Merzy Eisenberg, a founding Hebrew teacher at the Milwaukee Jewish Day School, will headline the dozens of area educators who will be honored at this year’s Salute to Jewish Educators awards ceremony held each year by Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Coalition for Jewish Learning.
Eisenberg will be honored with the Lifetime Impact Award for her 22 years of work at the school. She started at the school in 1981, when it had only 11 kindergarten students, and helped it grow to become one of the preeminent Jewish elementary and middle schools in the area.
“She had such a way about her. She had an interesting, humorous, musical, fun way of teaching and teaching Hebrew specifically. She really ignited a love of Hebrew for so many students,” said Nicole Boico, the coalition’s associate director.
The annual awards ceremony will be held at Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
Congregation Shalom Sunday school teacher Roger Carp will receive the 2025 Jewish Educator of the Year Award. Carp has been teaching at Congregation Shalom since 1993. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree in Judaic studies while making the arts a significant element in his teaching of Jewish studies.
“He is just a really inspirational person and a lifelong learner,” Boico said. “He’s a great mentor to other teachers that have come through the building, and it was just definitely time that this community acknowledged him.”
The Gill Incentive for Teachers Award will go to Anthony Nash, a teacher at the Gan Ami Mequon, and Carrie Barbakoff, who teaches at Congregation Emanuel-El Waukesha. Barbakoff created a project highlighting aspects of Purim that teachers can sometimes skip over.
“The one thing about the GIFT award is that nominations always need to be able to be replicated, which is really neat,” Boico said. “We want to share the project with other teachers.”
This year’s Jerry Benjamin Inspiration Award for Informal Education will go to Levi Stein, who was friends with Milwaukee Alderman Jonathan Brostoff. In November, Brostoff died by suicide after months of bullying tied to his identity as a Jew and supporter of Israel, according to longtime friends and colleagues.
To pay tribute to his friend and help the community, Stein offered to host free Safe Talks, which are suicide prevention trainings, throughout the area. He arranged to host 41, the same number as Brostoff’s age.
“Your efforts have had a profound impact. It is clear that Milwaukee’s Jewish community has greatly benefited from your dedication and leadership,” the coalition said in its letter to Stien, notifying him of the award.
In all, more than three dozen educators will receive awards throughout the night. That includes more than 30 people who will be recognized with Teacher Impact and School Support Awards.
“We bring the whole Jewish community together and, at the same time, we get to highlight all of our schools,” Boico said. “We all show up for Jewish education and educators for this event.”
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The annual awards ceremony will be held at Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
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