Nitzanim: Five Integrated Programs of Jewish Learning for Kids & Families
Open to Ner Shalom Members and Non-Members
Meeting Your Family’s Learning needs
Ner Shalom’s Nitzanim Program is here to meet your family’s learning needs. We do that through family-wide experiential learning (usually in nature), Hebrew study, and B.Mitzvah preparation. These program components complement and support each other. Under the leadership of Youth & Family Education Director Mia Zimman, and with the involvement of Rabbi Irwin and our highly skilled faculty, we look forward to helping your family enrich your sense of Jewish values, connection, literacy, and practice. Ner Shalom membership is not required for enrollment in Nitzanim.
Click on the buttons above to find out more details about each of our programs.
Click below for enrollment, calendar, and tuition information.
Then scroll down to read about our talented Nitzanim faculty.
Your Trusty Faculty
Mia Zimman
Mia Zimman (she/her) is a Jewish educator and ritual leader who brings heart, creativity, and curiosity to every learning space. With a background rooted in nature, justice, and meaningful ritual, she helps learners connect deeply to Jewish tradition—through stories, song, art, and hands-on experiences.
Mia blends inclusive teaching with spiritual guidance, supporting families and teens as they explore their Jewish journeys. Mia holds a Master’s in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College and is a certified Jewish Spiritual Director. She was a lead educator in Camp Tawonga’s B’nai Mitzvah Program (2018–2022), writes curriculum for synagogues nationwide, and coaches with the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
Fun facts:
Jewish holiday: Rosh Hashanah—for its beauty, depth, and sense of renewal
Dessert: Flourless chocolate cake—rich, warm, and unforgettable
Animal alter ego: Elephant—wise, strong, and deeply connected
Brandon Binder
Brandon Binder (he/him) is excited to join the Nitzanim team as a Lead B. Mitzvah Academy Educator.
Brandon brings more than ten years of experience in Jewish camping, youth engagement, and congregational education, along with a deep love of music, relationship-building, and experiential learning.
Brandon currently teaches music in the St. Helena Unified School District, where he leads TK–5 general music classes and directs the middle school orchestra program.
Gesher Calmenson
Gesher Calmenson is our lead B.Mitzvah prep tutor. He is the Education Director Emeritus of Ner Shalom’s former religious school, Dor Hadash. He is a Jewish Family Education Fellow and was Director of Sonoma County’s Jewish Family Room program. He is the founder of Remember Us: The Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project which pairs rising B.Mitzvah students with the name and memory of a young person who perished in the Shoah. Gesher has served as the Chair of the Sonoma County Yom Hashoah Commemoration, and has been named by Ner Shalom Educator of the Year. He has been a favorite B.Mitzvah tutor at Ner Shalom for over 20 years.
Rabbi Irwin Keller
Rabbi Irwin Keller (he/she/they=all-okay!) is Ner Shalom’s spiritual leader since 2008 and a longtime Jewish educator. Reb Irwin teaches Midweek Hebrew and Torah Lishmah, and leads parent discussion and tefilah at Nitzanim Family Experiential Learning. He grew up with wonderful Jewish teachers and learning experiences and wants that for the young people of this community. He is also available to talk to families about the B.Mitzvah experience or about more crafting their family’s Jewish life.
(Photo: Sarah Seitchik Sebastian)
Lauren B
Lauren B (she/her) brings reverence, rhythm, and joy to her work with young children in the Nitzanim community. Rooted in Waldorf pedagogy and nourished by over 20 years of gardening, storytelling, and early childhood education, Lauren meets each child with presence, wonder, and trust in their unique unfolding.
She is passionate about weaving Jewish spirituality, nature connection, and holistic education into joyful experiences—finding sparks of the sacred in songs, stories, seasonal rhythms, and simple acts of kindness.
Drawing on her studies in Nature and Culture, her Waldorf training, and her Jewish journey, Lauren creates nurturing spaces where children feel seen, safe, and sacred—just as they are.
Lauren also serves as an Assistant Kindergarten Teacher at a Waldorf school.
Fun facts:
Animal for a day: Elephant—for wisdom, wonder, and flappy ears
Jewish holiday: Sukkot—for peace, outdoors, and ancestors
Message for learners: There’s a place for you in this tradition—exactly as you are
Alanna Sullivan
Alanna Sullivan (she/they) is our Programs & Communications Coordinator for Nitzanim programs!
Alanna is a mother, youth educator, community organizer, and facilitator who brings deep experience in grassroots program leadership and trauma-informed empowerment work. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Alanna now calls Petaluma home, where she lives with her two children, Fionnah and Hudson, and her fur baby, Luna (Lou dog). When she’s not supporting our programs, you might find Alanna listening for news from the birds or piecing together the stories that tracks leave behind.
Fun fact: Before moving to the United States, she worked as a train conductor in the Greater Toronto Area, connecting with thousands of daily commuters and building lasting relationships along the way.
Alice Pennes
Alice Pennes (she/her) is a Jewish Educator and artist who lives at the crossroads of ritual and imagination—where every lesson is a canvas for wonder. As the Creative and Expressive Arts Educator for Nitzanim, she invites children to explore Jewish life through hands-on making, deep listening, and storytelling that honors both tradition and curiosity.
The daughter of a Conservative rabbi, Alice grew up steeped in Jewish practice—and has been bringing together Jewish wisdom and culture with art, play, and spiritual exploration. She’s trained in the Godly Play method of sacred storytelling, and holds a master’s degree in Integrative Health from CIIS, where she focused on the healing power of creative expression.
For Alice, Jewish education is an invitation to co-create: to make meaning, make beauty, and make community. Think: more imagination, fewer worksheets. More questions, more color, more awe.
Sophie Gittleman
Sophie Gittleman is an enthusiastic educator with over a decade of experience teaching in Jewish spaces.
In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors and making memories with her husband Julian and their 2 y/o son, Jamie.
Sophie is excited to help create meaningful, joyful experiences for others and is thrilled to embark on this learning journey as one of our Nitzanim lead educators for our elementary aged learners.
America Worden
America Worden (she/her) loves connecting young people with their sense of belonging on this gorgeous planet. Since she was a teen herself, she has worked with three-year-olds right up through high-schoolers in classrooms, in the woods, at the beach, in the mountains and in urban wild spaces. America loves to combine learning deeply about the natural world with creative projects and opportunities for insight about ourselves and others. America is Mama to Avi and Nia and she and her husband Adam have been involved in the Ner Shalom community for the past ten years. She teaches high school biology at Summerfield Waldorf School and is a psychotherapist specialized in work with teen and tween girls. She is excited to be working with Mia as the nature educator for the B Mitzvah program!
America comes to us with BA in Native American Studies from UC Berkeley, and an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher college and an MA in Counseling Psychology from CIIS.
And you.
We rely on the volunteership of parents and congregants to help make our programs lively, varied, and well held.
If you would like to volunteer your time and skills, email us!