Shelly Sender (she/her)
Senior Director of Early Childhood Education, Temple Emanu-El
About Speaker
Shelly Sender has been dedicated to the field of early childhood education for 37 years. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Education Administration and Early Childhood Disorders. She has served as the Early Childhood Education Director at Temple Emanu-El Dallas for the past 14 years, where 337 children and 96 staff members are a vital part of her life. Shelly lives in Dallas, has three amazing children, ages 34, 32, and 26. She has owned and operated an early childhood school for seventeen years, as well as owned and operated a farm business where children were strongly connected to nature. Shelly believes that children are competent, and their opinions are very important. Therefore, she is very passionate about the Reggio Emilia methodology, which aligns with this belief. Strong relationships and inquiry-based learning are very relevant in her work with children. Shelly has served on several child advocacy boards, the VP of learning on the ECE-RJ board as well as the CJE - Center for Jewish Education, in Dallas. She is very committed to her volunteer work in the Jewish community in Dallas. Shelly wants to instill in every child a lifelong desire to learn, as well as inspire the educators she is blessed to work with, to continue to grow and learn professionally.