Our Staff
General Inquiries
For general inquiries, please email info@templeemanuel.ca or call 416-449-3880 during office hours.
Administration
Irena Kochba
Executive Director
Exec@templeemanuel.ca
416-449-3880 ext. 214
Irena's twelve years of leadership experience in the Jewish community include positions as the Assistant Director of ECE and Facility Booking Manager at the Schwartz Reisman Centre. Most recently, Irena was the Membership Manager at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto.
Irena's family immigrated to Canada from the former Soviet Union when she was just a toddler. The Jewish Community in Toronto welcomed her family with open arms, giving her the opportunity to attend Jewish daycare, day school and high school. Giving back to the community that helped to shape her has been a top priority from a very young age.
A York University graduate in Business and Society and a certified event planner, Irena has championed initiatives that promote business growth while prioritizing the organization's mission and values. She knows firsthand the synagogue's impact on Jewish identity and its ability to connect Jews to one another.
When she is not at the office, Irena and her husband, Shaul, can be found chasing their two young sons, Aaron and Ethan, or planning a trip!
Irena looks forward to getting to know the beautiful Temple Emanu-El community and guiding the congregation toward a future filled with hope, purpose, and shared values.
Carli Portman
Administrative Coordinator
carli@templeemanuel.ca
416-449-3880 ext. 215
Carli Portman started working at Temple Emanu-El as the Administrative Coordinator in August 2019. Being active, and working, in the Jewish community has been one of Carli’s passions since she was very young. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Carli was an avid participant in synagogue youth groups and regularly attended Shabbat services.
After one year of study at the University of Winnipeg, Carli moved to Toronto and graduated from York University in 2005, with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Having studied American Sign Language Levels one and two, Carli developed an interest for working in the Deaf community and graduated from George Brown College’s American Sign Language-English Interpreter Program in 2009. While attending university and college, Carli continued to work at Jewish summer camps as a counselor, program director and supervisor for youth of all ages.
It was her roles at Pinemere Camp in Pennsylvania that brought Carli’s heart back to working in the Jewish community. After working at Loving Care Centre as an Educational Assistant, Carli turned her focus to administration and worked at Congregation Darchei Noam as Office Administrator for six years.
Carli enjoys working for a warm, liberal Jewish community and truly enjoys working at Temple Emanu-El. Carli has recently moved to Calgary, Alberta and works for Temple Emanu-El remotely. She can still be reached via email and phone during her office hours. Carli lives with her husband, Zack (whom she met at summer camp!), their son, Benji and dog, Sunny.
Ilona Meron
Bookkeeper
ilona@templeemanuel.ca
416-449-3880 ext. 217
Ilona Meron has been serving the Jewish community in Toronto since 2008. Ilona has extensive experience in both Administrative and Accounting positions both in the non-for-profit and for profit organizations. She is excited to begin her next chapter at Temple Emanu-El, where she will be working as a bookkeeper attending to all financial aspects of Temple. Contact Ilona with any questions or concerns about your account, tax receipts or donation records.
In her spare time Ilona enjoys reading, loves to cook and has a passion for gardening and sewing.
Education
Cassie Moscoe-Sweet
Director, Centre for Jewish Living and Learning
cassie@templeemanuel.ca
416-449-3880 ext. 213
Cassie has always been connected to her local Jewish community. Growing up in the GTA, being a part of a Jewish community has always been a priority of hers. Most importantly, she has loved being part of the Temple Emanu-El community for over the past decade. Cassie began teaching at Temple Emanu-El in 2011. She has taught multiple subjects to students in Grades 1-7 including foundations, Hebrew, and Hebrew Through Movement. She has also been the inclusion coordinator, overseeing the needs of students with exceptionalities for the past several years.
Cassie's passion has always been in the field of education. She completed concurrent education at Lakehead University in 2009. After graduating, Cassie continued her studies in education with a focus on special education. She obtained a post-graduate diploma in Autism Behaviour Science from Seneca College in 2014 and went on to get a Masters Degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis in 2020 from Michigan State. Since graduating, Cassie has worked in schools and in non-traditional educational settings. She has also worked in the private therapy sector, providing children aged 3-18 with behavioural therapy. Her greatest passion is ensuring all students are provided the opportunity to master their goals and reach their full potential.
Cassie has an extensive background in formal and informal Jewish Education. She has taught at both supplementary schools and Jewish day schools as a support staff, classroom teacher, Hebrew teacher and resource teacher. She has worked at several Jewish camps as head staff and was technical director of JCC's Chai Sports hockey and soccer programs.
When Cassie is not working with students, she loves spending time with her daughter, Maya. They live just north of the city, but can always be found hanging around Temple Emanu-El.
Alma Baal Taxa
Shinshinit (Israeli Teen Emissary 2025-26)
My name is Alma Baal Taxa, and for the past nine years, the Scouts have been a central part of my life. I joined when I was only nine years old, not knowing that this movement would shape so much of who I am — not just as a teenager, but as a human being.
Over the years, I moved through different roles: first as a chanicha (trainee), then as a madricha (leader), and eventually as a coordinator for other leaders. But beyond the titles, what truly defined my experience in the Tzofim were the values it gave me — values I now carry into everything I do: responsibility, respect, commitment, giving, and the belief that every person has something meaningful to offer.
There’s one moment I always return to in my mind — my very first “moral” at the tribe. I remember standing in a huge circle, surrounded by voices singing in unison, hands clapping, and eyes filled with pride and belonging. That was the first time I felt what it meant to truly be part of something bigger than myself. That energy, that unity, that shared purpose — it never left me.
This year, I’m thousands of kilometers away from my shevet in Israel, but the spirit of the Tzofim is right here with me. Every time I take initiative, every time I support someone, every time I try to bring people together — I know that I’m drawing from everything I learned back home.
As we begin a new year, I find myself hoping not just to connect with others, but also to share a little piece of my roots. I want to pass on the sense of belonging, of joy, of meaning, that the Scouts gave me. I hope that the teens I meet here will see that in me — and maybe feel it for themselves too.
Shanah Tovah to everyone – may this year be one of learning, growing, giving, and carrying our values proudly, wherever we go. So happy to meet all of you and hope we will have the chance to really get to know each other throughout this coming year.
Shahar Nili
Shinshin (Israeli Teen Emissary 2025-26)
Hi, I’m Shahar and I’m one of the shinshinim at Temple Emanu-El and Bialik Hebrew school during 2025-26.
I was asked to write about who I am and what I do. I would like to start by saying that I am so, so excited to fly over and meet so many of you. I know that I will have so many amazing experiences with so many of you and words cannot express my excitement.
Connecting with Jewish communities in the diaspora is something I had spent most of my time on during the last two years. I was a fellow at Diller and later became a junior counselor. During this time I got to meet and talk with so many people from all over the world (some even from Toronto) and learned so much about who I am. My time in Diller is the main driving force that made me want to become a shinshin.
Over the last two years, reality has only proven the importance of standing together all around the globe. I hope I could use this year to bring a piece of Israel with me to Canada and for all of us to stand together.
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