Alan M. Reinitz
Chief Executive Officer
alan@sosintl.org
Glynis Smith
Chief Operating Officer
glynis@sosintl.org
Early Childhood Morim Steering Committee
Elaine Auerbach
Elaine Auerbach received her BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University and her Masters in Early Childhood Education from the George Washington University. She has been an early childhood educator for over 45 years, as both a classroom teacher and a preschool director. Ms. Auerbach has been the director of 4 early childhood programs, serving infants through age 5. In addition to her work with SOS International, she currently is part of the administrative team at Beth Sholom Early Childhood Center in Potomac, MD.
Mara Bier, MA – Chair and Program Director
Mara Bier received her BA in Special Education and her Masters in Early Childhood Special Education from the George Washington University. Mara taught and administered both early childhood special education programs as well as special education programs in religious school for many years. She worked at the Board of Jewish Education of Greater Washington as the Early Childhood Special Education Consultant from 1983-2003. In 2003, Mrs. Bier became the Director of the Early Childhood Department of the BJE and remained as the Director of the Early Childhood Program Area of the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and eventually the Senior Education Officer for Jewish Early Childhood Education at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. In this capacity, she provided professional development and leadership for over 40 Jewish Early Childhood Centers in Greater Washington.
Mara has taught workshops and courses nationally and internationally to early childhood educators. She has also taught Active Parenting and Active Jewish Parenting courses for families of young children. She worked as an Adjunct Professor at Gratz College where she taught in the On Line Early Childhood Jewish Education Program. She has presented at the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children as well as at CAJE Conferences. She has served as Co-President of the National Jewish Early Childhood Network, The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists (NAJECS) and the Alliance for Jewish Early Childhood Education. She has served on the advisory boards of Gratz College, Shalom Sesame, and Engage Long Island. She is a founding Board member of the DC Reggio Emilia Alliance Study Group. Mrs. Bier has published articles in the CAJE Early Childhood Journal, Innovations, and the Washington Jewish Week. She serves on the Montgomery County Early Childhood Advisory Board.
Ms. Bier retired from her full-time position in May 2017 and began consulting. She continues to teach and consult for many early childhood programs. She also organizes and leads study seminars to Reggio Emilia, Italy. Currently, Ms. Bier is also enjoying her volunteer position at SOS International where she is working with schools in Eastern Europe to strengthen their Early Childhood programs.
Fran Pfeffer
Fran Pfeffer has been an early childhood educator for over 35 years, working as a teacher and director, primarily in California and Northern Virginia. Currently, in addition to her work with SOS International, she works as a Professional Development Specialist for the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, DC., which provides certification for early childhood teachers.
Fran is the proud Bubbie of 5 and is the daughter of Polish Holocaust Survivors.
Shelley Remer
Shelley has been in the early childhood field for over 40 years, retiring in 2011 as the Director of Adas Israel’s Gan HaYeled Early Childhood Center in Washington DC. She has a B.A. in Education and a M.Ed. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, both from the University of Maryland. Shelley truly loved her career and is still passionate about working with educators to improve the quality of their programs.
Shelley has held a number of leadership positions both professionally and in the wider community. She was co-president of the National Jewish Early Childhood Network and of the DC Directors’ Council. Shelley has presented workshops at NAEYC Conventions and at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington Early Childhood Conferences. She was president of the Washington Region Women’s American Organization for Rehabilitation and Training (ORT) and was a vice president of Congregation Har Shalom.
Since retiring, Shelley continues to consult with a number of early childhood schools and, for the past five years, has been a consultant to the Maryland State Department of Education as a validator for their Early Childhood Accreditation Program.
Shelley is excited to be part of the SOS Early Morim Steering Committee.
Associate Consultant:
Debbie Togliatti
Debbie has been in Early Childhood Education for more than 35 years, with the past 32 years at the Palo Alto JCC, California. She is currently the gardening specialist for their large preschool and has spent nearly 30 years in the classroom.
Early Childhood Partner Schools in Europe
Benjamin Ovoda, Budapest, Hungary
Frajda JCC, Krakow, Poland
Gan Balagan, Sofia, Bulgaria
Gradinita Ganeden, Bucharest, Romania
Lauder Javne Ovoda, Budapest, Hungary
Lauder Morasha, Warsaw, Poland
High School Gesher Ambassadors Program Partner Schools
Adelson Educational Campus, Las Vegas, Nevada
Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, Baltimore, Maryland
Lauder Javne Iskola, Budapest, Hungary
Scheiber Sandor Gimnazium, Budapest, Hungary
Board Members
Carolyn Greene
Douglas Greene
Alan Reinitz
Glynis Smith
Aviva Tessler
Rabbi Joel Tessler
Mailing Address
SOS International
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 900
Rockville, Maryland 20852
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