School Counseling

List of 6 members.

• 

  Esther Poler 

  Lower School Counselor Grades K-2

  305-931-2831 x828

  Bio

  Esther Poler earned her Master’s degree in mental health counseling from Nova Southeastern University in 1998. She originally joined Hillel’s School Counseling team in 2002, before working as a child and family mental health counselor in a community public agency in Broward, where she worked for seven years. As such, she was responsible for conducting psychological assessments, diagnosing mental health conditions, and designing and implementing treatment plans. Esther joined Hillel’s School Counseling team the second time around in 2012. As a licensed mental health counselor, Esther has had extensive experience as a behavior therapist for both children and families, running groups of adolescents, as well as conducting parenting training courses. Esther also worked in a private setting providing mental health counseling services to adult chronic pain population.  
• 

  Laurie Parker 

  Lower School Director of Guidance Grades 3-5

  305-931-2831 x658

  Bio

  Laurie Parker joined Hillel in 2012. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Union College and her Master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 1994. She has been working as a School Counselor for the past 18 years in the private school sector.  Prior to this, she was an elementary school teacher for 10 years. Laurie is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and holds a certificate in guidance and counseling and elementary education from the Florida Department of Education. She is a member of the American School Counselor Association as well as the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. Laurie’s focus is based on the premise that if you capture a child’s heart, you have his mind.
• 

  Reina Chocron 

  Upper School Counselor

  305-931-2831 x138
• 

  Linda Feigenbaum 

  Upper School Counselor

  305-931-2831 x221

  Bio

  Linda Feigenbaum has been working at Hillel since 2002. Linda earned a degree in nursing from Corning College, a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Master’s degree in psychology, Program of Marriage and Family Therapy, from Texas Woman’s University and is a licensed registered nurse. Linda has worked in Grades 6-12.  Prior to coming to Hillel, Linda was the director of an adolescent residential psychiatric treatment program. Prior to moving to Florida, she developed and managed a behavioral home health program for adult, child and adolescent mental health patients in Baltimore, maintained a private practice, and held various managerial positions on adolescent and adult inpatient mental health and substance abuse units. Linda was a child and adolescent psychiatric clinical nurse specialist and research associate at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas, where she managed an outpatient Childhood Affective Disorders Clinic and developed and coordinated national grant funded research. She has four publications in medical journals addressing research on childhood depression and eating disorders. Linda is ANA Board Certified as a Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing and a member of the American School Counselor Association. 
• 

  Lauren Berley 

  Upper School Counselor

  305-931-2831 x170

  Bio

  Lauren joined Hillel’s School Counseling department in 2013. She received her Bachelor’s degree in communication and psychology from Rutgers University and her Master’s degree in school counseling from Fordham University. Lauren began her career as a Guidance Counselor in a public school in Massachusetts, where she worked for four years. She and her family then moved to New York where she most recently was a high school Guidance Counselor at Solomon Schechter School of Westchester. Lauren is very excited to be working at her alma mater, as she graduated from Hillel in the Class of 1998 after being a Hillel student since Kindergarten.

• Michelle Bortnik 

  High School Counselor