Aaron Kaufman joined JFNA's Washington DC office in January 2016. He focuses on disability and poverty issues, serving as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, and helps Federations become more inclusive and welcoming of people with disabilities. 

Aaron came from the Arc Maryland where he lobbied members of the Maryland General Assembly and the Maryland Congressional delegation on issues affecting Marylanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Having Cerebral Palsy, Aaron feels he brings a unique perspective to JFNA’s efforts on behalf of people with disabilities. Outside of advocacy, he was the instructor in Project SEARCH Montgomery, a job-training program for young adults with significant disabilities.

Aaron graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a BA in American Studies and with several honors. He is the former Vice Chair of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.  He also served on the Board of the National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils as well as the Board of Disability Rights Maryland. Aaron is a member of the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

Ali joins Gateways following six years as the Director of Support and Counseling at Schechter Boston. She has worked as a school psychologist in both the public and private sector, providing comprehensive mental health supports. Ali has experience working with a broad range of students from kindergarten through eighth grade, conducting a wide array of assessment methods, employing multiple consultation techniques, and implementing therapeutic and behavioral interventions. 

Her past experience also includes ACCEPT Education Collaborative, where she worked in a substantially separate therapeutic program for K-8 students who were unable to make adequate social and emotional progress in traditional classrooms, and also co-developed a program to provide short-term stabilization, assessment, and instructional services to students who were temporarily excluded from their educational placement due to emotional and behavioral challenges. Ali believes that if all children feel safe and loved, and are given the supports they need, they will thrive.

Jennie Marble, MA CCC-SLP, is the Director of JCFS Chicago’s Integrated Pediatric Therapies program. Jennie is a speech-language pathologist. She works with individuals, and their families, from infancy through adults addressing feeding and communication skills.

Through conversations and consultative work, Jennie supports building stronger and more informed communities as well as growing neighborhood networks for the individuals JCFS Chicago serves. 

Meredith Englander Polsky co-founded Matan in 2000 and currently serves as Matan’s Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships. In 2001, Meredith was one of eight national recipients of the inaugural fellowship awarded by Joshua Venture: A Fellowship for Jewish Social Entrepreneurs. Meredith has published articles in various print and online publications, including The Washington Jewish Week, The Institute for Southern Jewish Life and eJewish Philanthropy. She is a nationally sought-after speaker on Jewish Special Education and is often called upon as an expert voice in the field. She teaches courses in Jewish Special Education at Gratz College and is a 2017 Covenant Award recipient. From 2014-2021 she served as the part-time inclusion specialist at Gan Ami, a Jewish early childhood program in Rockville, MD. She is a clinical social worker at Arbit Counseling, specializing in Selective Mutism.

Meredith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Special Education from Bank Street College, a Master of Arts in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University and a graduate certificate in Early Intervention from Georgetown University. She is co-author of the I Have a Question children’s book series (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), helping children with special needs (and all children!) grapple with difficult topics. Meredith lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and three children.

Rebecca Wanatick received her Ed.M. in Special Education from Boston University and a BA in both Elementary and Special Education from University of Hartford.  She has been engaged in the field of special education since she was old enough to volunteer her time, holding roles as an educator, camp division head and disability inclusion director.

Rebecca is employed by Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, as the Director of Disability Inclusion & Belonging, beginning her 15th year. The department she leads, Greater MetroWest ABLE (Access, Belonging and Life Enrichment for People with Disabilities and Their Families), engages families, synagogues and agencies in the Greater MetroWest community in creating a Jewish community that is accessible to all members. The Federation envisions a community made whole through the active and meaningful participation of all of its members, with opportunities for access to every aspect of Jewish life.

As Director of Disability Inclusion & Belonging, Rebecca serves as a facilitator between the families and Greater MetroWest partner agencies, helping to make connections and raise the level of inclusive programming, community wide.  She coordinates both family and educator workshops, advocate training for teens, engages with synagogue inclusion committees, and provides outreach and advocacy resources for individuals with disabilities and their families in the community.

Rebecca is married to her husband Michael for 30 years and together they have two sons.  Sam graduated from Penn State and Alex is completing his graduate degree at Quinnipiac University.

Shelly Christensen, MA FAAIDD, believes that people with disabilities, and those who love them, want what anyone else wants—to belong, to contribute, and to be a valued member of their chosen faith community. Her passion for and calling to this work stem from her personal struggles and joys as a person living with a disability, and as the parent of an autistic child. She is a pioneer and innovator in the Jewish and interfaith disability inclusion movement as a popular keynote speaker, consultant, author, and trainer.

Shelly is the Senior Director of Faith Inclusion and Belonging at RespectAbility where she works with Jewish and interfaith organizations and communities to develop strategies and practices to foster diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Shelly holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota in Journalism and a Master of Arts degree from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Developmental Disabilities. She is a Fellow of the American Association Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAAIDD) and is the 2021 recipient of the prestigious AAIDD Religion and Spirituality Leadership Award, which recognizes her innovative and exemplary contributions to the field of faith community inclusion. Shelly is the co-founder of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM).