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.
Lior Koren
Shinshinit (Israeli Teen Emissary 2024-25)
My name is Lior Koren and I’m your new Shinshinit this year! I know we will get to know each other much better over the year, but here is a little bit about me. I live in a small town near the city Netanya called Tel Mond. I have two brothers, and I’m the middle child. I've been a part of the scout movement for many years and my favorite thing to do is being with my friends and family, to run, and exercise.
As I plan for our year together, I look forward to being with the children during school, teaching them all about Israel. For my monthly evening with adults, I want sports to be my project. We will dance together and exercise in an Israeli spirit. Our dance classes will be in honor of those who came to dance at the Nova festival last October 7, but were brutally murdered. This will honor them in a way that is true to how they lived. I've personally danced for so many years and I love it. I’m so excited to meet you all and invite you to work out with me!
Are you interested in hosting Lior for Shabbat dinner at your home? Due to the volume of interest, we request that you include another family or congregant at your Shabbat dinner in addition to hosting Lior.
Lior will be available for dinner once per month. Please email Cassie ASAP to reserve your spot: cassie@templeemanuel.ca
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