Elysa Keshen is a Program Coordinator at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America supporting programming across Canada and other Midwest US cities. She holds a BA in Religious Studies from York University and a Masters in Jewish Education from Hebrew College, where her research focused on the impact of challah baking in kindergarten on children’s Jewish identity and spirituality.

Elysa’s experience in Jewish education spans the spectrum of both formal and informal Jewish education. She has spent summers at both Camp Ramah in Canada and JCC camps, taught in supplemental schools and worked with Jewish environmental programs in Toronto. Elysa lived in Israel for 3 years, where she served in the IDF. Most recently, she taught kindergarten at a day school in Toronto. She currently lives in Toronto with her son.