JECCA Kallah Speakers
Jennifer Carvajal
Jennifer Carvajal is the Senior Educational Director of “Teaching Beyond the Square” and is on the Board of Directors. Jennifer has a passion for literacy, emergent curriculum, and open-ended learning experiences. She has consulted for Teaching Beyond the Square since 2013, leading professional development workshops and partnering with teachers and directors in the tri-state area as they strive to take a more progressive approach to education. She has partnered with The Jewish Education Project to lead special projects and cohorts, and she has presented at several conferences including Come Learn with Us and the Jewish Early Childhood Association's Long Island and Manhattan conferences. Jennifer taught at Beginnings Nursery School from 2002 to 2009 and participated in a study group in Reggio Emilia, Italy in 2007. She received her B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA and her M.S. in Education, with a concentration in Literacy, from Hunter College in New York, NY.
Orna Siegel
Orna Siegel has worked in the field of Jewish education for over twenty years and previously served as a senior administrator at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Throughout her career in formal and informal settings, Siegel has always strived to transform the lives of students and their communities through education. She is pursuing her Doctorate in Education at JTS and earned a master’s degree in Jewish Education as a Legacy Heritage Fellow at Hebrew College where she received the school’s prize for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish Education. Previously, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Wesleyan University and studied at Yeshivat Nishmat in Israel. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and four children.
Janine Wiskind
Janine Wiskind, MS, OTR/L received her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Brenau University in 2002. She has worked in hospitals, (starting her career at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta), school systems, the home environment, and outpatient clinics. Janine began her own clinic in 2013 and is passionate about the children and families that she builds relationships with. (And also enjoys getting to think outside-the-box without any bureaucratic red tape). She is a national speaker and travels several times a year to educate therapists on the functional neuro-anatomy of the brain, primitive reflex integration, and integrating these concepts into functional and playful treatments. She is a wife to a phenomenal and supportive husband and mom to two incredible kids. She relies on time with family, the outdoors, Les Mills exercise classes, and a good night’s sleep to keep her centered and grounded.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Muller
Rabbi Dr. Meir Muller serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include justice in early childhood education, countering antisemitism in higher education, and Jewish early childhood education. He has served as lead author of South Carolina’s early childhood state standards and as part of a team of educators who developed curricula that prepares European teachers to address bias, prejudice, and antisemitism. His most recent publication is, Early Childhood Jewish Education: Multicultural, Gender, and Constructivist Perspectives. Dr. Muller is the co-founder of the Cutler Jewish Day School where he spent 30 years heading the school.
Chazz Lewis
Chazz Lewis “Mr.Chazz” mission is to help adults truly see, guide and trust children. He is pushing the needle a little closer toward world peace with his approach. He is a consultant, Teacher coach, Parent coach, Conscious Discipline practitioner, Podcaster, and Content Creator. He goes by, “Mr.Chazz” and he even has a song to prove it. Mr. Chazz’s career in education began as a Montessori teacher. As his skills grew, other teachers began asking him for suggestions, ideas, and advice. He realized that he could make an even greater impact by supporting teachers, so he became an educational specialist.
Amy Price
Amy Price lives in Chamblee, GA, with her husband, son and growing numbers of chickens and beehives. Professionally, she supports people with disabilities to find employment opportunities and dream big for their lives. Amy has been working with Adamah ATL a Jewish environmental organization since August of 2023. Around Rosh Hashana, Amy can be found at different Jewish organizing teaching about bees and home. She spent time at Isabella Friedman working for The Teva Learning Center doing outdoor Jewish environmental education and farming at a youth village in Rwanda. Amy loves all things outdoors and has been fully engaged in turning her home into a homestead and garden oasis.
Sally Fuhrmeister
Sally Fuhrmeister, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and the manager of the Louise and Brett Samsky Preschool at the Marcus Autism Center, an inclusive preschool for children with and without autism. She received her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Florida State University and her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Vanderbilt University. Sally’s clinical focus is naturalistic caregiver and teacher-implemented intervention for young children with and at risk for autism. She has partnerships with a variety of public and private entities with trainings focused on promoting inclusion of neurodiverse children in early childhood settings.
Alicia Prather
Alicia Prather, M.Ed, after completing a year of working as a Special Needs Paraprofessional, Alicia found a love for educating our youth. After witnessing the impact, a nurturing and responsive environment has on children, Alicia became compelled to gain a master’s degree in educational leadership which began her path as a GA Pre-K Teacher. In her five years as a pre-k teacher, she led her team and began coaching other Pre-K teachers as department chairperson. After leaving the classroom, Alicia became a Curriculum Specialist for the Early Head Start Program. In her role, she was privileged to watch the influence that a village of teachers, community and family positively has on rearing young children. It was in the role of Curriculum Specialist that Alicia learned of the Inclusion Unit at Decal. The opportunity to coach teachers on much-needed classroom practices was a position that she knew she was made for. Alicia is excited to share her passion for supporting children from birth with the lifelong skills they will need to thrive in academics and in their overall future.