Advisory Council
Heath Grant
John Jay College, CUNY, Criminal Justice, Faculty Member
Prior to returning to the full-time faculty of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2013, Dr. Grant was most recently the Director of Research of the Police Executive Research Forum, a leading Washington DC organization dedicated to advancing law enforcement and crime prevention internationally. Formerly, as CEO, of Success for Kids (SFK), he oversaw the planning, implementation, curriculum development, partnerships & strategic program alliances and evaluation of the organization’s international programs and services. A 15 year program executive, his experience and innovative style has positioned SFK’s unique approach to Social Emotional Learning as one of the most sought after program partnership opportunities throughout Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. On behalf of the Asia Foundation, he also recently developed training curricula for the Bangladesh Police on community policing. He subsequently conducted an assessment there related to the status of community policing in the country. This year, he led a research effort for the State Department to assess youth violence issues in the Caribbean and make recommendations for systems wide change. Throughout the last two decades, he has helped to develop and evaluate school-based programs to promote youth resiliency. Formerly Deputy Chair of the Law and Police Science Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, he provided training and technical assistance to many youth prevention programs and police agencies internationally. As a senior consultant and later Associate Director, he helped develop, train teachers, and expand a curriculum to foster social responsibility that has reached thousands of youth throughout the world. His keen executive program management skills have helped to secure and manage more than $20 million in program support throughout his career. Prior to joining SFK in 2005, as Director of Research and Training, he was a senior consultant for the “The Culture of Lawfulness Project” sponsored by the National Strategy Information Center (NSIC) - a nongovernmental educational organization based in Washington, DC. His unique approach to the program was instrumental in helping partners in the Americas and the Middle East foster societal support for the rule of law by engaging governmental and civil society leaders. Today this program continues to reach over one million children per year around the world. He is an expert in Social Emotional Learning, the correlation between law and society, and juvenile violence prevention and has published a number of books, training manuals and articles on these subjects. He is the author of Building a Culture of Lawfulness, 2006 and Law Enforcement in the Twenty-first Century, 2007. In sum, Dr. Grant has worked with the US Department of State, National Institute of Justice and other agencies in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa to develop programs focused on building a culture of lawfulness, counter crime and corruption (including training programs for the Colombian National Police and Federal Police of Mexico). In addition to consulting at the Department of State and other agencies, Dr. Grant has taught criminal justice, law enforcement, at the graduate and undergraduate level. He has received numerous awards and honors and was awarded the highly recognized Bradley Post-doctoral Fellowship at Georgetown University; the Arthur Niederhoffer Fellowship and received the Prestigious Arts ’50 Scholarship. Dr. Grant is a member of the Every Child is Ours Foundation. Dr. Grant’s drive and commitment to research based programs has distinguished him as a leader in his field and made him a highly sought after speaker and presenter. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Masters of Arts in Criminal Justice and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, from John Jay College in New York City .
Laura Kohn-Wood
University of Miami, Dean, School of Education and Human Development
Dr. Kohn-Wood is currently a Professor and Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami (UM). Dr. Kohn-Wood previously served as chair of the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, the founding program director of the Master’s in Community & Social Change program and, with colleagues, developed the Ph.D. Program in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami. She also previously held the title of Associate Vice Provost for the Office of Institutional Culture, served as the Senior Resident Faculty of Pearson Residential College and was the Inaugural co-Chair of the University’s Standing Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Kohn-Wood received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Community Psychology, from the University of Virginia in 1996 and completed an internship at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Kohn-Wood’s research program Race, Ethnicity, Culture and Promotion of Strengths (RECAPS) focuses on race, ethnicity, and culture in relation to the experience of psychological phenomena among diverse populations, with an emphasis on race-based protective factors and the promotion of positive coping and mental health among African Americans.
Bill Kuhn
Head of School, Birch Wathen Lenox
Bill Kuhn is Head of School at The Birch Wathen Lenox School (BWL), a K–12 independent school in New York City, a role he has held since 2022. As Head of School, he provides strategic leadership across all areas of the institution, including academics and programming, admissions, advancement, college counseling, communications, and finance. Bill joined BWL in 2014 and has served the school in a range of teaching and administrative roles, including as an Upper School mathematics teacher and Associate Dean of Students. His experience in the classroom and school leadership has given him a broad perspective on both the academic mission of the school and the institutional work required to support it. Before entering education, Bill worked in investment banking and capital markets at Citigroup and Collins Stewart. Drawing on his experience in both education and finance, he brings a strategic and entrepreneurial perspective to school leadership, with a particular focus on strengthening academic programs, fostering institutional growth, and preparing students for a rapidly changing world. He has written extensively on constructive dialogue and viewpoint diversity, and has implemented a model at BWL that champions open discourse and a broad spectrum of perspectives. Bill is a member of YPO Liberty (a New York City chapter). He has a B.S. from Georgetown University, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and an M.Ed from Hunter College.
Tara Liberman, PsyD
Jewish Community Mental Health Initiative (JCMHI) Founder/Executive Director
Dr. Tara Liberman is a licensed psychologist in private practice in New York City, specializing in psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and adults. She serves on the faculty of the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training Program at the William Alanson White Institute, where she teaches and supervises psychology and social work trainees. She is a candidate in the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Throughout her career, Dr. Liberman has partnered with both public and independent schools as an in-house psychologist and consultant, helping school communities navigate crises, process collective loss, and foster healing and resilience. In the weeks following October 7, 2023, Dr. Liberman led the grassroots effort that became the Jewish Community Mental Health Initiative (JCMHI), mobilizing and training mental health professionals to provide free, trauma-informed virtual support groups for the Jewish community. Under her leadership, JCMHI has grown into an international initiative advancing the mental health and resilience of Jewish communities through direct support, research, and education on the psychological impacts of antisemitism, and identity-based hate. Dr. Liberman serves on the Collaborative of Jewish Psychologists at the American Psychological Association and on the leadership committee of the International Jewish Association of Trauma Therapists. She is a frequent speaker and educator on the psychological impacts of antisemitism, identity-based hate, trauma, resilience, community healing and post traumatic growth.
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Professor of History, The New School
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is Professor of History, NSSR/Lang, and historian of contemporary American politics and culture. She is the author of, most recently, Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession (University of Chicago Press, 2023). She is a frequent media guest expert, public speaker, and contributor to outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and MSNBC Opinion, where she is a columnist. A former K-12 teacher, Petrzela is currently the lead scholar on the New York City Department of Education’s Jewish American Hidden Voices curriculum, launched in Fall 2025. She co-produced and hosted the acclaimed podcast Welcome to Your Fantasy and the Past Present podcast, and was host and Executive Producer of the BBC podcast, EXTREME. She is working on two new books. One, on the United States' classroom culture wars, has earned her recognition as a Carnegie Corporation Fellow and a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar. The second is a history of Long Island’s East End, co-authored with historian Neil J. Young. She holds a BA from Columbia University and a PhD from Stanford University.
Zach Schaffer
Co-Founder of Project Shema
Zach Schaffer is a facilitator, educator, and organizer who works at the crossroads of conflict, communication, and trust-building.As co-founder of Project Shema, Zach built a multimillion-dollar antisemitism education organization rooted in curiosity and compassion. While there, he oversaw the delivery of more than 1,000 programs on Jewish inclusion, belonging, and safety. He has personally trained thousands of leaders and government officials worldwide at institutions including Harvard, Columbia, Amazon, Salesforce, AMC Networks, and the U.S. Department of Justice. His antisemitism education work has been recognized by Harvard University’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism, and he is “highly recommended” as a trainer in Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism report. Today, Zach continues to deliver workshops and keynotes around the world, teaches a graduate course, helps technology companies better understand the people they serve, and travels frequently to Europe, where he’s building a new regional antisemitism education initiative. Through his consulting practice, Ritual Architecture, he works with organizations to design rituals that improve culture and retention. Across conflict, culture, and technology, his work centers on how trust is built. Zach serves on the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish movement in North America, and on the board of Shefa, a Jewish psychedelic community. He also co-founded Sanctuary, a community-building initiative in Brooklyn. Zach received his Master of Science in Nonprofit Management at Gratz College and his undergraduate degree in communication & rhetoric and political science at the University of Pittsburgh. He resides in Brooklyn, where he enjoys live music, dried mango, and riding his motorcycle.
Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath
Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas and Learning at The Jewish Education Project
Dr. Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath is a lifelong Jewish educator and learner. She is the Senior Director of Knowledge, Ideas and Learning at The Jewish Education Project, and is a nationally recognized expert on Jewish identity, antisemitism and Israel education. Samantha is the author of #antisemitism: Coming of Age During the Resurgence of Hate, a finalist for the 2022 National Jewish Book Award in the category of Education + Jewish Identity. She is an adjunct lecturer at Gratz College, regularly writes for a variety of Jewish publications and is the cohost of the podcast Adapting: The Future of Jewish Education. Samantha is an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh, the Jewish Theological Seminary and Gratz College, and is an adjunct fellow at the Z3 Institute. She is currently at work on her next book, a guide for parents raising proud Jewish children. An Israeli-American who has lived and taught throughout the Jewish world, Samantha lives in Westchester with her family.
