Wexner Alumnae Cohort
Shani Bechhofer
Principal, Shani Bechhofer Consulting
Nina Bruder
Director, Jewish New Teacher Project, New Teacher Center
nbruder@newteachercenter.org
Nina Bruder is the new Director of the Jewish New Teacher Project, the Jewish day school division of the New Teacher Center, a national non-profit that advances student learning by mentoring beginning teachers and principals. Nina has a background in Jewish non-profit management, having served for almost a decade as the Executive Director of Bikkurim: Advancing New Jewish Ideas and before that at Drisha Institute. Nina holds a BA from Brandeis, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and studied for two years at the Pardes Institute in Israel. She is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alumna.
Shira Epstein
Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, JTS
Shira an assistant professor in the Davidson School of Jewish Education at JTS. Her three foci of research are: arts in education; gender and education; early childhood education. She works closely at JTS with pre-service day school teachers. Shira has authored a curriculum titled “Strong Girls, Healthy Relationships: A Conversation on Dating, Friendship, and Self-Esteem” (JWI, 2006), served as founding director of “Evaded Issues in Jewish Education”, co-created “Educational Jewish Moments” – a methodology for addressing gender issues in schools, and co-chaired UJA-FedNY’s Task Force on the Jewish Woman.
Jenny Goldstein
Director, Donor Engagement, American Jewish World Service
As Director of Donor Engagement, Jenny Goldstein manages a major AJWS grant in India and oversees AJWS donor events, study tours and Global Circle, AJWS’s young professional program. Prior to joining AJWS, Jenny served as an AJWS group leader for several years and worked at New York University, the University of Pennsylvania Hillel and abroad in Jerusalem and in Izmir, Turkey. Jenny holds an M.P.A. and an M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic studies, both from NYU, along with a B.A. in history from Brandeis University. She is a Wexner Graduate Fellowship recipient
Jane Kanarek
Assistant Professor of Rabbinics, Hebrew College
jkanarek@hebrewcollege.edu
Jane Kanarek is Assistant Professor of Rabbinics and Associate Dean of Academic Development and Advising at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. She received her rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Rabbi Kanarek’s research focuses on biblical exegesis in rabbinic literature, legal theory, feminist readings of Talmud, and contemporary Talmud pedagogy. Her book, Biblical Narrative and the Formation of Rabbinic Law, is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. She is currently working on a feminist commentary to the Talmudic tractate Arakhin.
Orit Kent
Senior Research Associate, Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University
okent@brandeis.edu
Orit Kent is a Senior Research Associate at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, where she also teaches in the DeLeT/MAT program. Orit co-designed the Beit Midrash for Teachers at Brandeis and has taught in it since 2003, where she has developed an approach to the teaching of havruta and the close study of student learning. At the Mandel Center, Orit conducts research on collaborative learning, student meaning making and pedagogical approaches to the teaching of texts and draws on her research to help teachers create rich learning environments.
Jennie Rosenn
Vice President, Community Engagement at HIAS
jrosenn@gmail.com
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn is mobilizing the Jewish community to advance HIAS’ work with refugees in the United States and around the world. Prior to coming to HIAS, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn served as the Director of the Jewish Life and Values Program at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, where she played a catalytic role in building the Jewish social justice movement and the field of Jewish service including the creation of the Selah Leadership Training Program and the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable. Prior to her work at the Cummings Foundation, Rabbi Rosenn served as Hillel rabbi at Columbia University and Barnard College. She was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. A founding board member of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps and Repair the World, Rabbi Rosenn also served on the boards of the Jewish Funders Network and New York Jobs with Justice. Rabbi Rosenn has twice been named one of the Forward 50 Jews in America. She lives in New York City with her husband, Rabbi David Rosenn, and their two sons.