The Inspire Center
Serving Communities around the Globe
What is Keshet?
From its core programs for individuals with disabilities in
the Chicago area, to its international consulting work,
Keshet serves over 1,000 individuals with disabilities and
touches the lives of thousands of family members, peers,
supporters and other stakeholders around the globe.
In the Midwest, Keshet programs include students,
campers, residents and employees with disabilities into
over 70 sites in the Chicago area and Wisconsin.
Globally, Keshet trains over 15,000 typically developing
peers and staff members to include children with
disabilities into schools and recreation programs.
Expertise
With the support of the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Keshet’s Inspire Center consults with summer
camps and recreational programs to include campers with disabilities, ages 3 and up, into their community's
mainstream programs. Based on Keshet’s 30 year history of successfully including children into camps, the
center assists organizations to service their entire community. During the summer of 2016, Keshet served 172
campers with a wide variety of disabilities in our own local programs.
With our specialized skill set and proven track record, our staff can assist your camp with consultation in
program development and training staff . Whether your camp’s goal is to improve existing or creating new
programs, we can provide the necessary strategies and guidance. We are experts at the hiring process from
recruiting, conducting interviews, assessing talent and checking references. We have experience hiring staff
and understand what type of candidate to look for when hiring staff to work with individuals with disabilities.
Recruitment and Hiring of Inclusion Facilitator and Counselors to work with campers with disabilities
• Keshet can assist camps in hiring an inclusion facilitator from the U.S. who will work prior to camp as well as during
the summer to assist in including campers with disabilities.
• Through Keshet’s partnership with Camp Leaders we have worked to recruit and train counselors with extensive
experience working with individuals with special needs. Keshet staff members have spoken with staff at universities in
the U.K who are training students to work with individuals with disabilities. These young people are excellent
candidates for working with campers with disabilities in the U.S.
• Camp Leaders will provide airfare and an all expense paid trip to the U.K. for the camp director or inclusion facilitator
to meet and interview potential counselors on Feb. 3-5. Keshet senior staff members will be at the fair and available for
on site interviewing and assistance. If a camp staff member is not interested or able to go to the U.K. and is hiring less
than 5 counselors, Keshet staff will gladly interview and recommend counselors to the camp.
Professional Development
Keshet’s expertise and partnerships will benefit your camp. We specialize in energetic, fun and informative training
sessions.
For Camp Directors
• Provide ideas for fundraising opportunities to off set expenses related to including campers with disabilities
• Assist in the recruitment of campers with disabilities
• Offer a monthly breakdown of to do list-steps camp must take to make program successful
For Inclusion Facilitators
• Assist with the intake process
• Facilitate opportunities to connect with other inclusion facilitators
• Offer video and audio calls with our staff prior to camp to discuss camper schedules, forms to use during camp, etc…
• Provide phone consultation during camp to help manage the unexpected
• Offer form templates
For Counselors
• Facilitate preparation day in UK -½ day training on April 30 in London or May 1 in Manchester, U.K. for hired staff in
specifically focused on working with individuals with special needs
• Invite newly hired staff to attend a kick off Keshet training in Chicago on June 16 (If there are enough staff from a
specific location we will offer a training at a different time or location.)
Workshops for all staff at your camp site
• Working with Difficult Campers
• Understanding Behavior
• Creating an Inclusive Camp Culture
• Programming for Campers with Disabilities
• Developing Policies and Procedures
Fees
• Consultant fee for Keshet of $2000.
• Fee to Camp Leaders (see brochure from Gary Yates).
• Overnight accommodations for hired counselors in U.K. during training so that they can attend the
Camp Leaders training.
• Flight from Chicago Keshet training to host camp site-all counselors working with campers with disabilities are
invited to Chicago on June 16 for Keshet training prior to staff training at their host site.
Inspire Center
Staff Biographies
JENNIFER GENDEL DIRECTOR
Jennifer’s experiences as an educator range from classroom instruction to leading system-wide initiatives for large and progressive school districts. She
has extensive experience in curriculum development, school administration, and graduate-level instruction. Her roles both as an educator and as an
administrator have consistently focused on the locus of students’ control and their educational ownership. Jennifer earned her B.S. in Special Education
from Boston University, her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from National-Louis University, and her Ed. D. in Leadership and Supervision from
Loyola University of Chicago. She also holds her principal’s and director of special education endorsements. Her presentations use humor, anecdotes,
best practice theory, and hard data to create a comprehensive understanding of how children can best understand their place in the school and in the
wider world, and how they can be empowered to succeed.
DANIELLE FINE GOLDMAN SOCIAL WORKER
Danielle has worked with children, adolescents and families in a counseling and recreational capacity for over 17 years. She began her career serving
the Jewish Community as a therapist with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago at the Response Center and Jewish Children’s Bureau. Since
1997, Danielle developed a passion for and specialization in working with medically fragile and special needs children in a recreational setting at a
children’s cancer organization where she continues to volunteer her time as a camp counselor, program leader, and board member. She has written
and implemented disability awareness curriculum for kindergarten through 5th graders in the North Shore School District. She earned her bachelor’s
degree from the University of Michigan and her graduate degree from the University of Chicago. Danielle joins Keshet as a behavioral specialist
consulting with the various Keshet Summer Programs.
JENNIFER PHILLIPS DIRECTOR OF RECREATION
Jennifer is an accomplished and result-driven special education professional with more then 17 years teaching experience and a commitment to student
growth, development and academics success. Jennifer worked for 7 years teaching in a Special Education classroom in the Deerfield Public Schools.
She has spent the past 10 years as the head teacher in the high school classroom at Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Jennifer Phillips earned her
Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from National-Louis University.
Jennifer has been a part of the Keshet family for over 20 years. She started her time working as a counselor in the day camps. She continued as a
Director of many of the Keshet camps, developed her leadership skills, and now is the Director of Recreation for Keshet. The past 9 summers Jennifer
has worked in Keshet’s overnight camp programs as the Camp Chi consultant. Throughout her Keshet years, she has also worked in the Sunday
school and Keshet Middle School.
MELINDA REMALY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
For 36 years, Keshet’s Director of Education Dr. Melinda Remaly, served Niles Township as a special needs educator, with a focus on transition
services and private day or residential programs. Over the years, Melinda has served the Chicagoland community on the Keshet and Illinois Alliance for
Administrators in Special Education Transition Committee executive boards, among several others. She also served on the Illinois Statewide Transition
Committee and the Program Outreach Committee for the Center for Enriched Living. Melinda holds a Bachelor of Science from Northern Illinois
University in Special Education and Elementary Education, Master of Science in Counseling and Human Services from Roosevelt University Chicago,
and Doctorate in Administration, Supervision, and Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago.
JEN WEINBERG SOCIAL WORKER
Jen has worked for Keshet since 1998. After working 8 years in Keshet's summer camp programs, she has moved to the day school where she's been
for almost 10 years. Jen has experience working with children with various disabilities and degrees of severity. She also has experience providing
counseling services to typical children in area public schools. Jen's areas of expertise include individual and group counseling; sibling groups; parent
support groups; assessment and collaboration with families and therapists regarding services; and ability awareness for neuro-typical students. Jen’s
earned her Bachelors degree from Bradley University and her Masters degree from the University of Illinois.
ABBIE WEISBERG CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Abbie received her bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation/Special Education, and her Master’s degree in Non-profit Management. She is
Secretary of the Illinois Institute for Public Policy, a member of the Government Affairs Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago,
and a Board Member of Moishe House. Driven by her commitment to bring the “abilities” of those with disabilities to the forefront, Abbie has risen from
Keshet Sunday school teacher to Recreational Program Director and finally to the organization’s Executive Director/CEO – strategically growing the
organization and its reputation over her 20+ year tenure. Under her leadership, Keshet has become a “best practice” resource to other organizations
across the country seeking to replicate its special needs integration/mainstreaming model in their community.
LORI ZISOOK DIRECTOR OF INCLUSION
Lori has been an instructor and Inclusion Facilitator at Keshet since 1999. Her responsibilities include setting up integrated placements for K-8 students
within our Solomon Schechter Day School host site, facilitating Ability Awareness sessions for typically developing students, coordinating a peer mentor
program, providing training to Keshet teachers and para-educators for facilitation of integrated activities, and coordinating field trips and overnight trip
participation with their peers for Keshet students. Lori also oversees educational programming and classroom management in Keshet’s two K-8
programs in Chicago, which also service students in integrated settings. Lori earned her Bachelors degree in Special Education from Arizona State
University and has a LBS1 certifications in learning disabilities and social-emotional disorders.