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Meet Our Staff

We thank the professional advisors who have seen us through our challenges, shared our successes and continue to offer their wisdom:

Dr. Howard Deitcher, Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Dr. Elie Holzer, Bar Ilan University; Dr. Meryl Jaffe, Educational Psychologist, NY; Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Lau, Ramban Synagogue; Dr. Ruti Lehavi, David Yellin College; Dr. Ruth Shalev, Shaare Zedek Hospital; Dr. Cory Shulman, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Ariel Hurwich Braun

Founding Director

 

After working for many years as a curator of Judaica, Ariel studied education at the Melton Center of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and founded Yishai in an attempt to help children in the public school system reach their own unique and ultimate potential. Ariel has worked and volunteered in the non-profit sector in many capacities.

Mira Goldschmidt

Educational Director

A specialist in remedial education, Mira has trained teachers in the regular school system to cope with the diversity of strengths and needs in their large and heterogeneous classrooms.  Mira has offered in-service training for the Ministry of Education and taught elementary and high school teachers to teach children with learning disabilities. Mira developed Project Yishai which offers individualized education in regular elementary school classrooms.

Dganit Yaffe Ergas

Research and Evaluation



Dganit has evaluated Project Yishai at all its levels and is currently doing a study of the schools that have implemented Yishai and how they have evolved into different and unique versions of the original program.  Dganit's findings will be critical to the further development of Yishai in Israel's public school system.

​Yishai benefits from public and private support.  If you wish to support the work we do, click here.  All donations are tax deductible in the US and Israel.

If you wish to consider Project Yishai for your school, please contact us.

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