Rabbi Faith Cantor joined Kol Shalom in July 2024. She came to us from Bet Chaverim Congregation in Columbia, MD, where she served as Education Director. Previously, Rabbi Cantor served as the Rabbi Educator at Baltimore’s Beth El Hebrew Congregation.  She also has been an educational consultant for parents of children with developmental needs and was appointed to the Maryland State Council Child Abuse and Neglect.

A native of Anaheim, California, Rabbi Cantor was active as both a student and counselor in Camp Ramah, where she developed her experiential, non-textbook approach to Jewish learning.  She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City where she also earned her Master’s Degree in Education. 

The Salob family have been members of Congregation Kol Ami/Congregation Kol Shalom for 34 years. Howard was President of Congregation Kol Ami for 6 years and has been the President of Congregation Kol Shalom since its merger with Congregation Nevey Shalom in August 2008. Howard was Religious Chair of Congregation Kol Ami, a lay leader for all religious services, a B’nai Mitzvah tutor, a Torah reading tutor, and has been intimately involved in all aspects of synagogue activity. Howard has been practicing general dentistry in Prince George’s County since 1974. Howard and his wife, Judy, have 2 children and 3 grandchildren and reside in Severna Park, MD.

Allison I Charapp, M.Ed., has been teaching for over 30 years and is the Director of Education at Kol Shalom in Annapolis, MD.  In 2015, Allison opened Tree of Life Preschool – a nature preschool – to teach Jewish traditions and their connection to nature. Today the program is now flourishing and has become a model for other communities, solidifying her expertise in the field of nature education. She also holds a BA in Theatre and training in AMI Montessori, Orton-Gillingham, and Reggio Emilia. Allison is currently working with the Advisory Committee to implement Maryland’s HB525 creating a Pilot Program for Nature Preschools under the Dept. of Education – the second of its kind in the country.

In 2020, Allison became the Director of the Daniel Rothman Religious School, implementing and connecting the work begun at the Preschool with the work of students beginning preparations towards their B'nai Mitzvot. Under Allison's vision, DRRS is transitioning their programming to embrace the connections between Jewish traditions and nature. Further influenced by Reggio, lessons and planning are as hands-on, project based, and experiential as possible, allowing all children to flourish and learn using their strongest skills. Judaism has a long tradition of embracing the joy of life - we feel that should include making joyful memories at religious school.