Educational Leadership Program

Scott Aaron is the Associate Vice President for JUF Education of 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.

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.

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.

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.

Tehilah Eisenstadt is the Director of Yachad & Family Engagement at Congregation Beth Elohim, the largest synagogue in Brooklyn. Previously, she served in the same role at SAJ, the first Reconstructionist synagogue, and as Primary (preschool) Community Director at Luria Academy, an 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.

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.

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.

Yael Krieger is the Director of Teaching and Learning at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, where she has worked since 2011. In this role, Krieger works closely with teachers deepening their toolkit of pedagogical strategies, and helping them embrace an orientation towards flexible pedagogy that promotes successful inclusion and celebration of all types of learners. 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.

Amy Meltzer works as Professional Learning Lead for PJ Library, where she designs 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.

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.

Laura Siegel Perpinyal has been the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Chai since 2011. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman creates projects that activate Jewish early childhood education through theater and imaginative play. He is the co-founder of K’ilu Kits (interactive audio adventures that bring Jewish holiday stories to life) and the creator of Play-Along Parsha (a resource for 3-to-6-year-olds and their families to creatively engage with the weekly Torah portion). He is also the founding Project Director of Aggadah Adventures at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, a program that stages Jewish stories as immersive, multi-sensory, participatory theater experiences for young children and families. He is a Jewish Education Project Young Pioneers Award recipient, a Glean Network START Fellow, and an International Asylum Arts Fellow. His projects have been supported by the Covenant Foundation and the Jim Joseph Foundation. Shmidt Chapman is also a nationally-recognized leader in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences. He has created and directed new theatrical work for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. He holds an M.A. from New York University in Educational Theatre. He lives in New York with his husband, soon-to-be Rabbi David Chapman, and their 4 year old.

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.

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.

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.

Ethan Zadoff is the Director of Professional Development and the Chair of the History Department at Yeshivat Frisch. In this position, Zadoff works to provide opportunities for all faculty members at Frisch to continually enhance skills in the areas of pedagogical innovation, lesson planning, classroom management, and building course materials. In his role, Zadoff supports the development of Frisch faculty projects focused on the intersection of innovative teaching, integrated learning, and the scholarship of teaching and learning in order to realize Yeshivat Frisch’s core educational mission. 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.

Micol Zimmerman Burkeman serves as the Recruitment and Leadership Development Associate and Director of the Teaching Impact Fellowship at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In this role, she works to elevate the Jewish professional field and develop the next generation of inspiring Jewish leaders. Prior to this role, Zimmerman Burkeman served as the Director of the Experiential Jewish Education Network, where she combined her passions for creating powerful learning experiences and building supportive professional networks that foster connection and collaboration. Upon first joining the EJE Network team, she also served as staff and mentor in the Certificate in Jewish Education program at HUC. Previously, Zimmerman Burkeman was the National Director of NFTY, the Reform Jewish Youth Movement serving over 8,000 Jewish youth. She has also served as a Communal Education Consultant at The Jewish Education Project, training and mentoring Jewish professionals in the field of teen engagement, and as Director of Education at synagogues across the country and in England. As a consultant, coach, and designer and facilitator of professional development, Zimmerman Burkeman works with educators, clergy, and Jewish communal professionals across North America, helping them increase their impact and maximize their potential. Zimmerman Burkeman received her M.A. in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles and her B.A. in Communication at the University of Southern California. She is an alum of the Generation Now Fellowship through The Jewish Education Project. She is also a trained and ICF credentialed executive coach and certified Immunity to Change™ Facilitator. Zimmerman Burkeman lives in Natick, MA with her husband Rabbi Danny Burkeman and their two children, Gabriella and Benjamin.