About Teach NYS

Caleb Fischer serves as the Director of Operations at Teach Coalition, where he oversees organizational infrastructure, team management and strategy.

A seasoned community builder, Caleb brings over a decade of experience working at the intersection of communal engagement, strategic growth and operational excellence within prominent Jewish institutions. As Director of Development at Park East Day School and Synagogue, he developed fundraising initiatives and built systems to maximize donor cultivation and stewardship. He also served as Director of Operations for Jewish Voters Unite, where he oversaw operations and built the sustainable infrastructure necessary for a growing nonprofit.

Elina Mosheyeva serves as Director of Marketing & Communications at Teach Coalition, where she leads the organization’s national communications, brand, media, and digital strategy in support of equitable funding, security, and resources for nonpublic schools.

With more than a decade of experience in strategic marketing, storytelling, and integrated communications, Elina specializes in translating complex policy and advocacy goals into compelling narratives that mobilize communities, engage policymakers, and inspire philanthropy. She serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership and partners closely with policy and development teams to amplify impact across multiple states.

Elina holds an MBA and brings a data-driven, mission-focused approach to building trust, visibility, and long-term advocacy impact.

As the Director of Government Programs for Teach Coalition, Yosef oversees all government program work that Teach does on behalf of its member school network and beyond. Yosef’s team is responsible for ensuring that yeshivas and day schools access tens of millions of government dollars and services yearly. Yosef has worked in nonpublic school education and policy since 2009 and joined Teach in 2014. Previously, he founded and ran a cutting-edge youth program and center for chassidic teens in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.  

Yosef was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, received his BA from Columbia University and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Brooklyn College. He lives in Crown Heights with his wife and their six children.  

Mrs. Leah Grossman directs the Mandated Services Reimbursement team for Teach NYS. Mrs. Grossman has a background in math and upwards of two decades of experience working with schools to maximize their reimbursement for NY mandates through the Mandated Services and CAP programs . She lives in Lakewood, NJ with her family.

Chanan Maister joined the Teach NYS Government Maximization team in 2022 as Mandated Services Project Manager. Prior to this, he worked in the private sector for over a decade, first in e-commerce and later in fintech. He lives in metro Detroit with his wife and two children, and in his free time can be found reading the New Yorker and books about World War II.

Dvorah Waldman has an MA in speech language pathology from University of Cincinnati and ten years of experience in the education system, as well as experience with Early Intervention claims submission and problem-solving. She joins our Mandated Services team to assist schools with claims preparation and maximization.

Pessy Katz serves as a Government Funding Specialist for Teach NYS. Prior to joining the Teach Coalition team, Pessy served as co-director of admissions at The Shefa School in NYC. In addition to running the admissions process and marketing, Pessy was the administrative lead on applying for government funds for the Shefa School. She is excited to bring that experience to her work now with Teach Coalition. Pessy served as an OU Institute of Public Affairs congressional intern on Capitol Hill. She received a BA in Political Science at Lander College for women. She attended NYU where she was a Lisa Ellen Goldberg Fellow and ran a multi-faith graduate student group and graduated with a Masters in Public Administration and an MA in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Pessy currently lives in Jerusalem with her family.

Adam Katz serves as the Associate Director of Government Programs for Teach Coalition. Working with schools throughout the country, he helps them navigate government programs and ensure they take maximum advantage of all available funding sources. Adam brings a wide range of skills and experience to the organization. He has worked at the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center Think Tank for Urban and Regional Policy as well as the US Navy, started his own real estate advisory firm, served on the board of directors of a nonprofit, and is a 2x author. Adam earned a master's degree in Public Policy from Northeastern University and a bachelors degree in Economics from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Adam lives in Passaic with his wife and four children.

Originally born in Chicago, Ronit grew up in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and attended YULA. After graduating from Brandeis University, she went on to become a television producer at the CourtTV Network in New York City. These days, in addition to her role at Teach Coalition, she’s also a Staff Writer for The Jewish Link of New Jersey as well as a substitute teacher at Yavneh Academy. She lives with her husband (Stuart) and three children in Teaneck.

Rebekah Rybstein serves as a Government Programs and Security Grant Specialist for Teach Coalition. She graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a concentration in Business Law and Real Estate. Previously, Rebekah was involved in numerous advocacy efforts between elected officials, civic groups, and not-for-profit organizations throughout Southeastern Brooklyn.

Rebecca Taxman is the New York State Political Director for Teach Coalition, where she leads advocacy efforts to advance educational policy and strengthen relationships with government leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders across New York. She brings more than seven years of experience in government affairs and public policy advocacy and over fifteen years of experience in education program management, teaching, and nonprofit leadership. Prior to joining Teach, Rebecca served as Policy and Advocacy Director for Tzedek Association, leading legislative initiatives and building bipartisan partnerships to advance criminal justice and prison policy reforms. She also helped grow Chess NYC from its startup phase into New York City's leading chess education organization, teaching thousands of students and expanding programs to more than 100 schools and correctional facilities, using chess as a tool for education, critical thinking, and social impact. Rebecca holds a Master of Science in Public Policy from The New School's Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment.

Yakira Hirsch serves as the Grassroots Manager at Teach NYS. She previously worked for Jewish Voters Unite as a Volunteer Manager, helping register over 25,000 new Jewish voters with a team of 200+ volunteers. She was raised in New York and graduated from Touro University with a degree in Political Science. Yakira is passionate about civic engagement and making Jewish education affordable for all.