Rabbi Dr. Laura Novak Winer has been appointed Director of the Master of Educational Leadership (MEdL) Program. Rabbi Dr. Novak Winer has been a member of the leadership team and part-time faculty of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education since 2016 as Director of Clinical Education. She will now expand her portfolio to supervise the daily operations and academic coursework of the new Master of Educational Leadership program, including the clergy-education program. Dr. Novak Winer will work to expand opportunities for cantorial students in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music and rabbinical students from all three campus to enrich their education by pursuing the MEdL degree.
According to Dr. Miriam Heller Stern, Director of the School of Education, “Rabbi Dr. Novak Winer is a career rabbi-educator, leader in the field of Jewish education, educational researcher, and HUC-ordained/Rhea Hirsch School of Education alumna who has been and continues to be an essential guide of change in the School of Education and in the field. As a sophisticated, compassionate, experienced Jewish educator and rabbi, she is a valuable resource and network weaver for our early career education and clergy students.” This appointment will enable Dr. Stern to play a larger role in assisting the Provost with national strategic educational initiatives.
Rabbi Dr. Winer has worked in and with a variety of afternoon school settings and her current research foci are Israel education and the supplementary school. She has been published in a variety of academic and online journals, is a regular contributor to Moment Magazine’s Ask the Rabbis column, and was the editor of several curricula, including Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics (2005 and 2007). She is also past president of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators.
Laura earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a Master of Arts in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education and rabbinical ordination at HUC-JIR, and a doctorate in Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary Davidson School of Graduate Education.