The iCenter Staff and Consultants
iCenter Staff
Natalie comes to the iCenter from The PJ Library®, where she created and led the book and manuscript selection process over the last 5 years. Prior to that, Natalie was the founder of Sippurim: Israel Books for Kids, a nonprofit aimed at developing new books for American children that take place in Israel. While Natalie claims that everything she knows in life she learned as a result of reading children’s books, she does understand that there are many ways to educate and inspire connections. Natalie has a BA from McGill University in Montreal and a Journalism degree from the University of King’s College in Halifax. When not at the iCenter, Natalie is at home in Evanston, IL with her two sons and her husband, Josh.
Naomi comes to the iCenter with a strong passion for education and building Jewish community. After working as a high school English teacher through Teach For America for two years, Naomi is an avid believer that education is the key to building personal identity. Through her work at Hillel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her experience in Israel through Birthright and the Livnot Galilee Fellowship program, Naomi was able to really see the intersection between her passions for education, Judaism, and Israel. As a result, she is committed to sharing this connection with others and is excited to be working at the iCenter.
Aliza's commitment to Israel was originally formed in childhood during family trips to Israel from her home in Toronto, Canada. Since then, Aliza has tried to share her passion with as many people as possible, whether it was during the numerous trips to Israel that she led for high school, college students and young adults, or through her three years working at the Hillel Foundation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, Aliza served as Communications Director for Genesis and BIMA at Brandeis University, two residential summer programs for Jewish high school students. Aliza holds an MBA in Social Policy and Management and an M.A in Jewish Professional Leadership from Brandeis University, as well as a B.A in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario. Aliza constantly has a craving for Burger's Bar, her favorite restaurant in Israel.
Judd is passionate about Israel, Jewish education, and international humanitarian work. He has traveled extensively to Israel as a participant and trip leader with Shorashim and has served as a Jewish educator in numerous capacities. Prior to joining the iCenter, Judd spent several years focusing on international poverty issues while serving as Executive Director of Link Community Development USA, the U.S. division of a global non-profit that works to improve education for children in Africa. For this work, he received the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award. He also worked at Facing History and Ourselves, an education non-profit that works with teachers and students to eliminate anti-Semitism, racism, and prejudice. Judd has a Masters degree in Anthropology and Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies from the University of Illinois. He also studied religion at the University of Oxford as a Visiting Student and Chad Lobdell Scholar, and in India as a Ford Foundation Scholar. Judd and his wife Lindsay live in Chicago.
Israel education has been Anne's personal and professional passion for three decades. As a pioneer in cross-cultural education and teen travel to Eastern Europe and Israel, Anne is the Founder and former Executive Director of Shorashim, a nationally-recognized Israel education organization. She is regarded as the seminal figure in making the mifgash a central component of Israel educational programs, and is the recipient of numerous grants and awards for her pioneering work in this field. Anne received her M.A from the Steinhardt School of Education at NYU, and is a graduate of the Senior Educator Program at the Melton Centre of Hebrew University. She served as Director of Education at Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe, Illinois and taught Hebrew at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, where she developed new methodologies of Hebrew language and culture instruction. Anne also has experience in the world of Jewish youth group and camp settings. Anne resides in Riverwoods, Illinois with her husband Barry and their three children.
Dr. Ginger Malin is an award-winning teacher-educator and innovative practitioner who joins the iCenter after spending the last 15 years as a Professor of Education at Lake Forest College, DePaul University, and most recently, at Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies. She earned her B.S. in Secondary Education from Indiana University and both her M.S. in Literacy and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has published widely on the subjects of student engagement, parent-school partnerships, and educational technology and brings to the iCenter a passion for doing what she loves most - providing meaningful professional development support for all educators.
Cari is excited to be working with the iCenter, where she can share her passion with others in the Jewish community. Prior to joining the iCenter, Cari worked with several nonprofit organizations including Bright Pink and Domestic Abuse Intervention Services. She recently completed her B.A at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied Economics and received a Certificate in Jewish Studies. Cari loves teaching Hebrew words to her nieces and nephew, and treasures receiving bits of wisdom from her grandparents, who are holocaust survivors.
Adam Stewart has been involved with Israel education and teen travel experiences for fifteen years and is the Director of the Goodman Camping Initiative. Adam has taught at the Newberry Library Center for Public Programs and Loyola University Chicago, has lectured on topics in Jewish history and culture, and has served as an educational consultant to a variety of Jewish organizations.
iCenter Consultants
Dr. Barry Chazan is an internationally acclaimed Jewish educator and pioneer in the field of Israel Education, currently serving as Professor of Education and the Director of the Masters in Arts for Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute. Barry is the Founding International Director of Education for Taglit:Birthright Israel. His books and articles deal with moral development and education; philosophy of Jewish education; informal education and Israel and Jewish education. Barry is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards for his pioneering work in the field of Jewish Education.
Clare Goldwater is a British-born Jewish educational consultant and coach with expertise in experiential education. She lived for many years in Israel, where she worked as a tour educator and freelance educator, and developed an academic interest in Jewish educational travel as a developing mode of informal Jewish education. She has developed educational experiences for young adults on the periphery of Jewish life, and has started an innovative model for senior Jewish educators. Clare is also a licensed coach with a focus on leadership development.
Dr. David Bryfman is an Australian born-and-bred Jewish educator who has worked in formal and informal Jewish educational institutions in Australia, Israel, and North America. David has a broad array of educational interests that include Israel education, experiential Jewish education, technology, and Jewish adolescent identity development. David currently serves as the Director of the New Center for Collaborative Leadership at The Jewish Education Project in New York.
Jan Katzew serves as a lead specialist at the Union for Reform Judaism, where his primary focus is Jewish learning. Jan is a rabbi and he earned his doctorate at Hebrew University in Jewish Thought and Education. His relationship to Israel is more personal than professional and more emotional than intellectual. Nevertheless, he has a deep and longstanding commitment to Israel engagement for Jews at all ages, stages, and settings.
Jay Leberman has thirty years of experience in day school education. He currently serves as the Head of School for the Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia, PA. In all of Jay’s work, he has been instrumental in developing and integrating special needs programs for day school families. As Head of School at Perelman, he sent over 100 teachers and school personnel to Israel on various seminars and teacher programs. Jay has degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Oriental Institute, Oxford University.
Rabbi Josh Feigelson serves as Educational Director for Ask Big Questions, a national initiative of Hillel to promote civil dialogue on campuses throughout North America. He is a doctoral student in the Department of Religious Studies at Northwestern University, focusing on the intersection of American Jews and American higher education. From 2005-2011 Josh served as Campus Rabbi at Northwestern Hillel, and currently serves as a spiritual leader of the Evanston Orthodox Minyan. He is an alumnus of Yale University and was ordained by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Josh blogs about Jewish life and education at www.rabbijosh.com
Dr. Joshua Yarden brings to the iCenter 30 years of experience in Jewish education in a variety of settings, including camping, campus activism, youth movement work and community organizing, and as an officer in the IDF education corps. He has a B.A in Middle East studies from McGill University, an M.A in Judaic studies from the University of Haifa, and a PhD in education, culture and society from the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote his dissertation on cultural transformation through experiential learning.
Lesley Litman has twenty-five years of experience in Jewish education. She is the curriculum design manager for BASIS, an Israel education initiative of the San Francisco Bureau of Jewish Education, the goal of which is to enhance and strengthen Israel education in eleven Bay Area Jewish day schools. She is also currently working with Boston's CJP in the design and implementation of innovative changes in synagogue education and is coordinator of the Executive MA in Jewish Education program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Lesley served as the founding Executive Director of Hebrew at the Center in Boston, MA and, before that, as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel in Boston. Lesley is a doctoral candidate in Jewish education at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Lori B. Sagarin has served as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth Israel in Skokie, Illinois for fifteen years. She is the former president of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), and is also past president of the Chicago Association of Temple Educators. Lori and her husband, Rabbi James Sagarin, are co-authors of Oseh Shalom, published by the URJ press. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and received a Masters degree in Jewish Education with the designation of Reform Jewish Educator (RJE) from Hebrew Union College.
Michael Soberman is the Director of National Initiatives for the Next Generation at the UIA Federations of Canada. Trained both as a lawyer and a teacher, Michael chose to pursue a career in the Jewish world. He previously served as Director of Community Development for the Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario and has fourteen years of experience in the Jewish professional world. Previously, Michael was the Director of CIE, the Federations’ Israel Experience arm, committed to maximizing the number of teens and young adults traveling to Israel on program such as Taglit:Birthright Israel, the March of the Living and high school/youth movement programs. Michael is also the lead educator for the RJCO Holocaust Education Teacher Training program that is offered to faculties of education and school boards across the country.
Vavi Toran was raised in Tel Aviv by a theatrical and artistic family and studied English Literature and Art History at the Hebrew University, and Painting and Drawing at the Bezalel Art Institute in Jerusalem. Vavi joined the Israel Center of the San Francisco-based Jewish Federation in 1996. As the Director of Cultural and Educational Resources of the organization, she helped fashion the Arts and Culture programs that have since become a model locally and nationally. In 2003 she was assigned the position of Director of the Israel Education Initiative, a joint project of the San Francisco-based BJE and the Israel Center. Today, Vavi is an independent consultant, writer, and speaker on Israeli arts, culture and education.
Dr. Zohar Raviv currently serves as the Director of Education for Taglit-Birthright Israel. Prior to that, Zohar served as Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at Oberlin College and as the Hebrew University Florence Melton Scholar to North America. Zohar is a graduate of Bar-Ilan University (B.A, Land of Israel Studies), Brandeis University (joint M.A, Judaic Studies and Jewish Education), and received his PhD in Jewish Thought from the University of Michigan in 2007.
