Leadership
& Staff
Pedagogy Committee
Rabbi Yehuda Brandes
President of Herzog College in Gush Etzion and Jerusalem. He is the former head of the Beit Midrash at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem and the author of many books and articles on Talmud, Jewish law, education and Jewish philosophy. In his books "Agada Lema'aseh" and "Mada Toratekha" and many articles, he examines the connection between the Talmudic law and legend, exposing both the philosophical aspects of religious law and the practical aspects of the Talmudic legend.
Rabbi Dr. Howard Deitcher
A faculty member of The Hebrew University’s Melton Center for Jewish Education and a former Director. He served as the director of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Programs as well as the Senior Educators Program at the Hebrew University. He served as the Director of the Florence Melton Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that offers programs in Jewish learning for adults worldwide. In addition, Deitcher serves as the Senior Director of Legacy Heritage Teacher Institutes and is currently directing educational projects in five countries worldwide. He has edited 4 books, and written many articles on philosophy for children, creative approaches to Bible education, and Israel education.
Paul Bernstein
Founding CEO of Prizmah, Center for Jewish day schools in North America. Prior to joining Prizmah, Paul served as CEO of The Pershing Square Foundation, a private family foundation, and as the Global Managing Director of Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), a nonprofit focused on global health, education, and child protection. The preceding years of Paul’s career focused on government, telecoms, and new media. He has also served on the boards of various nonprofits in the UK and the US. Paul holds an MA from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.
Dr. David Bryfman
CEO of The Jewish Education Project. After working in formal and informal Jewish educational institutions in Australia, Israel, and North America, David earned his Ph.D. in Education and Jewish Studies from NYU, focusing on the identity development of Jewish adolescents. David has authored several articles and presented broadly on topics ranging from the Jewish teenage experience, innovation and change in Jewish life, Israel education and more broadly about Jewish education. He is a founder of the annual Jewish Futures conference, helped direct the 2019 study GenZ Now: Understanding and Connecting with Jewish Teens Today, was the lead researcher of the groundbreaking 2016 study, “Generation Now: Understanding and Engaging Jewish Teenagers Today,” and editor of “Experience and Jewish Education,” a compendium of essays written by and for Jewish experiential educators. David is an alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program and the Schusterman Fellowship.
Ariel Cohen Imach
Director of AMIA, AMIA, Central Council of Jewish Education in Argentina ("Vaad Hachinuch"). Ariel ia a sociologist from the University of Buenos Aires. He holds an M.A. in Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a graduated from the Jerusalem Fellows Program of Mandel Institute.
Ariel is a teacher of Jewish content. He is a former Director of the Yeshurun Tora High School in Buenos Aires, Argentina and a former Director of Jewish Studies of the Jaim Weizmann Hebrew Institute in Santiago, Chile.
Dr. Daniel Held
Daniel is the Executive Director of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education, which builds capacity for Toronto’s system of Jewish education and engagement. He has a wide range of experience in strategic philanthropy, conducting research and evaluation to maximize funders’ impact in Jewish education. Daniel holds a doctorate in education from JTS’s Davidson School of Education and is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Previously, he served as the Director of the Educators Track at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, as a senior educator at Brandeis University’s Office of High School Programs, and as a teacher at TanenbaumCHAT, Toronto’s community high school. Daniel has also been a frequent columnist for the Canadian Jewish News.
Miriam Heller Stern, PhD
Vice Provost for Educational Strategy, National Director of the School of Education and Associate Professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, based on the Skirball Campus in Los- Angeles. She is the founder of Beit HaYotzer/the Creativity Braintrust, an initiative based at HUC-JIR designed to catalyze creative thinking and artistic expression through Jewish education and leadership, funded by the Covenant Foundation. Stern has published widely in various academic and professional journals and popular media outlets and is a frequent presenter at academic and professional conferences, on webinars and podcasts. She is called upon as a strategic thinker on national task forces across the sectors of Jewish education. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Sciences, Policy and Educational Practice and her MA in history at Stanford University as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.
Rabbi David Meyer
Executive Director of PaJeS, UK. During his time at PaJeS he has revolutionized the way that Jewish schools interact with and support each other. Under his leadership the organization has committed itself to excellence, innovation and collaboration in Jewish schools. In particular he focuses on areas of strategic development, teaching and learning, and school services to achieve these aims. Rabbi Meyer has previously held leadership positions including Executive Headteacher of Hasmonean High School and Executive Director of the Jewish Association for Business Ethics. He is also a highly acclaimed public speaker and has been invited to present at conferences across the UK as well as in Israel, USA, Europe and Australia. Rabbi Meyer has been honored with an OBE for Services to Education in the Queen’s Birthday Honors list for 2020 which recognises his hard work over the past 30 years.
Rona Milch Novick, PhD
Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration and holds the Raine and Stanley Silverstein Chair in Professional Ethics and Values. In addition to her Yeshiva University appointment, Dr. Novick has, since its founding, served as the Co-Educational Director of the Hidden Sparks program which provides consultation and professional development to day schools and Yeshivas to support the success of diverse learners. Dr. Novick received her PhD in Clinical Psychology and served in various teaching, clinical and leadership positions in mental health settings. She developed the Alliance for School Mental Health at North-Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center and served as its director bringing state-of-the-art social emotional, behavioral, and mental-health prevention and services to schools. Dr. Novick has extensive clinical and research expertise in behavior management and child behavior therapy, bullying and trauma, diverse learners and social emotional learning in schools. She is the author of a children’s book Mommy Can You Stop the Rain? and a book for parents: Helping Your Child Make Friends, and edited the book series Kids Don’t Come With Instruction Manuals.
Devorah Serrao
General Director of the Alliance Israelite Universelle and a teacher for many years in the Jewish schools in Paris, France.
Dvorah obtained her CAPEJ from the Institut André Neher in 1999. After completing her BA in modern Hebrew from INALCO, the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Université Paris Sorbonne Cité, she obtained a stipend to attend the Scholar Circle Program at the Drisha Institute of New York.
At the end of this experience in the United States, she obtained a second stipend to attend the Melton Senior Educator program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she simultaneously earned her MA.
Dvorah coordinated training programs at the Institut André Neher for Jewish educators, she was the former director of the Tachkemoni School Antwerp, Belgium, Former Director of Education in Alliance Israelite Universelle school network and former Director of La'morim, a project in building partnerships between the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and key foundations in France.
Tereza Gafna Váňová
A teacher of Jewish studies and deputy director for Jewish studies in the Lauder school of Prague. She has worked for the school for the past 16 years and helped to transform it into an open community school with rich communal life. In her approach to Jewish education she focuses on social ties, community building and learning through experience.
Rabbi Ricky Seeff
General Director of the King David Schools in South Africa. Rabbi Seeff is a product of the Jewish Day School system in the Johanesburg, having attended Yeshiva College and King David High School Linksfield. He was an active member and leader of Bnei Akiva during his university years. He completed his Electrical Engineering degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2005. He attended a number of Yeshivot in Yerushalayim including Ohr Somayach, Yeshivat HaKotel and the Mir and received smicha in 2009 from Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg z”l. Seeff is currently completing his Masters in Jewish Education with YU’s Azrielli School Education
Professor Daniel Fainstein
Dean of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary "M.T. Meyer", Director of the Central Council of Jewish Education of the Argentine Republic and visiting lecturer and advisor in academic and educational institutions in Latin America, Europe, Israel and the United States.
Professor Fainstein completed his academic training with honors at the universities of Buenos Aires, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he received a doctorate in Political and Social Sciences summa cum Laudae.
He also completed his rabbinical studies at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary “M. T. Meyer” and his specialization in Jewish education and philosophy in the “Jerusalem Fellows Program” of the Mandel Center.
Shila Erlbaum
Officer of Religious, Educational and Family affairs at the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Nechama Bendet
Nechama Bendet has more than 30 years of experience in Jewish education. She is the co-chair of the Australian Council of Jewish Day schools, representing more than 20 schools, and 10,000 students across Australia and has held this position since 2007. The Council provides strategic and operational advice to schools, and advocates for schools with state and federal governments. Nechama has been instrumental in securing millions of dollars in government funding for Jewish schools in Australia.
Nechama was appointed as Secretariat of the Jewish Education Foundation in 2022. The Foundation was established by philanthropists, to improve access to Jewish education in Melbourne. The Foundation launched the highly successful Fee Assessment Board Program to assist children from government schools to enroll in Jewish schools.
Nechama consults to a number of Jewish schools and organizations in Australia and Israel, specializing in philanthropy, Gifts in Wills, strategic planning, and enrolment growth.
Jo Toledano
Jo Toledano currently serves as a Leadership Renewal Senior Consultant at Praxis International in Paris. Since 2016, he has also been the Chairman of the Paris-based ‘École Juive Moderne’. Jo also serves as a board member of the Alliance Israelite Universelle and the Consistoire Rabbinical School of France and co-presides the Sciences Po-Emouna Fraternité Alumni, which aims to foster the dialogue on leadership and religious development in French society.
Born in Meknes (Morocco) in 1948, and with a background as a journalist and Communication and Information Sciences teacher at Strasbourg University, Jo has dedicated his all career to Jewish education and communal service. He started his career by leading the French Jewish Social Department network where he founded the national campaign for Tsédaka raising. He then directed successfully the A. & R. Neher teacher Training Institute and the Franco-Swiss Gustave Leven Rashi Foundation. From 2008 to 2015, he was the General Director of the international ‘Alliance Israelite Universelle’, having a global impact on Jewish Education.
Jo is married to Muriel Kottek, a psychologist and Bible researcher and teacher. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
Staff
Hana Dorsman
MD in social work. Graduated from the Mandel School for Educational Leadership. Have worked in nonprofit management and a volunteer advisor to entrepreneurs and directors of social and nonprofit organizations. She was CEO of Educating for Excellence (E4E): a non-profit organization that empowers and promotes equal opportunities for children and adolescents from Israel's socio-economic and geographic periphery.
Rachel Fink
Before joining UnitEd, Rachel served as Chief Executive Officer of the S&P Sephardi Community in London, following her tenure as Headteacher of two leading Jewish high schools: JFS School, the largest Jewish school in Europe, and Hasmonean Girls’ School. She brings over 30 years of experience in Jewish education and community leadership to the organisation.
Rachel began her career in the classroom training as a teacher in Israel and teaching extensively in both Israel and the UK. She holds an MA in Jewish Education and an undergraduate degree in Chemistry. Rachel is a graduate of the LEV Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership Programme and is also a member of the inaugural cohort of Sacks Scholars. She is also a graduate of other notable leadership programmes focusing on school, women and interfaith leadership.
Oved Avrech
With a BA in Special Education and an MA in Educational Consultancy, Oved has also trained and served as a Rabbi, lecturer, group facilitator, and personal coach. In Israel, he was the Director of the Bat Yam Heritage Department. Most recently, Oved and his family spent four years living and working in the Jewish community of Uruguay.
Scot A. Berman
Prior to making Aliyah two years ago, Scot worked in Jewish education for over 4 decades in the United States, Canada, and Australia in a variety of roles and settings. He served as Head of Schools for both day schools and supplementary schools, he was a day school and supplementary schoolteacher, a youth group director of Judaic programming, a day camp director, an adjunct professor in a Jewish education university program, and he established a private Jewish educational consulting practice. Berman has rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Theological College (Skokie), a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University (Chicago), and he was a Jerusalem Fellow.
Yigal Felbert
CFO & VP of Finance for the last 27 years with proven experience in leading the financial growth of public/tech companies.
Extensive experience in financial management, budget controls, global forecasting, risk management, preparation of consolidated reports and prospectuses. He holds a B.Sc. in Accounting and Information Systems from the Jerusalem College of Technology.
Rachel Garih
Rachel is leading the educational innovation and communication in Lamorim-United for 3 years. After a MA in Hebrew studies and a teacher’s diploma, Rachel was an elementary school teacher for 15 years, then made Alya and supplemented her curriculum with a professional diploma in computer science. Rachel brings to United her deep knowledge and extensive experience of the project being part of it from the beginning. Moreover, she brings to the table her knowledge from the classroom and the teacher's room in addition to her expertise in digital, her sense of design and aesthetic (inherited from her French culture).
Adv. Atara Kenigsberg-Re'em
Atara has an LLB and LLM from Bar Ilan University (with honors). She worked over twenty years in the social field in Israel as the Consultant for change process in Municipality at "Zionut 2000", an adviser of cross-sector roundtables at "Shetufim" and The Founder CEO of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar Ilan University. She participated in prestigious international leadership courses and received an an excellence award from the Tel Aviv District Israel Bar Association. She was the first women candidate for the position of CEO of the Rabbinical courts and her Hobby is "Tikkun Olam".
Reut Yahav Battat
Reut brings extensive experience in Jewish education, working with Diaspora Jewry, particularly in informal education and leadership development. She currently serves as the Chair of Marom Olami, the global network for young adults in the Conservative movement. Previously, she was the Director of Noam Olami, the global network of their youth movements, for five years. In her recent roles, she led the Rabbi Sacks Center for Jewish Global Leadership after returning from a year in Boston, where she was the Director of educational programs for IAC Boston. Reut holds an MA in Urban Planning, a BA in Jewish History, and is also a certified tour guide in Israel, where she discovered her passion for working with Jews from around the world.
Einat Levin
As a marketing executive in global and local companies for more than 20 years, Einat has extensive experience in all facets of marketing. She has worked as a PR specialist for high-tech companies, then as a brand manager for Danone (Strauss Group) and as a category manager for Nestle's ice-cream (Ossem). Prior to UnitEd, she worked for ITIM, an Israeli NGO devoted to state and religion issues in Israel. She holds a BA in Economics and Business management and an MBA in Business administration from Bar Ilan University.
Dr. Eliezer Schilt
Eliezer was born in France, Paris, and made Aliyah in 2007. He holds a PhD in History from the Politics & Government Department at Ben Gurion University (Beer Sheva, Israel) and an M.A. degree from the Sorbonne University (Paris, France). He has a rich experience as education professional with more than 10 years of experience in teaching History, in particularly Jewish History, and Jewish Studies and experienced team leader with 10 years of experience in groups of children or adults at Yad Vashem, Albert Decourtray Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem), Akadem website, the Consistoire of Paris, and high schools in Paris and suburbs (Pavillons-sous-Bois).
Shifi Zarbiv
Before joining United, Shifi worked at 'Republica Consultants' as a government department manager. Prior to that, she served as an advisor to the CEOs of the Israel Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage and the Israel Ministry for Social Equality. Her work with the government and local procurement gained her extensive knowledge and experience in tendering, procurement processes, budgets, and ventures.
Shifi holds a bachelor's degree from the Open University in international relations and political science and a master's degree from Tel Aviv University in public policy
Oriya Ohayon
Before joining UnitEd, Oriya spent 11 years serving in the Israel Police, most recently as office manager to the commander of the Shalem Station in East Jerusalem. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Education and Society from Ono Academic College, with a focus on at-risk youth. Oriya brings extensive experience in administrative management, cross-organizational coordination, and working with diverse teams in complex and dynamic environments.
David Levy
Before joining United, David worked for 12 years at Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild Foundation) as a legal advisor and project manager. Before that, he worked as a real estate lawyer. David holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Academic College and a M.A in National Security Studies from the Faculty of Political Science at Bar Ilan University. David serves in the IDF reserves as a lieutenant colonel in the Golani Brigade. In his free time, he enjoys participating in ultramarathon races.
Yehudit Babian
Worked as an accountant in accounting firms, and managed accounting systems in dozens of companies and organizations. Currently a student of tax consulting, with the aim of expanding her training and deepening her professional knowledge.
Has extensive experience in managing financial systems, ongoing accounting and preparing financial reports. Expert in building complex accounting processes based on systemic thinking, accuracy and a deep understanding of the organization's needs
Michal Sinai
Before joining UnitEd, Michal held key digital marketing, content, and international relations roles across the IT, cultural, academic, and diplomatic sectors, including at the FPF–Israel Tech Policy Institute, the Sam Spiegel Film & TV School, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, and the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. For the past 15 years, she has tutored students in English, fostering language empowerment through personalized learning. Raised abroad during her father's diplomatic service, she earned an IB Diploma from NIST International School in Thailand and later served as a lieutenant in Unit 8200 of the IDF. Michal holds a bachelor's degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and East Asian Studies. She began her MA in Gender Studies at Bar Ilan University (currently on hold).
