Our Leaders

Cantor Marla Goldberg

Cantor Goldberg received her Masters of Sacred Music from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) School of Sacred Music, and was invested in 2006. Her love of Judaism and Jewish music began when she first began to sing. Growing up, she participated in Temple youth choirs, was a song leader for her youth group and Camp Swig, and taught music at Temple B’nai Torah where she also frequently substituted for the cantor prior to attending HUC.

Cantor Goldberg has had student pulpits in New Jersey, New York (the Bronx) and St. Thomas, USVI. As an invested cantor, Cantor Goldberg has worked at Temple Beth-El in St. Petersburg, Florida, Congregation Bet Emet in Sun City and Temple Sinai in Las Vegas. Her list of awards and scholarships is considerably long and incredibly impressive, The Forcheimer Scholarship, The Cantor Walter Davidson Prize, The Morris W. Smith Prize, The Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce Prize, The Palm Beach Liturgical Prize, second place Division 6 Southern Nevada Award from the Nation Association of Teachers of Singing, and was chosen as a “Woman of Valor” from the Woman’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.

Cantor Goldberg is filled with creativity and energy and is eager to help foster the growth of Congregation P’nai Tikvah and to deepen its connection to Judaism through music.

Student Rabbi, Jamie Hackel Hyams

Jamie Hyams (Reb Jamie) is a 5th-year rabbinical student for the Academy of Jewish Religion in Los Angeles. Previously, Jamie served as the Congregation P’nai Tikvah (CPT) rabbinic intern under the mentorship of Rabbi Mintz. In July of 2018, she officially joined the clergy team as Student Rabbi. Prior to beginning her studies, Jamie served as the Associate Director, West Coast of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, and the Executive Director of the Contra Costa JCC. Jamie spent four years in Israel becoming fluent in Hebrew and developing a rich appreciation for tradition and text learning which inform her pluralistic approach to Jewish life and community. Jamie is a participant in the ALEPH Network Davvenen Leadership Training Institute, a two-year training program in the art of public prayer. When not studying, Jamie is the Director of Development for Hebrew Free Loan. A Wexner Heritage Fellow, she holds a BA in History from Lewis and Clark College, and a BFA from California College of the Arts. An avid cyclist, she and her husband Michael have two grown sons and 3 cats.

Rabbi Yocheved Mintz

Senior Educator and Rabbi Emerita

A native of Cleveland and a graduate of the University of Chicago, Rabbi Yocheved Mintz was a teacher and principal in Jewish education for over 45 years. She is the Co-founder and Director of Education Emeritus of the Moadon Kol Chadash in Chicago as well as a past Consultant to the Judaic Department of the Milton I Schwartz Hebrew Academy of Las Vegas. She did her rabbinic internship at Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas. A master educator, she has co-facilitated workshops in Hebrew teaching techniques nationwide, and was nominated for a Cummings Foundation “Jewish Educator of the Year” award.

Commuting between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Rabbi Mintz studied at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, (www.ajrca.org), a trans-denominational seminary for the training of rabbis, cantors, and chaplains. She was ordained there as a rabbi in May,2004, and was also awarded the degree of Master of Rabbinical Studies. In January, 2012, she earned the additional title of Mashpiah Ruchanit (Spiritual Director) through the ALEPH Hashpaah certification program. A granddaughter of the late Rabbi Israel Porath, zt“l, a disciple of the late renowned Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Kook, Rabbi Mintz is the first female rabbi in 18 generations of Porath rabbis. From 2008 to 2012, Rabbi Mintz served as President of OHALAH, the professional rabbinical organization of rabbis for Jewish Renewal. Rabbi Mintz is a frequent guest rabbi at congregations throughout the West and Midwest, is called upon for creative and spiritually uplifting facilitation of life-cycle events, chaplaincy duties, and pastoral counseling.

Rabbi Yocheved Mintz became the second spiritual leader of Valley Outreach Synagogue, now known as Congregation P’nai Tikvah, in the summer of 2005/5765. With a long and loving relationship with the Reconstructionist Movement, Rabbi Mintz is grateful to its founder, the late Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Richard Schachet, for entrusting her with the spiritual leadership of this community.

The first female president of and an active member of the Las Vegas Board of Rabbis, Rabbi Mintz is also on the boards of both the Clark County Ministerial Association and the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada. A well-known teacher of Judaic studies, Rabbi Mintz is also Managing Director of the Las Vegas Jewish Center for Education, Media, and the Arts. In addition, Rabbi Mintz brought the Melton Adult Jewish Mini-School to the Las Vegas valley in 2012, raising the bar in adult Jewish educational opportunities in the area.

Rabbi Mintz was married to Dr. Alan Mintz (z”l) for nearly 48 years, is the mother of four, grandmother of fourteen, and great-grandmother of four.

Clergy and Staff

Cantor: Marla Goldberg

Student Rabbi: Jamie Hyams

Senior Educator and Rabbi Emerita: Yocheved Mintz<

Accompanist: Timothy Cooper

Office Staff

Administrative Assistant and Kol Kiruv Newsletter Editor: Faith Silverman

Bookkeeper: Lynn Pisetzner

Board of Directors

Sam Lieberman, President

Judi Stotland, Vice President

Dale Gardner, Secretary

Harry Selfon, Treasurer

Barbara Holland, Immediate Past President

Greg Brown

Shayna Davis

Dr. DeAnna Ernst

Marc Fox

Kristen Jaeger

Iris Katz

Rabbi Yocheved Mintz

Ellen Royer

Annie Wolff