Shulamith Reich Elster was the executive director of the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning. After a twenty-five year long association with the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, she became a chief education officer of the Council for Initiatives in Jewish Education. From 1993 to 1997 she directed the Master of Arts Program in Jewish Education at Baltimore Hebrew University and the Meyerhoff Fellows in Jewish Education.

She taught at George Washington University and the Jewish Theological Seminary and was a consultant on projects of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of Hebrew Union College.

Elster held a B.A. in history from Washington Square College of New York University, a M.A. in the teaching of history from Teacher’s College of Columbia University, and a Doctor of Education degree from the George Washington University. In 1998 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Dr. Elster passed away in 2021.