Executive Director
audrey@chaimitzvah.org
Audrey is the founding Executive Director of Chai Mitzvah, which was launched in 2009. She has been a professional Jewish educator for more than 30 years. Audrey is also the founding principal of Yachad, the award-winning community High School of Greater Hartford. As a lay leader, Audrey has been the recipient of many community awards and has been very involved locally and nationally in the Day School movement.
Managing Director
nina@chaimitzvah.org
Nina is the Managing Director of Chai Mitzvah, and has worked in Jewish education for decades, creating student materials and programs for all ages, pre-K – adult. Her work has been published by Behrman House, Ktav, Kar Ben Publishing, Addison Wesley and Grolier. She created one of the first online Jewish education resource centers, Yourpage.org, which became part of Jewish National Fund’s website in 2003.
Manager of Community Engagement & Partnerships
Jennifer Saber is the Manager of Community Engagement & Partnerships at Chai Mitzvah. She comes to this role as a longtime Chai Mitzvah enthusiast and user of its materials, having implemented the curriculum in her classrooms as a synagogue school principal, attended professional development sessions led by Chai Mitzvah staff at national conferences, and co-authored the Kehila: Caring and Community sourcebook series. Jennifer has worked in Jewish education for more than twenty-five years in congregations, schools, camps, and community, national, and international educational organizations, helping learners of all ages deepen their connection to Jewish life, learning, and community. Her experience spans curriculum development, classroom teaching, teacher professional development, and program planning.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Judaic Studies with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Arizona, a Master’s degree in Jewish Communal Service with a concentration in Jewish Education from Brandeis University, and a Master’s degree in Jewish Education with a concentration in Israel Education from Hebrew College. A lifelong learner, she enjoys experimenting with new recipes, studying conversational Hebrew, listening to podcasts, and traveling to Jewish heritage sites around the world, especially those connected to Holocaust history. Jennifer lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband, Eric, and their three children.
Outreach and Virtual Community Coordinator
rebdeb@chaimitzvah.org
Rabbi Debra Smith (Reb Deb) received smicha through the ALEPH Ordination Program in 2016 and is the founding rabbi of Congregation Or Ha Lev in New Jersey. Reb Deb is a very enthusiastic student and practitioner of Mussar; she has taught Mussar in various venues. She is a clinical social worker and family therapist. Reb Deb received her Master’s in Jewish Studies from Gratz College in Philadelphia. She serves as Rabbi in Residence at Drew University Methodist Theological School in New Jersey and co-chairs a chapter of the Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom. She is a faculty member of ALEPH Tikshoret Connections, which is one of the places she teaches Mussar to a virtual community of learners from all over the United States. Reb Deb is the Outreach and Virtual Community Coordinator at Chai Mitzvah.
West Hartford, CT
860.206.8363
info@chaimitzvah.org
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