Dr. Shira D. Epstein joined Central Synagogue in summer 2024 as Senior Director of Adult Engagement, building upon her specialization in experiential program design and educational leadership.

Dr. Epstein served for 20 years as Education faculty at the pluralistic William Davidson Graduate School of Education at Jewish Theological Seminary, and as Dean of School from 2019-2023. In these roles, she implemented and supervised training in pedagogy, text-based curriculum, and community engagement for congregational learning, adult education, and day school teaching, as well as Israel and social justice programming. She has published widely on gender equity and advancing women's leadership and received the Voices of Valor award in 2008 from the New York Board of Rabbis for her innovations in addressing gender-based violence in the Jewish community. She contributed a chapter titled Educational Jewish Moments: A Methodology for Educators to Self-Audit to Growing Jewish Minds, Growing Jewish Souls: Promoting Spiritual, Social, and Emotional Growth in Jewish Education (URJ Press, 2013).

Dr. Epstein received her EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She holds an MA in Educational Theater from NYU and a BA in Women's Studies from Brown University.

Originally from Westchester, Dr. Epstein lives in Manhattan with her teenage son. They look forward to continuing the tradition of participating in the NYRR midnight run in Central Park, among other NYC adventures.