From Miss Emily to Dr. Emily: A Reintroduction

I leaned into the songleading skills I gained in NFTY and at camp to connect with the kiddos, and was pretty quickly promoted from substitute to specialist.  I loved spending my days singing, dancing, and playing with kiddos.

When I couldn’t find songs that matched what I wanted to teach the way I wanted to teach them, I started writing my own. I didn’t think of myself as a songwriter yet; I was just trying to meet a need. Those first melodies came from the floor of the classroom, surrounded by laughter, snack crumbs, and pure curiosity.

The Miss Emily Years
What started as a passionate idea evolved into five albums, two of which were commissioned by the University of Miami. Those commissions were both a blessing and a challenge: deadlines, collaboration, creative stretching, and the feeling of my work being part of something larger.

Miss Emily music found its way into classrooms, synagogues, and family rooms all over the country. But behind the scenes, I was growing. I was earning graduate degrees, raising my own children, and studying early childhood development, music education, and Jewish identity formation. Every class, every song, every child helped me understand more deeply how music shapes the way we learn and belong.

The Turning Point: 2021
In 2021, my life changed dramatically. I went through a difficult divorce and found myself rebuilding both my family’s stability and my sense of professional identity.

I already had a doctorate by then, but I hadn’t fully stepped into it. The rebranding to Dr. Emily was both a practical and emotional decision. Practically, I needed to sustain my family on my own. Emotionally, I needed to own the expertise I had earned.

My first Dr. Emily logo came from a (incredibly talented) friend I met in a single mothers’ zoom support group. At the time, I was songleading senior citizens homes and moderating Zoom events to pay the bills because singing with babies wasn’t possible in a pandemic. I didn’t yet know how to turn my academic and creative experience into a sustainable career.

Those were the stirrings of the career I’m enjoying today, and the growing pains marked the beginning of my next chapter.

The Shift: From Direct Impact to Multiplied Impact
As I grew as an educator and researcher, I realized my greatest impact wasn’t just in the moments I spent singing with kiddos, it was in empowering the adults who spend every day with them.

Early in my career, I focused on the children and families I worked with directly: leading Tot Shabbat, teaching music classes, and performing at family events. That work was joyful and meaningful, but it was also limited. I could only reach the people physically in front of meNpw,.

Now, I spend most of my mornings working with children, and my afternoons (and nights and weekends, tbh) are spent developing curricular materials, coaching, and supporting my clients. Those same materials are being used by Songleading for Kiddos Support Squad members in their communities. By supporting educators, songleaders, and Jewish communal professionals, I can help thousands of children experience joyful Jewish learning, even when I’m not in the room.

The Evolution: From Songs to Systems
Over the past few years, I’ve built a framework that allows me to bring my expertise to more people with greater impact. I founded Songleading for Kiddos, a membership community and professional development program that supports educators and songleaders in creating engaging, developmentally appropriate Jewish music experiences.

At the same time, I’ve continued my work through Dr. Emily Celebrates, songleading and consulting for congregations and schools on music, early childhood engagement, and more recently on AI in education.

I’m proud to say I’ve evolved out of my own “early childhood stage.” I no longer see my music as entertainment for children but as a tool for educators and communities to build joyful, meaningful, sustainable Jewish learning through song.