Teaching the History of Disability and Building Inclusive Learning Communities

Alex Green teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School and is a widely recognized advocate, writer, and scholar on the history of disability institutions in America. In 2017, Green and Yoni Kadden co-led the creation of a nationally recognized project-based, community-focused disability history curriculum for high school students at Gann Academy. Green is also the author of landmark legislation to create a first-of-its-kind disability-led human rights commission to investigate the history of state institutions for disabled people in Massachusetts. He is currently writing the first biography of Walter E. Fernald, a seminal figure in the history of disability. Green is a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability.

Yoni Kadden, a 25+ year veteran teacher, joined the faculty of Gann Academy in 2000. He has since spear-headed numerous student-centered public history projects including the development of a nationally recognized museum of disability history, the production of a play based on original letters from the Holocaust, and a published memorial book of 296 disabled individuals buried anonymously at the MetFern cemetery, an institutional burial ground in Waltham, Massachusetts. He lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and daughter.

Jennifer Saber has made Jewish education her motivation, passion, and vocation for the last twenty-five plus years. As a proud parent of a child with a disability, Jennifer brings a unique perspective to formal and informal educational settings, looking through both a parent and Jewish educator's lens. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Jewish Studies, with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Arizona, Tucson.  She continued at Brandeis University in the Hornstein Program to receive a Master’s Degree in Jewish Communal Service, with a concentration in Jewish education.  Currently her portfolio includes: Inclusion Education Coordinator, North America for Shutaf Inclusion Programs in Jerusalem as well as Kesher Inclusion Specialist and Teen Philanthropy Coordinator for The Milwaukee Jewish Federation.  

David Rhodes is a Program Associate on the Jewish education team at Facing History and Ourselves. He holds a master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and he is passionate about working with educators and students to explore how to engage across differences, analyze systems, and learn from the past. Before joining the staff of Facing History, he taught social studies and Spanish in Upstate, NY.