About Our Students

Alumni

Doctoral Students

Master's Students

Alumni

• Dr. Tali Aldouby-Schuck
  Director of Professional Development and Judaic Studies Curriculum, Westchester Fairfield Hebrew Academy
   

  Dissertation:  Roman Catholic and Conservative Jewish Bible Teachers: Perspectives on the Nexus of Personal Background and Professional Practice  

• Dr. David Bryfman
  Director of the New Center for Collaborative Leadership, The Jewish Education Project
   

  Interests: Jewish Adolescent Identity Development, Experiential Jewish Education, Qualitative Research Methodology

  Dissertation: Giving Voice to a Generation: Role of the Peer Group in the Identity Development of Jewish Adolescents in the United States 

  David Bryfman completed his PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU in 2009. His dissertation focused on the role of the peer group in the identity development of Jewish teenagers in the United States. David is also an alumni of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program. David has worked in formal and informal Jewish educational institutions in Australia, Israel, and America. He completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees in education in Melbourne, where he was also active in youth movement and Jewish student life. He has lived and studied in Israel, participating in the Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad, the Melton Senior Educators Program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and at Pardes. In Australia he was the Director of Informal Jewish Education at a large Jewish day school, a Hillel Director, and the Director of Birthright Israel in Australia. David lived in St. Louis for two years where he was the Director of the Central Agency's Community Supplementary High School and Teen Initiative Programs. David is also a graduate of Brandeis University's Informal Jewish Education Leadership Seminar. David is currently the Director of the New Center for Collaborative Leadership at the Jewish Education Project, formerly known as the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York. 

• Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klein
  Associate Dean, Maalot College for Women, Baltimore; Teacher of Jewish history and Jewish studies, Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School
   

  Interests: Jewish History, History of Education, Gender Studies 

  Dissertation: Choosing Bais Yaakov: A Historical Study of Orthodox Girls' Education in Postwar America 

  Leslie Ginsparg Klein is Associate Dean of Maalot College for Women, Baltimore and an instructor of Jewish history and Jewish studies at the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School in Baltimore. She previously served as Director of the Honors Program and as an Assistant Professor of History and Jewish studies at Touro College in Manhattan.

  Dr. Ginsparg Klein received her PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University in September 2009. She focused her studies on Jewish history, history of education, and gender history. She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program. Her dissertation research was supported by awards from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Hadassah Brandeis Institute and the Network for Research in Jewish Education. She has presented her research at a number of conferences including those of the Association for Jewish Studies and the Network for Research in Jewish Education.

  In her spare time, Dr. Ginsparg Klein organizes "open mic nights" and concerts for women, at which she also performs. She is the founder and director of Girls' Night On, a not-for-profit organization that promotes Jewish women in music and the arts.
For her work with Girls’ Night On, she was named one of the New York Jewish Week's "36 Under 36," forward-thinking young people who are helping to remake the Jewish community,” in 2009. 


  A native Chicagoan, Dr. Ginsparg Klein studied abroad at Michlalah: The Jerusalem College for Women. She continued on to New York, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women with a BA in history. She received her MA in history, with a focus on Jewish history, from New York University. 
Before returning to graduate school, Dr. Ginsparg Klein worked as a writer and editor. Her writing has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Chicago Sun Times and the Los Angeles Times.

• Dr. Michael Kay
  Principal of the Upper School, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
   

  Interests: Administration, Pluralism 

  Dissertation: The Paradox of Pluralism: Leadership and Community Building in Pluralistic Jewish High Schools

  Michael Kay is Principal of the Upper School of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Jewish Studies from New York University, where he wrote his dissertation on the topic of leadership and community building in pluralistic Jewish high schools. He holds an undergraduate degree in Religion and History from Harvard University. Michael previously taught at the Weber School in Atlanta, GA and in several adult Jewish education institutions in Atlanta, New York, and Washington. He is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Day School Leadership Training Institute, and he is a recipient of the Young Scholar Award from the Network for Research in Jewish Education. 

• Dr. Michelle Lynn-Sachs
  Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York
   

  Interests: Congregational Education, Sociology of Education, Organizational Theory, Sociology of Religion, Congregational Studies 

  Dissertation:  Inside Sunday School: Cultural and Religious Logics at Work at the Intersection of Religion and Education

  Dr. Michelle Lynn-Sachs is Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York.

  Dr. Lynn-Sachs's teaching and research focuses primarily on leadership for Jewish education in the congregational setting.

  Dr. Lynn-Sachs's areas of interest include educational leadership, congregational studies, sociology of education, and sociology of religion. Her recent research project, titled "Inside Sunday School: Cultural and Religious Logics at Work at the Intersection of Religion and Education," was a comparative, ethnographic study of the aspirations for religious education programs in a Catholic church, Protestant church, and synagogue. She has presented her work at conferences of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Network for Research in Jewish Education.

  Previously, Dr. Lynn-Sachs was a researcher and consultant for the Experiment in Congregational Education; congregational educator at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, Ontario; and a mentor and supervisor for education students at both JTS and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She serves on the advisory boards of the Leadership Institute for Congregational School Educators.

  Dr. Lynn-Sachs received a bachelor of arts degree in Literature and Society from Brown University (1993); master's degree in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC (1996); and a doctorate in Education and Jewish Studies from New York University (2007). She was a Wexner Graduate Fellow while at HUC and a Beam Family Fellow at New York University.

• Dr. Karen Reiss Medwed
  Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, Hebrew College
   

  Interests: Teaching and Learning of Jewish Text, Teacher Education, Intersection of CK, PCK, PPCK 

  Dissertation:   Three Women Teachers of Talmud and Rabbinics in Jewish Non-Orthodox Day High Schools: Their Stories and Experiences

  Dr. Reiss Medwed is Assistant Professor of Jewish Education in the Shoolman Graduate School of Education of Hebrew College in Newton Center, MA. The first graduate of the doctoral program in Education and Jewish Studies in NYU Steinhardt, she most recently served as Director of Religious Education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She earner her BAs in the Joint Program between Columbia University and List College of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where she continued on to pursue her MA as well as Rabbinic Ordination. Dr Reiss Medwed's teaching and research focuses on teaching and learning in educational venues for the 21st century.

  At Hebrew College she serves as the Director of the doctorate in Jewish Educational Leadership, a collaborative between Hebrew College and Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies. Dr. Reiss Medwed also coordinates the MJEd in day school teacher education for the Pardes Educator's Program, a collaboration between Hebrew College in Boston, and Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

  Dr. Reiss Medwed's areas of interest include educational leadership, TCPK, the teaching of religous text, and Jewish day school teacher education. Her recent research project, titled "The Virtual Lecture: How Faculty Create Online Seminars," was a comparative, ethnographic study of the online teaching and learning pedagogies for higher education. She has presented her work at conferences of the Network for Research in Jewish Education and The Jewish Day School Network.

  Rabbi Karen G Reiss Medwed, PhD, resides with her family in Sharon, MA. 

• Dr. Renee Rubin Ross
  Program Officer, Jim Joseph Foundation
   

  Interests: Sociology of Education, Sociology of Religion, Jewish Day Schools, Qualitative Research 

  Dissertation:   Parent Involvement and Community Cohesion at a Jewish, Catholic, and Independent Day School

  Dr. Renee Rubin Ross is currently a Program Officer at the Jim Joseph Foundation in San Francisco, California. She also serves as the editor of the newsletter for the Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) and Co-Chair of the Sustaining Alumni Education Working Group for the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC. She was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University.

  Dr. Ross’ work focuses on the sociology of Jewish day schools and other independent schools. Her dissertation, “Parent Involvement and Community Cohesion at a Jewish, Catholic, and Independent Day School,” explores how independent schools involve families and build community, and how religious language and rituals serve as tools to accomplish these goals. She presented a paper at a conference on “The School in the Community-Community in the School” at the Melton Centre for Jewish Education in Jerusalem in June 2006.

  Dr. Ross served as congregational educator at Temple Beth El in San Antonio, Texas and at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Ross has served as an educational consultant in numerous settings. She was a research associate for the Jewish Educational Service of North America, and was a co-author of completing Redesigning Jewish Education for the 21st Century: A Lippman Kanfer Institute Working Paper (with Jonathan Woocher and Meredith Woocher). She was also a research assistant for the Experiment for Congregational Education, completing Outcomes of the Pilots and Initiatives at Five RE-IMAGINE Congregations (January 2007). She mentored many students who teach in supplementary and day schools in the Masters in Jewish Education program at the Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote several units for the Union for Reform Judaism’s Mitkadem Hebrew prayer curriculum, served as educator for toldot: an online museum of Jewish identity, and served for two years as the coordinator of the Education and Jewish Studies’ doctoral seminar. She was a founder of Doctoral Students in Jewish Education, a national network of doctoral students.

  Dr. Ross received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in history from University of California, Berkeley (1992), a master's degree in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC (1999); and a doctorate in Education and Jewish Studies from New York University (2010). While at NYU, Dr. Ross was a Steinhardt Fellow.

• Dr. Tali Zelkowicz
  Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, Rhea Hirsch School of Education, Hebrew Union College - Los Angeles
   

  Interests: Jewish Identity Formation, Qualitative Methodologies, Sociology of Jewish Education

  Dissertation: An Ethnographic Investigation of the Role of Dissonance in Jewish Identity Building at a Community Jewish High School 

  Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Dr. Tali Zelkowicz completed her undergraduate work in Sociology at the University of British Columbia (1995) before attending HUC-JIR Los Angeles. She received an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education (RHSOE) at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles (2000), and was ordained at HUC- JIR, Los Angeles (2002). She earned her doctorate at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and received the 2006 Young Scholar's Award from the Network for Research in Jewish Education and was granted a Writing Dissertation Fellowship for the 2006-2007 year from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Her dissertation, titled "The Liberal Jewish Day School as Laboratory for Dissonance in American Jewish Identity- Formation," examines various cultural strategies by which individuals and communities navigate processes of forming multiple and competing identities simultaneously.

  Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Jewish Education in the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles. She specializes in the sociology of Jewish Education, and is interested in the roles of conflict and dissonance in Jewish identity formation as they relate to teaching and learning.

  Dr. Zelkowicz's thinking about her research has been greatly enhanced by opportunities to share and exchange ideas with broader scholarly communities. In March 2004, she delivered a paper entitled "Beyond Notions of Going Native: Jews Who Study Jews" at the Ways of Knowing in Educational Research conference, at Teachers College, Columbia University, NY. In December 2004, she was invited to write an article for the publication "Sh'ma." She wrote "At Home with Many Identities," for this identity themed issue. The following year, she was invited to be on a spotlight session panel entitled "Studying Jewish Identity: Emerging Trends and Challenges," at the June 2005 Network for Research in Jewish Education Conference at Brandeis University, Ma. She co-authored Jewish Identities in Action: An Exploration of Models, Metaphors, and Methods (2008) with scholars of contemporary American Jewish identity Stuart Charmé, Bethamie Horowitz and Jeffrey Kress, which offers new theoretical and methodological approaches to researching Jewish identity, and appeared in the Journal of Jewish Education. She also served a two-year term as the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Jewish Education, 2004-2006.

Doctoral Students

• Alan Abrams
   

  Interests:  Chaplaincy Education 

  Alan Abrams, a rabbi specializing in chaplaincy and clergy education and a Jim Joseph Fellow at NYU, believes that leadership and the ability to provide compassionate caring to people in crisis are not qualities one is born with – they are things that can be learned and can be taught. His research interests involve increasing our understanding of how the development of empathetic skills and of spiritual leadership can be fostered through educational processes, as well as our understanding of how practitioners with those skills can influence Jewish identity among those they care for in key lifecycle moments -- in birth, death, illness and marriage. He currently serves as a chaplaincy supervisor/educator in Reading, PA, and has taught techniques in Israel for composing spontaneous prayer and gave a workshop on "Working the Midrashic Muscle" at the National Association of Jewish Chaplain’s annual conference in January of 2010. Alan has taught rabbinics at the Gann Academy/New Jewish High School in Boston. He holds Masters Degrees both in Talmud and in Public Policy. Alan loves to cook and is passionate about the bicycle as a means of alternative transportation that can help us be kinder to our planet.

• Galia Avidar
   

  Interests: Philosophy of Education, Integration of Judaic and Secular Studies

  Galia Avidar is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University and is a Jim Joseph Fellow. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies Galia was the Educational Director of International Programs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. She oversaw the education programs of the Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership, working with schools to implement a collaborative approach in engaging in Israel- Diaspora education and developing a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary approach to educational engagement with Israel. She received a B.A. from Brooklyn College in Special and Elementary Education and a M.S. degree from Pepperdine University in Educational Administration. She has taught in several Jewish day schools in Los Angeles. She has co- authored and teaches a six-week professional development online course: Integrating the Internet into the Jewish Studies Classroom for the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles. Additionally, she coauthored a web-based Israel education teacher training curricula: "Distant Friends II" for the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. Her primary research interest is in a philosophical approach to systemic integration between secular and Judaic studies in Jewish day schools.

• Janet Bordelon
   

  Interests: Social Studies Education

  Janet Bordelon, a Jim Joseph Fellow at NYU, graduated magna cum laude from Colby College with a B.A. with honors in History and Government. As a Frankel fellow, she completed her M.A. in Judaic studies from the University of Michigan in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Her research focused on the "parting of the ways" between Judaism and Christianity; her masters thesis investigated religious syncretism in the Greco-Roman world through a study of ancient epitaphs. At Michigan, she served as a Graduate Instructor on courses in World religions and the Bible as literature.

  For the past four years, Janet has been teaching and developing history courses that emphasize the importance of religion and the development of world-views in human history. These courses entail critical reading of primary sources, classroom discussion and debate along with a significant amount of writing. Her research focuses on the current treatment of religion, in particular Judaism, in secondary school history classrooms. Her goal is to demonstrate that the academic study of religion and the historical development of world-views can be used by secondary school humanities teachers to enhance the learning processes and critical thinking outcomes in their classrooms. She hopes that her research will help teacher educators better understand how to support and train future history teachers with teaching about religion in an accurate, fair, and compelling manner in order to promote tolerance and understanding among adolescents. 

• Eli Ciner
   

  Interests:  Learning Theories, Adolescent Development, History of Jewish Education 

  Eli Ciner is currently the Associate Principal of The Frisch School, a Modern Orthodox high school with a student population of 600. In this role, Eli helps students blend the religious, intellectual and social goals of The Frisch School in an atmosphere of mutual respect, intellectual integrity, and religious excitement. His past work includes founding leadership training programs in New York, Australia and Israel. The seminars provided a forum for adolescents to think about and discuss the political, intellectual and communal issues facing the Jewish community.

  Eli is pursuing a Ph.D. in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University. His area of interest focuses on understanding modern educational theories as reflected in medieval rabbinic literature. He received his Semikha from Yeshiva University and also holds degrees in Psychology (B.A.) and Education (M.A.) from Yeshiva University. Prior to attending Yeshiva University, Eli spent two years studying at Yeshvat Sha'alavim in Israel. He and his wife live in Riverdale with their daughters.

• Michael Emerson
   

  Interests:  Bridging the gap between informal and formal Jewish education, Teaching in Jewish High Schools, Jewish History 

  Born in Boston and raised in Memphis, Michael Emerson went to high school at the Feinstone Yeshiva of the South/Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys, followed by a two year stint in Yeshivat Shaalvim in Nof Ayalon, Israel. He attended Columbia University, where he majored in Medieval Jewish History and wrote his senior thesis about the American Association for Ethiopian Jews and their iconoclast leader Graenum Berger. He was involved with Columbia’s Hillel and worked to develop the broader Columbia Jewish community. During his time at Columbia, Michael also attended Talmud shiur at Yeshiva University, where he is currently enrolled in the RIETS seminary for rabbinic ordination.

  Michael has been involved with a number of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations including NCSY, AJWS, Alternative Spring Break, Encounter, and Meorot. He has worked for a number of years for Camp Stone where he most recently was director of their Machal Leadership Training Program, and was Youth Director at Beth Jacob synagogue in Columbus, Ohio in 2008.

  A Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar, he is continuing his studies at NYU as part of the PhD in Education and Jewish Studies program. Michael is also student teaching at the Ramaz Upper School and working as a consultant for Israel education for the iCenter in Chicago.

• Jeni Friedman
   

  Interests:  Adult Education, Professional Development, Clergy Education 

  Rabbi Jeni Friedman is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU where she is a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar and a Jim Joseph Fellow. Jeni works with the LOMED project at the Jewish Education Project where she consults on Congregational Education for synagogues in the New York area. For the past five years Jeni was a rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom, Roslyn Heights, NY. She chairs the Advisory Board to the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. Jeni holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies (Rabbinic Literature) and English Literature (Creative Writing) from the American Jewish University and Rabbinic Ordination and an M.A. in Midrash from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She currently resides in Brooklyn.

• Orley Garber
   

  Interests: Mentoring, Reflective Practice 

  Orley Garber hails from England and came to NYU via California, where she has now settled with her new husband, Ed. She was initially interested in exploring the role of motivation in Hebrew language acquisition, but then became fascinated by the concept of reflective practice and its place in the process of mentoring. Last year, she completed her study of three new mentors working in Jewish day schools, and is currently writing her dissertation while working full time as a Judaic studies teacher at Temple Israel of Hollywood Day School.  

• Adam Gaynor
   

  Interests: Jewish Multicultural Education; Experiential Teen Education; Jewish Feminist Theory; Philanthropy and Educational Policy 

  Adam Gaynor is a consultant with The Whelan Group, a 30-year old New York-based firm providing planning and advisory services to non-profits and foundations nationally. Adam was previously the Executive Director of The Curriculum Initiative (TCI), an organization that supported Jewish culture and identity programs at independent high schools. Adam has worked as Assistant Director of the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU; as a social work consultant at The Educational Alliance for public school-based, post-9/11 programs; as a project co-coordinator at The Jewish Agency's Department of Education in Israel; and as Director of Multicultural Affairs at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Adam was named by the New York Jewish Week on its list of 36 top innovators under the age of 36. He has an undergraduate degree in Women's Studies from Bates College and Masters Degrees in Jewish Studies and Social Work from the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, respectively.

  Adam has found the interdisciplinary approach to the doctoral program to be one of its most exciting assets. Students and faculty come to the program from a range of Jewish, professional, and academic backgrounds. His own research is on the influence of philanthropy on educational policy.

  Read more about Adam here.

• Owen Gottlieb
   

  Interests:  Digital Media and Learning, Games and Simulations for Learning, Ethnography, Creativity, Wilderness Education, Gifted Education, Narrative and Learning  

  Rabbi Owen Gottlieb’s eclectic background includes project managing the development of internet software for companies including Disney, writing screen and teleplays for Paramount and Universal, teaching dance in Israel, and serving for many years as a liaison for film directors at Telluride Film Festival.

  He has served as a student rabbi at Temple Beth Am, in Monessen PA, Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan, and a rabbinic resident at the URJ Press. While studying to become a rabbi, he taught religious school for four years at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, where he piloted the teaching of modern Hebrew to seventh graders using Israeli teen-television.

  Owen founded ConverJent (www.converjent.org) to nurture the use of New Media, Games, and Game Design for Jewish Learning. ConverJent is incubated at Clal and has received a PresenTense NYC Fellowship.

  Owen is the co-editor of The Gender Gap: A Congregational Guide for Beginning the Conversation about Men’s Involvement in Synagogue Life (URJ Press) and a contributing author to The Still Small Voice: Reflections on Being a Jewish Man (also URJ Press).

  His article, “Moving Beyond the Limited Reach of Current "Social Media" Approaches: Why Jewish Digital Communities Require Rich and Remixable Narrative Content” appears in the Spring 2011 issue of the CCAR Journal.

  Owen holds an AB from Dartmouth College, an MA from USC Cinema-Television, and a Masters of Hebrew Letters and Rabbinical Ordination from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the International Game Developers Association. He blogs at www.mysticalcreative.com.

  Owen is studying at NYU as a Jim Joseph Fellow and is a HASTAC scholar.

  Read more about Owen here.

   

• Shira Hammerman
   

  Interests: Teacher Community, School Community, Professional Development 

  Shira currently works as an Educational Consultant at Areyvut, a non-profit organization that creates educational programs related to service learning, philanthropy, and community service. Shira’s experiences in formal and informal Jewish education include teaching in congregational school, day school, and camp settings; supporting teachers; developing curriculum and educational programs; and researching educational initiatives. She is currently writing a congregational school curriculum for the Jewish Theological Seminary. She earned a dual undergraduate degree in Political Science and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and completed an MS in Elementary Education from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Shira is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholarship Program for graduate students and a recipient of the Maxine Fischer Scholarship. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children.

• Menachem Hecht
   

  Interests: Sociology of Education, Organizational Culture 

  Menachem Hecht is currently the Director of Education for Bnei Akiva of the US and Canada, as well as the Director of Moshava Ba'ir, a religious-Zionist day camp in Northern New Jersey. His past work in formal and informal education includes several years of teaching Talmud and Bible and coordinating student activities at the Frisch school in Paramus, NJ and serving as Head of Camp (Rosh Moshava) at Camp Stone, a Bnei Akiva affiliated summer camp in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

  Menachem is a PhD candidate at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, where he is writing his doctoral thesis in sociology of education, focusing on how Jewish day schools negotiate among multiple educational priorities. He studied for semicha at RIETS, the Yeshiva University seminary, where he received an honors fellowship in 2005. He received a BA summa cum laude in Judaic Studies from Yeshiva University in 2004. He is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship.

  When not educating or being educated, Menachem enjoys golf, tennis, biking, and snowboarding.

• Naomi Kalish
   

  Interests: Professional Education and Training, Multiculturalism 

  Naomi Kalish is a second year doctoral student at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and a Steinhardt Fellow. She works as the Coordinator of Pastoral Care and Education at New York Presbyterian's Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. In addition to providing direct pastoral care, Naomi teaches Clinical Pastoral Education, a nationally accredited program of study, to seminary students, clergy, and lay leaders. She has taught students from a wide spectrum of Jewish and Christian affiliations and she serves as an Instructor of Pastoral Counseling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Naomi is a board certified Jewish Chaplain through the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and a board certified chaplaincy supervisor through the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. In 2006 she received the Lennart Cedarleaf Award for an Outstanding Theology Paper. Naomi received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University in American and Jewish Studies, and her rabbinic ordination and a Masters Degree in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is married to Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, a congregational rabbi, and they have three daughters. Naomi's research interests include the professional training of clergy, the history of pastoral counseling education, the interdisciplinary hospital team, and multicultural competency. 

• Daniel Lehmann
• Arielle Levites
   

  Interests: Spirituality, Psychology of Religion, Developmental Psychology 

  Arielle Levites is a second year doctoral student at NYU where she is a Jim Joseph Fellow, as well as a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Brown University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and an M.S. Ed. in Religious Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Having worked in the field of Jewish education for over fifteen years in a number of settings, she is currently the Director of Education and Outreach for Re/Presenting the Jewish Past, a joint project of RAVSAK and NYU.

  Arielle’s research interests include contemporary Jewish-American spirituality, the intersection of psychology and religion in American life, and spiritual development across the lifespan.

  She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.  

• Ben Lewis
   

  Interests:  Informal Education, Supplementary School Education, Individualized Curriculum and Elective Education 

  Ben Lewis has worked in Jewish education for over 15 years throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast. He has worked as teacher, youth director, vice principal and head of school in Conservative congregations around the country. Currently, Ben serves as the Director of Congregational Learning at New City Jewish Center in Rockland County, NY. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Jewish Studies from Indiana University and an M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Loyola University Chicago.

  Based on significant studies that show that the overwhelming majority of non-Orthodox Jewish students attend supplementary schools rather than day schools, Ben, a Jim Joseph Fellow, is focusing his doctoral work at NYU on elective education in congregational schools.

• Gad Marcus
   

  Interests: Jewish Philosophy, Philosophy of Education, Teaching History, Special Education 

  Gad Marcus is a Steinhardt Doctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies and Education at NYU. Born in England, he grew up in Switzerland and moved to Israel after High School. An officer in the I.D.F., he holds a B.Ed. from the David Yellin College for Education in Jerusalem, an M.A. in Jewish Philosophy from Tel-Aviv University and was a 'Melamdim' fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

  He has been teaching history, special education, and Jewish studies at different high schools in Israel and also spent several years teaching American students on their year abroad programs in Israel. As a scuba diving instructor, he has also taught diving at various places around the world.

• Sarah Ossey
   

  Interests: Informal Jewish Education

  Sarah Ossey is a doctoral student in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU, where she is a Steinhardt Fellow and a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. Originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, she holds an MA in Jewish Education from the William Davidson School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a BA from Brandeis University in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Spanish Language and Literature, as well as minors in Women and Gender Studies; and Hebrew Language and Literature. She worked as the Special Projects Director for Camp Ramah Darom and has focused much of her work on informal Jewish education, particularly on Jewish camping. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband.
• Lisa Samick
   

  Interests: Early Childhood Education 

  Lisa Samick is currently the Director of Early Childhood Education at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. She has worked as a classroom teacher - in both Jewish and secular settings and later did extensive work in curriculum development, particularly in the area of informal Zionist education. Lisa also worked for several years at Park Avenue Synagogue as the Director of their High School and later as the Director of their day camp. She currently serves on the advisory board for Shalom Sesame and holds an executive board position in the Jewish Early Childhood Association.

  Lisa is a PhD candidate in the department of Teaching and Learning. Her research is focusing on the processes of cultural transmission in Jewish early childhood classrooms and its effects on the family. She is also teaching in the department in the Masters' program.

  Lisa lives in NYC with her daughter, Jenna.

• Yona Shem-Tov
   

  Interests: History Education in Jewish Schools, Facilitating Interfaith Ties between North American Jewish and Muslim Communities 

  Yona Shem- Tov is the Executive Director of Encounter, an educa­tional orga­ni­za­tion training Jewish lead­er­ship to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to heal internal Jewish rifts formed in its wake. Yona began her career as a Jewish history teacher at The Tannenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, the largest Jewish high school in North America and pursued doctoral work at NYU as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, where her research focused on the teaching of citi­zen­ship and history educa­tion in both Jewish and Muslim-American schools. In addi­tion to helping envi­sion and launch The Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship, a transna­tional network of Jewish and Muslim social entre­pre­neurs, Yona helped create and serve as the Associate Director of Re/Presenting the Jewish Past, a network of Jewish history educa­tors from across Canada and the USA. She has worked and consulted for a broad range of American Jewish orga­ni­za­tions, including American Jewish World Service, Mayan, Matan, RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network and Abraham’s Vision, where she taught at both the AJ Heschel School and the Al-Iman School in Queens, NY.

• Daniel Smokler
   

  Interests: Liberal learning, Covenantal theology, Vision-guided education, Emerging adulthood

  Rabbi Daniel Smokler is the Senior Jewish Educator at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU. Dan graduated cum laude from Yale University with B.A. in the History of Art. He has worked extensively as a community organizer and consultant in the labor movement in Connecticut and Los Angeles. He was ordained in 2006 by Rabbis Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and Yaakov Moshe Poupko in Jerusalem.

  Since 2006, Dan has worked for Hillel, where he founded the Senior Jewish Educators initiative, which charges master educators to explore moral questions with Jewish college students. Funded by a major grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Senior Educators program has been at the forefront of Hillel’s educational transformation. In 2011, the Jewish Week named Dan one of the "36 under 36" changemakers in Jewish life.

  Dan is currently pursuing a PhD in Education and Jewish studies at NYU as a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar, while he is also continuing his work at the Bronfman Center. Dan lives in New York with his wife Erin Leib Smokler, a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago and a teacher at the Drisha Institute.

• Leah Strigler
• Abigail Uhrman
   

  Interests: Special Needs, Learning Disabilities 

  Abigail Uhrman is an advanced doctoral student in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University, where she is a Steinhardt Fellow. Abigail graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in history and a minor in education studies. Following graduation, she spent two years as a fellow at the Drisha Institute of Jewish Education. Abigail then worked as a fifth grade teacher at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan and, later, a literacy coach and new teacher mentor. Upon completing her coursework, Abigail worked at the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and was adjunct faculty at NYU. Beginning this year, Abigail will begin as a research fellow at the Davidson School at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Abigail lives In New York with her husband and daughter.

• Iscah Waldman
   

  Interests: Teaching Religious Texts  

  Rabbi Iscah Waldman came to NYU’s doctoral program in Education and Jewish Studies as a Steinhardt Fellow to examine how the study of visual culture parallels the teaching of rabbinic texts, and plans to research how midrash is currently accessed by rabbis and teachers in today's Jewish world. She has taught in a large variety of Jewish educational settings, and has spent the past 8 years as a teacher of Talmud and rabbinic literature at the Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island. She also teaching courses in Jewish law to Cantorial and Rabbinical Students at the Academy for Jewish Religion.

  In addition to her love of rabbinic literature, Iscah is involved in her own artistic pursuits including cartooning and woodworking. Iscah holds a BA degree from Columbia University in Ancient studies, and a BA, MA and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She lives with her husband, Matt Agin and children, Tani and Shaya, in New Jersey.

• Sharon Weiss-Greenberg
   

  Interests: Gender Studies in the Summer Camp Setting 

  Sharon Weiss-Greenberg is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University. Her research for her dissertation will focus on gender studies in the Jewish summer camp setting. She is a Wexner Fellow and Davidson Scholar. During the summers of '07 and '08, Sharon was the Rosh Moshava (Head of Camp) at Camp Stone in Pennsylvania. Prior to assuming the position of Rosh Moshava she had spent many summers in different leadership roles in Camp Stone. She has taught at Yeshiva University High School for Girls in New York and Yavneh Academy in New Jersey. She has also taught at and developed fascinating curriculum for the Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies in New Jersey. She spent the academic year of '08-'09 studying Talmud and Halakha at The Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She received her Masters in Education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Yeshiva University and received a B.A. in Sociology and Jewish History from Yeshiva University. While as an undergraduate at the Stern College for Women, Sharon served as president of the student council during the academic year of '02-'03. Sharon is currently the co-director and Orthodox advisor of the Seif Jewish Learning on Campus Initiative at Harvard Hillel. Sharon is also a chaplain at Harvard University.

• Simcha Willig
   

  Interests: The history and value of individualized education in Yeshivot and Jewish day schools 

  Rabbi Simcha Willig has been a formal and informal educator in Jewish schools, synagogues, youth groups, and summer camps. His interests have brought him to classrooms, pulpits, and campgrounds throughout North America, Israel, and South Africa. He earned a master's degree at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, and received his semicha (rabbinical ordination) from RIETS, Yeshiva University's seminary. From 2008-2011 Simcha was a member of the rabbinic team at the Young Israel of Scarsdale, and since 2010 he has been a Jewish Student Union educator in Westchesters’ public high schools. Simcha is studying in the doctoral program as a Jim Joseph Fellow, researching individualized education, and he is also a Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar.

Master's Students

• Rebecca Bigman
   

  Interests: Informal Jewish Education, Jewish Camp Leadership, General Education

  Rebecca Bigman grew up in Ormond Beach, FL in a small Jewish community. She attended a Jewish summer camp for seven years and began her work in Jewish informal education as a staff member there. She received a BA in Political Science from the University of Florida and worked with supplemental education services tutoring kids in failing Florida elementary schools. She spent the last year in Israel volunteering in different communities throughout the country through the program OTZMA. From Ashkelon to Beit Shean to Jerusalem, she has been teaching English, helping the poorer communities in the periphery, and working at Young Judaea. Her year in Israel has inspired her to continue with a career in the Jewish world, and to that end, she is beginning an MA in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU.

• Mijal Bitton
   

  Interests: Administration, Experiential Jewish Education, Teen Identity Formation, and Informal Jewish Education

  Mijal (pronounced Michal) Bitton was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived in Mexico, Uruguay, and Israel before finally settling in Great Neck, New York. She attended Stella K Abrams High School for Girls and then spent a gap year studying Jewish subjects in Michlalah in Bayit B’gan, Jerusalem. Throughout High School, Mijal was involved in different community initiatives providing Jewish education to children and teens.

  Mijal attended Stern College for Women, where she majored in English with a focus in Journalism. She held leadership positions in the Political Science Society and the Israel Club, organizing events to promote awareness, student activism, and inter-collegiate dialogue in issues pertaining to Israel. During her last year at Stern, Mijal began working in the Center for the Jewish Future’s Department of Service Learning and Experiential Education. She staffed an AJWS mission to Nicaragua, coordinated service learning activities in Washington Heights, worked on the development of Yeshiva University’s Certificate Program in Experiential Jewish Education, and was the head Counselor for Counterpoint Israel: Dimona, a summer camp for Israeli teenagers from a low socio-economical background in Israel’s periphery communities.

  During her time at Stern, Mijal continued to be actively involved in her Great Neck Jewish community. She is the founder and director of her synagogue's Children’s Shabbat Program, and has run educational programming celebrating cultural, religious and historical commemorations for all ages. Mijal taught Hebrew School for two years and founded a weekend program for teens, called Saturday Night Learning.

  Mijal hopes to direct and administer a project promoting supplementary experiential Jewish education for the thousands of Jewish teens attending public school. She is studying in NYU's Dual MA program as a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar and a Jim Joseph Fellow.

• Yael Friedman
   

  Interests: Holocaust Education in Schools and Museums, Curriculum Development

  Yael Friedman grew up in Potomac, Maryland where she was actively involved in her Jewish community. Throughout high school, she volunteered in a Talmud Torah, working individually with students as well as within the classroom. She was also a head counselor in a Hebrew immersion summer camp for four summers. After attending a Jewish Day School from K-12, Yael joined her high school class on a weeklong trip to Poland and Prague, visiting sites related to the Holocaust, as well as on a three month trip to Israel. This trip reinforced her interests in studying the Holocaust and has contributed to the direction of her studies and career choices. Yael graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies. Additionally, she received the Steven S. Schwarzschild Prize for Overall Excellence in Jewish Studies. Upon graduating, Yael worked at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, in Jerusalem for five months, where she primarily edited and produced resources for a Holocaust curriculum for Jewish educators. While she was in Israel, Yael participated in the Winter Seminar for Jewish Educators at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. She also interned in the Archives Department at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for two summers during her undergraduate studies. Most recently, Yael interned at the US Department of State for the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, where she drafted speeches, contributed to reports through research and writing, and assisted with monitoring anti-Semitism around the world. Yael will be studying in the Dual MA program in Education and Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU as a Jim Joseph Fellow.

• Reyzl Geselowitz
   

  Interests: Museum Education, Jewish History

  Reyzl Geselowitz was born in Boston, but moved to Long Island at a young age, where she attended Solomon Schechter Day Schools through 12th grade. Reyzl graduated from Harvard College in 2010 with a B.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and a minor in Archaeology. Last year, Reyzl studied in the Beit Midrash Program at the Drisha Center for Jewish Education. At Harvard Hillel, Reyzl spent three semesters as a Gabbai (organizer) of the Student Conservative Minyan and traveled to Israel on the Netivot Israel Leadership initiative. In addition, after two years on Hillel committees, Reyzl was elected to Steering Committee, the Hillel board, as the Vice President of Shabbat and Holidays. Reyzl also coordinated a Hillel shift at a local student-run homeless shelter, where she volunteered for five semesters. Reyzl is deeply committed to Jewish education; she spent three summers as a counselor at Jewish summer camps, and three years teaching Hebrew school in Boston, both 6th grade Judaics and 7th grade Hebrew. In summer 2009, Reyzl participated in the Collegiate Leadership Internship Program and was an intern in the Hadassah Archives. Reyzl will be studying in NYU's Dual MA program as a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar and a Jim Joseph Fellow.

• Stefanie Gordon
   

  Interests: Hebrew Language Education, Jewish History, Jewish Literature

  Stefanie Gordon grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and earned her B.A. at the University of Delaware, where she minored in Jewish Studies, graduating with honors as a Division 1 scholar-athlete. While studying on a Fellowship with the Ivy League Torah Study Experience in Ellenville, NY, Stefanie realized her deep interest in Judaic studies through intensive study in Torah and Jewish Philosophy. She later spent a semester abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she focused on Hebrew and Jewish History. Stefanie is currently a Hebrew teacher at the Brotherhood Synagogue of Manhattan and a Dual MA student in Education and Jewish studies at NYU. She enjoys running, tennis, and working as a Pilates and Yoga instructor in Manhattan.

• David Hoffman
   

  Interests: Informal Education, Experiential Education, Classroom Teaching, Bible

  David Hoffman was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Dallas in a family that belonged to a Conservative synagogue while keeping generally Reform practices. David went to public school for his whole life while attending supplementary religious school at Congregation Shearith Israel. In high school, he became very active in BBYO, serving on Regional Board and participating in multiple international programs. This, along with his Religious School education, led David to apply to List College for his undergraduate education, where he studied Bible at the Jewish Theological Seminary and American Studies at Columbia University. After graduating, David worked in multiple positions relating to education, ultimately leading to his current job of full-time teacher at Central Synagogue’s Religious School in New York City, where he has been working for nearly three years. As a full-time teacher, David has developed curricula and lessons for multiple age groups, taught grades 3-9 and adult education classes, coordinated B’nei Mitzvah service projects, and participated in many community-wide programs. Since November, he has served as full-time teacher team leader, a position that had never been created before. As team leader, David has taken on additional administrative roles, served as spokesman for the team to clergy and senior leadership, and has been the representative of the Religious School to parents and the general public. A Jim Joseph Fellow, David will be studying in NYU's Dual MA program in Education and Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies in an effort to develop his skills as an educator while also gaining more knowledge of Judaic Studies, the subject about which he is most passionate.

• Jodie Honigman
   

  Interests: Experiential Education, Modern Jewish History, Innovative Israel Education

  Jodie Honigman is a student and Jim Joseph Fellow in the Dual Masters program at NYU in Education and Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Jodie was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Psychology, Jewish Studies, and Hebrew and Semetic Studies. After graduating, Jodie moved to Haifa to intern at Isha L’Isha, an NGO that works on anti-trafficking initiatives. She then spent a year studying at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. Jodie moved to Washington, DC in 2009 to plan and implement youth and family programs at Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She was also a participant in the first DC cohort of the Jeremiah Fellowship through Jews United for Justice. Jodie spent part of her last summer before graduate school traveling in India.

• Erica Korman
   

  Interests:  American-Jewish Identity, Informal Education with Emerging Adults 

  Erica Korman grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL with little interest, even disdain, for her own Jewish education and identity. Later in life, while participating on Taglit-Birthright, Erica became keenly aware of the dire consequences of living as an apathetic, assimilated Jew in the Diaspora. Now, her life is devoted to improving Jewish education and communal opportunities, reviving vigor for Jewish life, and reconciling tradition in the age of modernity. Erica graduated with honors from Florida State University, where she studied humanities and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Post-graduation, she spent some time studying at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. A strong Zionist, Erica has staffed two Birthright trips and is participating in the iCenter's Master's Concentration certificate program in Israel Education. She completed a year-long internship with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA), where she analyzed innovative Jewish educational programs around the country and was an active part of the launch for the Jewish Education Change Network web community (jedchange.net). In her free time, Erica tutors children in Hebrew and Tanakh. Her vision at NYU, where she is studying as a Jim Joseph Fellow, is to learn the art of engaging emerging adults in meaningful, exciting, and relevant ways to help them connect and deepen their Jewish identity and connection with Israel.

• Yehudis Kramer
   

  Interests:  Leadership and Administration, Jewish History 

  Yehudis Kramer is from Melbourne, Australia. She recently moved to New York and is enrolled in the Dual Masters' program at NYU in Education and Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Yehudis completed her undergraduate degree majoring in Jewish History and Jewish Civilisations in Monash University. During the years prior to and upon completing her degree, she worked for the United Jewish Education Board in Melbourne, Australia creating Hebrew School curriculums and for the Jewish Children Museum in Brooklyn, NY as an after school program coordinator. She also spent time teaching Jewish Studies to junior high school students in Morristown, New Jersey, and in Manhattan Beach, California. Since moving to NY, Yehudis has been very involved volunteering her time and skills to organizing events and educational programs for Young Jewish Professionals in New York City.

• Lea New
   

  Interests: Teaching Jewish History in High Schools, Jewish History

  Lea New was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her BA in history from Stern College for Women in 2008. Lea is currently working towards a dual MA in Hebrew & Judaic Studies and Education & Jewish Studies at NYU, where she is studying as a Jim Joseph Foundation Fellow and a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. Lea recently joined the Menachem Education Foundation as curriculum consultant on their school leaders program, and works part time at the Roman Vishniac Archive at the International Center of Photography, developing curricula based on Vishniac's oeuvre. She is passionate about the teaching of history and ameliorating poverty through education work.

• Shifra (Staiman) Friedman
   

  Interests:  Teaching Bible, Informal Education, Special Education 

  Shifra (Staiman) Friedman is a second year dual M.A. student and a Jim Joseph Fellow. Before attending NYU, she graduated with a B.A. in Judaic studies from Stern College's S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program.

  Shifra has been involved in formal educational endeavors over the past few years, including as a Hebrew school teacher and a teaching fellow at a local high school. In September '11 she will begin her second year as an assistant teacher of Judaic studies at SAR Academy in Riverdale, NY, where she will work with the 6th grade.

  She also has always had a love for informal education, which was fostered at Camp Moshava in Indian Orchard, PA, where she worked as a counselor and division head. She spent the past two summers at Bnei Akiva’s Moshava Ba’ir day camp, first as an informal educator and then as Educational Director.

  She lives in Washington Heights, NY with her husband Noam.

• Layah Steinberg Blacksberg
   

  Interests: Jewish Leadership and Programming 

  Layah Steinberg Blacksberg is a graduate of the M.A. in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University. Before coming to NYU, Layah worked on a research study for the University of Utah looking at longevity in the elderly population. In 2006, Layah was honored with a Gold Star Award from the Human Development Honor Society for her outstanding work in social research. Since moving to New York, Layah has been involved with the early learning center at the the Chabad of North East Queens. Layah obtained her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Utah. She currently works as the Program Coordinator of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America.  

• Lawrence Szenes-Strauss
   

  Interests: Education, Special Education, Hebrew Bible 

  A native New Yorker, Lawrence Szenes-Strauss received his B.A. in music from Brandeis University, and his Master of Sacred Music and investiture as a hazzan from the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was a two-time recipient of both the Cantors Assembly Hazzanut Study Award and the Cantors Assembly Richard H. Holzer Memorial Prize. During his training he served for three years as the student cantor at Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, NY, where he taught both typical and special needs learners in the Hebrew school and benei mitzva programs-an experience that was an important motivator in his decision to pursue a degree in education. He has been involved with the Ramah camping movement since 2005, and has served in the capacities of storyteller, guitar and harmonica teacher, outdoor specialist and challenge course facilitator. He enjoys baking bread, playing chess and riding his bike on the Hudson River Greenway with his wife, special educator Terri Machtiger. 

• Ilana Weltman
   

  Interests: Holocaust and Museum Education, Supplementary Education and Leadership, Curriculum Development, Jewish Literature 

  Ilana Weltman, a Jim Joseph Fellow in NYU's Dual MA in Education and Jewish Studies & Hebrew and Judaic Studies, grew up in metropolitan Detroit, where she first began teaching in a Hebrew school during her first year of high school. After graduating from Michigan State University, Ilana moved to Jacksonville, Florida to teach full time at a middle school, where she taught sixth grade critical thinking and eighth grade U.S. history. She has staffed Birthright Israel trips, participated in the University of Florida's Summer Holocaust Institute for Florida Teachers, tutored, and worked in the summer of 2009 as the Judaica Director at Camp Seneca Lake. In New York, she taught Hebrew and Judaica at the New Shul and Shaare Zedek. Ilana also enjoys giving gallery tours to diverse groups at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. In 2010-2011 Ilana was deeply involved with curating and educating the public on the Art/Memory/Place: Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire exhibition at NYU's Grey Gallery. Ilana’s academic interests include Holocaust history, Holocaust education, twentieth century Jewish history, and museum education.

• Evan Zauder
   

  Interests: Educational Administration, Classroom Teaching 

  Evan Zauder is a Dual Masters student and a Jim Joseph Fellow in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU. After high school graduation from CHAT in Toronto, Canada, he went on for two years of study at the renowned Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem's Old City. He continued his education at Yeshiva University, achieving a BA (with honours!) in Political Science and a minor in Hebrew Language. Upon his arrival in New York, he began working for Bnei Akiva of New York as a Regional Director, and quickly moved his way up the ranks at Bnei Akiva to director of the In-School Programming division. He is the Director of Youth Programming at The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and he spends his summers working for Bnei Akiva of North America, most recently directing a post-tenth grade summer program in Israel. Evan is also founding and current Director of the Yeshivat HaKotel Alumni Association of America.