Speakers’ Bureau

Aviva Black

Preserving Your Family Stories; Speaking Your Family Stories; Turning a Blank Card into a Keepsake

Zoom, Limited In Person
(San Francisco Bay area and New York City only)

Aviva Black is founder and principal at Family Love Letters. Aviva was a history teacher and Vice Principal, and has worked widely with intergenerational families in synagogue and other settings. She earned a B.A. in political science and history at the University of Vermont and a Masters of Education at Hunter College. Through Family Love Letters, founded in 2018, she works one-on-one with individuals and presents to groups around the country. Aviva lives with her family in Oakland, California with her husband, daughter, and son (when they’re home from school) and her mother, who lives nearby.

Margie Bogdanow 

How to Create a Grandparents’ Group; Building Resiliency in Young People Through Telling Stories; The Power of Grandparents

Zoom Only

Margie Bogdanow, Gramma to seven, is an LICSW social worker, coach, and consultant based in New England whose professional work focuses on impacting adults to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the BeWell Initiative at Jewish Federations of North America. Margie was a co-creator of the Grandparenting Through a Jewish Lens and Parenting Teens Through a Jewish Lens curriculum at Hebrew College. She has been involved in many projects with JGN and also currently serves as the Chair of the 18Doors Grandparent Advisory Council.   

Dr. Kerry Byrne

Grandparenting at a Distance; Ending Ageism: The Vital Role of Grandparents

Zoom Only

Kerry Byrne, PhD, is a researcher and entrepreneur specializing in aging, care, and connection. As the Founder of The Long Distance Grandparent, she is recognized as a leading expert in helping grandparents foster fun and meaningful relationships with their grandchildren, no matter the distance.  

With over 20 years of experience in academia, business, and the nonprofit sector, she understands the importance of grandparent-grandchild relationships for our families, communities and society at large.  

Dr. Byrne is well known for combining her academic expertise with personal insights, drawing on not only decades spent as a researcher, but also her personal experience as a mother living apart from her children’s grandparents for a decade. Kerry empowers grandparents with creative and effective methods to cultivate lasting connections with their grandchildren. 

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman 

Bringing the Jewish Holidays and Torah Stories to Life with Grandchildren; Play, Drama, and Theater Arts  

Zoom, Limited In Person

Jonathan Shmidt Chapman is an award-winning artist, writer, and Jewish educator, and author of Let There Be Play: Bringing the Bible to Life with Young Children (Behrman House). As the founder of The K’ilu Company, Jonathan reimagines Jewish youth and family engagement through theater and play. He leads programming and professional development in synagogues, day schools, and early childhood centers nationwide. 

Jonathan is a curricular partner and consultant for ElevatEd, the Jewish Grandparents Network, and Jewish United Fund Chicago. He is a recipient of The Covenant Foundation’s 2022 Pomegranate Prize for emerging Jewish educators and was named the Foundation’s inaugural Jewish Family Education Fellow in 2023. He is also a recipient of The Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America’s Medallion Award. Previously, Jonathan served as executive director of Theater for Young Audiences USA and as producer of family programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.  He lives in the Chicago area with his husband, Rabbi David Chapman, and their two children.

Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen

How Grandparents Can Play with Infants

and Young Grandchildren 

Zoom Only

A graduate of Brandeis University with an MLS from Rutgers and a Doctorate in Communications Design from the University of Baltimore, Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen developed the nationally recognized Mother Goose on the Loose® early literacy program which “revolutionized the way story times are presented to young children at libraries across the country.” Involvement in Young Judaea combined with work as a children’s librarian in public libraries and children’s museums both in Israel and in the US has led Betsy to become a trusted leader in the field of early literacy, a prolific author and inspiring presenter. She received the Association for Library Services to Children’s Distinguished Service Award, the Alexandre Vattemare Award for Creativity in Libraries, and the  ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award. She lives in Baltimore, MD and enjoys presenting a monthly Mother Goose on the Loose Tot Shabbat with her two grandchildren.

Dr. Marshall Duke 

Family Stories  

Zoom Only

Marshall P. Duke, PhD is Charles Howard Candler Professor Psychology Emeritus at Emory University. His research on the importance of knowledge of family history in building resilience in children has been widely cited and is a foundation for family narrative programs in places such as the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, the Tenement Museum in New York and the Jewish Grandparents Network. In addition to many articles about his work in major news outlets, during his 55–year career he has also appeared on numerous radio and TV programs, most notably, the Oprah Winfrey Show. He has been married to his dear Sara for 60 years and they have three children, 11 grandchildren and one great grand…dog. 

Avraham Infeld 

Master Storis about Israel; Grandparents and Memories  

Zoom, Limited In Person

Based in Jerusalem, but a tireless traveler to all parts of the globe, Avraham Infeld has dedicated his long and distinguished career to helping Jews find meaning and joy in their Jewish identities.  

The central vehicle of his impact in Jewish life began in 1970 with his founding of Melitz Centers for Jewish Zionist Education which served as a forerunner of many creative initiatives in Jewish life. 

President Emeritus of Hillel International, Avram was Birthright’s founding International Director and led the Planning Process which created one of the most successful and formative educational programs in the Jewish world. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Bible and Jewish History, and of Tel Aviv University’s Law School. He is the recipient of numerous awards including Hebrew University’s prestigious Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education and Honorary doctorates from Muhlenberg College and Hebrew Union College.

Jane Isay

Family Relationships; Interpersonal Communications; Resolving Conflict 

Zoom, In Person

Author of the beloved Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today, Jane Isay has written three other books: Walking on Eggshells about dealing with adult children; Mom Still Likes You Best, about siblings in adulthood; and Secrets and Lies about the impact of keeping secrets and the power of truth. She has served on the board of publishing companies and nonprofits, and had lectured widely about family dynamics and relationships. Her webinar, A Gathering of Grandparents, is sponsored by the Rowe Center and has been meeting every other week for over four years.  Jane spent over 40 years as a book editor and publisher, and lives in New York near her children and four grandchildren.  

Dr. Ruth Nemzoff 

Family Relationships; Multifaith Family Dynamics 

Zoom Only

Dr. Ruth Nemzoff, author of Don’t Roll Your Eyes: Making In-Laws into Family (Palgrave) and Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children (Palgrave/Macmillan) is currently writing a book on grandparenting . She is an Alumna Scholar at Brandeis’s Women’s Studies Research Center. Ruth holds a doctorate in social policy from Harvard University, an MA in counseling from Columbia University, and a BA in American studies from Barnard College. She has spoken in over 400 venues around the world. 

David Raphael 

Understanding Today’s Grandparents; How Organizations Benefit from Engaging Grandparents  

Zoom, In Person

David Raphael is the co-founder and CEO of the Jewish Grandparents Network. A graduate of Albany University and the Columbia University School of Social Work, David spent 30 years in Hillel including roles as Assistant International Director, Executive Director of Hillel of Greater Baltimore and Senior Campus Liaison for Hillel International. David was also the founding Executive Director of the Floortime Foundation and the Executive Director of the Maryland Teen Initiative. David and his wife Jo live in Atlanta, have three grown children, two grandchildren, and two dogs.  

Dr. Jane Sherwin Shapiro 

Jewish Value; Jewish Learning; Spirituality;

Becoming a Grandparent 

Zoom, In Person

Jane Shapiro is passionate about all aspects of Jewish teaching and learning. She has been a teacher to many over the last thirty-five years, in classes ranging from weekly Torah study to Jewish thought, history and literature. As a founder of Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning, she has explored new ways to assist learners in bringing Jewish wisdom into conversation with their lives.  Currently, Jane is thinking more about the spiritual practices of being a grandparent. She is a graduate of Princeton University, and received her doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 2017 Jane received an Educators Award from the Covenant Foundation. In 2018 she was featured in an Eli talk on “The Torah of Bubbiehood.” She lives in Skokie, Illinois with her husband David and is also mother to four sons, mother-in-law to three daughters, and grandmother to six.  

Dr. Betsy Stone 

Grief and Loss — How We Recover; Generational Differences; How to Grandparent

Zoom, In Person

Betsy Stone, Ph.D., tackles some of the most difficult issues facing individuals, families, and organizations today: developing character, dealing with stress and anxiety, facing trauma and its aftermath. Her optimism, critical thinking and hopeful approach help people find ways to change and grow. She invites discussion and ideas, and is skilled at creating opportunities for your organization to tackle complex ideas.

Dr. Stone is practical and informative. Her interactive presentations are designed to both teach and present opportunities for change. As an experienced psychologist, she understands how people change and what impedes growth. Whether in workshops, webinars, lectures or Scholar-in-Residence experiences, Dr. Stone helps people figure out what they are ready to learn, and then teaches it.