SAC and Chesed leader has Yachad background

Chani Infield, a former Yachad director from New Jersey, has taken over as the SAC faculty advisor and head of the Chesed department, and will also teach ninth-grade Tanach Basics.

Ms. Infield grew up in Bergenfield, N.J., and attended Frisch High School. She graduated from Touro College in New York City where she majored in psychology. She then worked as a preschool teacher at Manhattan Day School, a Jewish lower school in Manhattan.

She then became the program director of the senior division of Yachad in New York, LA, and Chicago, a position she held for six years. Yachad is a national Jewish organization that provides children and teenagers with disabilities opportunities to have fun and improve their social skills. Ms. Infield worked with ages 17 – 25, helping make them feel more included in high school programs and experiences through joint events and bringing in student leaders to model how to behave in social situations.

An avid hiker and runner, Ms. Infield said she likes outdoor activities and also played softball growing up. She said she loves the feeling of being outdoors and enjoys doing anything outside, but she also enjoys playing board games.

Ms. Infield moved to Los Angeles last June to be closer to her fiance, who lives in the Valley. At Shalhevet she hopes to make Chesed seem less like a chore and more of an activity where students can feel proud they are helping the community.

“My goal is to really make SAC student-run, and to really promote leadership within the SAC area of the school,” says Ms. Infield. “As far as Chesed goes, I would love to really integrate the Chesed experience with the Shalhevet experience. I want students not to come because of their hours, but because they want to be part of something.”