About Us > Our Staff
Our Staff
Dr. Ronald Wachtel, founding Director of Kav L’Noar, made aliya
together with his wife in August 2002, having worked for over 30 years as a
school psychologist with adolescents in both Jewish day school and public high
school settings in the United States. Dr. Wachtel, who holds a PhD in Counseling
Psychology, directed a Career Mentoring program for high school students for
over 20 years which was recognized as an ‘exemplary educational practice’ by New
York State. He also developed several courses designed to enhance student
decision-making ability, which were taught as an elective in the high school
curriculum. Shortly before his aliya, Dr. Wachtel served as a leading advocate
for offering parenting workshops as a prerequisite for keeping their children in
a given yeshiva or day school. Dr. Wachtel was voted Counselor of the Year on
Long Island by the Nassau Counselor’s Association in 1983-84 and is a member in
good standing in Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology and Phi Delta
Kappa, the National Honor Society in Education.
Mrs. Miriam Rebibo, our Clinical Director, made aliya to Israel in
1983. She received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary and Special Education
from Arizona State University and taught both elementary and high school
students in Israel for over 20 years. She has also directed a community service
program for young women from Ethiopia, Russia, and Israel in Beit El. After
returning to school to complete her Master's degree in clinical sociology, she
went on to do clinical internships at the Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim.
She began a private therapy practice and soon joined our staff at Kav
L'Noar.
Mrs. Sima
Gordon our mentoring supervisor,
made Aliya to Israel in 1990. She holds a B.A. in Humanities, and has had
training in psychodrama, narrative therapy, and working with abused teens.
She has worked for the past decade with adolescents in Israel from Anglo homes.
Seeing the special needs of this population prompted her to found an alternative
High School that she ran for several years. Before joining Kav L’Noar she
worked for the Jerusalem Municipality as a youth counselor and activity program
director for the Charedi youth at risk division. There, she developed a
community model for crisis prevention & intervention.
Mrs. Sharon
Feifer our office manager made
Aliyah to Israel with her family in 1983. She worked as a caterer in Har Nof and
Efrat for 15 years. Mrs. Feifer worked as a volunteer at Kav L’Noar for
several months before joining the staff in July 2005.
Mendel Horowitz earned a BA in psychology from Touro College and an MS in clinical sociology from the University of North Texas. Before joining Kav L’Noar, Mendel completed a post graduate internship at the Family Institute of Neve Yerushalayim.
Mendel’s clinical experience includes work with adults and children. His method is guided by Family Systems Theory which considers individuals in the context of their families.
Complimenting his role at Kav L'Noar, Mendel is a teacher and counselor at a post high school yeshiva where he has spent over a decade relating with American young adults.
Mendel is the married father of four children who has resided in Yerushalayim since 1996. His clinical and research interests include the integration of social psychology and Jewish faith, the role of family relations in individual adjustments, and identity development over the lifespan.