Shirah was involved with Hebrew Play since the very beginning, originally leading the organization’s efforts in Rhode Island and then taking over as Director in 2010. Shirah is a Jewish educator and artist.  After living in Israel for four years, she taught Hebrew in an immersion program to kindergartners at Beit Rabban Day School in Manhattan.  She has taken professional development courses in Language Learning from Columbia University's Teachers College and in Reggio Emilia Education at Lesley Universty.

In Israel, Shirah taught art in an Israeli public school.  After finishing a Masters in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, she moved to Boston to create a Jewish summer arts program for teens.  Shirah was the founding Director of Education & Administration of BIMA (the Brandeis Institute for Music and Arts).  She has led and developed arts workshops and curricula in a variety of settings, including the Israel Museum, the Shrine of the Book, and Gann Academy.   As a sculptor who works in mixed media, Shirah has also worked as a teaching artist at the Jewish Museum in New York City and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In addition, she is a member of the Coalition of Family Engagement Innovators organized by the Jewish Education Project in NYC, the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children which promotes excellence in early childhood education) and the Network for Research in Jewish Education.  In the fall of 2015, Shirah became a "Music Together" trained instructor.   She and her husband have two children whom they are raising to be bilingual.