Meet the Team.
Dean
Chani Tessler
Chani (Karen)Tessler Ph.D., is the Dean of Sarah Hartman Women's College, a member of the Touro College and University System, and is an associate professor of speech-language pathology. She previously held the position of manager of clinical education at Rush University College of Health Sciences and was the discipline coordinator for speech-language pathology at the University of Illinois LEND program, training future leaders in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities for 10 years. Dr. Tessler holds an appointment in the Dept. of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Rush Medical College and is an associate of the Rush Craniofacial Team.
Dr. Tessler received her teacher’s certification from Beth Jacob Jerusalem Seminary and her BA from Northeastern Illinois University. She earned her MA and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has presented at state and national conferences on the topics of innovative education practices, craniofacial anomalies, clinical care, and student supervision.
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Bari Fleischer is the Chair of Graphic Art and Design at The Sarah Hartman Women's College, and the Director of the Ralla Klepak Performing Arts Leadership Initiative Sunday Immersion Program. Bari has taught the Music and Art curriculum at Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, and prior to that was the Art Coordinator for Keshet as well as a painting instructor at the Highland Park Senior Center. Bari is also the Creative Consultant for the Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts and in addition, she has performed in productions and created sets for the Chicago Women's Charity Performers, HSBY, JCC Apachi Rogers Park, Yachad, Orot, and more.
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Bari also writes customized curriculum surrounding the Arts and incorporation into mainstream classrooms to approach different learners with mental health issues, disabilities, neuro-divergent learners, and more.
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Bari received her BA in Fine Art from Northeastern Illinois University, and her MFA in Fine Art from The San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate for Teaching and Learning from National Louis University and is a showing artist in large scale installations, sculpture, and painting, a graphic designer, actor, and creator of set designs for local theater and photographers.
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Education Director
Shira Roth
Shira Roth, PhD, has been a classroom teacher, a reading specialist, a professional developer, and a university professor. Her classroom has been featured in instructional videos by the National Council of Teachers of English, Celebration Press, Scott Foresman, the State of Illinois, the CTELL Project, and the Annenberg Teaching Reading K-2 video series. Currently, Dr. Roth is the chairperson of the Department of Education at the Sarah Hartman Women's College.
Dr. Roth received her BA in Elementary Education and her MA in Reading from Northeastern Illinois University, and her PhD in Reading and Language from National Louis University. She is the author of three professional books: Rethinking Intervention: Supporting Struggling Readers in the Regular Classroom (2013, Choice Literacy) and of a collection of literacy coaching tools along with Roberta Buhle and Camille Blachowicz entitled Effective Literacy Coaching: Building Expertise and a Culture of Literacy (2009, ASCD), and Two Books are Better than One (2016, Capstone).