In this section:
About the Program
The shape of the North American Jewish community is rapidly changing, presenting Jewish educational leaders with a new set of challenges and opportunities. The Educational Leadership Program is an 18-month fellowship that empowers Jewish educational leaders from a wide range of settings to sharpen their educational visions, broaden their understanding of the educational landscape, and develop leadership skills to bring their visions to fruition.
Program Overview
The program includes four in-person seminars, virtual short courses, peer-led practice groups and one-on-one sessions with an adviser. Three seminars are held at the Mandel Institute’s space in Brookline, MA and one is held in Israel. All program costs and travel expenses are covered by the Mandel Institute. The curriculum is organized around three strands:
Program Strands
Educational Visions
Fellows work to clarify and enrich their educational aims and methods through engagement with a wide range of approaches to Jewish education.
Educational Ecosystem
Fellows deepen their understanding of trends in North American Jewish life, the Jewish educational Institutional landscape, and the evolving history of Jewish education in North America.
Leadership
Fellows develop leadership capacities that empower them to bring their educational visions to life, lead organizational change and act to impact the field more broadly.
Program Dates
Seminar 1: Boston - April 7-11, 2024
Seminar 2: Boston - November 10-14, 2024
Seminar 3: Israel - March 18-25, 2025
Seminar 4: Boston - October 26-30, 2025
About the Fellows
Fellows are educational leaders in Jewish organizations (or Jewish departments in organizations with a broader mission) who aspire to deepen their impact on their own organizations and the broader field. The program deliberately brings together fellows from a wide range of educational settings and perspectives. We believe that educators from different settings have much to learn from one another and that the robust exchange of ideas across settings can spark innovation and clarify visions.
Fellows & Graduates

Mason Voit
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Ethan Zadoff
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Micol Zimmerman Burkeman
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Rebecca Berger
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Stefani Carlson
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Rachel Dingman
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Rebecca Hammerman
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Yael Jaffe
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Julia Levine
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Eliana Light
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Sarah Moody
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Daniel Olson
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Noach Pawliger
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Aaron Portman
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Keren Rhodes
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

David Saiger
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Jane-Rachel Schonbrun
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Yafit Shriki Megidish
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Alison Weikel
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Rachel Weinstein White
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Scott Aaron
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Adi Barel
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Mara Braunfeld
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Megan Doherty
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Tehilah Eisenstadt
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Suri Ganz
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Amy Golding
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Yael Krieger
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Amy Meltzer
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Rebecca Milder
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Laura Perpinyal
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Yehudah Potok
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Tamar Rabinowitz
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Ana Robbins
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Beverly Socher-Lerner
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Stephanie Tankel
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Mason Voit
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Ethan Zadoff
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Micol Zimmerman Burkeman
Educational Cohort I 2022-2023

Rebecca Berger
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Stefani Carlson
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025

Rachel Dingman
Educational Cohort II 2024-2025
Faculty & Advisors

Michelle Shapiro Abraham
Advisor

Kathy Simon
Advisor

Susie Tanchel
Advisor

Jethro Berkman
Faculty

Tova Birnbaum
Faculty

Jonathan Krasner
Faculty

Michal Fox Smart
Faculty

Devora Steinmetz
Faculty

Adam M. Kleinbaum
Visiting Faculty

Arielle Levites
Visiting Faculty

Saul Kaiserman
Advisor

Michelle Lynn-Sachs
Advisor

Jacob Pinnolis
Advisor

Jen Rosenberg
Advisor

Nigel Savage
Advisor

Michelle Shapiro Abraham
Advisor

Kathy Simon
Advisor

Susie Tanchel
Advisor

Jethro Berkman
Faculty

Tova Birnbaum
Faculty

Jonathan Krasner
Faculty
Eligibility & FAQ
Applications for Cohort II are now closed.