Shira Epstein

Dr. Shira D. Epstein is an assistant professor in the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Among the courses she teaches are Skills for Teaching, Curriculum and Instruction, and Perspectives on Gender and Education. Dr. Epstein coordinates the day school track, supervising student field work and teaching the year-long Practicum.

A lecturer and workshop facilitator, Dr. Epstein has given presentations and papers on curriculum design and arts education at the Network for Research in Jewish Education Conference, National Reading Conference, Brandeis University's Institute for Informal Jewish Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Avoda Arts. She received a grant from the Jewish Women's Foundation of New York to support her research on training Jewish educators to teach "healthy relationship building" in formal educational settings and has lectured on this topic at the First, Second, and Third International Conferences on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community, NCJW, Day School Leadership Training Institute, and Leadership Institute for Congregational School Principals. In addition, she has extensive teaching, curriculum-development, and staff-development experience in varied Jewish settings, including Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, West End Synagogue Hebrew School, Foundation for Jewish Camping, and Jewish Educational Services of North America.

Dr. Epstein's research interests include "gender and Jewish education" and "drama as pedagogy." She authored a curriculum for Jewish Women International (JWI) titled "Strong Girls, Healthy Relationships: A Conversation on Dating, Friendship, and Self-Esteem" (2006) and serves as an educational and curriculum consultant for Storahtelling's Storahlab Summer Training Institute. Published articles include "Bringing the Text to Life and Into Our Lives: Jewish Education and the Arts" (Backenroth, O., Epstein, S., Miller, H., Religious Education, Fall 2006) and "Reimagining Literacy Practices: Creating Living Midrash From Ancient Text Through Tableau" (Journal of Jewish Education, Summer 2004).

She is the cochair of UJA-Federation of New York's Task Force on the Jewish Woman Steering Committee and is the representative of youth programs on JWI's National Leadership Council.

Dr. Epstein has a doctor of education degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University (2003), and was a Wexner Graduate Fellow (1999–2003). She holds a master of arts degree in Educational Theater from New York University (1996) and a bachelor of arts degree in Women's Studies, with a concentration in the Education of Girls, from Brown University (1994).

May 2007