Early Childhood Center Director

Abby Andiman Mars joined the VBS Early Childhood Center staff in 2016. She has more than twenty years of experience in early childhood education as an administrator, curriculum specialist, mentor teacher and lead classroom teacher. She most recently served as Assistant Director for Curriculum and Pedagogy at the Temple Isaiah Preschool in Los Angeles. Prior to that, she served for four years as Early Childhood Education Lead Teacher, Teacher Mentor and Outdoor Classroom Specialist at The Bay-Nimoy Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel of Hollywood.

During the summer, Abby has been the Parent Liaison at Camp Ramah in Ojai. Abby has developed expertise in outdoor classroom and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curricula, as well as integrated Judaic and Israel curricula. Prior to her work at Temple Israel of Hollywood, Abby worked at Stephen S. Wise Early Childhood Center, where she served as an Early Childhood Education Teacher and Parent Education Facilitator, offering parent education workshops in addition to classroom teaching. Part of Abby's continued passion is to create local and national alliances to promote best practices in Jewish Early Childhood Education. Abby holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Composition from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. She holds a Site Supervisor certificate in Early Childhood Education from the State of California, as well as certificates as an Outdoor Classroom Specialist from the Outdoor Classroom Project,  in Jewish Leadership from the Northwestern University & Spertus joint Professional Studies program, and as a Group Facilitator in Responsive Parenting from the Center for Reflective Communities. Abby is an Alumni Fellow of the Jewish Early Childhood Educators Leadership  Institute (JECELI) and she just completed two years as the Chair of  the Los Angeles BJE's Early Childhood Centers Director's Network where she remains an active participant on the leadership team. Abby is married to her Camp Ramah sweetheart and they have three children, one at home and two in college.

To reach Abby Andiman Mars:

Tel: (818) 530-4050
Email: amars@vbs.org