Dina Kantor is Executive Director at Chabad of Westport. Together with her husband, Rabbi Yehuda Kantor, she has founded Camp Gan Israel of Westport, The Chabad Hebrew School, and directs all programming at the Chabad Jewish Center. Dina has over 20 years of teaching experience in both child and adult education. She has filled both teacher and director roles, and wrote numerous curriculums for Hebrew Schools, Bat Mitzvah Education, and Adult Torah Classes. Dina lives in Westport, CT and has nine children of her own.

Alli Weinstock comes to The Little Gan after 16 years of being a head teacher at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. Her mission is to create an open ended opportunity for learning and develop a hands-on curriculum. Alli believes the classroom environment is important and has the ability to encourage developmental skills, including problem solving and communication. Her teaching practice is based on early childhood philosophies that view children as capable individuals who learn from patience, respect, and independence building. She received her masters of Childhood Education from LIU and her BA in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mussie was raised in Westport, CT and has worked at Camp Gan Israel and Chabad of Westport since her early teenage years. She has connected with hundreds of children in her time involved in the organization. Mussie spent 5+ years working with children with special needs at overnight camps, school programs, and Friendship Circle. She writes curriculums for early childhood classes ages 1-5. Recently, she has launched a popular series of Mommy and Me classes for toddlers and preschool aged children. Mussie will be leading the Mommy and Me events, family events, as well as the holiday preschool events.

Melissa Shein grew up in Randolph NJ . She went to Washington University in St. Louis Missouri and graduated in 1992 with a degree in Education. Melissa went on to teach elementary school at The Dalton School in New York City. While teaching, Melissa earned a Masters Degree in Special Education from Bank Street College. After leaving the classroom, Melissa joined a team of educators to develop a private school created for the children of Columbia University Professors ("The School at Columbia University”).

Robin Hellmann, MA, OTR/L, owner of Spark Pediatric OT in Westport, CT, has been practicing occupational therapy for over twenty years. Her degrees include a Master's degree from NYU and a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with honors, from the University of Florida. Robin's continuing education is extensive, including but not limited to sensory processing, reflex integration, neuromotor development, vision and visual perception, vestibular processing, auditory processing, handwriting, self-regulation, DIR/Floortime and Therapeutic Listening. Robin has provided occupational therapy to children of all ages in schools, homes, hospitals and private practice settings.

Jordana Fruchter was born and raised in New York City. She received a BA from The University of Michigan and a MS in Elementary Inclusive Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities from Teachers College at Columbia University. Following graduate school Jordana was a founding faculty member at Avenues: The World School, an independent N-12 school in New York City, and later went on to become the Director of a preschool in Manhattan, where she has worked (and continues to work) for the past 8 years. Jordana has two young children, ages 5 and 3, who have both attended Camp Gan Izzy, which introduced her to the Chabad of Westport community. Jordana has been lending her expertise in school leadership, organization and culture, as well as parent engagement, as we prepare to launch our program.

Dr. Lynne Goldstein graduated from Cornell University, receiving her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies. She earned her Masters in Education and Advanced Graduate Certificate in School Psychology from the City University of New York at Queens College and her Doctorate in School-Clinical Child Psychology from The Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. Dr. Goldstein has over twenty years of experience working as a school psychologist in New York, Connecticut and San Francisco, and has also worked as a classroom teacher for both mainstream and special education classes. She has a wide range of experience with children preschool through high school, in psycho-educational evaluations as well as individual child therapy, parent work, and the development and implementation of social skills training programs.