Professional Staff
Gerald Ronkin, Executive Director
Gerald Ronkin has served as Executive Director of Temple Beth Sholom since June, 2003. He is involved in every aspect of congregation life, is responsible for the day-to-day business operations of our synagogue, and is committed to seeing Temple Beth Sholom thrive.
Prior to his arrival in Sarasota, Mr. Ronkin was Executive Director of Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom in Louisville, Kentucky. Before that, he worked at Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland, the country’s largest Modern Orthodox synagogue.
Mr. Ronkin received a Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from Columbia University, and a certificate in fundraising and development from Goucher College. He is always happy to answer questions and assist our members in whatever way necessary.
Ewa Maniawski Tuschman, Director of Congregational Learning
Ewa joined our community as the Director of Congregational Learning in the summer of 2008. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and a Master of Judaic Studies and Jewish Education from the Alvin and Laura Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland, Ohio. She was previously the Congregational Educator at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Education Director at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA.
Ewa’s responsibilities consist of overseeing and coordinating the entire spectrum of Jewish learning that happens within our congregation including the Martin and Mildred Paver Religious School, the adult learning program, intergenerational programming, and family learning experiences. Her goal and philosophy are to create many paths and structures that allow worship, education, and social action to seamlessly flow in and out of one another. With the help and support of the Temple Beth Sholom professional staff and lay people, she is building strong bridges between all generations and transforming our synagogue into an intergenerational learning community.
Ewa is a member of Jewish Educators Assembly, Network for Research in Jewish Education, and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kavita Vasil, Director of Justin Lee Wiesner Preschool and Goldie Feldman Academy
Kavita Vasil is the Director of the Temple Beth Sholom Schools – the Justin Lee Wiesner Preschool and the Goldie Feldman Academy. Ms. Vasil received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in developmental psychology, child development, and education. She was hired as the School Director in January of 1994. During her tenure, the school has grown from a preschool through first grade program, to a program offering preschool, elementary, and middle school, with over 50 staff and an enrollment of over 300 students. She has also played a vital role in the conception, implementation, and successful completion of a capital campaign to build the Upper School building on Temple Beth Sholom’s property, housing second through eighth grades as well as the Paver Religious School.
Ms. Vasil has been responsible for taking the Temple Beth Sholom Schools through successful accreditations with the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS for preschool - eighth grade) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC for preschool). Under her leadership, the Justin Lee Wiesner Preschool and the Goldie Feldman Academy have achieved exemplary reputations for academic excellence, focus on the whole child, a commitment to guiding students through Jewish traditions, and universal values with respect for all people and their diverse backgrounds.
Ms. Vasil has taught classes and professional workshops for various Sarasota early childhood organizations and schools, as well as, made formal education presentations at local, state, and national conferences/associations.
Previous to her tenure at Temple Beth Sholom Schools, Ms. Vasil was an early childhood center director in Sarasota and an adjunct assistant professor of early childhood/elementary education at the University of Maine. She was also a teacher at the Skinner Lab School in Amherst, the Roberta Collard Infant Center at Smith College, and the Marks Meadow Elementary Lab School in Amherst.
Mitchell Weiss, Financial Comptroller
Mitchell Weiss joined our Temple as the Financial Comptroller August, 2009 . Mitchell comes to us from the corporate world with over thirty years with Citgroup in the financial, accounting and audit departments. Throughout his career he had held a myriad of positions in several states, as he advanced on the corporate ladder. All this experience promises to stead him well in this new comptroller position. He brings years of knowledge, creativity, financial expertise and patience from the corporate finance world.
He comes originally from New Jersey, and lived in Chicago for over twelve years. He has a wife of thirty years, Andrea, and four grown daughters. He holds an MBA with a concentration in, Facility Management and Finance from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Tampa and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1979. He looks forward to meeting you and will have an open door policy – please stop by and introduce yourselves to him.
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