STAFF
Matan is proud to have a uniquely qualified team, bringing together professionals and lay leaders with diverse backgrounds in order to meet the needs of Jewish institutions, families and children. For Matan's dedicated team members, creating Jewish opportunities for children with special needs is much more than a job.
Dori Frumin Kirshner
Executive Director
Dori has served as Matan’s Exectuive Director since 2009, and has been part of Matan’s administrative team since 2007. Under Dori’s leadership, Matan has shifted from a purely direct service organization to one which significantly impacts the field of Jewish Special Needs Education by training current and future leaders in a multitude of settings — congregational schools, early childhood programs, camps and Jewish Day Schools. Matan has been featured in The Slingshot Guide of the most innovative Jewish organizations in North America six times since Dori joined Matan.
Dori believes that 85% of what we do as a Jewish community vis a vis inclusion can be summed up in one word: Attitude. With an open heart, open mind, and a willingness to partner with parents and other professionals, we can all be part of the solution of making inclusion a reality.
Prior to coming to Matan, Dori worked at The UJA-Federation of New York for seven years, in both planning and fundraising capacities. Dori began her professional career at The Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan as a bi-lingual educator (Hebrew and English). Dori holds a Masters of Arts in Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and a BA in Sociology and Judaic Studies from Emory University. Dori is a sought-after national speaker on the issue of Jewish inclusion, and has published articles and Op-Ed’s in such publications as The New York Jewish Week, eJewish Philanthropy and Zeh Lezeh, a blog of The Ruderman Family Foundation.
Meredith Polsky
National Director
of Institutes and Training
Meredith co-founded Matan in 2000, and has served as Matan’s Director of Training and Advocacy since 2009. In this role, Meredith designs and implements The Matan Institutes, Matan’s national flagship training programs, serving Congregational School educators and directors, Jewish Early Childhood Educators, and other cohorts of Jewish leadership.
Meredith teaches online courses in Jewish Special Education for Gratz College, and speaks nationally on the topic of Jewish Special Needs. She is a frequent contributor to Kveller.com and The New Normal: Blogging Disability of the New York Jewish Week. Meredith has published articles in various print and online publications, including The Washington Jewish Week, PresenTense, RAVSAK’s HaYidion, The Institute for Southern Jewish Life and eJewishPhilanthropy.
In 2001, Meredith was awarded a fellowship by Joshua Venture Group as part of their inaugural cohort. Meredith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Bank Street College, a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University and a graduate certificate in Early Intervention from Georgetown University. Meredith lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and three children.
Meredith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Bank Street College, a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University and a graduate certificate in Early Intervention from Georgetown University. Meredith lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and three children.
Orlee Krass
Director of Educational Consultations
Orlee Krass is a state certified special education teacher in New York and New Jersey and has been serving as the Director of Education for Matan, a non-profit organization that advocates for Jewish students with special needs, empowers their families and educates Jewish leaders, teachers and communities so that all Jewish children have access to a rich and meaningful Jewish education. In this role Orlee provides support for children with special learning needs in Jewish educational settings by working with parents and teachers alike to differentiate instruction and ensure all students receive the modifications necessary to achieve a successful Jewish education.
In addition to her work with Matan, Orlee serves as the Director of Camper Care at Camp Ramah in Nyack, working closely with senior staff to accommodate a number of campers with special needs in their mainstream program. In addition to her work with Ramah Nyack, Orlee also works as the National Tikvah Network Coordinator for the Ramah Camping Movement. Before joining the staff of Matan, Orlee spent eight years teaching students with a wide range of special needs at elementary schools in Manhattan and the Bronx.
Lisa Friedman
Manager of Social Media
and Alumni
Lisa is a synagogue Educator who both developed and oversees an extensive inclusive supplemental religious school program for students of all abilities where she guides families, staff and clergy to ensure an appropriate Jewish education for all children through the b’nei mitzvah process and beyond. Before coming to the field of synagogue education, Lisa taught in a self-contained special education classroom in a public school setting for six years.
In addition to Special Education and Elementary Education teaching certificates, Lisa received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology, both from Rutgers University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Institute, a joint program of Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Lisa has presented extensively on both a local and national level and is the author of the widely recognized blog Removing the Stumbling Block.I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
Chava Kadosh
Consultant
Chava Kadosh, LMSW, holds Masters Degree in Social Work from New York University and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. Chava serves as the Mentor Supervisor for our Matan Institute for Early Childhood Educators. Chava has a wide range of clinical and educational experience working with children. She has been a Child and Maternal Health Fellow in neurodevelopmental and related disabilities at the Rose Kennedy Center of Albert Einstein College and completed her clinical training at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. She currently works with children, adolescents and adults in private practice and is a consultant for schools.
Emily Goodstein
Communications Consultant