Lianne Heller
Executive Director

Lianne Heller has worked in the field of Jewish education and special education for the past twenty-five years.  

After studying journalism in South Africa, where she established a publishing company and television production company, she immigrated to the US. Her focus shifted to Jewish education when she became a mother of four sons. Lianne's work at the Montgomery County Public School Learning and Disabilities (LAD) program, as well as in the Center Programs for the Highly Gifted, inspired her to continue her studies in the field of Jewish education and leadership. She completed a work study tour of the Reggio Emilia Early Childhood school system in Italy and went on to complete the Jewish Early Childhood Leadership Institute program through the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Bank Street College of Education. Lianne also holds a certificate from the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) from JTS, and has worked closely with Heads of Schools from around the country to help establish a more inclusive outlook and practices at Jewish day schools.

Lianne has given many talks and workshops on leadership, Jewish education and special education and inclusion.

She is an avid reader, learner and kayaker, and the proud mother of four sons and four grandchildren!

Dr. Debra Drang
Director of Special Education

 Dr. Debra Drang, in her capacity as Director of Inclusion, at Inclusion Education Services (IES) fills the role of Director of Special Education at Sulam.

Currently in her 24th year in education, she holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from University of Maryland. She has served in a variety of capacities including classroom teacher, itinerant teacher, mentor, teacher trainer/coach, and researcher.  Debra has a strong record of applying current, research-based best practices to everyday classroom life.  Her areas of expertise include inclusion, universal curriculum design, tiered instruction/intervention, classroom management, and progress monitoring. Debra is a foodie and loves to read. 

Lisa Houben
Upper School Division Chair

Lisa Houben holds a B.A. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Stern College and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) from Nova Southeastern University. Lisa is also a Certified Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). As an SLP,  Lisa has worked with students from preschool through high school both in and out of the classroom.
Lisa is the mother of 4 daughters (lovingly known as the “Houbanot”), and recently moved to Silver Spring from Atlanta, GA.

Michelle Kerbel
Lower and Middle School Division Chair

Michelle Kerbel is the Division Chair of Sulam’s Lower and Middle School Programs. Currently in her 7th year in school based education, she holds a Masters degree in Instruction and Learning from the University of Pittsburgh. Michelle brings the experience of special education and formal and informal education to our Sulam team. Michelle has previously served as a classroom teacher and case manager of students with diverse  needs in an inclusive setting.

Michelle also brings her work from the camp world into the school environment. Michelle is passionate about providing students an opportunity to show and grow their own abilities. Michelle is very close to her local family. Outside the hallways of school, Michelle is most comfortable experimenting in the kitchen and exploring  hiking trails. 

Sulam has a team of highly experienced and talented Social Emotional Learning Specialists (SELS) that includes a clinical psychologist, two social workers and a trainer in the field of social emotional learning in young children. The goal of the team is to work with students to address their social, emotional and behavioral functioning at school. Members of the team work with individual students as well as with their teachers to ensure continuity of learning across all aspects of their school day. 

Yiscah Baldinger, MSW
Middle School

Yiscah Baldinger is the Sulam Middle School Social worker. Mrs. Baldinger graduated from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and  has 14 years experience working with children and adolescents. At Sulam she helps students navigate the complex social and emotional challenges that arise in middle school.

She loves the opportunity to work individually with students as well as with groups. She works to support teachers to create success with their students, and partners with parents to help their children thrive in and out of the classroom. Mrs. Baldinger lives in Silver Spring and loves to spend time with her family. 

Laura Hardy, MSW
Upper School

Laura Hardy is the Middle and Upper School Social Emotional Support Specialist. She has 20 years of school experience, 14 of which have been at Sulam. 

Ms. Hardy earned her Masters in Social Work from University of Pennsylvania, and spends her days at Sulam working individually with students, guiding teachers in behavioral management, and serving on the leadership team. Laura loves sports, especially skiing and sailing with her family. She lives in DC with her husband Kevin and their 3 daughters.

Peryl Bogart
Middle School & Upper School