Amanda Pogany

Amanda Pogany is the Head of School at Luria Academy of Brooklyn, where she is responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day functioning of the school. For the past eight years, Pogany has supervised the school’s educational and administrative leadership, which includes 60 faculty members, 10 administrators, and 15 Board members, provides the educational mission and vision for the school, and oversees the curriculum. She has also played an integral role in the implementation of Luria’s five-year strategic plan and oversees Luria’s inclusion program for students with special needs.

During Pogany’s tenure, Luria’s student population has tripled, from 97 students to over 300.

At Luria, children play together, develop friendships, and learn to respect their peers regardless of their background or affiliation, learning style, or learning needs. Pogany’s driving philosophy is to teach students that there is not one version of what Judaism looks like, “and that sometimes our greatest personal insights come from people who are completely different from us.”

“Supporting students’ social and emotional growth in tandem with their academic development has always been at the core of my mission as a Jewish educator,” she writes.

Prior to becoming Head of School at Luria, Pogany served as Associate Director at the Pardes Institute for the Pardes Educators Alumni Support Project. There, she mentored and coached new Pardes Educators throughout their first two years of teaching Judaic Studies in day schools across the country. She also planned and implemented professional development sessions for the graduates of the Pardes Educators Program and designed and implemented a four-day annual alumni conference. She also coordinated research projects on the topics of tefillah and chavruta for experienced teachers.

From 2008 to 2010, Pogany served as the Director of Student Projects and Pedagogy Consultant at Mechon Hadar. There, she trained yeshiva students in pedagogy, ran leadership development and facilitation training seminars, supported students during their teaching experiences in day school classrooms, liaised with their schools, and helped them develop and implement a community project following their time at the yeshiva.

Outside of Luria, Pogany is active in the Brooklyn Jewish community. In 2005, she founded Altshul, an independent egalitarian minyan in Park Slope. As co-founder, leader, and Steering Committee Chair, she created a two-tiered leadership structure, coordinated service participants, taught Torah reading workshops, and created and oversaw a number of fundraising campaigns. Pogany continues to serve on the gabbi committee for the minyan.

Pogany earned her B.A. in Political Science (2000) from Barnard College, Columbia University; a Certificate of Advanced Jewish Studies (2003) from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies; her M.A. in Jewish Education (2003) from Hebrew University; and a Certificate in Facilitation (2009) from the Center for Leadership Initiatives in Vancouver, British Columbia.