Welcome to the Learnings and Consultation Center
About the LCC
The Learnings and Consultations Center Four Lines of Service
The Learnings and Consultations Center's Clients
The Learnings and Consultations Center's Staff
About the LCC
The Learnings and Consultation Center (LCC) furthers JESNA’s mission of stimulating Jewish educational excellence in North America by enabling communities (whether geographic or topical) to raise and realize their aspirations for Jewish education. We seek to increase participation in effective Jewish education (formal, informal and integrated) that leads to more learning, connection to and participation in Jewish life. [Although we are interested in all aspects of Jewish education, recognizing that others are working specifically in the arenas of Day Schools, Early Childhood Education, Camping, etc., we are currently focusing primarily on part-time Jewish education, educator support and development, and developing communities’ educational capacity through their central agencies.]
Learnings, Dissemination and Application are the signature strategies by which the LCC achieves its goals:
- Learnings: LCC staff gathers and synthesizes empirical knowledge about what works under what circumstances in order to achieve greater understanding of the factors leading to Jewish educational excellence, change and improvement. Sources for these learnings include the outstanding work of JESNA’s Berman Center, other leading researchers, and field experience;
- Dissemination: Using a variety of technologies and means such as the web, Communities of Practice (CoPs) and professional networks, conferences and consultations, publications, etc., the LCC provides a forum for the exchange of current learnings in useful and easily usable ways;
- Application: LCC expert consultants help communities apply “learnings” by working collaboratively with lay and professional leaders to identify issues and customize solutions, facilitate strategic planning processes, and implement demonstration projects.
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The Learnings and Consultation Center’s (LCC) Four Lines of Service
The LCC advances JESNA’s goals through deliberate purposeful programs and initiatives designed to consolidate and codify learnings from the field, disseminate effective practices, and help communities (both geographic and topical) apply them. It does so through four principal lines of service:
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Knowledge Dissemination. The LCC is creating a robust Knowledge Dissemination system that that is designed to provide educational decision-makers and practitioners with read access to current and accurate resources, information about trends and promising practices, and tools and documents to guide their decision-making and programmatic endeavors. The LCC codifies “Lessons Learned” about what works under what conditions related to our primary focal domains (part-time Jewish education, Jewish educator support and development, community/central agency capacity building). These lessons guide our expert consultations to communities (Central Agencies, Federations, professional communities) and our demonstration projects, and will be accessible to the field via our website, publications and presentations. Dissemination activities include:
- A well-developed, easily accessible website featuring rich resources and opportunities for interaction;
- Publications (reports, periodicals and newsletters) that appear on a regular publication schedule and systematic marketing and distribution plans. The Publications and Dissemination Project (PDP) is a ;
- Conferences convened by the LCC;
- Presentations by LCC staff at conferences and conventions of other organizations
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Communities of Practice (CoPs). The LCC establishes and supports networks of highly skilled professionals. Supported by LCC staff and resources provided through our knowledge dissemination system, CoP members have access to current knowledge of effective practices, skills development and professional training, and collegial support and consultation. LCC staff members promote the CoPs, recruit appropriate members, provide administrative support, help develop programs and agendas, ensure that resources are readily available to all CoP members, including through the web.
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Demonstration Projects/Action Research. The LCC facilitates projects that provide “learning laboratories” in which to try out promising practices and to learn how to disseminate and adapt effective practices more broadly and in differing situations. LCC staff helps identify appropriate sites for demonstration projects, assists communities in developing advocacy and support, and advises regarding community organization, planning and adaptation of projects. In collaboration with JESNA’s Berman Center, LCC staff helps ensure that appropriate monitoring and assessment procedures are incorporated in the demonstration projects so that lessons can be extrapolated. LCC staff codifies and disseminates learnings from the demonstration projects through its Knowledge Dissemination System (web, CoPs, publications, conferences, consultations, etc.)
- Consultations. LCC staff assists communities in addressing specific issues they wish to change, improve or affect in Jewish education. LCC staff provides expert facilitation of visioning, strategic planning processes, and development of implementation and action plans.
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The Learnings and Consultation Center’s (LCC) Clients
Staff of the Learnings and Consultation Center work with:
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Central Agencies for Jewish Education
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Jewish Community Federations
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National Organizations
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Private Foundations
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Jewish Educational Program Providers (National and Local)
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The Learnings and Consultation Center’s (LCC) Staff
Leora W. Isaacs, Ph.D.
Vice President for Programs and Organizational Learning
Director, Learnings and Consultation Center
Based in New York, Leora is the Founding Director (2007) of JESNA’s Learnings and Consultation Center (LCC). Leora has been on staff at JESNA since 1987, and was the Founding Director of the Berman Center for Research and Evaluation in Jewish Education. Prior to coming to JESNA, Leora was Research Specialist for the Jewish Communal Affairs Department and William Petschek National Jewish Family Center of the American Jewish Committee. She has taught for over 30 years at all levels in Jewish formal and informal education programs, from early childhood through college, and in family education. Dr. Isaacs has held several academic appointments including Assistant Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, NJ, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Visiting Lecturer in Education and Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently a faculty member and co-director of her congregation’s Hebrew school in Bridgewater, NJ. Leora brings special expertise in the fields of Jewish identity development and Jewish family education. Dr. Isaacs earned her Ph.D. in Educational and Developmental Psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center and her BA in Psychology at the University of Michigan, summa cum laude.
Steven Kraus, M.A.
Education Consultant
Based in New York, Steve joined the JESNA staff in 2000. For 20 years, Steve worked as a day school teacher and administrator, congregational education teacher, director of religious education, pre-school director, family education director, high school director, and adult education director in Minneapolis, Miami and Philadelphia. Steve brings practical experience in all areas of Jewish education to his consulting work, which he uses to great advantage at JESNA in gathering and disseminating knowledge, convening groups and creating and facilitating networks. Steve holds an M.A. in Jewish History and Jewish Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Andi Meiseles, M.Ed.
Education Consultant
Based in JESNA’s New York office since 2006, Andi spearheads JESNA’s advocacy initiatives for Jewish educators and Jewish communal workers. With over 25 years of experience in formal and informal Jewish education as both teacher and administrator, Andi brings to her work a grounded understanding and an international perspective of the field of Jewish education. She has served as an educational consultant for the Jewish Agency for Israel, taught at both congregational and day schools, and was the director of Camp Tel Yehudah among other experiences. Andi currently teaches Hebrew conversation to adults at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. Andi earned her M.Ed with Distinction in Secondary Education Administration and Foreign Language Education (Hebrew and English as a Second Language) at Temple University. Andi is the recipient of the Gidon Elad award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
Devorah Silverman, MSW, M.A.
Education Consultant
Since joining JESNA's staff in 2000, Devorah has launched and developed a series of networks of professional and volunteer leadership serving Jewish youth communities across North America. Devorah brings expertise in the development of local-national partnerships and has launched several topical “Communities of Practice,” including JESNA's Network of Community Youth Professionals. Devorah is a skilled strategic planner and network builder; she developed her skills while working for 10 years in the Baltimore, New York and Detroit Federations. In addition to her work at JESNA, Devorah is an instructor for the Melton Mini-School for Adults and provides individual instruction for Bar/Bat Mitzvah students. Devorah earned a Master’s in Judaic Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University.
Tobin Belzer, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate, Publications and Dissemination Project
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Tobin joined the JESNA staff in 2005. In addition to her work with JESNA’s Publications and Dissemination Project, Tobin serves as a Research Associate for JESNA’s Berman Center and at the Center for Religious and Civic Culture at USC and at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles and is Principal Investigator of Hadassah's MorningStar Commission on Jewish women in the media. Tobin holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Brandeis University and is a widely published and sought after independent scholar and teacher of, as well as writer and presenter on, the fields of Jewish identity and GenX'ers.
Rebecca Gafvert, B.A.
Online Resource Specialist
Rebecca Gafvert joined JESNA in September of 2007 as the Online Resource Specialist for the Learnings and Consultation Center. She is responsible for the overall management, development, and improvement of the JESNA's online resources, including the Sosland Online Resource Center and the Professional Development Center. She works closely with LCC consultants and IT to enhance JESNA's dissemination of learnings through the web. Rebecca has a BA in Political Science and International Relations from The Ohio State University. Before joining JESNA, she worked for Social Science Automation in Columbus Ohio, designing software for political psychological profiling.
Malya Kurzweil, B.A.
Project Manager
Malya Kurzweil joined the LCC staff as Project Manager in 2007. She oversees JESNA’s Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Teaching, Israel Interns program, and the JESNA interns. Malya was formerly New Jersey State Director for the Jewish Student Union, which establishes and facilitates Jewish culture clubs in public high schools. In that capacity she developed curriculum and educational modules, as well as developing and implementing strategies to extend the reach and effectiveness of the JSU programs, and had full responsibility for Footprints: Israel, a 10-day Israel trip for JSU members. Previously she taught Hebrew School and was an SAT and Science High School Exam Instructor for Kaplan Test Preparation. Malya is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Queens College. She has also studied extensively in Judaic studies programs, including Machon Alte of Tzfat, Drisha and Midreshet Harova.
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