Ava joined the Lee and Frank Goldberg Family Religious School staff as Director of Judaic Studies and assumed the role of Director of Religious School Education in 2011. Before joining Beth Israel, Ava worked as director of lifelong learning at Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For 23 years before that, she was director of education at Temple Chai in Phoenix, Arizona. While in Phoenix she also served on the city's Educator's Forum and taught workshops for new Jewish principals and other colleagues at conferences and at Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) biennials.   

Ava's creative programming has earned her awards from the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), where she served as a consulting board member, and from the Center of Advancement for Jewish Education (CAJE). She won the Belle Latchman Award from the Council for Jews with Special Needs, where she also served as a consulting board member. A contributor to  the URJ's new and cutting edge "Chai Curriculum," Ava has published many articles in Jewish periodicals. Ava holds a BS in Accounting and a Masters in Educational Administration and Supervision from Arizona State University. She has studied at the University of Judaism,  the Hartman Institute and Pardes in Jerusalem. Ava and her husband, Michael Kurnow, reside in Leucadia. She has two grown sons and two grandchildren.