Kristin Talley, Performing Arts Chairwoman

Kristin Talley's more than 25-years of teaching and theatrical experience encompasses familiarity with American and British classical theater as well as extensive knowledge of commercial entertainment thanks to her many years of working with Las Vegas entertainment.

She could - if she wanted to - reveal the secrets behind the amazing magical acts of acclaimed entertainers Siegfried and Roy, talk of how notable Joan Rivers taught her to ice-skate and about what exactly goes into designing the set for singer David Cassidy.

However, Talley prefers to now work on developing the creativity and craft of her students, be it the classical aspects of voice projection and stage presence to the beauties inherent in William Shakespeare.

Other skills Talley imparts are the practical, behind-the-scenes skills of set design, lighting, and scenic art. She finds herself in awe of her students, whose gifts in acting come naturally and exuberance is inspiring.

Pat Paluso, Science Chairwoman

Most recently, Science Chairwoman Pat Paluso received the Channel Eight's Most Cool Teacher of the Year Award for her work in setting up award-winning school science projects.

Paluso is connecting Chabad Hebrew Academy to many national and international science projects. One such -- Project ASTRO -- links her students to a UCSD astronomer who helps them map and discover the wonders of the universe. Others include NASA's Signatures in Space program and the Swedish-based Save-A-Tree Foundation, where students gather data on tree biology.

Paluso works on many other connections. She has developed a web-sited instruction site on science fairs and established links to more than 300 Internet sites on science-for-kids and parents.

She has successfully mentored four-years of middle-school students entry into the Greater San Diego Science Fair as well as allowing academy eighth-grade students into the prestigious High Technology Fair, normally restricted to high-school grade students.

Paluso started her science career by working the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and traveled worldwide with the Deep Sea Drilling Project, running a micropaleontology lab on the research ship Glomar Challenger.