Scott Abramson is a historian of the modern Middle East and the senior research officer at CIE. He received his master's degree from Brandeis University's Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and his Ph.D. from UCLA's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. He has held postdoctoral appointments at UCLA’s Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and at Northwestern University's Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. Dr. Abramson has designed and taught many courses on the history and culture of Israel and the Middle East to much acclaim, UCLA, for one, honoring him in 2018 with its highest accolade for instruction, the Distinguished Teaching Award. He has written many articles—their subjects spanning a diverse topical spread, from Iranian Jewry to Lebanese Armenians—for popular publications and in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. At CIE, he creates digital and curricular content for students of all ages and understandings. Scott is an integral teaching participant in CIE's teen, young adult, and adult education programs.

Dr. Michael Berger is a CIE consultant and a lead presenter in CIE educator workshops pertaining to Judaism and the origins of Jewish nationhood. He is an Associate Professor of Jewish Law and Ethics in Emory University's Department of Religion, where he teaches courses in the history of Judaism, Jewish ethics, Rabbinic literature and modern Jewish thought.  He received his BA with honors at Princeton, MA and doctoral degrees from Columbia. At Emory, his research and teaching focus on the development of Jewish law and ethics, issues of medieval and modern Jewish thought, and the formation of contemporary Jewish identity particularly among the ultra-Orthodox. For CIE, he has produced several highly respected digital items, Religion and State in Israel, The Haredim and the State of Israel, Religious Zionism, and The Origins of Jewish Nationhood.

Tiffany Borrego is a graduate from the University of Central Florida, where she obtained a dual bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Spanish in December 2017, and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Terrorism Studies in December 2019. Tiffany studied abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain to obtain her certification as a translator and interpreter in the second to last semester of her undergraduate career. She completed her master’s degree with a dissertation focused on terrorist groups in the Middle East, and also became an avid participant in AIPAC conferences before her graduation date, where she gained the opportunity to participate in the 2018 Campus Allies Mission to Israel. In September 2019, Tiffany began working as a legislative assistant in the Florida Senate, where she worked on policy research, legislative analysis and constituent outreach. Now at CIE, she is involved in creating and translating content for Spanish-speaking audiences and helping develop outreach strategies for Latin American communities.

Aaron Bregman is the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Associate Director of High School Affairs. He is a highly experienced educator with teaching expertise in U.S., European, and Middle East Jewish history. For more than a decade he taught at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS) in Rockville, Maryland. Prior to teaching there, Aaron was the High School Curriculum/Program Manager for The David Project, a non-profit that helped shape campus opinions on Israel. Additionally, he was engaged in both the Anti-Defamation League’s Glass Leadership Institute and the Israel Policy Forum’s Atid Charles Bronfman Fellowship. Aaron grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts and attended American University in Washington, D.C., where he received his B.A. in history with a concentration in American foreign policy and Jewish studies and his M.A. in secondary education. With CIE he has been and remains a regular contributor to programs for Israel educators and for young Jewish adults.

Dr. Noga Cohavi resides in Haifa where she is an Israeli educator and key participant in the Jewish Peoplehood Program of the Israeli Ministry of Education. She writes teaching/learning units and guides teachers in professional development opportunities in the fields of Jewish and Israeli identity. She teaches in the Jewish Peoplehood Program at Haifa University and leads a world-wide steering committee, Avnei Bohan on Jewish and Israel education. Cohavi is the author of numerous works in Hebrew and English, representative of them is her “Move the Goalposts: A Proposal for a Didactic Discussion on Jewish Peoplehood,” 2020. Growing up in the Arava she received her advanced degrees from Haifa University, writing her dissertation on the perception of the Golain the Dialogue between Moshe Sharett and Nahum Goldmann. She participates in CIE programs as a thought leader in defining and acquiring Jewish and Israel education.

Tal is the Vice President for Outreach and Pre-Collegiate School Management Initiatives at CIE. In July 2011, she became the Elementary School Principal of the Epstein School in Atlanta, GA. She earned her doctorate from Capella University in 2011 in curriculum and instruction, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Portland in 2006 with honors, a Bachelors of Education in the Advanced Teaching Certification Program focusing on English as second language at Beit Berl Teacher Education College, Kfar Saba, Israel from 1997-1999, and a B.A. from Boston University in 1995. In 2005, she came from the Portland Hebrew Academy to join the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel as the senior curriculum designer. From 2005 to the present, she led and conducted the pedagogy portions of the ISMI/CIE one-week Israel Education Teacher Workshops.

Carmen studied World History and Geography at the University of the Andes and worked for 17 years for the airline Aeropostal in San Cristóbal, Venezuela as an air communications radio operator. With her job, she obtained the opportunity to travel around the world and work with people from across the globe. She also worked for 18 years as the manager at a storage facility in one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the Tampa Bay Area, where she helped the business develop and focus on the growing Spanish-speaking community surrounding the business. At CIE, she provides support to the Hispanic Communities Outreach team, working on translations, research and outreach.

With decades of experience in Jewish and Israel education, Rhonda received her BS in Psychology from Georgia Southwestern University in 1991. Participating in multiple professional development programs throughout her career, has enabled her to enhance her teaching in congregational and experiential education settings. Rhonda is an engaging teacher and innovative curriculum development writer,  focusing on middle and high school students, adult programming, and family education. She is a passionate advocate for lifelong Jewish and Israeli learning.  For more than 20 years, she worked at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell, GA, serving as Board of Education Chairperson. In 2007, she was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Jewish Women of Distinction and a Teacher of the Year in 2018. In addition to creating multiple Israel curriculum items with the CIE team, Rhonda administers CIE's teen and young adult initiatives, TILI, and mentors contributors to those programs. 

Maya Rezak earned her Emory University BA with honors in political science with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies in May 2025. She served as President of Emory Hillel, engaging deeply in Jewish and Israel program initiatives. Fluent in Hebrew, she taught in several elementary grades in an Atlanta congregation. As a Research Assistant, Maya correlates resources, writes materials for the CIE website, composes Israel curriculum, and conducts research projects connected to Israel’s domestic and foreign policies.

Debbie Sasson is a CIE consultant overseeing CIE projects, and thus part of the management team engaged in active and evolving CIE partnerships, on-going programs, marketing, and long term planning, Her experience in Jewish and Israel education spans two decades, writing curriculum, teaching in day school and congregational school settings, leading youth groups, Israeli clubs and in camp environments, particularly with Ramah Darom. She has taught middle school and high school students, having made several presentations in CIE's educator and teen programs. She earned an MA in Teaching Secondary School Social Studies from Manhattanville College, and her undergraduate degree in International and Middle Eastern Studies at Emory University.

For more than a quarter century Heather worked as Administrative Assistant and Program Administrator at the Emory Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, and then Office Manager for the Center for Israel Education. Engaging easily with students, faculty, staff and contacts across the university and general public, she personified patience, humor and grace. Her warmhearted rapport with the dozens of student interns and visiting scholars who worked through ISMI and CIE enobled our relationships with them. She passed away in October 2024, a loving mother, devoted wife, sister, daughter, and friend to many.

Rabbi Daniel Allen (z"l) was a special assistant to the CIE Board engaged in long term planning and development. For forty years he served with distinction in multiple positions across the Jewish communal world. Twice he served as the Executive Vice Chairman of the United Israel Appeal (UIA) and Senior Vice President of the Jewish Federations of North America. In this role, he worked with federations explaining the work of the Jewish Agency for Israel and directly oversaw the work of the Israel Education Fund (IEF). Allen also managed the UIA- US Congressional grant which over the past 40 years now totals more than $1.7B. UIA is also responsible for $30M in donor advised funding for Israeli amutot (charitable organizations) He worked as the chief professional of the Masorti Foundation, the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), and the UJA Young Leadership cabinet. Additionally he served as head of the American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI), boosting is annually giving six fold. Prior to that, he served for eight years as a Hillel director at Michigan State University and Emory University. His breadth of knowledge about Israel and American Jewish philanthropy and extraordinary experience of working with Israel based institutions provided CIE with unique perspective and guidance Rabbi Allen was married to Mary Lou Frishberg. They are the parents of three children and Saba/Safta to four children. Read More