Carol Paster (she/her)
Director, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel’s Iris Family Center for Early Childhood Education
About Speaker
Carol Paster (she/her) is the director of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel’s Iris Family Center for Early Childhood Education in South Orange, New Jersey since 1995, after teaching for 7 years in their early childhood and kindergarten programs. Carol holds a bachelor’s degree in Art Education, masters level training in Furniture Design and Construction, a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education and has participated in the Jewish Early Childhood Education Certificate program at Gratz College. Carol is a founding and past member of the Board of Directors of the ECE-RJ (Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism) serving as chair of their annual national conferences when held in Philadelphia and Morristown, as well as being co-chair of The Jewish Early Childhood Outdoor Education Conference held at Kayam Farm in Maryland. She has served as secretary for Habitat for Humanity Newark’s board of directors as well as co-chair of Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build and was on the founding Board of Directors for Arts Unbound a non-profit organization for adults with disabilities. She is also an active member of the Water Gap Turners and New Jersey Woodturners clubs. Utilizing her background in furniture design and construction Carol creates benches and tables for the preschool classrooms and teaches woodworking classes to 3 and 4-year-old children. Carol also teaches kindergarten in her congregational religious school. For the past 2 years Carol has been a fellow of IDEAL 18, committed to Intentional Deep Experiences Across Lifecycles, whose focus is connecting elders in the community with young children. Carol lives in West Orange, NJ with her husband Larry. Together they have 2 children.