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Educational Leadership Program

In this section:

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman (Cohort I) leading a program with The K’ilu Company. Photo Credit: Wide-Eyed Studios

Cohort II 2024-2025

Rebecca-Berger

Rebecca Berger

Rebecca Berger is the Senior Director of Education at IKAR in Los Angeles. She also works as a clinical educator for DeLeT. Previously, she served as the Assistant Educational Director at Sinai Akiba Academy. While at Sinai Akiba, Berger founded an exchange program between Sinai Akiba Academy and a local Muslim day school. She is an alumna of M²’s Senior Educators Cohort. Berger earned her Masters of Arts in Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and teaching credential through the DeLeT program. She is a recipient of a Covenant grant for her Inclusive Jewish Community Initiative. Berger enjoys hiking and relaxing at the beach with her husband and two children.
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Stefani-Carlson

Stefani Carlson

Stefani Carlson is a lifelong learner and educator with more than 20 years of experience as a teacher and leader in Jewish organizations across the United States. Grounded in a relational approach to Jewish learning, Carlson excels at building community through innovative educational offerings for learners of all ages — “from toddlers to Talmud.” Carlson is active with the #OnwardHebrew initiative, and is an IYUN Educator. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE), which she serves as Chair of the Development Committee. She holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Educational Studies, with a concentration in Foundations of Education and Social Change, from the University of Cincinnati. She is a graduate of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) and the companion Graduate Certificate program in Jewish Education from the University of Cincinnati’s Center for the Study of Jewish Education. She has published articles in Portraits of Jewish Learning: Viewing Contemporary Jewish Education Close-In, a project of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education of Brandeis University, and in the Journal of Jewish Education. Carlson and her husband, Steve, have two adult sons and two granddaughters, and enjoy biking and traveling to wherever their kids are living (currently Japan).
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Rachel-Dingman

Rachel Dingman

Rachel Dingman is the Senior Director of Jewish Enrichment for BBYO International. As an educational coach and resource provider her work focuses on supporting teens, advisors, and staff in building meaningful and innovative experiences rooted in Judaic content. She focuses on infusing Jewish traditions and content into our chapter and regional experiences with the hope of paving the way for new Jewish leaders and piloting exciting and innovative new educational techniques capable of reaching the teen audience and growing the movement.  Rachel is a lifelong learner as has participated in the Hadar Jewish Wisdom Fellowship, Pardes Mahloket Matters fellowship, Hadar Davening Fellowship, and the M2 Senior Jewish Educators cohort. She has her B.A from Allegheny College in Philosophy and Psychology and her M.A in Organizational Leadership and Non-Profit management from Quinnipiac University, as well as a certificate in Jewish Experiential Education from the Pardes Institute of Jewish studies. You can often find Rachel on the roller derby track, outside enjoying nature, or trying out a new recipe in her kitchen!
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Rebecca-Hammerman

Rebecca Hammerman

Rebecca Hammerman is the Head of the Elementary Division at the Rodeph Sholom School, a reform Jewish Day School in New York City. Since stepping into this role in 2020, Rebecca has helped to bring about curricular and co-curricular changes to the program aimed to enhance the academic and Jewish life experience within her division. Prior to her work at the Rodeph Sholom School, Rebecca served as an educator and administrator at various Jewish schools and institutions in the Greater New York Metropolitan area. She received a BA from Columbia University and a BA from The Jewish Theological Seminary, as well an MS in Elementary Education from Bank Street College and, most recently, an M.Ed. in Private School Leadership from the Klingenstein Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University. When not at home in Westchester, NY, Rebecca, her husband Eytan and their three daughters love to travel around the world and particularly love to spend time in Israel.
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Yael-Jaffe

Yael Jaffe

Yael Jaffe is a senior member of the faculty at Maimonides School and is a scholar of text study in Jewish education. She earned her doctorate in educational psychology from Columbia University’s Teachers College with a focus on Talmud and Literacy. Jaffe works with Jewish educators and communities on improving text study techniques and being more thoughtful about student motivation for text study. She also works as an informal educator in the summers at Camp Moshava. She has mentored students while serving as a student advisor at Maimonides and as dean of 9th and 12th grade students.
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Julia-Levine

Julia Levine

Julia Levine is the Religious School Director at Temple Ramat Zion, a Conservative congregation in Northridge, CA. She previously served as Experiential Educator at Sinai Temple and Director of Congregational Learning at Congregation Kol Haverim. She is an active member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE), the Jewish Educators Assembly (JEA), and the Los Angeles-area Religious School Educator Network (RSEN). Levine serves on the Camp Committee for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps, where she spent 16 magical summers as a child and young adult. She graduated with honors from University of California, San Diego with degrees in Judaic Studies and Literatures in English. She earned a Certificate in Jewish Day School Teaching and a Master of Arts in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In 2022, Levine received a Certificate in Positive Education from The Flourishing Center. Levine and her husband Adam live in Chatsworth, CA with their two children.
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Eliana-Light

Eliana Light

Eliana Light is the founder and head t’fillahsopher of the Light Lab, a center for prayer education and transformative t’fillah. Eliana Light envisions a joyful, vibrant, heart-centered Judaism that speaks to the soul and moves the spirit, reminding us that we all are One. She crafts ritual, writes music, trains educators, and consults with communities to bring this vision to life. Eliana has taught at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial, the Rabbinical Assembly convention, the NewCAJE Jewish Education Conference, Limmud New York, Limmud UK, Songleader Boot Camp, Hava Nashira, Hebrew Union College, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She was named to the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 in 2019 and received the Covenant Foundation’s Pomegranate Prize in 2023. Her consulting work guides synagogues to discover the “why” of their prayer life, allowing them to offer deeper, more meaningful experiences to more people. She is also a sought-after songwriter and performer of catchy, content-rich tunes for all ages, has put out three albums of original music, and is the founder and co-host of the Light Lab Podcast. Eliana received her Master’s in Jewish Education from the Davidson school at JTS in 2016, and is based in Durham, North Carolina.
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Moody

Sarah Moody

Sarah Moody (she/her) is the Associate Camp Director at URJ Camp Kalsman in the Pacific Northwest where she oversees new programs, Jewish education, and camper recruitment. Sarah brings over a decade of experience as an experiential Jewish educator to this role. She previously worked as the Pre-K through 3rd grade Principal at the Bridge Family Religion School of Temple de Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, Washington where she helped launch family education programming and satellite Hebrew instruction. Sarah then served as the year-round Assistant Camp Director at URJ Camp Kalsman focused on logistics, staffing, and recruitment. Ready for an adventure, Sarah spent a year in Israel in the Pardes Experiential Educators program earning a certificate in Jewish Studies. She served for two years as the Student Rabbi of Temple Ner Ami in Camarillo, California and then was the Education Resident at Brawerman Elementary School East in Los Angeles. Sarah earned her Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and her Master of Arts in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College, and she is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class 30. Sarah lives in Vancouver, WA with her dog Penne where she loves to read, bake, and play tennis poorly.
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Daniel-Olson

Daniel Olson

Dr. Daniel Olson is the director of Strategic Initiatives and Research at the National Ramah Commission. His work there has focused on a wide range of topics including Mental Health support, disability and LGBTQ+ inclusion, Israel education, and day camps. He completed his PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU in 2020 and wrote his dissertation about Birthright Israel trips for young adults with developmental disabilities. He received the Harold Wechsler award for emerging scholars from the Network for Research in Jewish Education. He is an alumnus of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. He lives with his husband Rabbi Ben Goldberg in Port Chester, NY.
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Noach-Pawliger

Noach Pawliger

Noach is the Co-founder and Chief Wonder Officer of Niflaot: The Jewish Exceptional Learners Initiative. Over the past 20 years of trailblazing in the special needs world, Noach founded Camp Living Wonders, a residential Jewish camp for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Recently, he turned his focus towards Neurodiverse learners in Jewish educational spaces. Through his own neurodiversity, Noach has learned to harness strengths to create solutions to big challenges in the Jewish world. By nature, he doesn’t accept the status quo for learners like him and the lack of access to Jewish education built around their strengths, and he is on a mission to change that by working with institutions, educators, and parents to learn to effectively empower people the neurowonders in each community to share their gifts with the world. He previously served as the creative director for CTeen International (Chabad Teen Network), and helped develop special needs Taglit-Birthright adventures. Noach is finishing up his MA in Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute for Jewish Leadership, and attended Yeshiva TIferes Bochurim at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ and Mayanot Insitute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. You may also find Noach on occasion working on another labor of love, Chabad of Shakedown Street, which is located at most Grateful Dead related concert parking lots. The work Noach is most proud of is his growing family with his wife Chanie and six wonder-kiddos, Yisroel, Chaya Mushka, Sholom Ber, Tzippi, Mendel, and Arik.
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Aaron-Portman

Aaron Portman

Aaron Portman is the Campus Rabbi and Senior Jewish Educator at The Ohio State University Hillel. Previously, he worked as a Chaplain Resident at the OSU Wexner Medical Center. Portman participated in the Dorot Fellowship in Israel, and is an alum of Avodah. He was a Wexner Graduate Fellow during rabbinical school, where he worked as a chaplain at Rikers Island, served as an adjunct faculty at City College, and taught at an interfaith Sunday school in Westchester. Portman received a Bachelor of Arts from Yeshiva University, and conducted thesis work at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He was ordained as a rabbi by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. Portman and his wife Dena live in Columbus, Ohio.
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Keren-Rhodes

Keren Rhodes

Keren is the Executive Director and Director of Education at the Jewish Community of Amherst in Massachusetts. She is an award winning Jewish educator who has reimagined and built the JCA’s innovative and successful education program, Kesher. With a passion for creating and sustaining strong and vibrant communities, Keren has spent her career working to strengthen Jewish life in Amherst, and throughout the Pioneer Valley. In April 2023, Keren was selected to be the inaugural Executive Director of the JCA. Keren is a graduate of Brandeis University and a graduate of cohort 10 of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute. Before the Covid19 Pandemic, in addition to her role as Director of Education, she and her husband owned and operated Glazed Doughnut Shop in downtown Amherst for nearly ten years. Keren is deeply committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive Jewish community that celebrates diversity and values the contributions of all its members. She believes that Jewish life is richer and more meaningful when everyone is able to participate fully and authentically, and in partnership with community members, she works tirelessly to create spaces and programs that reflect this vision. Keren lives in Amherst, MA with her husband Nick, and their children, Aiden and Noa, and a menagerie of animals (three dogs, a cat, and two bunnies). In her spare time, Keren enjoys spending time with her family, reading, crocheting, and exploring the natural beauty of the Pioneer Valley. She is honored to serve the Jewish Community of Amherst and looks forward to continuing to work with others to build a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community.
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David-Saiger

David Saiger

David Saiger is the 9/10 Division Rabbi at Milken Community School in Los Angeles, where he has been teaching Jewish Studies and serving in various leadership roles since 2015. David has a BA in Philosophy from Emory University and an MA in Jewish Literature and Rabbinic Ordination from The Jewish Theological Seminary. When he isn’t at Milken, David can be found hiking with his wife, Elizabeth, or engaged in all sorts of tomfoolery with his three children, Manya, Phineas and Avra.
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Jane-Rachel-Schonbrun

Jane-Rachel Schonbrun

Jane-Rachel Schonbrun serves as Director of Camp Yavneh, an independent nonprofit pluralistic summer camp in New Hampshire. Prior to joining Yavneh, Jane-Rachel spent more than two decades working in a variety of Jewish communal organizations, including JCCs, schools, synagogues, and social service agencies. Most recently she worked for Camp Ramah in the Berkshires as Director of Institutional Advancement. Before Ramah, Jane-Rachel worked for Avodah (in NY), Kehillah Jewish High School, and the Oshman Family JCC (both in Palo Alto, CA). As a recipient of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Jane-Rachel earned her MS in Social Work from Columbia University and her MA in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Graduate School. A Baltimore native, Jane-Rachel earned her BA from the University of Maryland College Park. Her college experience included two years studying in Israel (on the Nativ College Leadership Program and at Ben Gurion University) and summers leading teen programs in Israel, Poland, and across the United States. Jane-Rachel and her partner Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun live in Deal, NJ with their four children.
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Yafit-Shriki-Megidish

Yafit Shriki Megidish

Yafit Shriki Megidish is the Senior Director of Jewish Learning at the JCC East Bay, CA. In this role Yafit is training and mentoring educators from preschool up to 12th grade. In addition, Yafit is leading the development of the Jewish and Hebrew experiential curriculum. Yafit is a veteran educator with an MA in Educational Management Systems from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a graduate of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute. Yafit began her career working with children from low income families and at risk youth. In 2001, Yafit joined the “Branco Weiss Institute for Development of Thinking” (BWI) where she has worked to train teachers, develop programs for leadership and creative thinking, and implement pedagogy with children from the 2nd to 8th grade. Before moving to the US, Yafit spent 10 years working at BWI schools, as both an educator and school principal. Since 2016, Yafit has served as the Director of Education at Studio 70 and Edah in Berkeley, CA. Later in May 2020 Yafit became the Executive Director of Studio 70. During 2023 Yafit led the merger of Studio 70 to the JCC East Bay transitioning to her current position at the JCC. Her leadership and teaching are based on personal connection, seeing the whole child/Educator and creating a safe environment for learning, emotionally and academically. Yafit believes in creating a community of learners that allow each one to grow and to be empowered. Yafit enjoys spending time with her family (a proud mother of 4 children), learning Jewish text, hiking, reading books and listening to music.
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Alison-Weikel

Alison Weikel

Alison Weikel (she/her) serves Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, MA as the Director of Education where she works on meaningful and engaging learning programs for Kindergarten through 12th grade children and teens. Alison holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, certificates from the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute and the University of Cincinnati in Jewish Educational Leadership, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Before Shir Tikva, Alison was Director of Education at The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio for almost 10 years. Alison is one of the 2014 National winners of the Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and the 2021 Association of Reform Jewish Educators Yad B’Yad award winner for Excellence in Jewish Education. Prior to her work in Jewish education, Alison spent several years in public education in Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany. She is a strong believer in ongoing professional learning and mentoring of teachers and has presented and published on reflective practice, change processes, teacher inquiry, practitioner research, and Jewish+ (interfaith) families. Alison lives in Carlisle, MA with her husband, Rob, and their grown-up children live close enough to join them for yard work and dinner all the time!
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Rachel-Weinstein-White

Rachel Weinstein White

Rachel Weinstein White is the Founder and Executive Director of Fig Tree, an NYC-based independent Jewish education program for kids ages 3-13. With an emphasis on social justice, Jewish values, and the joys of Jewish culture, Fig Tree engages diverse families who are often otherwise unaffiliated with Jewish community – currently enrolling over 350 students in five locations across NYC. Prior to founding Fig Tree, Rachel spent nearly two decades as an emerging technology professional, leading business solutions teams at Accenture, Yahoo!, and WebMD. Rachel has a Master’s in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College-JIR, and a BA in English Literature from Vassar College. In 2022, Rachel was named one of New York Jewish Week’s ‘36 to Watch,’ and in 2023, Fig Tree was highlighted as a thriving model of supplemental Jewish education in a Jewish Education Project report. Rachel lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three sons.
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Cohort I 2022-2023

Scott Aaron Headshot Cropped

Scott Aaron

Scott Aaron is the Vice President, Community Outreach and Engagement at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago where he leads the federation’s communal sustainability investments in congregational education, early childhood education, Israel education and educational research and evaluation. Aaron is also the Lead Educator for the IsraelNow Education Foundation and an adjunct faculty member and professional development mentor at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Life and Learning. He has previously served as adjunct faculty at The Ohio State University School of Law, Loyola University Chicago, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Aaron received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of education from Loyola University Chicago. Aaron also has rabbinic ordination and a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo College of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati. Aaron is a published author of books and academic journal articles, and has been a project consultant to various foundations and agencies in the Jewish community. Aaron is married to Rabbi Donni Aaron and they are the parents of three great Gen Z-ers: Meitav, Nitzan and Naor.
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Adi Barel

Adi Barel

Adi Barel is the Associate Director of Jewish Studies at Toronto’s Bialik Hebrew Day School, where she helps to provide leadership and oversight of the Ivrit B’Ivrit and Jewish Studies programs and staff. Barel has driven several curriculum reforms since stepping into her current role, including the implementation of a Hebrew immersion program in Kindergarten, the launch of an Ulpan program in the Upper Elementary Grades, and the inception of Moreshet – the study of Jewish history and identity through inquiry-based learning and Chevrutah. Prior to joining Bialik’s administrative team in 2020, Barel spent a decade working as an educator in various Jewish and Israeli institutions in the Greater Toronto Area. She received her B.Ed, B.A. Hons. in Psychology, and General and Jewish Teaching Certifications from York University in 2016, graduated the iCenter’s iFellows Master’s Concentration in Israel Education in 2020, and was a Pomegranate Prize Nominee in 2021. Barel is currently pursuing an M.A. in Education through the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Mara Braunfeld Headshot

Mara Braunfeld

Mara Braunfeld serves as the Director of Children and Families at Hadar. In this role, she is proud to be investing in the next generation and helping to build a world animated by Hadar’s core values of Torah, Avodah, and Hesed. Braunfeld brings over 15 years of experience creating community, building relationships, and bringing innovative leadership to progressive and pluralistic Jewish settings. Previously, she worked at Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY as the Director of Learning and Engagement, at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan as the Director of the Center for Family Life, and at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, NY as Director of Education. She earned a B.A. from Brandeis University and a Masters in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Braunfeld, her husband Daniel, and their three children live in Manhattan.
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Megan Doherty Headshot Crop Edit

Megan Doherty

Megan Doherty (she/her) is the Senior Educator at HIAS. Previously, she was the Director of Hillel and Campus Jewish Life at Oberlin College, and Associate Rabbi and Senior Jewish Fellow at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale. She serves on the board of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and was a founding co-chair of the Reconstructionist Movement’s Joint Israel Commission. Doherty was a member of Cohort VII of the Shalom Hartman Institute Fellowship for Campus Professionals. She holds a certificate in Jewish Mindfulness Meditation from the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and the Awakened Heart Project, and is an alumna of IJS’s Rabbinic Leadership Program. She completed Social Justice Mediation training with the Yeworkwha Belachew Center for Dialogue at Oberlin, and is a certified mediator in the state of Ohio. Doherty has a Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College, and was ordained as a rabbi by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
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Tehilah Eisenstadt Headshot Edit 2

Tehilah Eisenstadt

Tehilah Eisenstadt is the founder and CEO of Wonder and Repair, and organization that adapts Jewish rituals, stories and values of wonder-seeking and repair to individuals, communities and systems. Previously, she served as the Director of Yachad and Family Engagement at Congregation Beth Elohim, the largest synagogue in Brooklyn, and at SAJ, the first Reconstructionist synagogue. She also served as the Primary (preschool) Director at Luria Academy, and open Orthodox Montessori Jewish day school. Eisenstadt works alongside other international multi-faith leaders on ongoing issues related to Jewish values, particularly surrounding the abducted school girls in Chibok Nigeria in 2014. She is also honored to have co-created curriculum and conducted teacher development in the first years of “Cordoba House,” the first moderate Muslim religious school in NYC. Pre-pandemic, Eisenstadt served as a volunteer mikvah guide and educator for ImmerseNYC. In 2020 she launched “God Conversations,” an interfaith group comprised of 18 women from five different faith traditions. Eisenstadt served as curriculum consultant on Netflix’s Charlie’s Colorforms City. Her articles and talks focus on social, emotional and spiritual learning, as well as text-based social justice with an action-focused lens for Jewish or interfaith groups. She received her M.A. in Jewish Education and M.A. in Midrash from The Jewish Theological Seminary. Eisenstadt became a founding board member for the Church Center of Peace and Justice in 2020, and sits on the American Jewish League for Israel’s board.
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Suri Ganz Headshot

Suri Ganz

Suri Ganz is Senior Manager at the Jewish New Teacher Project of New Teacher Center, where she leads the program team for Teacher Induction, developing and facilitating programs for mentors and new teachers in hundreds of Jewish day schools and yeshivas across the US and Canada. Ganz joined JNTP in 2007 as a visiting mentor in Brooklyn and Queens, NY, after having taught middle and high school students in Jewish day schools for over 25 years. Since 2009, Ganz has also been involved in co-authoring Foundations, a curriculum taught to Orthodox teenage girls and women across the country. Ganz holds an M.S. Ed in Curriculum Development and Outcomes Assessments from Aspen University.
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Amy Golding Headshot Crop

Amy Golding

Amy Golding is a dynamic and innovative educator who has built several educational institutions over a two decade span. Golding returned to Pennsylvania six years ago to lead her alma mater, the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley. Golding’s prior experience was as the first and founding Education and Executive Director of The New Shul, an unaffiliated shul in lower Manhattan. She was also previously the Managing Director at Buckle My Shoe, an elite private school with two locations in downtown Manhattan. Golding moved to New York City after college and was a member of AmeriCorps VISTA service-learning program. She was selected to participate in The Institute for Not-For-Profit Management Executive Certificate program for rising Executives in the New York Metropolitan area through UJA-Federation and Columbia University Business School. Golding received her M.S. Ed. in Collaborative Leadership from Drexel University School of Education. The people who make Golding laugh the most are her two children, Jax and Lyla.
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Yael Krieger Headshot Crop Edit

Yael Krieger

Yael Krieger is the Associate Head of School at Oakland Day School, a K-8 Modern Orthodox school. Before joining OHDS, Yael served as the Director of Teaching and Learning at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, where she has worked since 2011. Krieger holds a B.A. in Religion from Columbia and a B.A. in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Krieger began her teaching career as a New York City Teaching Fellow, while obtaining her M.S. in Urban Education from Mercy College. After completing her masters, Krieger spent four years living in Israel, during which time she participated in the Pardes Educators Program. Krieger lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and three children.
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Amy Meltzer

Amy Meltzer

Amy Meltzer works as the Senior Jewish Educator at the Foundation for Jewish Camp, where she provides insight and direction for a portfolio of educational initiatives to attract, educate, and engage families with young children and to ensure that the magic of camp is felt year-round and lifelong. Previously she served as Professional Learning Lead for PJ Library, where she designed in-person and virtual learning for family engagement professionals. Prior to joining the staff of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Meltzer served as the long-time kindergarten teacher and family educator at Lander-Grinspoon Academy. She was awarded the 2015 Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education during her tenure at the school. Meltzer is the author of three children’s books – A Mezuzah on the Door, The Shabbat Princess, and Harvest Blessings – and the Jewish parenting blog Homeshuling. She is a former Outward Bound wilderness guide and Nature’s Classroom instructor and is the proud founding director of the Teva Learning Center. Meltzer received a M.A. in Education at Smith College, a B.A. at Wesleyan University, and spent two years as a Beit Midrash Fellow at the Drisha Institute. She lives with her family in Northampton, MA.
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Rebecca Milder Headshot Edit

Rebecca Milder

Rebecca Milder is the Founding Director of the Jewish Enrichment Center, which offers a mindset and methodologies for raising the child’s voice in Jewish learning. The Jewish Enrichment Center operates a laboratory Sunday and afterschool in Hyde Park, Chicago, and shares its educational approach nationwide through workshops, training, and coaching. A veteran Jewish educator, Milder’s leadership experience includes formal and informal educational work across diverse Jewish settings, centered on creating pathways for Jews of all ages to recognize themselves as powerful agents in a dynamic Judaism. Milder was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, earned a Masters of Arts in Educational Administration from Teachers College at Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. Milder is a graduate of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute and holds a certificate in Family Education from Hebrew College. Milder enjoys hiking and playing music with her family, and, along with her husband and children, she is an enthusiastic martial artist.
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Laura Perpinyal Edit

Laura Perpinyal

Laura Perpinyal is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth-El, a Reform congregation in Northbrook, IL. Previously, she served as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Chai. Under her leadership, the school was accredited by the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE) in 2018. Perpinyal has been active in the national leadership of the ARJE, currently serving her first term as a Board Member, and previously serving as the Development Co-chair and Advocacy Team Leader. She served as President of the Chicago Area Reform Jewish Educators (CHARJE) for 4 years. Perpinyal also serves in a leadership role as part of the Rabbi, Educator, Cantor Committee (RECC) of the URJ camp Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute. Perpinyal attended Indiana University where she graduated with Honors with degrees in Jewish Studies and Political Science. In 2009 Perpinyal graduated from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion with Joint Masters degrees in Jewish Education and Jewish Non-Profit Management. Perpinyal and her husband Avi live in Northbrook, IL with their two children.
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Yehuda Potok

Yehudah Potok

Yehudah Potok is the Director of the Jewish Education Program at Facing History and Ourselves where he oversees the long-term strategy and vision for Jewish education and manages the program budget, fundraising, and the program team. Additionally, he is the Program Lead for Facing History’s Contemporary Antisemitism Project where he is responsible for developing resources and educator trainings as well as cultivating partnerships with outside organizations related to the work of fighting antisemitism. For over two decades, Potok has worked in Jewish education settings such as camps, congregational schools, and Day Schools. Most recently, for the past twelve years, he has served as a Head of School. He has written and lectured about change management in school settings and has published a curriculum for Jewish Bioethics as well as a camp community siddur. Potok holds a B.A. in Sociology and Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Jewish Education and Administration from the Azrieli Graduate School at Yeshiva University, and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Hamivtar and Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.
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Tamar Rabinowitz Edit

Tamar Rabinowitz

Tamar Rabinowitz is currently the Dean of Jewish Studies and Hebrew at Jewish Community High School of the Bay. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, she moved to Israel after high school and attended Hebrew University where she earned her B.A. in Jewish History while studying Tanach at Matan. She earned an M.A. in Jewish education from Hebrew University and a diploma in Jewish Studies from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. She has taught her favorite subject, Tanach and its interpretations, for 19 years in various locations, schools and institutions. She taught middle and high-schoolers for seven years at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and adults in the Florence Melton program in Rockville, MD. Since moving to San Francisco, Rabinowitz has taught Tanach for Kevah and in the Yesod program at Emmanuel and mentored novice teachers in the DeLeT program and for Pardes. At JCHS, she teaches Tanach to all grades. In 2017, she completed MTEI, a two-year program aimed at nurturing Jewish leadership. Rabinowitz lives in San Francisco with her partner and three young children, Judah, Noa and Avital. She loves running and biking and can be found every weekend hiking the trails of Marin.
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Anna Robbins

Ana Robbins

Ana Robbins is the Executive Director of Jewish Kids Groups, a premier Jewish after school program. At every level from the classroom to the boardroom, Robbins creates experiential opportunities that build human connection. She lives by the ethos of experimentation, self-reflection, and continuous iteration, because she thrives in the areas of improvement and efficiency. Robbins is laser focused on scaling Jewish after school care model nationally while advancing programmatic quality, inspiring investors and organizations, supporting governance, and developing leadership and lay capacities. Robbins holds an M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology from Georgia State University and degrees in Jewish and Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies from Emory University.
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Jonathan Chapman

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman is an award-winning artist, writer, and Jewish educator. As the founder of The K’ilu Company, Jonathan reimagines Jewish youth and family engagement through theater and play. He leads programming and professional development in synagogues, day schools, and early childhood centers nationwide. His projects have reached thousands of families and classrooms. His new book Let There Be Play: Bringing the Bible to Life with Young Children was recently published by Behrman House. He is a curricular partner and consultant for ElevatEd, Jewish Grandparents Network, and Jewish United Fund Chicago. Jonathan is a recipient of The Covenant Foundation’s 2022 Pomegranate Prize for emerging Jewish educators and was named the Foundation’s inaugural Jewish Family Education Fellow in 2023. He is also a recipient of The Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America’s Medallion Award. Previously, Jonathan served as executive director of Theater for Young Audiences USA and as producer of family programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. His theatrical works for children and families have been presented at Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, and have been featured by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The New York Times, and American Theatre magazine. He lives in the Chicago area with his husband, Rabbi David Chapman, and their two children.
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Beverly Socher-Lerner Edit

Beverly Socher-Lerner

Beverly Socher-Lerner serves as the Founder & Executive Director at Makom Community. She received a B.A. in Jewish Studies from the University of Maryland (UMD). While she was at UMD, she researched Israeli Education. Socher-Lerner was a fellow at Yeshivat Hadar, and received her M.S.Ed in Jewish Education from the University of Pennsylvania. After twelve years directing synagogue schools in New Jersey and Maryland and working at Barrack Hebrew Academy, Socher-Lerner has developed 100 new curricula for students and families of all ages. Eight years ago, Socher-Lerner founded Makom Community in Philadelphia. Socher-Lerner is a recipient of the Covenant Foundation Pomegranate Prize, a participant in Upstart’s National Accelerator, and a Shalom Hartman Created Equal Fellow.
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Stephanie Tankel

Stephanie Tankel

Stephanie Tankel serves as Director of Lifelong Learning at Washington Hebrew Congregation, where she has worked since in 2008. Prior to her arrival at WHC, Tankel lived in London, England, and New York City, working as a Jewish educator (and loves playing Jewish geography for both locations!). She earned master’s degrees in Jewish education and Modern Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, a B.A.   from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is an alumna of the Wexner Foundation’s Field Fellowship program (class 1). Tankel loves working with families as they explore Jewish identity; she also loves mentoring those newer to the field of Jewish education, as they explore this sacred profession. When not wearing her professional hat, she loves hiking, podcast and audiobook listening, cooking, visiting the zoo or aquarium in any city, and yoga. She wants to know if you have a family pet and hopes you will bring it to your next meeting (virtual or in person). Tankel lives in NW DC with her husband, rescue mutt, and two children.
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Mason Voit Headshot Edit

Mason Voit

Mason Voit has served as the Director of Education and Jewish Family Life at the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR) since 2003. Voit earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He received his teaching certificate and Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Urban Education from the University of Denver. Voit is a graduate of the first cohort of the Leadership Institute of Congregational School Educators and has studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He was a post-graduate fellow of the Melton Senior Educators Program of Hebrew University and received an iCenter Graduate Certificate in Israel Education at George Washington University. A third generation Alabama native, Voit lives in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with his wife and three children.
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Ethan Zadoff

Ethan Zadoff

Ethan Zadoff is the principal of the DRS Yeshiva High School for Boys, a Modern Orthodox school on Long Island. Previously he served as Director of Teaching and Learning and co-chair of the History department. Prior to his role at Frisch, Zadoff worked in both formal and informal Jewish education and non-profit management at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, The Center for Jewish History, and the Association for Jewish Studies, and, for four years, served as a visiting assistant professor in the department of Hebrew Studies at Hunter College, CUNY. Zadoff received his BA from Yeshiva University, an MA from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, and an MPhi and Phd from the CUNY Graduate Center.
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Micol Zimmerman Burkeman Headshot Edit

Micol Zimmerman Burkeman

Micol Zimmerman Burkeman is the Founder and Chief Wonder Officer at Wonder Coaching. Micol has dedicated her career to helping people find their why and their way to the best, fullest, and most authentic versions of themselves. As an executive coach, consultant, and facilitator, she works with nonprofit leaders, educators, clergy, and communal professionals to help them increase their impact, maximize their potential, and live and lead with purpose. A seasoned educational leader, Micol has worked to elevate and reimagine Jewish education and leadership for the last two decades, placing wonder, authenticity, and meaning at the center. Micol is a credentialed executive coach with the International Coaching Federation, certified Immunity to Change™ Facilitator, and Group Development Questionnaire Certified Consultant. Her previous roles include Director of the Experiential Jewish Education Network, National Director of NFTY, Communal Education Consultant at The Jewish Education Project, Director of the Teaching Impact Fellowship at Hebrew Union College, and most recently, International Director of Education at Diller Teen Fellows. In each of these roles, Micol combined her passions for creating powerful learning experiences and building robust professional networks that foster connection and collaboration. In addition to the Educational Leadership Program, Micol is also an alum of the Generation Now Fellowship at The Jewish Education Project. Micol received her M.A. in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at Hebrew Union College and her B.A. in Communication at the University of Southern California. She earned her coaching certification with GroupWorks Global at the Haub Business School’s Center for Professional Development at Saint Joseph’s University. Micol lives in Natick, MA with her husband Rabbi Danny Burkeman and their two children, Gabby and Benny.
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