dr. Josh Levisohn, Headmaster

Dr. Josh Levisohn grew up in the Boston area where he attended the Maimonides School. He studied at Yeshivat Sha’alvim in Israel, before earning his undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Enjoying the life of a student, Dr. Levisohn continued his education at Harvard and obtained a PhD in Jewish History in 1999. At the same time, he began teaching at Akiba Hebrew Academy in suburban Philadelphia, where he eventually became the Principal of Jewish Studies. Dr. Levisohn moved to DC area in 2006 and lives with his wife, Lisi, and their three children in Silver Spring.

Rebecca Gautieri, Preschool Director

Rebecca Gautieri grew up in the Washington area in a family that was always active in the local Jewish community. She earned her Bachelors degree in Nursing from Boston University and holds an Early Childhood Certificate from the State of Maryland. Morah Rebecca lives with her husband Joe in Olney, Maryland and very much looks forward to visiting Israel again, since she has not been there since she was 16 years old. Their three grown children all attended MJBHA. 

Susan Koss, Lower School Principal

Mrs. Susan Koss grew up in Toms River, NJ. She obtained her BA from Stern College and MA from American University. Mrs. Koss has worked in just about every Jewish day school in the Metro DC area, most recently as the Head of School for the Jewish Primary Day School. As the wife of a United States Army Chaplain, Mrs. Koss had the opportunity to live in several states around the country and spent 61/2 years in Germany. She and her husband, Rabbi Saul Koss, live in Silver Spring and have three grown children and a wonderful bunch of grandchildren.

Tammie Rapps, Lower School Assistant Principal

Tammie Rapps hails from Los Angeles, CA. She is a graduate of the Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles. She spent a year in Israel on Bnei Akiva’s Hachshara program combining work on Kibbutz Maale Gilboa with study at Michlelet Orot. Tammie has a BA from Princeton University and holds a MA in Education from Columbia University. Tammie lives in Silver Spring with her husband, Josh, and their three children.

Rabbi Moshe Shields, Middle School Principal

Rabbi Moshe Shields grew up in Toronto among hockey fans. He graduated from Ner Israel high school and went to Bais Yisroel Yeshiva in Israel. Upon returning to the States, Rabbi Shields studied at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore and at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. After marrying his wife Rachael, Rabbi Shields received a Masters in School Administration Loyola University in Chicago. Moshe, Rachael, and their five children live in Olney, Maryland.

Batsheva Atlas, Middle School Dean of Students

Batsheva Atlas was raised in Baltimore and graduated from Stevenson University. She received state certification in Special Education from Goucher College. Mrs. Atlas was a previously a guidance counselor at Bais Yaakov Middle School and vice principal of the boys' division of Yeshivat Rambam. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and children and enjoys baking, painting scenery, reading historical fiction and watching musicals.

Rabbi Avi Levitt, Rabbi Moshe H. Levinson Upper School Principal

Rabbi Avi Levitt was born and raised in West Orange, NJ. A graduate of The Frisch School, he attended Yeshivat Har Etzion, received his BA from Harvard University, and obtained a Masters in Math Education from Teachers College at Columbia University. Rabbi Levitt then earned his Masters in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School at Yeshiva University. He began his teaching career at Frisch, his alma mater, and moved into educational administration at the Mesivta of North Jersey in 2000. He joined the MJBHA in 2005 as the Upper School Principal. An avid runner, Rabbi Levitt proudly outran two of his high school students in the Miami Half Marathon while raising funds for Chai Lifeline. He, his wife and four children live in Silver Spring.

Rachel Levitt Klein, Rabbi Moshe H. Levinson Upper School Dean of Students

Rachel Levitt Klein was born in the Boston area and grew up rooting for the Red Sox even when her family made aliya in 1979. Upon their return from Israel in 1982, her family moved back to Boston where Ms. Levitt Klein graduated from Maimonides School. After attending Michlalah in Jerusalem and then Stern College for Women, she earned a Master's Degree from Yeshiva University's Azrieli School for Jewish Education and Administration. Ms. Levitt Klein has taught at many of the most prominent Modern Orthodox day schools, including the Frisch school, Ramaz, Maimonides School, and Fuchs-Mizrachi in Cleveland before coming to the MJBHA in 2008. She spent a year in Israel as a Mandel Jerusalem fellow and has been a participant in the Mandel Teacher Educators Institute. She currently lives with her four wonderful children and one dog in Silver Spring. In the summers, Rachel works at Camp Moshava as a teacher of improv and drama as well as Judaica.

Faina Stepensky, Finance Director

Faina Stepensky was born in Kiev, Ukraine on Yom Kippur. She moved to Moscow, Russia after getting married and attended Moscow University. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in English and a Masters Degree in Economics. She immigrated with her family to the United States in 1979. She worked as the finance director for The Cardiovascular Research Foundation in Washington, D.C before coming to MJBHA in August of 1999. She is a veteran among the MJBHA senior administrative team members. Faina has 2 wonderful children; her daughter is a teaching associate with Sulam and is working on a Masters in Special Education at Johns Hopkins University. Her son is a first year child neurology resident at Loma Linda University Hospital in Loma Linda, California. Faina lives in North Potomac, MD with her husband and daughter.

Jennifer Zukerman, Development Director

Jennifer Zukerman was born and raised in Southeastern Virginia. She obtained her BA from George Mason University, after which she spent a year learning at Nishmat in Jerusalem. She was working toward a MA in Psychology when she turned her attention to Jewish communal service. Throughout her career, Jennifer has been passionate about matching each donor’s resources with philanthropic opportunities that will be meaningful. Prior to joining the MJBHA team, Jennifer worked at the Hillel Center for Jewish Life at the University of Maryland where she was extremely impressed with all the MJBHA graduates she met there.  She lives with her family in Silver Spring, and she and her husband are especially proud to have one child in each of the four divisions of the school.