UW–Madison education researcher Michal Avera Samuel has been honored by Columbus Jewish News (CJN) as a difference maker for her work supporting Black-Jewish diversity and community, in part as coordinator of the Shalom Curriculum Project, based in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER).

Samuel, a Jewish woman of color who works remotely in Columbus, Ohio, for WCER’s Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC), was named one of CJN’s “18 Difference Makers of 2026” on Thursday, Oct. 8, in a special issue of the publication. The issue includes a Q&A and an article on each honoree that explains why CJN selected them.

The article and Q&A about Samuel describe her unusual background and upbringing. Born in Ethiopia, she moved to the U.S. in 2020 after living for most of her life in Israel, where she moved with her family as a child after a year in a refugee camp in Sudan.

The story also describes reasons beyond her job with the Shalom Curriculum Project that Samuel was named a difference maker, including her work as an educator, her efforts to raise public awareness about diversity in the Jewish community and her history of volunteering with a group that helps settle immigrants in central Ohio.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized for my work and my passion to make this community in Columbus and this world a better and more understanding place, and to bring awareness about how we can be inclusive about it,” she said in a WCER interview this week. “Education is the key to change lives and change perspectives.”

For the Shalom Curriculum Project at WEC, Samuel works with Project Director Shahanna McKinney-Baldon and a coalition of researchers, educators and community members to:

• Increase belonging for Black-Jewish children by prototyping diverse educational materials for Jewish early learning
• Conduct a study to reduce antisemitism in public high schools
• Maintain a community of practice for Black educators in Jewish schools and programs

In August, a study team led by Samuel also received a private grant through the Shalom Curriculum Project to examine how parents of Black-Jewish children support identity and belonging in early childhood. Another reason for her selection as a CJN honoree is that the study’s findings will help Jewish educators build more inclusive and affirming learning environments for pre-kindergarten through first-grade students.