It should come as no surprise that Ira and Mj Sherman’s passion for children and early childhood education stems from the beginning of both of their careers as teachers.  Mj was a high school home economics teacher and Ira taught middle school math.  Though both of their careers took them in different directions—Mj went on to sell residential real estate in Potomac, and Ira became a lawyer, education has remained a matter of heartfelt devotion.  Inspired by the creativity and vitality of the early childhood program at Har Shalom, Ira and Mj made a legacy gift to the school in 2015, and it was renamed the Ira and Mj Sherman Early Childhood Center. Ira serves on Har Shalom's Board of Directors and as an integral part of the Security Committee.

Ira has served as the managing partner of the Washington, D.C. law firm Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel for over 20 years.  His practice is focused on representing individuals who have experienced serious personal injury, traumatic brain injuries in particular.  He is a founding member of the Brain Injury Association of D.C. (BIADC) and he served on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of America for seven years. He began his legal career at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he litigated class action civil rights cases against federal contractors alleged to have had discriminatory employment practices and/or for failing to take affirmative action to employ minorities or woman.

Ira and Mj have been married for 25 years, and are blessed to have a wonderful family – recently married, Daniel & Erica, and Brad & Abby and their two spectacular children Anna, a star 1st grader and Henry, an outstanding 4th grader and student in the Har Shalom Religious School.