Elana Naftalin-Kelman
Early Childhood Director

     Cynthia spent ten years with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Her younger daughter attends BJDS, and her older daughter is a BJDS alum.  Cynthia holds a BA in International Relations from the American University in Washington, D.C.
 

     William Dufford has a BA in Dance from the University of Maryland at College Park where he received the full tuition Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship. After college he danced with the Zen Monkey Project in Charlottesville, VA before forming his own collaborative dance theater company, The Glass Bead Players, in Nevada City, CA. During this time he was also honing his skills as a Teacher and Childcare Provider, working primarily with under fives. Upon his arrival in Colorado he served a year with the I Have A Dream Foundation, providing afterschool support for low income 8th graders, as an Americorps Volunteer. Last year he was an Assistant Teacher for Elementary 1 at nearby Mountain Shadows Montessori School and the Aftercare Teacher at BJDS. He is actively involved with Congregation Nevei Kodesh and very excited to be Co-Teaching the JrK/Ilanot classroom with Miss Tracy.
 

     Eti was born in Israel to a family that has had roots in Israel since 1848, when her ancestors moved from Russia to Israel. She also has the privilege of being part of a family that started the city Petach-Tikva. In this city her grandmother, mother, and brothers were born. Now there are three more generations of Eti’s family that have been born in that city.

     After the army Eti studied in Seminar Levinsky in Tel-Aviv, and she received her teaching certificate. She taught grades four to eight in Beer-Sheva for fifteen years. In 1987 she had the opportunity to move to Youngstown Ohio to teach in a Jewish day school as part of a program through the Jewish Agency. She taught there for four years and moved back to Israel. Eti spent one year at home, and moved back to Ohio.

     In 1995 Eti moved to Portland Oregon and taught grades one through eight – Hebrew and Jewish studies. During those years she took many courses in Tal-Am Tal-Sela programs, University courses to improve her English, and participated in the Melton program which deepened her understanding and love of the Bible and Jewish way of life.

     She feels very blessed to be part of BJDS family, and hopes to contribute her love, affection and knowledge with the students.
 

     Mara is originally from the Washington D.C area.  She earned her BA in Psychology from Randolph-Macon College in 2003.  After working for a few years she moved to Colorado to do a year of Americorps service and she never left.  This past year Mara earned her MA from the University of Colorado at Denver in Educational Psychology.  Outside of school Mara enjoys being outdoors, going to live music, and cheering on the Boston Red Sox!
 

     Lara has 18 years of ECE experience. In those years she has worked for preschools in the boulder area. Lara has attended Metro State College of Denver and, received her ECE group leader certification in 1995.  Lara is a Colorado native and currently lives in Erie with her family.
 

     “…to be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the soul.” Simone Weil

    Shannon grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where her educational roots began at her synagogue, United Hebrew.  Upon returned from an extended high school trip to Israel, Shannon knew that she must stay connected and committed.  She graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree and teaching license in Elementary Education with a focus in English from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. There, she was the president of Student Environmental Action Coalition and was involved in the campus recycling initiative.  She worked as a special education assistant for a middle school, followed by substitute teaching k-8th grade in Peoria.  She and her husband decided it was time for a big change!  They moved to Denver to be close to the beautiful Rocky Mountains. She taught intermediate leveled classes, Title I reading, and computer technology at Hillel Academy.  Her favorite project at Hillel was working on the Science Expo! Shannon absolutely loves to teach and looks forward to the “aha!” moments that her students have. Shannon uses the constructive teaching model, in which students are actively engaged and construct their own meaning from educational experiences.   She is very excited to continue her teaching career at Boulder Jewish Day School.  Her hobbies include cooking, music, traveling, Scrabble, and going to dog parks with their lab mix Zimbra.
 

 Bio Coming Soon!
 

     Lynne moved to Colorado this summer to be near family; and she is very happy to have the chance to teach at BJDS. She is originally from Buffalo, New York where she earned my BA at the State University of New York at Buffalo and her Masters at Canisius College. Her focus was child development at UB and early child education and reading at Canisius.

     Lynne look forward to an exciting year at BJDS - you're welcome to come and visit her any time!
 

     Tracey is originally from southern California where she received her early childhood certification.  She has worked both as a teacher and a licensed center director for the past twelve years.  She moved to Colorado in 2007 and is now licensed in Colorado to be a center director.  She enjoys spending free time with her two daughters and husband.
 

   Bio Coming Soon!

Marilyn Pinsker
Early Childhood Advisor