Marc Kramer

Dr. Marc N. Kramer, the product of a Jewish intermarriage between a nominally Reform father and ritually-committed, deeply spiritual mother, was raised in a Jewish environment framed by the appositional notions of commitment and compromise. Each member of his family was encouraged to forge a personal Jewish pathway with the limitations that it neither infringed upon the Jewish life of another nor prevented the family from celebrating together. From the outside, the family seemed at once eclectic and cohesive: dinnertime required china, glass, paper plates and countless pots and pans in order to meet everyone’s dietary needs, but come 6:30, they all ate together. Beneath the surface, they wrestled with what it meant to simultaneously live within and beyond denominational norms.

This early immersion in Jewish pluralism inspired Marc to pursue a Bachelors degree in Near East and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. After studying and learning in Israel, an extraordinary stint at the El Paso Hebrew Day School, and with the support of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, he continued in his studies, earning a Masters degree in social work from Columbia University, a Masters degree in Jewish Studies at JTS, and both a Masters and Doctorate in education from Columbia University Teachers College. When asked what he had learned from “all of this education,” he noted that the community is “complex, complicated, and in need of leaders and organizations who can celebrate, rather than combat, this reality.”

Marc is currently the Executive Director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, the North American association of pluralistic Jewish schools devoted to serving children and families from across the spectrum of religious practice. Under Marc’s leadership, RAVSAK has evolved from a grass-roots entity into one of the largest, fastest growing and most dynamic Jewish day school organizations in North America. RAVSAK serves schools in 33 US states, 4 Canadian provinces, Mexico, and the UK.

Of his many contributions to the field of Jewish education, Marc’s jewel-in-the-crown accomplishment is surely Project SuLaM: Study, Leadership and Mentoring, a 2-year intensive program of Judaic studies for professional leaders in community day schools. Project SuLaM, with the support of AVI CHAI, is raising the bar of Jewish culture and commitment by empowering school leaders with a new lens on Jewish learning.

Additionally, Dr. Kramer is a consultant to the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services of New York, where he develops and implements psycho-educational and psycho-social programs that explore the intersec tion of traditional Jewish text, contemporary social issues, and normative mental health. In this arena, Marc is interested in helping others develop coping mechanisms and life skills, rooted in sacred text and bolstered by caring communities. Through JBFCS, Marc has worked with countless synagogues, JCCs, schools, senior centers, summer camps, youth groups and other Jewish organizations on issues ranging from anger management, bereavement, and illness to staff supervision and program development.

Marc’s “next big thing” is to explore ways to maximize and incentivize Jewish family growth in the context of broadening the community’s understanding of what it means to be a Jewish family.

2018 Update:

In 2016, Marc stepped back from his work at RAVSAK to create the Kramer Education Group, a boutique consulting firm focused on issues of leadership and change in the Jewish non-profit sector.  His clients include Jewish day schools, synagogues, central agencies, foundations, and individual leaders looking to grow through executive coaching.