Professional Staff
Senior Staff
Aliza GOland
Executive Director
Aliza has been active in the Jewish community for over 35 years, both as a volunteer and as a professional. Prior to joining Temple Aliyah, she served for over 15 years as the Executive Director of Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks. She also worked for USCJ Pacific Southwest Region as Director of Regional Services.
Aliza earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UCLA, her MBA degree in Non-Profit Management from the University of Judaism, and she has achieved certification as a Fellow in Temple Administration (FTA).
Aliza has served on the Board of the National Association of Temple Administration (NATA) and is currently a Vice President with a portfolio in Professional Development. She has co-chaired two national conferences and currently co-chairs the NATA-NAASE Distance Learning Committee.
In her free time, Aliza enjoys singing with the Ruach Revelers of Women’s League’s Pacific Southwest Branch. She also loves to read, crochet, and needlepoint. Aliza is married to Phyllis and is immensely proud of her three adult children and one granddaughter.
Rabbi Adam Schaffer
Director, Sevran Center for Jewish Learning & Living (Religious School)
Rabbi Adam has been working at Temple Aliyah since July, 2011, but he and his family have been congregants since moving to the Valley in 2005. He has loved his time at Aliyah both personally and professionally because of the great community of people that make up the congregation.Prior to working at Temple Aliyah, Rabbi Adam served as the School Rabbi at Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School in Northridge for seven years where he taught Judaic Studies, Cantillation, Tefillah, and Jewish Ethics. He prides himself on being an eclectic and musical rabbi who defies denominational labels.
He has, over the course of his schooling and career, served in a variety of capacities including as a congregational rabbi in Bremerton, Washington, an assistant education director in Santa Ana, and a chaplain at UCLA Hospital. He holds rabbinic ordination and a Master’s degree in Jewish Education from the Hebrew Union College here in Los Angeles, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania.
His proudest role, however is being the abba to his two children, Ezra and Eliana, and his greatest honor is to be married to the wonderful Melissa Sandler.
Robin Wayne
Early Childhood Education (ECE) Director
After 20 years as a teacher at Temple Aliyah, Robin transitioned from the classroom to the role of Director of Temple Aliyah’s Early Childhood Education program.
Robin has taught all age levels in the ECE with most of her teaching years spent in the Pre-K program, where she developed much of the curriculum, led the Pre-K team, and helped prepare lots and lots of children for Kindergarten. Robin was a fellow of the first Los Angeles cohort of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute (JECELI), which educates and supports the professional development of leaders of Jewish Early Childhood Education programs, nationally.
Robin and her family have been synagogue members for over 26 years and have celebrated and participated in many life cycle events over the years. Robin’s husband, Lenny, has served as a member of the temple board and played on one of the temple’s softball teams for many years. Their children, Alli and Jeremy, attended the ECE program, religious school, and had their B’nai Mitzvah at Temple Aliyah. In addition to calling Aliyah her workplace, Temple Aliyah has been and continues to be a very important and meaningful community for Robin and her family.
Evan Susman
Rabbinic Intern & Youth Director
Evan Susman joined the Temple Aliyah community in July of 2020. He recently returned from Israel studying at the Conservative Yeshiva and is currently a 4th year student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, CA. Before coming to Aliyah, Evan was the Youth Director/ Rabbinic Youth Intern at Shomrei Torah Synagogue in West Hills, CA. He has been a part of the Jewish camping community in Los Angeles and California since 2007. Some of his roles included, Assistant Program Coordinator at Camp JCA Shalom, Head of Music at Camp Ramah Galim in northern California, and Music Director/ Rabbinic Intern at Camp Alonim.
Evan graduated from CSUN, with a major in Modern Jewish Studies and a minor in Pan African Studies. Originally from Miami Beach, FL, he enjoys traveling, writing music, golfing, and cooking, especially for Shabbat. Evan is passionate about Jewish music, education, and enriching the lives of our youth. He is excited to be a part of the Temple Aliyah community.
Lisa Cobey Lopez
Community Caring Director
Lisa CobeyLopez is Temple Aliyah’s Community of Caring Director as well as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a background in Early Intervention and Jewish Education. Lisa earned a Teacher’s Certificate in Religious Studies from Gratz College, her B.A. with honors in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, and M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina. Lisa has worked with Jewish families for over 20 years as a teacher, youth group leader, and program coordinator. Lisa also runs a private practice, providing psychotherapy from ages 3 through adulthood and trainings for parents and teachers.
She is married to Michael, a Los Angeles native, and they are proud parents to Zachary, an ECE graduate, and Michaela, current ECE student.At Temple Aliyah, Lisa oversees our Community of Caring which primarily involves outreach to our congregants in times of need (bereavement, illness) and joy (newborns) in conjunction with many amazing volunteers that visit those who are sick or homebound, deliver Thinking of You bags, provide meals, assist with driving and many other tasks. Lisa works closely with Jewish Federation’s Ezra network to provide resources and referrals when needed such as for assisted living, mental health professionals, etc.
In addition, Lisa in collaboration with the Temple’s Community Outreach Committee, plans Social Action and Interfaith Events such as Making Sandwiches for the Homeless and Mitzvah Day. Lastly, Lisa is available for support and guidance to our B’nai Mitzvah Students as they figure out their Act of Tikkun Olam (a.k.a. Mitzvah Project).To help volunteer for Community of Caring/Community Outreach, please check out: Templealiyah.org/showyoucare
Wed, May 25 2022
24 Iyyar 5782