Arnee Winshall Chair | arnee@ravsak.orgArnee R. Winshall is the founding Chair of JCDS, Boston’s Jewish Community Day School, and sits on the Board of Overseers of Hebrew College. As a past member of the boards of The Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the JCCs of Greater Boston, she helped spearhead the launch of PJ Library in Boston. She was also a founding member of DAF, the Greater Boston day school advocacy forum initiative and Boston’s representative to the Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education. Nationally, Arnee currently serves on the Executive Committee of JESNA, as the lay chair of the Lippman Kanfer Institute, and on the board of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. In addition, she is the Founding Chair of Hebrew at the Center dedicated to advancing Hebrew teaching and learning. Professionally, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, Arnee taught English as a second language to all ages and supervised a pilot K-2 English immersion project in six lab schools. Subsequently, she pursued studies in developmental psycholinguistics at the University of Chicago. She has worked in wholesale and retail sales, tradeshow information tools, owned and operated a residential real estate company and as Interim Head of JCDS, in Boston. Arnee is married to Walter Winshall and is the proud mother of Sarah and Aaron, who have both benefited from day school educations and Jewish camping. She is a passionate advocate for consistent excellence in Jewish education, investing in the development of educational leadership, fostering lifelong teaching and learning and enabling each person to reach his or her potential.
Dr. Barbara Davisbarbara@ravsak.orgBarbara Davis is principal of the Syracuse Hebrew Day School in Central New York. She is a graduate of Barnard College and holds master’s and doctoral degrees in Spanish literature from Columbia University. Professor emerita of Spanish at Onondaga Community College, Barbara also served as Director of Educational Development there, in charge of faculty and program development. Long interested in different cultures and peoples, she has developed photographic exhibits chronicling the Syracuse Jewish and African American communities and is the author of Arcadia Publishing's "Syracuse African Americans." For the past twenty-five years, Barbara has worked in the field of Jewish community day school education. She was a member of the first Lookstein Center Principals Seminar at Bar Ilan University, and found membership in RAVSAK to be an indispensable part of her educational trajectory in her second career. She has directed a supplementary religious school, a community Jewish high school and takes an active role in Jewish community life. She has produced twenty musical productions at SHDS and is currently involved in planning the school’s gala 50th anniversary celebration. Barbara has three children and seven grandchildren, one in Israel and six who are currently or soon will be attending the Syracuse Hebrew Day School.
Dr. Marc N. Kramermarc@ravsak.orgDr. Marc N. Kramer is the Executive Director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, the North American association of pluralistic Jewish schools devoted to serving children and families from across the spectrum of religious practice. RAVSAK is the fastest growing Jewish educational network, encompassing 120 schools and over 35,000 students. Marc earned a bachelors degree in Near East and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, a masters degree in social work from Columbia University, a masters degree in Judaica from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and both a masters and doctorate in education from Columbia University- Teachers College. He is the recipient of the Sachar Award for academic research and the Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship. His publications include a study of the poster art of the American Yiddish theatre, a case study in group theory, training manuals for group facilitators, three documentary film study guides, liner notes for several albums of Jewish music, and numerous comprehensive works on Jewish day school leadership including New Communities, New Schools, “Teaching to the Left, Right, and Center,” and Pathways of Preparedness. He lectures and consults throughout North America. Dr. Kramer is the founder of Project SuLaM, co-founder of the Think Tank on Day School Headship, and the co-director of Re/Presenting the Jewish Past. Marc was the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award.
Paul Levitchpaul@ravsak.orgPaul Levitch is an independent college-search consultant and President of Levitch Associates in Louisville, Kentucky. Paul brings over 12 years of experience counseling students on college choices as an independent consultant, an assistant director of college counseling at a college preparatory high school, and an assistant director of admissions for a selective liberal arts and sciences college. In 2005, he was selected by his peers to serve on the Board of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the gold standard in the field of educational consultation. In 2002, he spearheaded the revival of the Louisville National College Fair, an annual event that attracts representatives from more than 130 colleges around the country to Louisville each year. Paul has participated actively on a wide range of committees for the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Kentucky Association of Secondary and College Admission Counselors. He speaks regularly at regional and national conferences, training institutes, and local high schools. He has been featured or quoted in national and local publication including, BusinessWeek.com, The Boston Globe, Louisville Business First and The Louisville Courier-Journal. He also has been published in numerous articles and professional journals. Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisville and is a Certified Educational Planner (CEP). He is the only CEP in Louisville.
Bruce J. Powell, Ph.D.bruce@ravsak.orgDr. Bruce Powell, founding Head of School of New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, California, is one of the preeminent visionary leaders in the movement to develop Jewish day high schools throughout America. Dr. Powell, a native of Los Angeles, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Los Angeles in English Literature and History and his Master of Arts in Education and lifetime Teaching Credential from California State University, Northridge. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education and Jewish Studies from the University of Southern California. His doctoral thesis examined the nature and power of informal education as it is practiced at the Brandeis Bardin Institute in Simi Valley, California. In addition to founding New Community Jewish High School, Dr. Powell was also instrumental in founding both Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles where he served for thirteen years as the first General Studies Principal, and Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, where he held positions of first Headmaster and first President of the school over his nine-year tenure. Before working in the administrative arena, Dr. Powell taught English and history in the public schools for seven years, pioneering a school-within-a-school program for disadvantaged youth within a large public school setting. For many years he also directed the summer programs at Camp Alonim and the Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI) at the Brandeis Bardin Institute. In addition to being a highly valued PEJE Coach , DSLTI Mentor, and Wexner Heritage Foundation faculty, Dr. Powell serves on the faculty of the Fingerhut School of Education at the University of Judaism as well as having taught in the Ziegler School for Rabbinic Studies. In order to service the variety of needs of Jewish day schools throughout America, Dr. Powell founded Jewish School Management (JSM), a national consulting firm dedicated to developing and training skilled professional and lay day school leadership. Through JSM, Dr. Powell has helped to establish fifteen Jewish high schools across the country, and has helped to train passionate leaders to manage and govern these new enterprises. In 2005, the Bureau of Jewish Education awarded Dr. Powell with the Milken Jewish Educators Award for helping to found three Jewish high schools in the Los Angeles community. Most recently, Dr. Powell received one of three 2007 Covenant Foundation Awards for his work in Jewish Education.
Lesley Zafranlesley@ravsak.orgLesley Zafran is the President of Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, Florida – a K-12 community day school. Born in Miami, FL, she has lived much of her life in London and received her undergraduate degree from the University of London in English Literature. After working as an editor in educational publishing in London and teaching in Italy, she returned to Miami where she worked as a recruiter and manager for nine years at Hastings & Hastings Personnel Consultants.
Since enrolling her children at DKJA in 1997, she has chaired PTO events, been PTO President, and become a trustee and officer of the board. Lesley was the DKJA chair of Jewish Day Schools for the 21 st Century project (JDS-21) for 3 years and then continued it independently for another two years. She also sat on the DKJA administrative leadership team for the creation of strategic plans both for the school and for the board of trustees. She was awarded the DKJA Visionary Leadership Award in March 2007 at the DKJA Annual Gala. Lesley was also a presenter at the 2007 PEJE conference in Boston. Lesley has been an active board member of her synagogue Temple Beth Orr, where she is also a cantorial soloist. She is married to Bruce, an ob/gyn and they have two children, Alexander, 18, who graduated from The High School at DKJA and Emma, 14, who has just started at DKJA’s new high school building.
Members of RAVSAK enjoy many benefits which support the overall work of the school and the professionals who lead them. Find out more about membership benefits and how your school can become a member.
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In addition to serving Jewish community day schools across North America, RAVSAK has a special category of membership for Jewish and educational organizations, consultants and companies which share our vision of excellence in Jewish day school education.