Inclusion by Design: This session will focus on the “why’s” and the “how’s” of including children with special needs and their families in congregational life. We will explore some of the most common learning challenges and examine the dichotomy of “being aware” and being an “expert”. Using ancient and contemporary Jewish texts along with resources from Matan, we will discover ways to bring empathy into our work and into the culture of our organization, making inclusion the norm.

M. Polsky – Matan Material for Worshop

Meredith Englander Polsky, a social worker and special educator, co-founded Matan in 2000 and currently serves as Matan’s National Director of Institutes and Training. Meredith has published articles in various print and online publications, including The Washington Jewish Week, PresenTense, RAVSAK’s HaYidion, The Institute for Southern Jewish Life and eJewishPhilanthropy. She teaches courses in Jewish Special Education at Gratz College and has recorded several webinars for the URJ Disabilities Inclusion Learning Center. She lives in the Washington DC metro area with her husband and 3 children.

Cantor Faryn Kates Rudnick has served as cantor of Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, IL, since her ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in 2013. Cantor Rudnick is the outgoing President of the Reform Cantors of Chicago and represents the American Conference of Cantors on the Jewish Disabilities Network. In the fall of 2015 Cantor Rudnick received Federation’s Samuel A. Goldsmith Young Professional Award for her work in the field of inclusion. Cantor Rudnick’s passion is working with the Jewish community and those with disabilities in the hopes of making the Jewish community fully inclusive. Cantor Rudnick is honored to have spent the year working with Cantor Rachel Stock-Spilker as t’filah co-chairs for this year’s convention in Philadelphia. In addition to her cantorial ordination and MSM from HUC, Cantor Rudnick holds an MA in music education from Montclair State University and a BM in music education from Miami University (Ohio). Cantor Rudnick and her husband, Jack, are expecting their first child this August, 2016, who they cannot wait to meet.