Religious School Director

Risa Strauss

Risa Strauss has been an educator at Tree of Life Congregation since 2003 when her family arrived in Columbia from Hagerstown, Maryland. She has happily held the position of Religious School Director since 2004. Risa is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Near Eastern and North African Studies, is fluent in Hebrew and has worked extensively in elementary and Jewish education in the United States and Israel. Risa was an employee of a number of Jewish institutions in the Detroit Metropolitan area between 1982-1986 and 1995-1998. Her past work places have included Congregation Shaarey Zedek, United Hebrew Schools, the Fresh Air Society, the Jewish Federation, Project Renewal and the Jewish Community Center of West Bloomfield. After making aliyah in 1987, with her husband Bill, Risa worked for 8 years as pre-school teacher and Director of Childcare and Pre-School Education on Kibbutz Gezer.

After returning from Israel in 1995, Risa and Bill including their two children, Ariel and Benjy again made the Detroit area their home but then in 1998 began their trek south with a move to Hagerstown, Maryland where they were active members of Congregation B’nai Abraham. During this period Risa was employed by Washington County Public Schools where she also supplemented her busy day with teaching Hebrew School and with B’nai Mitzvah and SAT tutoring.

Risa and her family love living in Columbia and enjoy their active roll at Tree of Life Congregation and in the Jewish community. True foodies at heart, much of any spare time that they have is spent exploring the myriad of restaurants and “eating establishments” in Columbia, Charlotte and Charleston.