In addition to our staff below, a full list of rabbis and cantors can be found on our conversion mentors page.
Rabbi Patrick Beaulier is the Executive Director and President of the Board for PunkTorah, the parent organization of Darshan Yeshiva and Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary.
He is also the co-spiritual leader of Kehillah, a pop-up Jewish community in Richmond, Va. Rabbi Patrick received his smicha (rabbinical ordination) from Rabbinical Seminary International and his Bachelor of Science degree with a focus on business administration from the City University of Seattle.
Rabbi Patrick currently serves as Interim Director of Darshan Yeshiva and is furthering the work of Sara Stirne Ibanez who held the role previously.
Sara Stirne Ibanez is the Director of Operations for PunkTorah. Sara has supported PunkTorah’s mission since 2015, during which time she’s focused primarily on growing Darshan Yeshiva’s conversion to Judaism programming and faculty and developing PunkTorah’s organizational structure. In her role, Sara oversees both day-to-day internal operations and a variety of key growth initiatives.
Sara received her Master of Business Administration degree from Baylor University in Waco, Tex. and her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Georgia State University.
Julie Soforenko is the Director of Digital Experience for PunkTorah. In her role, Julie uses technical expertise to improve every digital aspect of our programs. Her professional background is in programming for website development, WordPress, and project management tools.
In addition, Julie has a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish community, including her participation in the Den Collective and learning Yiddish. When she’s not engaged in Jewish activities, Julie is a freelance, creative nonfiction writer; lover of nature; and world traveler.
Ghanshyam Khanal is the WordPress Developer/Digital Support Specialist for PunkTorah. In his role, Ghanshyam uses his 10+ years of Information Technology (IT) experience to provide back-end support to the development and deployment of PunkTorah’s websites, learning management system, and other technological systems.
A programmer and fellow entrepreneur, Ghanshyam received his Master of Science degree in IT from the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology at Sikkim Manipal University in Kathmandu, Nepal and enjoys using his technical acumen to resolve problems and support non-profit work. When he’s not geeking out with us, Ghanshyam spends his time hiking, traveling with friends, and managing his logistics start-up company.
