Alexander Frisch grew up in New Jersey, where he first started working in the nonprofit world in arts organizations. He earned his bachelor’s in public affairs from Ohio State University (Go Bucks!), where he specialized in nonprofit management and minored in theatre. Before joining Stephen Wise Free Synagogue as the Religious School’s operations coordinator, Alexander worked professionally in stage management and theatre development in Ohio, at a music festival, and at the off-Broadway musical “Stomp.” Outside of work, you can find Alexander running around the city training for marathons. He also creates content for his website, including writing a community newsletter, producing YouTube videos, developing his drag persona Nikki Lodeon, and working on other fun projects.
For more than three decades, Joyce has given of her heart and soul to the congregants of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue as a b’nai mitzvah tutor. Her total involvement in the youth of her synagogue has been for her a source of strength and blessing and she continues to enrich Jewish life through her participation in her community.
Whitney is a graduate of The Hartt School of Music, where she studied classical voice performance. After graduation she fostered her passion for language by learning Hebrew, and quickly found her niche teaching Hebrew and Torah chanting in uptown Manhattan. She loves being a part of the Stephen Wise community — whether she’s tutoring our students, teaching adult b’nai mitzvah or coordinating the bar/bat mitzvah program.
Miriam earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Yeshiva University and her master’s in early childhood and elementary education from Bank Street College of Education. She has been working in early childhood since 1999, first as a classroom teacher before she became an administrator when she joined Stephen Wise’s ECC in 2007. She is active in various Jewish early childhood networks and worked as a mentor for new and aspiring leaders as part of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute for three years. Miriam has participated in three study tours to Reggio Emilia, Italy, with the most recent trip focusing on Jewish educators, and she has participated in various educational trips to Israel.
Vicki Reiss came to Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Early Childhood Center 30 years ago as a teacher working with young three-year-olds. When the school began to grow, she joined our administrative team to help with admissions. Vicki grew up in Syosset, New York, and earned her bachelor’s in education from American University in Washington, D.C.
Vicki loves reading thrillers and is a “Dateline” buff. And she’s famous for her delicious chocolate-chip banana bread!
