About Us The Centre for Enhancement of Jewish Education (the Mercaz) is UJA Federation’s educational pillar, dedicated to strengthening, enriching and promoting the quality of Jewish education in our schools.
The Mercaz’s role is to enhance the quality, quantity and accessibility of Jewish education by:
- Placing primary attention on parents and children.
- Maintaining a commitment to grow tuition subsidies to low-income families and exploring new education financing solutions for middle-income earners.
- Monitoring the quality of all Mercaz-affiliated day schools, supplementary programs and informal education settings.
- Finding practical solutions to make a Jewish education more accessible to all families. Focusing on strategic educational planning for the community.
- Providing professional development opportunities, training, workshops and consultation services for educators
- Providing services for the community in the area of special education
The Mercaz replaces UJA Federation’s Board of Jewish Education (BJE), which was established in 1949 following a set of recommendations from a 1948 study of Jewish education in Toronto. At the time of its founding, the BJE served 21 day and supplementary schools. Today, the Mercaz serves more than 70 day schools and supplementary programs, 1,700 educators and 17,000 students in the Greater Toronto Area.
The creation of the Mercaz follows two years of research by a UJA Federation task force and an implementation committee. Read about the changes being implemented in the Executive Summary of the Implementation Committee report.
The chair of the Centre for Enhancement of Jewish Education (the Mercaz) is Lou Greenbaum. Sheldon Goodman is the vice-chair.
Dr. Seymour Epstein is Senior Vice-President. Yael Seliger is Vice-president.
Staff members are listed below. To send email to a staff member click on their name: Dr. Seymour Epstein, Senior Vice-President, UJA Federation, The Centre for Enhancement of Jewish Education
Ms. Yael Seliger, Vice-President, UJA Federation, The Centre for Enhancement of Jewish Education
Alan Domb, Marketing Manager
Silvia Eilath, Day School Consultant; QRE
Dani Fine, Director, Informal Education
Heather Finestone, Special Education Consultant, Early Years; QRE
Debbie Gladstone, Executive Administrator
Rabbi Natan Kandler, Shaliach, Jewish Agency
Beth Komito-Gottlieb, Special Education Consultant
Joel Kurtz, Director, School Liason
Joyce Levine, Director, Educational Technology
Sarah Mali, Shlicha, Makom
Ruth Rohn, Educational Psychologist; QRE
Basil Rosenblatt, Controller
Dafna Ross, Senior Special Education Consultant; QRE
Chari Schwartz, Consultant, Supplementary Schools; QRE
Ora Shulman, Director, Teacher Centre
Jennifer Turack, Educational Consultant
Laura Wiseman, Educational Consultant
Administrative support staff includes: Annette Davis
Marilyn Lebenfish
Janis Schemool Saleena Shareef
