CENTER FACULTY AND STAFF
Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Mandel Professor of Jewish Education at Brandeis, is the Director of the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education. Before coming to Brandeis in 2001, she served on the faculties of the University of Chicago and Michigan State University, where she directed innovative teacher education programs and did research on teaching and learning to teach. She also taught at the Hebrew University. Her most recent book, Transforming Teacher Education: Reflections from the Field, co-authored with former Michigan State colleagues, was published in January 2007 by Harvard Education Press.
Nora Abrahamer is Senior Associate Director of Operations and Development. Nora brings extensive administrative experience and a deep commitment to Jewish education to her work at the Mandel Center. For the past 17 years, she was Associate Director of Hillel at Boston University. She has also served as Director of Camping Services and Director of Grossman Camp of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston. Additionally, Nora is an experienced teacher and reading specialist, with a BA in English Literature from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a Masters of Education in Elementary and Remedial Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Gloria Athanas is Senior Executive Coordinator at the Mandel Center. She provides administrative support to the director of the Center, and general support to the Center. Gloria joins us from Simmons College, where she served as Assistant to the Vice President in the Office of Advancement for seven years. Prior to that she was employed by Boston Medical as Assistant to the Director. In addition to these and other professional experiences, Gloria holds a BA in Education from Curry College.
Judy Elkin, Senior Jewish Educator, is program leader of the Elementary MAT (DeLeT) Program. A graduate of MTEI, Judy was a consultant at the Bureau of Jewish Education in Greater Boston where she directed professional development programs for family educators and education directors. She was the founding director of Ramah Family Camp in New England and taught as an adjunct lecturer in the Hornstein Program and the Whizin Institute for Family Education. Her article, "Tough Questions" appeared in the February 2004 issue of Sh'ma.
Valorie Kopp-Aharonov, Senior Executive Administrator, provides administrative support to the Mandel Center. She relocated to Boston from Tel Aviv, Israel where she worked as a speech pathologist for 10 years, was employed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister's Office for several years and, most recently, held positions in Israeli high-tech companies. Valorie earned a BA in Linguistics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MS in Communication Disorders from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Jon A. Levisohn, Assistant Professor of Jewish Education at Brandeis, is Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center. His research and teaching in philosophy of education focuses, in particular, on understanding the interpretation of texts, both historical and sacred, in the context of teaching and learning. His recent publications include "Patriotism and Parochialism: Why Teach American Jewish History, and How?", Journal of Jewish Education 70:3 (2004) (download PDF), "How to Do Philosophy of Religious Education," Religious Education 100:1 (2005) (download PDF), "Ideas and Ideals of Jewish Education: Initiating A Conversation on Visions of Jewish Education," Journal of Jewish Education 71:1 (2005), "A Plea for Purposes," Jewish Educational Leadership (Fall 2005), and "Extending the Conversation on Visions of Jewish Education," forthcoming in Journal of Jewish Education 71:3 (2005). At the Mandel Center, he directs the research initiative entitled "Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy in Jewish Studies."
Marcie Quaroni is Senior Events and Projects Coordinator for the Mandel Center. She has previous administrative experience in technology and healthcare settings. She studied at the Prozdor of Hebrew College and is a Brandeis alumna.
Israel Scheffler is Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center. He is also the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education and Philosophy Emeritus at Harvard University. A co-editor of Visions of Jewish Education, his 17th book, Gallery of Scholars: A Philosopher's Recollections, was published last fall. Professor Scheffler taught philosophy as a member both of the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University from 1952 until his retirement in 1992. He founded the Philosophy of Education Research Center at Harvard in 1983. When the research center was closed in 2003, Is established the Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia at the Mandel Center. His main interests lie in the philosophical interpretation of language, symbolism, science, and education.
Rebecca Silvera Sasson is co-leader, with Judy Elkin, of the DeLeT/MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) program. Rebecca is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and received a masters degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is currently working on her doctorate. Rebecca did her undergraduate work at Yale University in psychology while getting certified as an elementary teacher at Southern Connecticut State University. She has taught in public and Jewish schools, and in a pre-school setting for developmentally delayed children. She is fluent in Hebrew and has skills in clinical supervision as well as curriculum design and implementation.
Eran Tamir is the post-doctoral research fellow at the Mandel Center. A sociologist and an educational policy analyst, his research focuses on the social context of educational policy, teacher certification policy analysis, teacher professionalism in religious and public urban schools, and the politics of education reform. Eran is the co-author of two recent publications, “Who Should Guard the Gates? Evidentiary and Professional Warrants for Claiming Jurisdiction,” (Journal of Teacher Education) and “Mapping the Challenges to Teacher Education Establishment” (in press). At the Mandel Center, he is working on several articles and book chapters concerning teacher certification and educational politics; Choosing to Teach, a collaborative research project comparing new teachers’ decisions to teach in Jewish, Catholic and public schools; and additional projects. Eran is the recipient of a two-year Spencer Research Training Grant and fellowships from Michigan State University and Tel Aviv University.
David J. Weinstein is Communications Specialist at the Mandel Center. He is guiding the Center’s internal communications and outreach initiatives. David has taught English at high schools in New York and Massachusetts, and most recently was coordinator of communications at the Jewish Women’s Archive. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University, and holds an Ed.M. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where his studies focused on school leadership and education reform.
PROJECT FACULTY AND STAFF
Sarah Birkeland is a Senior Research Associate for the Induction Partnership in Jewish Day Schools. Sarah received her doctorate in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MA in Education Psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver. Sarah is a research affiliate with the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is co-author of Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive in our Schools (Jossey-Bass, 2004).
Heidi Chapple is a reading instructor and mentor in the DeLeT program and teaches 1st grade at the Rashi School in Newton. Heidi has also mentored graduate students from Wheelock College and Lesley University.
Jacob Cytryn is a doctoral candidate in Jewish Studies and Education at Brandeis, and a research assistant at the Mandel Center. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Jacob has a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He taught Limudei Qodesh and math for three years at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in New York City. He also serves as the year-round Program Director for Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.
Susan P. Fendrick is Senior Research Associate for the Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy Initiative. She is a Conservative rabbi and an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship program. Sue has been a teacher of adult Jewish education in a variety of settings, including the National Havurah Committee Summer Institutes and the Institute for Contemporary Midrash. She was the founding editor of SocialAction.com and managing editor of MyJewishLearning.com. Her writing has appeared in The Women's Torah Commentary and The Women's Haftarah Commentary, The Women's Seder Sourcebook, the haggadah A Night of Questions, the journals Sh'ma and Living Text, and in several online publications.
Elie Holzer, visiting scholar (fall 2006), is a teacher and researcher in the DeLeT program. A former high school teacher and member of the MTEI faculty, Elie is an assistant professor of education at Bar Ilan University. For the past four summers Elie has designed and taught in the Beit Midrash for Teachers where he encourages the close study and interpretation of classical Jewish texts. Elie works as a consultant in Jewish education and has taught in a wide variety of Jewish adult learning institutions in Israel and the US.
Shira Horowitz is a DeLeT mentor, a first grade teacher, and a co-leader of the Beginning Teacher Network,sponsored by the Mandel Center. Now teaching first grade at the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School, she spent many years teaching kindergarten at the school. She is currently documenting and writing about her approach to teaching parshat hashavuah to first graders.
Orit Kent is a doctoral candidate in Jewish studies and Jewish education at Brandeis and a teacher and researcher in the DeLeT program. Over the past 14 years, Orit has taught a range of Jewish courses on Bible, Midrash, Jewish prayer and spirituality, American Jewish women’s history to adults, high school students, and elementary school children. Before returning to graduate school, Orit worked as a community organizer in low-income neighborhoods and synagogues. She teaches in and studies the Beit Midrash for Teachers.
Rabbi Daniel Lehmann is a Mandel Center Dissertation Fellow this year. Danny is the Founding Headmaster of Gann Academy-The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston, from which he has just retired, and the Founding Director of BIMA, the Berkshire Institute for Music and Arts (newly relocated to Brandeis University). He was the Founding President of the North American Association of Jewish High Schools and co-founded the Training Institute for Community High Schools of North America sponsored by the Hartman Institute. A recipient of the 2001 Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education, Danny is a Ph.D. candidate in education and Jewish studies at NYU.
Lesley Litman is an instructor in the DeLeT program and the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel in Boston. One of the writers of the new CHAI curriculum for the Union for Reform Judaism, Lesley served as the Regional Educator for the Northeast Council and the national liaison to the Reform day schools of North America. Lesley just completed seven years as advisor and consultant to Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century, a project of the Rhea Hirsch School of HUC-JIR.
Kathy Parnes is a mentor and instructor in the DeLeT program. Kathy teaches Humanities at the Jewish Community Day School and previously served as co-coordinator of the middle school for two years.
Nili Pearlmutter works with DeLeT fellows and MAT students as a field instructor. A co-leader of the Beginning Teacher Network, she also teaches a weekly seminar to MAT students. Nili taught for several years at the Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead and the Cambridgeport School in Cambridge.
Beth Polasky is Conference Coordinator for the Bridging Initiative's Conference on Teaching Rabbinic Literature. She has worked for Ma'ayan, Torah Studies Initiative for Women and the Zamir Chorale, and for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, among other places. She holds an Ed.M. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Beth has been an active lay leader at JCDS, Boston's Jewish Community Day School for the past nine years, where she served as a Trustee, and as Chair of the Parent Association during the school's formative years. She is the Director of the JCDS Kol Echad Choir.
Joe Reimer is an instructor in the DeLeT program, teaching a course on “The Jewish Child as Learner.” Joe also directs the Institute for Informal Jewish Education which provides professional development for informal educators in camps, day schools, synagogues, JCC's and Israel experiences. Joe teaches in the Hornstein Program at Brandeis and is the faculty liaison to the Genesis Program. He has written about moral education, kibbutz education and the synagogue as an educational context.
Faye Ruopp is an instructor in the DeLeT program. Faye has been a secondary mathematics teacher, university instructor, senior project director for NSF professional development programs, principal investigator for a middle school mathematics curriculum (Impact Mathematics), writer for an online algebraic thinking course, and consultant to school districts in selecting and implementing new math curricula.
Rebecca Silvera Sasson joins the Center as co-leader, with Judy Elkin, of the DeLeT/MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) program. Rebecca is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and received a masters degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is currently working on her doctorate. Rebecca did her undergraduate work at Yale University in psychology while getting certified as an elementary teacher at Southern Connecticut State University. She has taught in public and Jewish schools, and in a pre-school setting for developmentally delayed children. She is fluent in Hebrew and has skills in clinical supervision as well as curriculum design and implementation.
Glenda Speyer is a mentor and instructor in the DeLeT Program. Glenda is schoolwide mentoring coordinator and teaches 5th grade at the Rashi School, Boston’s Reform Jewish Day School.
Susie Tanchel is an instructor in the DeLeT program, and was the inaugural Dissertation Fellow at the Mandel Center (2004-2005). Susie is also Associate Head of School for Jewish Education and Professional Development at Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston. She teaches for The Curriculum Initiative’s Bible Institute, and is a Genesis Scholar for Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies.
Vivian Troen is a consultant to the DeLeT program where she teaches the Fundamentals of Teaching seminar and serves as a field instructor. In her consulting work, Vivian focuses on reforming the role of classroom teacher. Equally at home in the classrooms of elementary schools and universities, she teaches graduate seminars, lectures before organizations and associations, and leads workshops on a broad range of subjects. She is a co-founder of the Learning/Teaching Collaborative, an early Professional Development School linking colleges and public schools in partnerships around teacher education. She is the co-author of, Who’s teaching our children? Why the teacher crisis is worse than you think and what can be done about it.