Institute for the Study of Modern Israel
of Emory University

1256 Briarcliff Road A-427N Atlanta, GA 30306    404.727.2798 tel    404.727.2441 fax

Tal Grinfas-David spent much of her life living in Israel and the United States, educated in both school systems and gaining knowledge about the Jewish history and culture in both countries.  After graduating from high school in Herzeliya, Israel, Mrs. Grinfas-David spent three years in Boston earning her B.A. and engaging with and planning for the Jewish community activities on campus.   She returned to Israel to work as a teacher in Shaviv’s program for at-risk high school students.  While there, she earned a B.Ed. and a ministry of education license specializing in English education from Beit Berl College.

Mrs. Grinfas-David proceeded to work for 8 years with Israeli teens and adults, as both an educator and a staff director, and she published units of study with support of the ministry of education integrating Multiple Intelligences with language acquisition.  During this time, she engaged in her true passion of training new teachers at Beit Berl College, and inviting them to observe her teach in classrooms of mixed ability groups using cooperative learning applications. 

In the winter of 2000, Mrs. Grinfas-David moved with her family to Portland, Oregon where she taught at several congregations all age levels, focusing of the integration of Israel in Jewish Studies.  There she also received her Oregon teaching license and her M.A. in Education Administration and development.  She later used that knowledge and expertise in both the public and private school settings to train teachers on best practices and curriculum mapping.  She has created workshops for teachers in planning according to the Grant-Wiggins approach and has researched several mapping software to match the needs of each educational environment she has consulted for.  During her time in Portland, Mrs. Grinfas-David was a part of the faculty that established a new high school at Portland Jewish Academy, where she taught Hebrew and Israel Studies. 

Since 2004, Mrs. Grinfas-David has participated in ISMI workshops, presenting on topics in Israeli culture, from teaching music to film and integrating poetry in best practices.  She has also taught administrators and teachers how to work together as an organization to plan and implement a wide scope and sequence of Israel education in their specific settings.

Mrs. Grinfas-David joined the Institute in the summer of 2007, as Senior Educational Research Associate, with the aim of developing high level, academic curricula and materials for teachers in all settings – public and private, supplemental and day school – in order to promote an appreciation for Israel education for students of all ages.   Her specialty is writing material for middle school and high school ages, as well as consulting in curriculum design, and training teachers and administrators in different organizational settings.