The JAE Board of Directors has a wealth of experience in all aspects of Jewish life:

Myrna Teck, President

Myrna Teck, Ph.D. is a professional art educator.  Her interest in drawing and painting began as a young child.  She went on to receive a B.A. (Syracuse University, 1958) in Fine Arts and Psychology.  She received an M.S. (Old Dominion University, 1974) in Special Education with a focus on ‘Art for the Emotionally Disturbed.’  She received her  Ph.D in Visual Arts Educati
on (University of Kansas, 1999) focusing on understanding Jewish art and culture.

Professionally, Myrna worked as a public high school art teacher for 13 years (1970-1983).  Overlapping this experience, Myrna was an adjunct assistant art professor at Virginia Wesleyan College (Virginia Beach, VA) for 17 years (1967-1985).  She subsequently returned to graduate school and received her Ph.D. in 1999.

For the past twenty years, Myrna has researched Jewish art in all of its forms (drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, architecture, etc.) with a goal of teaching about these objects and the world in which they were created. This proposed film, The Art of Jewish Life, is an extension of her ongoing research.  She continues to write, edit, format, market, and present a variety of PowerPoint slide programs on various aspects of Jewish art.  Her personal website for her presentations is www.JewishArtEducation.com.

Robert Barkin, Vice President

Robert Barkin is a member of the JAE Board of Directors. Since 2006, he has been president of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, the congregational arm of the Reconstructionist movement.  He has been a member of the JRF Board of Directors since 1998 and has previously held positions as Vice President for Financial Affairs and Chair of the Board’s Development Committee, where he led lay efforts for fundraising. He also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Jewish Reconstructionist Camping Corporation and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.

Prior to becoming a member of the JRF Board of Directors, Barkin was the president of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. Under his leadership, the congregation undertook a successful capital campaign that made possible the construction of its first permanent home. At Adat Shalom, he was previously Treasurer and Chair of the Religious Practices Committee. In 2006, he was Co-Chair of the Adult Education Committee.

Professionally, Barkin is President of Arkos Group, LLC, (www.arkosgroup.com)  a marketing communications firm, with a specialty in positioning financial services and nonprofit organizations. He was previously Vice President, Corporate Communications, for ICMA-RC, a $28 billion financial services corporation, based in Washington, DC. For 15 years, he was a journalist with a number of newspapers, including the Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Miami Herald. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Miami School of Business.

Zorach “Zory” Glaser, Treasurer

Dr. Zory Glaser has served on the JAE Board since its inception, and is JAE's Treasurer.

He has long studied art history, and has taught courses in art and music appreciation (among other subjects).  He served as an early Vice President, and a long-time member of the Board of the Nonaffiliated School for Family Jewish Education (located in the Bethesda-Rockville, MD area).  More-recently, he received a certificate in Jewish Studies, and is a graduate of the Me’ah and post-Me’ah programs offered by the Baltimore Hebrew University/ Boston Hebrew College. After studying with Dr. Teck, Glaser was instrumental in encouraging her to present/ offer her Jewish art material lectures and slides to a wider audience.  This was helpful in the germination of the Jewish Art Education (JAE) organization.

Professionally, Glaser earned advance science degrees and served as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and other health-related government services.Glaser recently retired from the PHS, and currently serves as Adjunct Associate Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health Engineering, on the faculty at the School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. Glaser is an internationally-recognized lecturer, is widely published (and frequently cited in the scientific literature), and serves as a consultant on infection control associated with surgical procedures, implanted biomaterials and medical devices.

Peggy Davidson, Secretary

Peggy Davidson is a member of the JAE Board of Directors. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in elementary education and has taught Hebrew at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation’s Torah School for the past ten years. She is Vice-Chair of the congregation’s Adult Education committee and a member of its Creative Arts committee and its choir. Previously, she was chair of the synagogue’s adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah program.

Peggy is a graduate of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School for (Hebrew School) Teachers, of its Graduates’ Seminar in Israel, and of The Foundation for Jewish Studies Open Academy. She and her husband Robert (a technology consultant) have two grown sons; their daughter is a recent college graduate.

Reeva Shaffer, Recording Secretary

Reeva D.. Shaffer is a member of the JAE board of directors. She has been a professional artist for more than 30 years. Her Judaic artwork has been exhibited throughout the world and is in permanent collections in museums and synagogues. She specializes in calligraphy, graphic design and fabric manipulation.

Her commissions include logo, certificate,  invitation and video cover designs,  as well as all manner of fabric Judaica - tallitot, kipot, chupot, Torah mantles, parochet (ark curtains), ben gavrot (resting Torah covers),  wall hangings and ark interiors, . Her commissioned permanent collections of Judaic work include College of Judaic Studies, Cincinnati, OH, and Hebrew Union College Gallery, New York, NY.  Her exhibits include Judaic Art - From the Hand and the Heart, West Hills, CA, and This is My Beloved, Los Angeles, CA. She is a member of the  Society for Calligraphers of Los Angeles, CA, Washington Calligraphy Guild, and American Guild of Judaic Art. Her board memberships include Temple Aliyah, Woodland Hills, CA, West Valley Jewish Community Center, Woodland Hills, CA, Congregation Har Shalom, Potomac, MD, and ArtSites, Washington, DC.

She is the owner of REEVA’S ‘ritings with ruach, LLC.