Eileen has worked in Jewish Communal Service for her entire career and is thrilled to be here at Temple Chaverim since 2012. She has a Masters of Social Work degree from Adelphi University and is licensed to practice in New York. During her professional career, Eileen has worked at the Mid-Island Y JCC, Music for Autism and the Suffolk Y JCC in a variety of positions.
Eileen’s experience includes working with teens, children, stepfamilies, single adults (divorce and bereavement), those who are unemployed and children with special needs. The experience of working with so many different populations serves her well here at Temple Chaveirm.
Eileen is active in professional organizations including the National Association of Temple Administrators where she has served as Partner Chair for several conferences. Previously she served on the Executive Board and chaired conferences for the Association of Jewish Center Professionals. She received the Atide Award from the Assocation in 1997 for one who has demonstrated new leadership and talent through program achievement. She has also served on the Boards of her synagogue and the Music Association of Plainview-Old Bethpage (where she still sits on the Board as Past President) and volunteers for the NYSSMA All-County Music Festival and at the Tilles Center.
Eileen has had the good fortune to travel to Israel several times, including chaperoning a 6 week trip for teens as well as leading a group of educators/JCC staff for Partnership 2000. She spends most of her spare time with her twin daughters who are pursuing their careers in education and library science. Any free time that is left is spent needlepointing and crafting, reading or involved in musical activities. She invites everyone to come in and see what Temple Chaverim has to offer and can be reached at eileen@templechaverim.org.
Debbye Brandell has been the Director of Education at Temple Chaverim since 1998. With her energy, vision and dedication she has been instrumental in developing our Religious School from a one day a week program to the vibrant religious school that we are so proud of. She has worked to meet every child, strives to insure that students of all abilities and backgrounds are included and celebrated, and welcomes them along their Jewish journey.
As the school director she has spearheaded many innovative programs. She created Stay, Play and Pray, a hands on exploration of Jewish holiday and values for our very youngest families as well as our Kindergarten class. She has worked collaboratively to establish our classes for children with special needs. Debbye played a central role in bringing ShalomLearning, which combines online digital media along with traditional classroom methods as an option for our 5th and 6th grade students.
A love of all things Jewish and especially Israel has been a part of Debbye’s life since her first teen experience, when she lived on Kibbutz K’far Blum for a month. She more recently participated in the Jewish Education Project’s Qushiyot Program where she was involved in a yearlong investigation of modern methods and philosophy of Israel Education. Previously, she was fortunate to be a part of a two and a half year fellowship in the Leadership Institute, a groundbreaking joint program of study at Hebrew Union College and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Her education also includes a Master’s Degree in Education.
Debbye and her husband Hal are so proud of their three grown children and their five adorable granddaughters. You can reach her at Dbrandell@templechaverim.org.