Administration
Stephen Makoff
Executive Director
Steve has worked in the Jewish community for many years. Some of his past positions include Director of Camp Swig in Northern California, where Steve met Rabbi Jim Kaufman, Director of Capital Camps in Washington, DC, and Executive Director of Temple Beth Israel in San Diego. He is a native Californian and has attended many simcha at TBH over the years.
Steve holds a Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Administration and Supervision as well as a California teaching credential and a community college teaching credential. He has many years of experience in organizational administration, a subject which he has also taught.
Marsha Franklin
Director, Early Childhood Education
Every morning Marsha Franklin wakes up and looks forward to coming to work with the staff, the parents, and the children at Temple Beth Hillel. She received a B.A. degree in English from CSUN, has a lifetime teaching credential from the State of California and completed her Early Childhood Education administration studies at UCLA.
Since 1978, Marsha has been dedicated to keeping the sense of family, caring, and community perpetually growing in our school. It is very important to Marsha that everyone feel a part of the TBH family. From Parent and Me to Nursery School, to Mechina (Pre-Kindergarten), Marsha ensures that from birth to the time they graduate ECE, all of our youngest congregants are prepared for the next steps in their education.
Marsha and her husband, Roger, have two grown children, Darren and David, two wonderful daughters in-law, Alexis and Caryn, and four beautiful grandchildren, Aviva Rose, Mackenzie Bella, Zachary Leland and Emerson Grace.
Dr. Erica Rothblum, Ed.D.
Head of School, Beth Hillel Day School
Dr. Erica Rothblum hails from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, where she was an active member of her synagogue. She became a bat mitzvah, studied through confirmation and served as a regional vice president of her youth group. Erica received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from UCLA. She holds an MA degree in Teaching from Loyola Marymount, a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Barnard College. She also spent her junior year of college studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Erica began her teaching career in Compton, California as a member of Teach for America, a program that seeks out graduates of elite colleges to teach in inner city schools. During this time she was nominated for the Sue Lehman Award for Excellence in Teaching. She then taught in a highly-rated suburban public school in Massachusetts before moving back to Los Angeles, where she taught at Camino Nuevo, a charter school known for its innovative programming. Erica has served as a peer coach, lead teacher, grade level chair, mentor teacher and as a teaching supervisor at the American Jewish University. Additionally, she has worked as an Adjunct Professor in Education at the University level.
Erica first came to Beth Hillel Day School in 2008, when she served as the Director of General Studies. During her three years in this position, Erica was instrumental in bringing the Reading and Writing Workshop and Singapore Math curricula to the school, starting the all-school Science Fair and Math Games parties, and creating a culture of professional learning amongst the teachers and staff.
Erica and her husband, Daniel, are the proud parents of their daughter, Maya, who loves being a student in the ECE.
Susan Levin
Director, Religious School
Susan grew up in the San Fernando Valley. In fact, Susan grew up here at Temple Beth Hillel, attending Religious School from consecration through confirmation, volunteering at numerous Temple events, camping out at Seder in the Desert, and helping lead Israeli dance.
Before receiving her Master of Arts in Education and Baccalaureate of Literature in Hebrew Letters from the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University), Susan attended the University of California at Santa Cruz receiving a B.A. Degree in Anthropology. Though a part of the Temple Beth Hillel family her entire life, Susan has brought her love for Jewish education to the Religious School and Youth Groups since July, 2005. She strives to be the kind of teacher and director that grabs the attention of her students, regardless of their age, and leaves them yearning to know more.
Susan and her husband, Michael, daughter Georgie May and new baby boy Maccabee Levi, enjoy being a part of the Temple Beth Hillel community by also attending Tot Shabbats and Parent and Me classes.
