Kory Goldenberg

Joined JCC: 2006  EC Director Since: 2006
Kory came to the JCC from San Francisco where she had been an Early Childhood Director since 1999. She is an enthusiastic and organized individual with skill in curriculum development. Parents appreciate that she is approachable and accessible and respect her creativity, knowledge and follow through.

Miriam Aberman

Joined JCC: 1995   EC Director Since: 2009
Miriam was a lead teacher at the Bernard Horwich JCC for 14 years. She strives to create a positive welcoming environment and to meet the individual needs of each child. Families appreciated her hands on approach and visibility in the classrooms.

Jennifer Rosenfeld

Joined JCC: 1994   EC Director Since: 2006
Jen is caring and nurturing and has an outstanding ability to build relationships with children and their families. She is committed to upholding the standards of JCC and works hard to create an environment that is welcoming and comfortable to families from all Jewish movements.

Shoshanah Safirstein

Joined JCC: 2005
Having been both a teacher and a parent, she brings a great sense of understanding of the needs of families and staff. Shoshana loves to plan for community building events and to create strong learning environments.  Shoshana builds great relationships with families, and parents and children adore her! She is an active presence in classrooms and keeps the needs of the staff and families in the forefront of her work. 

Lynn Washer

Joined JCC: 2001   EC Director Since: 2001
Lynn is an exceptional, tireless leader. She has been working with children “too long to count” and is a NAEYC expert. She enjoys experiencing children’s smiles every morning as she watches what she calls the “light bulb of learning” go off under her guidance.

Nancy Kesselman

Joined JCC: 2008   EC Director Since: 2008
Nancy has successfully opened and operated two North Shore preschool programs. She brings her warmth, enthusiasm and expertise in Jewish education to the launch of this recently renovated and reopened site. She has strong links to the synagogue and values the opportunity to enhance the lives of children in her community.

Cynthia Shankman

Joined JCC: 1996   EC Director Since: 2005
Cynthia provides children with a safe, nurturing and educational environment while working closely with the rabbis and professional staff of the synagogue to enhance the JCC’s Jewish Curriculum. She supports the active parent committee and is dedicated to bringing Jewish experiences to children and their families.

Leanne Nathan

Joined JCC: 1996   EC Director Since: 2001
Leanne’s passion for working with children is apparent to her families. She is responsive to children’s needs and has a keen awareness of what is going on in the classroom. Each day Leanne demonstrates her love and dedication through her caring nature and endless energy.

Trudi Krames

Joined JCC: 2009   EC Director Since: 2009
Having spent almost 20 years in the field of education, Trudi excels at developing Jewish early childhood curriculum and programming. She has outstanding communication and organizational skills and a high level of creative energy which is often contagious. Trudi is an intelligent, likable, enthusiastic and nurturing leader who focuses on building family-school partnerships.

Rachel Weber

Joined JCC: 2010  Assistant Director Since : 2010
Rachel has a unique combination of educational experience and expertise. In addition to being a former JCC teacher, Rachel has been a supervisor and adjunct professor in the Education Department at NEIU. She brings a great deal of intelligence, energy and integrity to her role which includes planning, development, oversight and alignment of ECS programming with JCC impact goals.

Susan Stockman

Joined JCC: 2011  ECS Director Since: 2011
Susan joins JCC Chicago after several years of successfully leading head start programs as a Program Director for a local nonprofit. She is passionate about ensuring children have the highest level quality early childhood experience. She has multiple years of experience leading multiple sites and vast experience in the nonprofit early childhood arena.

Jamee Smith

Jamee holds a Masters Degree in Teaching from National-Louis University and has experience working in Jewish early childhood classrooms. Her passion, creativity, commitment and ability to build strong relationships with JCC participants, staff, and their families make her a strong leader. Jamee is familiar to many parents and youngsters as Director of JCC Apachi Village Day Camp. With over 18 years of JCC Chicago experience, she is excited to be taking on this additional role in Early Childhood. 

Elizabeth Zetley

Joined JCC: 2011  ECS Director Since: 2011
Liz rejoins JCC Chicago with vast knowledge of early childhood program supervision, curriculum management and licensing/accreditation compliance. While originally with JCC Chicago , she was an integral part of the Early Childhood teaching staff at the Mayer Kaplan JCC where she was the inaugural teacher for the Preschool for All program, participated in the site NAEYC re-accreditation process and had a hand in the development of the Kaplan Summer Fun program.