Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman is the director of the newly formed Department of Women’s Initiatives at the Orthodox Union. She and her husband Rabbi Avraham Shmidman are Rabbi and Rebbetzin at the Lower Merion Synagogue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Prior to her position at the OU, she taught Advanced Placement Psychology as well as Judaic classes in addition to directing the staff professional development program at Kosloff Torah Academy Girls High School in Bala Cynwyd, PA. She previously taught at Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach and the Manhattan High School for Girls. While living in Birmingham, Alabama, she was the director of the Knesseth Israel Synagogue Sunday School.

Rebbetzin Dr. Shmidman earned a Teacher’s Certificate from Beth Jacob Seminary (BJJ) in Jerusalem. She graduated from Queens College in New York with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and later received a Masters of Science in School Psychology from the same institution. She also has a Master of Arts in Jewish Education as well as a Certificate in Educational Technology from Azrieli Graduate Institute of Yeshiva University. She received a doctorate in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Learning and Instruction in the area of Literacy from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She and her husband are the proud parents of four sons.