Our Team

Rabbi Amy Rader

Executive Director

Rabbi Rader is a Conservative Rabbi ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary. As a pulpit rabbi with over 25 years of experience, she has become a respected expert in reframing synagogues for the next generation. Rabbi Rader is the founder and senior rabbi of The Neshamah Institute. Neshamah was founded in 2011 by a core group of Jewish innovators to bring open-access Judaism to the South Florida Jewish community. Rabbi Rader is grateful to the team of clergy, musicians, teachers and volunteers who have been her partners in cultivating Neshamah into a thriving, authentic, relevant, spiritual Jewish community.
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Sharon Shear

Musical Director

Sharon Shear is an original partner in founding The Neshamah Institute and helped shape the community into a vibrant spiritual home for Jewish families throughout South Florida.

As Musical Director, Sharon collaborates with Rabbi Amy Rader to create the musical heart of Neshamah's worship experience. She provides musical direction, leads the choir, and composes original melodies for prayers and songs that bring warmth and spirit to Shabbat services, the High Holy Days, and B'nai Mitzvah celebrations.

Sharon has been enriching South Florida's Jewish community through music since 2001, and also offers private instruction in guitar, ukulele, and piano.

Lori Neiberg

Director of Education & Faculty / Teacher

Lori Neiberg has been with the Neshamah Institute since it’s inception in 2009. She is passionate about her role with Neshamah and her role as a Jewish Educator. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She received her degree in Judaic Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans and has been a Jewish Educator for the past 40 years both in Chicago and South Florida. She has been an active participant and educator for The March of the Living southern region the last several years and is thrilled to be a part of such an important and meaningful program. She is married to Joel, raised three beautiful sons who now have three wonderful wives. She has four precious grandchildren with one more on the way. She feels that she is one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to work in a field she is so passionate about while sharing that passion with her students.

Carol Safran

Teacher

Carol Safran attended Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn, NY where she was immersed in Judaic and Hebrew language studies.

She then graduated from SUNY Binghamton.

Carol has lived in Coral Springs for over 30 years and has two children.

She was extremely engaged at her prior Synagogue, serving as Board Member and liaison on Youth and Cultural Affairs as well as Judaic studies tutoring. Carol has been teaching Judaic studies and Hebrew language at Neshamah for over 10 years and has guided many students through their early studies into their B'nai Mitzvah years.

Carol loves working with the students and making their learning journey a fun and fulfilling one.

She spent the first part of her career as an executive recruiter in New York and Florida

Jennifer Young

Teacher

Jennifer Young has been teaching Hebrew and Judaics for 25 years. She is from Canada and completed her first degree in Israel. She taught Hebrew at Donna Klein for ten years. She has been working at Neshamah Institute for three years and looks forward to another fabulous year!!!

Shelley Katz

Teacher

Shelley is a highly experienced Jewish educator & Hebrew reading and conversation specialist with more than 30 years in Jewish day school as well as adult education settings. She holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Hebrew and Judaic Studies, along with professional teacher training & Holocaust studies from the Hebrew Teachers Seminary in South Africa & Yad Vashem in Israel.

She is experienced at coaching & guiding couples as they work toward conversion to Judaism, teaching the Jewish life cycle, customs, and traditions & preparing pre-teens for Bar and Bat Mitzvah with confidence and deep understanding. Her areas of instruction include Jewish holidays, synagogue skills & prayers, Jewish values, and life-cycle rituals, as well as the history and lessons of the Holocaust. Since 2010, Shelley has taught at the Neshamah Institute, where she continues to inspire learners in a warm, spiritually enriching environment. Her teaching reflects a deep love for Jewish identity, Hebrew literacy, Jewish living, and historical remembrance.

Outside of her professional work, Shelley enjoys an active, fulfilling personal life. She loves working out, running, traveling, and playing Canasta, but most of all, she cherishes spending time with her husband, three children, and extended family.

Sharon Steinberg

Rabbi Cantor / Teacher

Rabbi-Cantor Sharon Steinberg begins her fifth year with Neshama, bringing joy and inspiration to her students. With over 25 years in clergy, she has served congregations in Virginia, Maryland, and Baltimore, and now leads Temple Beth Shira in Boca Raton. Ordained as both cantor and rabbi, she also studied pastoral counseling at Loyola College. Previously a music professor and acclaimed opera singer, she performed internationally and continues to share her love of music and Jewish learning. Cantor Sharon enriches the community through teaching, worship, concerts, and spiritual guidance.

Ellen Lapin

Teacher

After 15 years working as an educator in Palm Beach County, I joined The Neshamah Institute in 2015. It is a joy to work as Rabbi Amy’s assistant and to be a part of the warm and wonderful Neshamah community.

Kira Bossis

Administrative Assistant

Hi everyone Kira Bossis here. Happy to be working with Rabbi Amy at Neshamah since 2012 . A transplanted New Yorker who had been active in the NY Theatre community as both performer, teacher and coach. I have two amazing children and my very sweet dog Bronx! I share my love of animals by pet sitting in our area, love spending time with all the children at Neshamah.

Suzanne Davidson

CPA

Suzanne is the Registrar for the Neshamah Institute, managing registrations and payments. With over 30 years in corporate finance, she brings exceptional integrity and expertise to her role. Suzanne earned her B.A. in Accounting from SUNY Geneseo, her MBA from Nova Southeastern University, and is a licensed CPA in Florida. She lives in Boca Raton with her husband, Stuart. Their daughter Lindsey attends Penn State, and their son Aaron studies at FIU’s College of Medicine. The family has been part of Neshamah since 2013, where both children became Bar and Bat Mitzvah under Rabbi Rader.