Who We Are

Greg Beiles, President of The Lola Stein Institute

Greg Beiles became Director of the Lola Stein Institute in 2010 and is the former Head of School at the Toronto Heschel School. For the 18 years prior to being named Head of School, Greg worked and taught at the school is increasingly senior capacities. From 2008 to 2010 he also served as Director of Curriculum and Training at the Lola Stein Institute.

Greg holds an MA in the Philosophy of Education from The Ontario Institute for Studies an Education and is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for the Study of Religion, both at the University of Toronto. His research explores a re-framed vision for Jewish education.

Greg’s publications include “Jewish education and pluralistic engagement”, in Discipline, Devotion and Dissent: The promise and problems of Jewish, Catholic and Islamic schooling, ed. G. McDonough, M. Memon, and A. Mintz. In the PEJE publication, Jewish Day School Education, he published “And you shall love your God.”  His column “Awe and Wonder” appears regularly in think magazine;  his titles include; “What Makes a School Jewish?” and “Education for the Next Generation: Thinking in the Disciplines.”   Greg has led workshops and presentations in a variety of settings, including The Bridges Conference at the Banff, York University,  the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, and the Lola Stein Institute,  A few workshops titles include:  A Critical Thinking Approach to Numeracy; Five senses and the Five Books of Moses; Metaphor and God; Understanding Understanding; Discipline & Wonder: Integrating the Theories of A.J. Heschel and Howard Gardener in an Educational Context.

Pam Medjuck Stein, Chair of The Lola Stein Institute and Editor of Think Magazine

Pam co-founded the Lola Stein Institute in 2003. She was a founding parent of The Toronto Heschel School in 1996 and served on its Board of Directors as Treasurer, Co-Chair, and Director. She is active across the community and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Jewish News, the Canadian Friends of the Shalom Hartman Institute and the North American Alumni Delegate Council of the Wexner Heritage Foundation. She and her husband, Michael Stein, recently established The Diabetes Leadership Foundation to strengthen organizations that mentor better diabetes self-management.

Pam earned a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics, pursued further training in cultural property in London and Paris and practiced law in Toronto. Pam introduced collective copyright management to Canadian visual artists in 1984 by establishing VIS ART Copyright Inc. linking Canadian artists to international copyright management through UNESCO. She has been Co-Chair of the LEAF Foundation (Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund) and a Fellow of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.

Dvora Goodman, Coordinator

Dvora Goodman consults with and mentors Jewish educators in a variety of settings.  She is the coordinator of the Lola Stein Institute. She also works with the iCenter on day school, camp, and conflict education initiatives. 

Advisors

Gail Baker

Gail is one of the co-founders of the Toronto Heschel School and was the Head of School from 2001 to 2014.  In 2003 she co-founded the Lola Stein Institute and in the past has served as the Director of the institute and the Learning Community Director.  Gail has a MEd in Curriculum Development from OISE at the University of Toronto, and a certificate in special education and dramatic arts from the Ministry of Education. 

Gail has extensive professional experience in various educational settings.  She is currently co-directing the Intergenerational Classroom, a program where students from the Toronto Heschel School and elders from the Terraces at Baycrest learn together.  She was the head of the Principal’s Association of Toronto’s Board of Jewish Education from 2009-2011.

Gail has written extensively about education.  She is currently a columnist for think magazine, reviewing “Good Books”.  Her previous column was Teaching Teaching.  Gail co-authored a book with Otto Baruch Rand entitled, “Ancient Civilizations”, which integrates Jewish history with world history.  In 2011 she co-authored with Judith Leitner and Pam Medjuck Stein an article published in the Lookstein Center’s Jewish Educational Leadership journal entitled, “Transformative Jewish Education through the Arts”. 

Gail has been a presenter in various settings in Toronto and in North American conferences.  She continues to be involved in the Lola Stein Institute and think magazine.

Nancy Marcus

Nancy Marcus is one of Canada’s most recognized marketing professionals in the consumer packaged goods industry.  Her strategic insights and marketing innovations have made her an award-winning influencer in the industry. Nancy has revolutionized marketing launching new products/portfolio extensions; product quality enhancements; award-winning, multi-faceted PR, marketing and advertising campaigns; and a long-term, integrated partnership with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.   Nancy was named one of Canada’s Top Marketers for turning the Tissue category “on its head”, she and her team have collected over 80 national and internationally recognized awards for Kruger’s innovative marketing approach and leadership position.  With over thirty years experience in Domestic and International Consumer Marketing and Sales, she is a member of the Kruger Executive Leadership Team; Past Chair and annual best practice evaluator for the Cassies; Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Advertising Standards Council. In 2014  Nancy was named one of Canada’s Star Women in Grocery, and awarded the Women’s Executive Network Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.