K - 7 Programs
Rabbi Moe Mernick
Youth Rabbi & Vancouver NCSY Director
Born and raised in Toronto, Rabbi Moe comes to Schara Tzedeck with a plethora of eclectic and worldly experiences. During his teenage years, Rabbi Moe played ice hockey, basketball and baseball, was an avid snowboarder , and acted as an extra in numerous movies and television shows. Before completing his undergraduate degree at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, Rabbi Moe studied in Israel for two years, interned at Union Bank of Switzerland's Wealth Management Department, served as an NCSY advisor, spent two summers as a counselor for children with special needs and volunteered for The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation in Central Europe.
Upon graduation, Rabbi Moe traveled to Hamburg to serve as the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation's Regional Director for northern Germany, spearheading a broad array of social and educational programs for the thousands of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Rabbi Moe then returned to Toronto to continue working in the entertainment industry and Jewish community.
As Business Development Manager for Smart Talk Media, he arranged cross-country lecture tours for celebrities, such as Julie Andrews, Dr. Maya Angelou and Marlo Thomas, and simultaneously taught at Torah High, travelled to NCSY Shabbatons and trekked back to Central Europe to run large-scale outreach seminars for unaffiliated Jewish youth. To gain further Rabbinical training, Rabbi Moe studied at Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and spent his weekends working as the Kosher Supervisor at Princeton University.
Rabbi Moe and his wife Melanie feel blessed to be a part of the Schara Tzedeck community, and are enthusiastic about introducing Vancouver's Jewish youth to the relevance, depth and beauty of Torah Judaism.
Melanie Mernick
Kindergarten - Pre-teen Youth Activities Coordinator
Melanie Mernick comes to us from Toronto with much enthusiasm and past experience in working with children, youth, and teenagers in and from a range of settings and backgrounds. From her early teenage years, Melanie was an active leader in the Jewish community, running weekly youth programs at the Westmount Community Shul and serving as the Vice President of her high school’s student council.
Melanie’s post-high school studies in Israel led her to Mesorah High School for Girls in Dallas, Texas where she was a full time teacher and program coordinator, organizing the extracurricular activities for the girls and community members. Last summer, Melanie founded and directed a summer camp for girls near Toronto, weaving spiritual growth together with unique outdoor activities and water sports, another area of her expertise.
Most recently, while she was completing her undergraduate studies at the Moreshet Institute in Jerusalem, Melanie worked as a dorm counselor, mentoring and informally teaching 19-21 year olds.Melanie brings with her a fondness and expertise in both winter and summer sports, and is excited about the endless rollerblading trails and green-forest hikes here in her new hometown!
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