Galia Adiv Teacher and Jewish History and Culture Guide Or School, Kfar Oranim [email protected]

Galia Adiv is an innovative Jewish educator who works at the Or School at Kefar H’oranim. She wrote a new program on the subject of the homeland, created a new workbook with an accompanying card game to update students on the Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel from the time of the departure from the walls to the establishment of the state of Israel, and helped the students prepare presentations on what they had learned. All lesson plans created by Adiv were tailored to different ages to learn about Judaism and Zionism. As part of the issues discussed in the culture of Israel and legacy at the 7th & 8th grade, she wrote a learning unit called "Sanhedrin travels in Israel," to engage students in the Sanhedrin and in prayer in relation to Zionist and Jewish values.

Marisa Albert USA Intern World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Marisa Albert is an intern at the World Zionist Organization through the Onward Israel program. She is from Massachusetts and is a rising junior at Brandeis University studying Psychology and Business. She is a Brandeis Bridges Fellow, which is a student-led initiative that strives to connect the Black and Jewish communities on campus through conducting dialogue, events, and traveling to Israel and to the South USA to follow the Freedom Rider’s path during the Civil Rights movement. Marisa was actively involved in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) in high school and first discovered her love of Israel by traveling here with BBYO several summers ago.

Diti Bechor USA North American Coordinator for Morim Shlichim World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Diti Bechor is the North American coordinator for Morim Shlichim (Teaching Emissaries) program in North America and the local representative for The World Zionist Organization. She previously served as a Shlicha and The Midwest Program Director for Young Judea and the Hebrew Programs coordinator at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

A graduate of Tel Aviv University in Management and Economics, she has served as CEO of several organizations in Israel. She was formerly a counselor in the Israel Scouts (Tzofim) and head of Israel Scouts in Yafo. She was also the Head of the PTA in her children’s school for 20 years. Naomi Benedek ISRAEL English Teacher Har Nof Elementary School [email protected]

Naomi Benedek is an English Teacher in Har-Nof Elementary School in Tiberias. She was born in Tiberias and then moved to Misgav-Am in the northern border of Israel. After six years in the kibbutz, her family came back to Tiberias. In the last ten years she has been involved in the jewish Agency’s Partnership 2-gether Projects at ‘Sovev Kinneret’ Region. Experience and responsabilities for joinet youth programs between ‘Sovev Kinneret’ Region and schools from Tulsa and St. Paul. Naomi holds a BA Degree in Education Studies from Bar- Ilan University and an MA Degree in Bible Studies from Haifa University. Naomi is married and has 4 children and 5 grandchildren, with 2 more grandchildren on the way.

Sharon Binnes ISRAEL English Teacher Reut School [email protected]

Sharon Binnes was born and brought up in the northwest of England and came to spend a year in Israel on the WUJS program in Arad in her 20’s. Twenty-seven years later, she is still here! She studied for a Masters in Comparative Literature at Hebrew University and became a certified English teacher. Sharon has been teaching High school English for the last 16 years at the Reut School in Jerusalem, a pluralistic religious community. Sharon is married with 4 children, 2 of whom are doing their military service in the

Israeli army. Sharon belongs to Yedidya, a liberal Orthodox schul in Baka.

Kyle Borenstein CANADA

Director, Student Activities

TanenbaumCHAT [email protected]

Kyle Borenstein, a Toronto, Canada native, spent 2 years studying at Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem before attending University where he received his Bachelors in Business and Management. Upon graduating, Kyle participated in Yeshiva University’s Legacy Heritage Fellowship, which had him teaching students from 6th-12th grade for two years at Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, TX. Simultaneously he completed his Master's Degree from the Azrieli School of Jewish Education. Kyle has spent multiple summers attending the Pardes Summer Curriculum Workshop and will be participating in Yeshiva University’s Experiential Jewish Education Certificate Program beginning June 2015. Kyle currently teaches Rabbinics and Tanach at TanenbaumCHAT, a Community Jewish high school in Toronto. There he is also the Co-ordinator of the Grade 9 Shabbaton Program, leading multiple Shabbaton retreats throughout the academic year. Kyle will be assuming the role of Director of Student Activities in the upcoming academic year. In his free time Kyle plays ice hockey as well as coaches high school ice hockey. Kyle is excited for the opportunity to grow as an educator and to inspire a new generation of Jews, with a love of Torah, Israel and a sense of commitment to the Jewish people. Sandy Borowsky USA Education Director Orangetown Jewish Center [email protected]

Sandra Borowsky has been Orangetown Jewish Center’s Educational Director since 2002. Previously, she was the Principal of Pelham Manor Jewish Center in Westchester County for three years. A year before college, she lived on Kibbutz Hatzerim, near Beersheva. After receiving her B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her M.S. Education from Long Island University, Sandra completed her studies in the first cohort of Leadership Institute for Congregational Principals, a two-year innovative joint program of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion. She was chosen as a Legacy Heritage Summer Fellow and studied at the Conservative Yeshiva of United Synagogue, Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem. Sandra was selected to participate in an exclusive program at the Center Of Israel Education and Emory Institute for Study of Modern Israel that was funded by the Avi Chai Foundation. She received a mini MBA from the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education in managerial skills. Sandra was honored to be chosen and was funded to be one of 20 American educators to study at the Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies summer workshop. Sandra has received numerous grants for her innovative educational curriculum and programming from various organization including United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Foundation of Jewish Camps and the local .

Dr. David Breakstone ISRAEL Vice Chairman World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Dr. David Breakstone is Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Founding Director of Herzl Museum and Educational Center, as well as a member of the Jewish Agency executive. An educator by training, he has also served as Director of the Hebrew University’s Pedagogic Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, as Associate Dean and Director of Education at the Schechter Institute for , and as Director of Ramah Programs in Israel. Dr. Breakstone, who made from the United States in 1974 and earned his doctorate from Hebrew University in the field of Israel education, has published numerous articles, books, and pedagogic materials on the teaching of Israel, Israel-Diaspora relations, and Zionism – all topics on which he lectures extensively. His regular column in the Jerusalem Post, deals primarily with contemporary issues in Israeli society, particularly as they relate to the life of the Jewish community worldwide. He blogs at http://keepdreaminginzion.wordpress.com/.

Ian Brojges CANADA Hillel Director Jewish Federation of Winnipeg [email protected]

Ian was born and raised in Winnipeg by his parents, two brothers and one sister. He was a very involved community member there and attended the Jewish elementary school and Jewish high school in Winnipeg. He studied Jewish Education at York University in Toronto and at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He lived in Calgary for seven years and Toronto for four years. Ian was a teacher at the Calgary Jewish Academy and the Family Program Director at the Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Calgary and is currently the Hillel Director in Winnipeg. Ian is a friendly and passionate professional who is dedicated

to the future of Jewish Education in North America.

Rabbi Lee Buckman CANADA Head of School

TanenbaumCHAT [email protected] Lee Buckman has had two professional careers: one as a congregational rabbi in the 1990’s and the other as a head of school. As head of school, he founded a Jewish day high school in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan in 1999. In 2009, he moved to Atlanta GA to revitalize a failing elementary day school. In 2013, he was appointed head of school of the largest Jewish day high school in North America, an 1100 student school in Toronto called TanenbaumCHAT. In all three cities he has taken great pride in attracting students from a wide range of denominational backgrounds. His leadership has always advanced a strongly Zionist and pluralistic vision. It is a vision that reflects his belief that to the extent one creates multiple entry points into Judaism, more young Jews will connect with their Jewish heritage.

In 1990, Lee graduated rabbinical school from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In 2009, he earned Orthodox semicha in Israel from two different dayanim. He is a fluent Hebrew speaker and writer. He and his wife Rachel, a veteran teacher of limudei kodesh, raised their four sons bilingually. One has made aliyah and serves in the IDF.

Rachel Buckman CANADA Teacher, Judaic Studies Jewish Academy, Atlanta [email protected]

Rachel Buckman is a veteran Judaic Studies teacher who has taught in Jewish day schools in New York, Milwaukee, Detroit, Atlanta and Toronto. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota. She has also studied at Hebrew University and JTS. Rachel has been an early adopter of educational technology. She teaches 5th and 6th grade chumash at the Atlanta Jewish Academy from her home in Toronto. Rachel and her husband, Lee, are the parents of 4 sons. Their son, Avi, is currently serving in the IDF. Babette Cohn USA Assistant Education Director B'nai Israel Congregation [email protected]

Babette Cohn has been the Assistant Education Director at B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville, MD since July 2014. Previously she served as the Principal for students in grades 4-6 at the Temple Rodef Shalom Religious School from in Falls Church VA (2007- 2014), and has worked as a teacher in the Northern Virginia Jewish community for a total of 15 years. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Jewish Studies with an Advanced Certificate in Jewish Education degree at Gratz College. Babette lives in Fairfax, VA with her husband Jonathan. Together they are the proud parents of three children.

Marty Davis ISRAEL Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Marty Davis made Aliyah with his family 34 years ago after serving as the Director of Long Island and Camp Tel Yehudah. In Israel he has worked in the fields of rural and urban development, strategic planning, training, implementation, fundraising, leadership development and donor development. He is an experienced educator in Jewish/Zionist Informal Education. He began working for JIA’s Project Renewal Ashkelon as a Director. This was followed in 1988 by a three year Keren Hayesod shlichut in Great Britain. During the same period, the Israel Foreign Ministry sent him into the FSU to gather information, set up groups, etc. He has spent a considerable amount of time speaking on behalf of the Misrad Hasbara and spoke at over 500 venues in the UK on the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. In 1991 he became Managing Director of the British Joint Israel Appeal’s Israel operation. In December 1997 he joined the Jewish Agency (JAFI) under contract as a senior consultant. During his period at the Agency he edited the Catalogue for People to People programs, wrote and edited the first Overseas Needs and Assessment Survey. From 1999-2001 he was Executive Director for the Israeli Masorti (Conservative) Movement. In August 2001 Marty Davis accepted a four year Schlichut in Ottawa, Canada to serve as the Shaliach for Community. Upon his return to Israel in 2005, he joined the World Zionist Organization as the Director General of the Department for Zionist Activities. Today he is the Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chairman. He is a consultant and teacher to non-profit organizations and bases his work on building community. He is a passionate Jew, Israeli, and Zionist. He is married to Terri and they have three children and two grandchildren.

Racheli Deutsch USA Hebrew and Jeudaics Teacher Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School [email protected]

Racheli Deutsh attended Boston’s Maimonides school K-12, spent a year abroad in Midreshet Harova, received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Yeshiva University, and received her Masters degree from Brandeis University in education. Currently, Racheli lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and teaches 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade Hebrew and Judaics at Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. Racheli was raised in an Israeli home, was very involved with NCSY, and in college, she participated in a CJF trip to Israel. She spent several summers working at and studying languages at Middlebury College, focusing most of my time with the School of Hebrew. She has a strong love for Israel, is proud to be a Jew, and feels privileged to be given opportunities to inspire others to keep their and future generations’ Jewish flames alive.

Rabbi Mordy Dinerman USA Director, Curriculum Development, Editor-in-Chief The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute [email protected]

Mordechai Dinerman serves as director of curriculum development for the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and is editor-in-chief of its Flagship courses.

Dr. Joe Freedman ISRAEL Freelance Educational Tours [email protected]

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Joe holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a doctorate in education from Teacher's College, Columbia University. He came on Aliya to Israel from the USA in 1980 and lives with his family in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. For many years he was Director of the Ramah Israel Seminar and then Director of the Ramah Programs in Israel until 2012. Previously, Joe worked on the Jewish Values curricula at the Melton Centre for Jewish Education in the Diaspora at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1996 he earned his tour guide license issued by Israel's Ministry of Tourism.

Joe has been the Tour Educator/Guide for many educational tours, and has experience working with all age groups and religious backgrounds - from Birthright-Israel experiences to senior adult trips. Moreover, Joe has also designed and led educational tours in Poland and Spain. He often uses Israeli music in his guiding and he is also a certified Israeli folk dance instructor. Joe is married to Sue, a geriatric social worker; they have four children and nine grandchildren - at last count. Nancy Glinter CANADA Judaic Studies Teacher Gray Academy of Jewish Education [email protected]

Nancy Glinter was born in 1953, in Winnipeg, Canada and attended and Jewish Camp. In 1971, she traveled to Israel and volunteered on Kibbutz Hamadia for the summer, then attended Hebrew University for the year. Nancy returned to Winnipeg and completed Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees and married Harry Glinter. She taught in Winnipeg School Division as a grade 1 teacher from 1975 – 1981, then worked in a Chabad school, then worked for a year in a combined grade 2-3 classroom in a Hebrew bilingual program. She has been teaching at a community day school, Gray Academy of Jewish Education, since 2003. This school places a high priority on the place of Israel. She has since made many trips to Israel, visiting with family, traveling through the country, and in 2010, studied at Pardes for three weeks. Two of her children have made Aliyah.

Debora Goldstein CHILE

Kindergarten Teacher Instituto Hebreo Dr. Chaim Weizmann [email protected]

Debora Goldstein was born in Mendoza, Argentina and attended a Primary Jewish School there. She graduated as Preschool Teacher in Mendoza and has been working at Escuela Israelita Dr. Max Nordeau for twelve years, both at Preschool and Primary levels..She attended Machon Grinberg in Israel for a year and graduated as a Hebrew and Jewish Studies Teacher for the Diaspora.She then moved to Chile to work at Instituto Hebreo Dr. Chaim Weizmann and after two years working as a “ganenet” she was awarded a scholarship to study at Mechanchim Bechirim progeam in Israel at the Hebrew University. She also attended the Mofet program in 2008. All along her teacher´s career she has attended several development programs and seminars on the field of Jewish Studies, Hebrew, Jalav Udvash, Teaching Israel and studies related to preschool years education. She is now a Kindergarten teacher at Instituto Hebreo, Chile.

Ella Goren ISRAEL English Teacher Megiddo High School [email protected]

Ella Goren lives in Kibbutz Ein HaShofet. After her combat military service, Ella worked in the field of informal education for 5 years. She then received a BA as a double major in English Literature and Non-formal education. Ella is currently an English teacher and a home room teacher at Megiddo High – this is her third year at the school. She got married in September 2013 and her husband is a first and second grade teacher. Ella plays the guitar and paints. Professor Lisa Grant USA Jewish Education Professor Hebrew Union College [email protected]

Lisa D. Grant is Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Her research and teaching interests focus on adult Jewish learning, the professional development of Jewish leaders and the place of Israel in American Jewish life. She has published widely on these topics in a range of academic journals, books, and teaching guides. Most recently, she co-authored a policy brief with Daniel Marom and Yehudit Werchow on the purposes of Israel education as part of the Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education that can be found at: http://casje.com/israel-education/purposes-of-israel-education/

Tamara Guggenheim GERMANY Principal Jewish Community Dueseldorf [email protected]

Tamara Guggenheim is the principal of the Jewish Community Dueseldorf. She is also a teacher for Jewish Studies. Her Israel curriculum includes teaching about the history, political situation, and everyday life in Israel.

Sergio Herskovits CHILE Principal Instituto Hebreo, Chile [email protected]

Sergio Herskovits is a Lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires and has an M.A. degree in “Philosophy of Education” from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is a fellow graduated from The Jerusalem Fellows, a prestigious program at the Mandel Leadership Institute. Mr. Herskovits was headmaster at Tarbut School, Buenos Aires, a K-12 school with 1400 students. He was Director of Jewish Studies at Bialik College in Melbourne, Australia, where he was also de CEO of the United Jewish Education Board. Mr. Herskovits is currently the Principal of Instituto Hebreo Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a K-12 school with more than 1400 students in Santiago de Chile. He is a member of Harvard University’s fellowship program “The future of learning” and he is Vice President of local Friends of Hebrew University. Sergio is married and has 3 children. Judy Jaffe USA Director of Congregational Learning Shomrei Torah Wayne Conservative Congregation [email protected]

Judith Kuper Jaffe is the Shomrei Torah Wayne Conservative Congregation’s first Director of Congregational Learning. Prior to this year, Jaffe was the DOCL at Shomrei in Montclair for seven years and completed six years as principal of Beth Am Temple Religious School in Pearl River, NY. Raised in Manhattan, Jaffe attended The Ramaz School and Syracuse University, where she earned a double degree in Mass Communications from the S.I. Newhouse School and history from the Maxwell

School. After many years of teaching religious school, serving as a family educator and youth advisor, Jaffe earned her MAT in Jewish Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson in July 2007 and received both a Principal's License from The National Board of License for Teachers and Principals in Jewish Schools in North America and one of the very first to be granted the Conservative Jewish Education (CJE). Jaffe is a member of the first cohort of HUC-JIR- JTS Leadership Institute Synagogue Congregational Educators. She now lives in Bergen County, New Jersey with her husband of 36 years and has two daughters and a grandson.

Aviva Janus USA Education Director/Teacher Shaare Tefila [email protected] Bnai Israel Congregation Aviva Janus is originally from Stony Brook, New York. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After university, Aviva spent time in Israel enhancing her Jewish education, learning Hebrew, and working. Aviva has lived in Silver Spring Maryland for the past 16 years. Aviva currently serves as the Education Director for a K-12 experiential religious school in Olney, MD. She also teaches Israel studies at a large conservative Congregation in Rockville. Aviva considers it an immense privilege and awesome responsibility to be guiding her many students in their Jewish Education. Steve Kerbel USA Consultant Steven Kerbel Educational Consulting [email protected]

Steve Kerbel is the principal of Steven Kerbel Educational Consulting in Rockville, Maryland. Before this, he served as Director of Education for Congregation B’nai Tzedek and Ohr Kodesh Congregation in Chevy Chase, Maryland for a combined 14 years. Prior to this Steve was the inaugural Retreat Director of Capital Camps & Retreat Center. Steve has also been a full-time faculty member at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville and an educational consultant to the Seaboard Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Steve is currently a national vice president of the Jewish Educators Assembly, the organization of conservative movement Jewish educators. Steve earned a law degree and was in the private practice of law for eight years. Steve is an alum of University of Maryland, College Park, where he met his wife, Judy, and they have two daughters. Among Steve’s consulting activities, he facilitates wine tastings featuring Israeli wines and teaches about the geography of diversity of Israel through its wines and wine makers.

Dr. Marc Kramer USA Co-Executive Director of RAVSAK

RAVSAK, The Jewish Community Day School Network [email protected]

Dr. Marc N. Kramer is the Co-Executive Director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, the international association of Jewish schools devoted to serving children and their families from across the spectrum of religious practice. RAVSAK encompasses over 130 schools and nearly 35,000 students. Marc earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Near East and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, a Master’s Degree in social work from Columbia University, a Master’s Degree in Judaica from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and both a Master’s and Doctorate in education from Columbia University- Teachers College. He is the recipient of the Sachar Award for academic research, the Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship,the 2007 Covenant Award, and most recently, the Dr. Benjamin J. Shevach Memorial Award from Hebrew College of Boston.

Dr. Simcha Leibowich USA North American Representative World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Dr. Simcha Leibovich, The WZO’s North American representative, oversees the operations of the World Zionist Organization in North America. Dr. Leibovich is a teacher trainer and a co-editor of the Encyclopedia for Social Educational Activities. He has served as Dean of Informal Education at Orot- Academic College for Education and Givat Washington College of Education for over 3 decades. For 30 summers, he ran “Mercaz,” the educational programming center at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, and developed the Ramah Program Bank for Online Educational Activities for the Ramah Camps in North America. A consummate advisor and supervisor to youth movements across Israel and the world, he founded the Outdoor Center for Leadership at Neot Kedumim (Bible Lands Reservation), which he directed for over a decade. Becky Lerner USA Hebrew Coordinator and Teacher Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School [email protected]

Becky Lerner is from Indiana and was active in Young Judaea. She graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in Near East Languages and Cultures and a B.S. in Psychology. After spending a year of college in the One Year Program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she lived and worked in Israel for three more years, then returned to the States to pursue a graduate degree. Becky completed an M.A. at Washington University, and has taught Hebrew at all different levels in St. Louis, Missouri for nearly 20 years. She is in her 10th year in day school education and currently coordinates Hebrew and Israel Education, and teaches Hebrew in Kitah Alef, at the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. In the summer of 2014, she participated in the First International Dialogue on the Israel Educator, and is the iNfuse Coordinator for SMJCS through the iCenter. She is married with three children.

Leiba Levine USA Teacher Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School [email protected]

Leiba Levine has been an advocate of Israel since her college abroad experience on the MACHON program. She is a first grade educator at a day school and integrates Israel into all of her subjects. Leiba recently taught the sustainability of resources at Kibbutz Lotan. She has taught in supplementary schools, three different day schools, and many religious schools. Her daughter has been to Israel twice and is currently studying at the University of Haifa, her son will go on his second trip this year. This will be Leiba’s fourth trip to Israel, and each trip has given her new and important experiences.

Bernice Malka ISRAEL Living Bridge Coordinator The Jewish Agency for Israel [email protected]

Bernice Malka was born in Scotland and made Aliyah with her parents at age seven. She has a BA in informal education and sociology and is a graduate of the Master’s degree executive program of Tel Aviv University in Public Policy. She has been a civil servant all my professional life and many years were devoted to working with youth including youth at risk. As an employee of the Yokneam municipality between the years 1994- 2006 she had the privilege of being involved in the Partnership between Yokneam Megiddo, Atlanta and St. Louis from the beginning. Since 2012 she has been the living bridge coordinator of the partnership and is also responsible for the Global School Twinning program connecting between Yokneam Megiddo and Atlanta. In her spare time she enjoys reading and sports and has participated in the Israel women's Triathlon once a year since 2012. Susana Meyohas CHILE Hebrew and Jewish Studies Teacher Instituto Hebreo Dr. Chaim Weizmann [email protected]

Susana Meyohas studied at a bilingual Jewish School in Chile, which included Hebrew, Torah and Jewish Studies. She studied Civil Engineering at USACH University in Chile. At the Michlala she completed her Hebrew and JS Teacher degree. She’s been working at Instituto Hebreo for 20 years now, and during her career she attended several development Seminars and Congresses on Hebrew learning, teaching Torah in the diaspora, Shabbat, teaching Israel, among others. Susana now teaches Grades 2, 3 and 4 using the Tal Am program and has attended Talam seminars in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Santiago.

Hedda Morton USA Director of Congregational Learning Institution Adath Israel Congregation [email protected]

Hedda Morton has been the Director of Congregational Learning at Adath Israel Congregation (Lawrenceville, NJ) since 2001. She has developed and leads an award-winning religious school and adult education programs. She has initiated, planned, and co-led congregational trips to Israel and developed major events, such as the annual Sacks-Wilner Holocaust Education Program. Both Adath Religious School and Mrs. Morton have been honored with Solomon Schechter Awards (USCJ), JEA/Torah Aura Curriculum and Administration Awards, and the NJ Coalition for Inclusive Ministries Religious Educator Award. In addition, Adath Israel Religious School’s Resource Center has received national attention for its Dalet Dog program which uses therapy and service dogs to encourage children to learn to read Hebrew and prayers. Prior to her current position, she served in Jewish educational faculty and leadership positions in community and synagogue schools, day schools, and Jewish summer camps. She has been an active member of the Jewish Educators Assembly (JEA) for over 20 years in numerous positions including its national President. She participated in Young Judaea’s Year Course, earned BA (University of Pittsburgh), MA (University of Colorado), and MAJEd (Gratz College) degrees. She was also among the first to be recognized for her professional and educational accomplishments when she received the Conservative Jewish Educator (CJE) credential. She continues her personal and professional development and love of learning through seminars, workshops, and conferences, as well as classes in both formal and informal settings. Monica Nudelstejer MEXICO Preschool Principal Colegio Israelita de Mexico ORT [email protected]

Monica Nudelstejer is a preschool prinicpal and the educational philosophy at her school is the “Project Approach” which is based on teaching through interaction, research, thinking skills, problem solving, and communication, among other things, extending the classroom to each student's home, the community, our country and the world. Some of the pillars that form our values as an institution is Judaism, which reflects the philosophy of love and commitment to Israel. Monica had the opportunity to participate in the Mejanjei Israel seminar, will allows her to take responsibility, as a community leader, from her position as director and guide children who are the future of our community, encourage them to become active participants in favor of the state of Israel, bringing their culture, traditions, and its immense capacity of invention and commitment with the army and with all their nation, in every project they work on throughout the year, and thus reflect what a Jewish school must offer in their curriculum.

Robert Oster USA Teacher Temple Beth El [email protected]

Robert Oster has been an educator and lawyer for 35 years. He spent a year before college studying and working in Kibbutz Sde Nehemiah near Kiryat Shemonah and went on to graduate magna cum laude from Boston University with a BA in English Literature and studied in the prestigious University Professors program. After college, Robert was awarded a JD degree from St Louis University. He

currently practices law with one daughter, Sarah Oster and is an adjunct professor at Johnson and Wales University and Bryant University in Law Subjects. Robert also had a 20 year teaching career at temple Beth el religious school in Rhode Island in Israel and holocaust education. He attended advanced study of Israel programs with Ken Stein at Emory University and advanced Holocaust study at Yad Vashem . He lives in Lincoln, Rhode Island with his wife and five daughters.

Rabbi Dubi Rabinovitz USA Director The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute [email protected]

Rabbi Rabinowitz is the Director of the Sinai Scholars Society and the International Initiative branches at the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI). Rabbi Rabinowitz directs a network of 103 Sinai Scholars Society chapters for university students on campuses across the United States and Canada, and coordinates the annual Sinai Scholars National Jewish Retreat, and the Mentor-Protégé Program. Rabbi Rabinowitz oversees international operations at JLI, establishing learning centers and providing educational materials to Jewish communities throughout Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and a number of Spanish-speaking countries. Previously, he held various management and business-process analyst positions. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Touro College in Jerusalem. Rabbi Rabinowitz received his Rabbinic ordination in 1993 from Tomchei Temimim in Brooklyn, NY. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and 6 children. Giora Rana ISRAEL English Instructor Ministry of Education, Emek HaHula Regional Council [email protected]

After completing his active duty in the army, Mr. Rana joined the Home Front Command – Israel Defense Forces as a reservist and served in several positions, such as, Search and Rescue Company Commander in a SAR Battalion, Population Behavior Officer in a SAR Battalion, Population Officer of a Northern Sub-District and currently the Head of the Population Branch of the Northern District and currently holds the position of the Director of the International Crisis Management Seminars and Workshops for last five years in the Home Front Command – Israel Defense Forces.

Mr. Rana had been a Social Science researcher and lecturer at the Tel Aviv University and the Open University between the years 1986-1992. Mr. Giora Rana has been an English language teacher and instructor for more than a decade in schools and colleges. Today, Mr. Rana is teaching in the Emek Ha- Hula Regional Comprehensive High School in Kibbutz Kfar Blum. He is also the Regional English Language Instructor for schools in the north. Mr. Giora Rana is the director of Ground Rules Solutions which specializes in Resilience Building /Crisis and Disaster Management issues. He is the Head of the Disaster Management Division of the International Global Medical Horizon Ltd. Mr. Rana is a senior HFC - IDF (Home Front Command) authorized trainer to the Local Authorities, Government Ministries and Agencies in matters involving Public Preparedness for Emergencies, Civil Defense, Emergency Preparedness and Readiness, Media Planning for Emergencies, and Resilience Building and Management during Emergencies. He has been a Crisis Management Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the MASHAV division for the more than 10 years in Crisis and Disaster Management issues in the African and Asian Continents.

Lisa Richman USA Judaic Studies Teacher and Coordinator Perelman Jewish Day School [email protected]

Lisa Richman has been a professional Jewish educator in the Philadelphia area for over four decades. She has been employed at the Perelman Jewish Day School – Stern Center since 1976. She is currently in the Ed.D. Program at Gratz College. She also currently works at her synagogue, Temple Beth Hillel Beth El and was the Education Director for many years at Camp Ramah in the Poconos. Lisa’s daughters both spent time in Israel over the years with their synagogue, school, and youth group and on their own. Her younger daughter made Aliya immediately upon her graduation from high school in 2012 and recently completed her service in the IDF. Lisa lived in Israel in the early 1980s and has maintained close connections with family and friends there. Eran Rosenberg USA Judaic Studies Coordinator Columbus Jewish Day School [email protected]

Eran Rosenberg, is on the faculty of the Columbus Jewish Day School in Ohio where he serves as Judaic Studies Coordinator and teaches fourth to sixth grades Judaic studies and Hebrew language. He is a recreational Jewish educator who makes the learning into an experiential and fun one. His development of pedagogic resources, curriculum, and assessment materials has been featured in numerous workshops in Columbus and other Jewish communities. Eran has been involved in strengthening the relations with teachers and students of Kfar Saba as part of Columbus Jewish Federation and JAFI's P2G program. He has served as the chair of the Educational Bridge program for several years and has been involved in other programs within the partnership as well. Eran is involved in several local synagogues where he leads services and Torah reading, conducts children's programs during Shabbat and holidays, and prepares students for B’nai Mitzvah.

Olga Sacal Bissu MEXICO Hebrew Teacher Sefaradi School [email protected]

Olga Sacal Bissu has been a teacher at the Jewish elementary Sefaradi School in Mexico for the past 6 years. She teaches tradition and Jewish History. She was born and raised in Mexico City and graduated from a Jewish High School. Olga holds a degree in Communication Science from Anahuac University with a post degree in Education from the Hebrew University of Mexico.

Claudia Schlesinger MEXICO Teacher, Arts Coordinator Colegio Hebreo Tarbun [email protected]

Claudia Schlesinger was born in Mexico City and studied K-12 in a Jewish School called Naye. She was part of an Israeli dance Company called “bamajol,” participated in Habonim Dror, and went to Shnat Hagshara in Kibbutz Ein Guev. She made aliya with her husband got her BA at Tel Aviv University in special education and a 2-year course for markidim. Claudia loves teaching and working with kids and is the proud mother of 3 children.

Lisa Schwartz USA Shorashim Religious School Director Temple Israel Center, New York [email protected]

Lisa Schwartz has taught at a local Hebrew Day School and synagogue school for the past 15 years in Rockland County, NY. After her first family trip to Israel at age 17, she spent 5 months learning in Jerusalem, and then spent 5 months on a new kibbutz in the Arava Valley named Kibbutz Yahel. After completing college in the US, she made Aliyah and lived with her husband in Arava for 10 years. She returned to the US in 1992 and received her Masters in Teaching. Israel and Jewish education is her passion, and she feels fortunate to be able to work in this field on a daily basis.

Limor Shacham USA Hebrew Teacher Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School [email protected]

Limor Shacham teaches Hebrew to fourth through eighth grades at Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School. She coordinates the eighth grade trip to Israel and integrates Israel education through the middle school elective course offerings. Limor is completing her 14th year teaching at Mirowitz. Limor holds a BA in education and literature, and a teaching certificate from Ben Gurion University.

Tzofia Shapira Barchad ISRAEL Education Coordinator The Jewish Agency for Israel [email protected]

Tzofia Shapira Barchad lives in Hazorim, near Tiberius. She did her national service as a tour guide and has continued guiding ever since, particularly to Jewish groups from abroad. She now works in the Jewish Agency in the Yokneam Megiddo-Atlanta St. Louis partnership as an education coordinator and is in charge of the school twinning- b’ekita project which connects schools in the region to schools in St. Louis. She also runs the Makabim project, which is a community leadership program with a wide pluralistic context. Michal Shmuel-Lewis USA Hebrew Teacher/Counselor Kadimah School of Buffalo [email protected]

Michal Shmuel-Lewis was born and raised in Israel and received her BA in Education and a teaching license from Seminar Hakibbutzim in Tel-Aviv. She moved to the US in 2001 and graduated in 2006 with a masters’ in education from the University at Buffalo and is a licensed school counselor. She taught English in Israel for seven years in mostly middle school and high school. She has been teaching in Kadimah Jewish day school in Buffalo since 2001. She teaches Hebrew, prepares the students for the NYS regents’ exam, and teaches character education and social skills in the primary and middle school. Israel is an integral part of the curriculum and Hebrew is taught using all four skills. Israel and coordinates the holiday programs in our school. Michal is married and is a mother of 2 girls.

Leticia Sirazi MEXICO Kindergarten Teacher Colegio Hebreo Tarbut [email protected]

Leticia Sirazi runs a kindergarten and teaches Hebrew through through the Chalav Udbash program at the Tarbut Hebrew School in Mexico. Teaching children the bases of Judaism and conveying the customs and traditions of Judaism is a major part of her life. Seeing how the children develop within the school, explore the world, and share their knowledge, insights, and learning makes her feel that she have transmitted her love for the Israeli culture, the country, the language, the community and love of neighbor. She strives to transmit attitudes to help the children be empathetic, caring, daring, thinkers, inquirers, for this is what makes them grow and develop. Prof. Ken Stein USA President of CIE and ISMI and Professor CIE/ISMI at Emory University [email protected]

Ken Stein is the President of the Center for Israel Education (CIE) and the Director of the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel (ISMI). Since 1977, he has taught modern Middle Eastern History, Political Science, and Israel Studies.

The establishment of ISMI in 1998 was the first permanent Institute or Center in the U.S. created for the study of modern Israel. An off-shoot of ISMI, CIE was established in 2008. Ken is the author of four books, numerous papers and scholarly articles, whose expertise focuses on the origins of modern Israel, the conflict, Palestinian history, and U.S.-Israeli relations. Two of his books, The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939 (1984) and Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin and the Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace (1999) have remained standards in their fields. He is the recipient of awards at Emory for teaching excellence, life-long mentoring of students and for internationalizing the curriculum. Ken’s initiatives are responsible for bringing to Emory College ten visiting Israeli professors. His vision and execution are responsible for more than two dozen Center-sponsored workshops for students and educators about modern Israel. Educated at Franklin and Marshall College (BA) and the University of Michigan (two MA degrees and a doctorate in Middle Eastern History), he was an advanced graduate student at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Spring 2006, he was a visiting professor of Political Science at Brown University. He is the primary content author of materials found on the website.

Donna Tarutz USA Jewish Educator, Manager Senior Programming Temple Beth Elohim [email protected] Congregation B'nai Torah JCC of Greater Boston Donna Tarutz is from Boston, Massachusetts. She was awarded her B.A. from Brandeis University in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and History and her Bachelors in Jewish Education from Hebrew College, Newton, MA. At Hebrew College, Donna was selected as the Jubilee Speaker-the Highest Community Service Award and the Highest Academic Award in honor of the Jubilee Celebration. Donna was awarded her Masters of Arts is from the Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service. She has been teaching in Jewish Conservative and Reform supplementary schools for over two decades. She is passionate about Jewish education and guiding children and young adults to love learning, to engage students in the love of learning about their Jewish identity. Donna was the Director of Jewish Education at Camp Pembroke, a Zionist Camp for girls. In 2013, Donna was selected as a Teaching and Technology Fellow by the Boston Jewish Federation to study advanced technologies for integration in the Jewish classroom. Donna also works at the JCC in Greater Boston creating Jewish programming for adults. Hazzan Arlyne Unger USA Cantor/Educational Director Beth Tikvah B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue [email protected]

Hazzan Arlyne Unger earned B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.H.L. in Hebrew Literature and dual M.A. degrees in Jewish Education and in Jewish Music/Cantorial Track from Gratz College. She has been Hazzan for 19 years and Educational Director for 21 years at Beth Tikvah- B’nai Jeshurun in Erdenheim, PA. She has served as adjunct instructor of Hazzanut at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and adjunct instructor of Nusah at Gratz College. She has been on the Executive Council of the National Cantors Assembly and is currently on the Board of the National Jewish Educators Assembly as well as Chairperson of the Cantors Assembly Delaware Valley Region. She is a past President of the Delaware Valley Jewish Educators Assembly, and a past Vice-President of the Women Cantors’ Network.

Atara Volk-Itzchaki ISRAEL Project Manager World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Atara Volk is a project manager in the Vice Chairman’s office at the WZO. Since her military service as a Teacher-Soldier, she has been involved in Jewish Education in different organizations, such as Beit Hatfutsot, Taglit and Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Israel. She studied Hermeneutics at Bar Ilan University for her MA degree, and Psychology and Jewish Art for a BA degree. In addition, she has a teacher certificate and has taught Jewish History and Art History in an Israeli high school. She is married, has a young son and lives in Modiin.

Rich Walter USA Associate Director for Israel Education CIE/ISMI at Emory University [email protected]

Rich Walter is the Associate Director for Israel Education at the Institute for the Study of Modern Israel (ISMI) at Emory University. He oversees the education and community-based work of the Center for Israel Education (CIE) and ISMI, including developing curricula and lesson plans, and sharing strategies for teaching and their implementation. He engages the Atlanta Jewish community, congregations, and Jewish communities across the nation with Israel education initiatives. Receiving his BA in Politics and Near Eastern Judaic Studies and MA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, Rich has extensive experience increasing community involvement in Jewish formal and informal learning for a wide variety of age groups. Prior to joining CIE and ISMI in August 2012, he served as Director for Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven, CT, and as Associate Executive Director for Education and Community Development at the Bureau of Jewish Education in Rhode Island. From 1997 to 2001, he taught at the Alperin Schechter Day School in Providence, RI. Davidi Winograd ISRAEL Advisor to the Vice Chairman

World Zionist Organization [email protected]

Up to a short while ago and for the past 15 years - Director of Short Term Shlichut Programs at The Jewish Agency for Israel (human resource educators and emissaries for short term programs). Davidi sees himself as an accomplished educator and strategic leader with many years of experience in leading and managing programs, training next generations of young Jewish leaders in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. As the founding director of the Short Term Shlichut department, Davidi managed a global education operation responsible for recruiting and training over 1500 Israeli emissaries for Jewish communities and summer camps around the world. Davidi has been responsible for the strong organizational and educational infrastructure of The Jewish Agency Short Term Shlichut Programs, an infrastructure that enabled enormous growth and development and that is consider one of JAFI's prestige programs today. Davidi developed dozens of initiatives such as, partnerships with the IDF and the Division of Security and Social Services at the Ministry of Defense, programs with the generosity of the Avi-Chai and Goodman Foundations for the empowerment of Israel education. Davidi expanded action channels vis-à-vis the Israel public and academic institutions, developed customer and marketing concepts geared toward target population in Israel and around the world and transformed a subsidized program to financially profitable. Davidi has been fortunate to have had the privilege to share a profound experience with over 20,000 young Israeli’s, a broad picture, a mosaic of Israel, comprised of an infinite variety of colors; a world of young people proud of their Jewish and Israeli identity. Davidi's experience is varied and his responsibilities have required knowledge of human resource and career development expertise as well as strong educational experience. Davidi sees himself as an agent for change and seeks to continue impacting and developing action areas for leading non-profit organization in spheres of Jewish peoplehood & social activism by creating inter-organizational partnerships. Currently, Davidi is filling in as acting Adviser to the Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization.