Interfaith Community for Jewish-Christian mixed marriage families in New York that celebrates the distinctiveness of both traditions, providing religious services and education for adults and children. It does not aim to blur the traditions or to discourage affiliation with church or synagogue.

Teachers

•Current Teachers •Educator Allumni

Denise Della Porta, M.S. - Christian Educator
Denise has a Masters in Education and Counseling, and a Certificate in Catholic Youth Ministry from the Center of Ministry Development in Naugatuck, CT. Her training and experiences include serving as Director of Youth Programs at the Marydell Faith & Life Center and other Roman Catholic institutions, as well as on several Indian Reservations in San Diego, CA. Her love for children led her to the IFC where she has taught for the past six years, both in Orange/Rockland/Bergen and in Westchester. She currently works with college age students as the Freshman Year Director at Dominican College in Blauvelt, NY.

Andrew Rosenthal, M.Div. - Jewish Educator
Andrew is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. He was raised in an interfaith family in which he chose to be Bar Mitzvahed and join a Jewish community. His interest in religion led him to explore different religions, including those of India, and Greek philosophy. Currently he is working toward completing a Masters of Social Work degree at Hunter College School of Social Work. He has taught for the IFC for the past four years.

Anna DeWeese - Christian Educator
Anna is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. She works for the Garrison Institute with the Initiative on Contemplation & Education, an interfaith non-profit that looks at the intersection of contemplative practices and social change. She is the daughter of a United Methodist minister and has many years of experience teaching in church education settings. This is her third year teaching for the IFC.

Ari Saks-Jewish Educator
Ari is entering his fifth year of Rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary where he will also be obtaining a Masters in Jewish Education. While in school he has interned or worked in a variety of synagogues, including his current student pulpit in Watertown, NY. Before Rabbinical School he went to List College, a joint program between the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, where he received two bachelor degrees in Bible and Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures respectively. During college he was highly active in Israel advocacy work, spending time with AIPAC’s affiliate on campus (LionPAC) and the independent Just Peace Project. He has been to Israel six times on a myriad of different youth and study programs, including semesters at the Conservative Yeshiva and Hebrew University. Lately, he has focused much of my energy on interfaith work including internships at the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia and Long Island Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods (LICAN) which organizes faith communities in Long Island around issues of common concern. He is also in his second year as a co-coordinator for an Inter-seminary dialogue group of eight Jewish and Christian seminaries in New York. He is married to Rachel who has just completed her internship to be a registered dietitian.

Aaron Potek- Jewish Educator
Aaron was born and raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and majored in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. Aaron became very involved in leadership through the Hillel on campus, and upon graduating he decided to pursue a career in the rabbinate. After studying in Israel for two years, one at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem and one at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shevut, he enrolled at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York. He has participated in interfaith programs in America, Israel and England.

Andrew Schwartz- Christian Educator
Andrew is a second year student at Union Theological Seminary. After Seminary, he hopes to work within the Lutheran church and is very interested in working with kids. He is now directing the Interseminary Dialogue program at Union, which works on interfaith issues with This is his second year teaching for the Interfaith Community, last year he taught 2nd -3rd graders in our Long Island chapter. He is originally from Corvallis, Oregon.

Educator Allumni (selected): Where are they now?

Rabbi Joseph Berman, Temple B’nai Israel, Revere, MA
Rev. Anne Conroy, Associate Pastor, First Chinese Presbyterian Church, New York
Rabbi Michelle Dardashti, Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT
Rabbi Lavey Derby, Director Jewish & Family Life, Peninsula Jewish Community Center, California; formerly Senior Rabbi, Congregation Kol Shofar, Tiburon, CA
Kate Fridkis, Cantor, Congregation Kehilat Shalom, Belle Mead, NJ
Rev. Beth Glover, Director, Pastoral Care & Education, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Moshe Goodman, teacher, Abraham Joshua Heschel School (independent Jewish day school), New York
Rabbi Ben Greenberg, Orthodox rabbinic advisor and Director of The Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Harvard
Hannah Greenstein, Program Officer at Jewish Outreach Institute and rabbinical student, Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Rev. Erin Keys, Assistant Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Greenwich, CT
Kate O’Brien, Senior Research Writer, Jewish Education Service of NA
Rev. Richard E. Spalding, Chaplain to the College, Williams College
Rev. Rebecca Wedge, Director of Youth and Family Services, Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Queens, NY