Our Volunteer Leadership

Board of Directors

President — Daniel Magid

Dan has been a member of Beth El since 1967. He became Bar Mitzvah and was married at Beth El. He and his wife Robinn have four children: Josh, 17, Beth, 14, Aaron, 12, and Nathan, almost 7, who have done some combination of Nursery School, Religious School, Kee Tov, B'nai Mitzvah and Midrasha. Dan was the President and CEO of Aldon (a software company co-founded by his Dad in 1979), until he recently sold the business last year. Dan helped establish the Shabbat morning minyan, and attends Torah study and services weekly. He has developed and printed several of the prayer books that have been used for Shabbat, High Holidays, and the Minyan services. He was on the last Rabbi Search Committee. For a break, Dan spends time with the kids, reads/studies, bikes, hikes, listens to music, and goes to the movies.

1st Vice President — Paul Sugarman 

Bio coming soon! 

Vice President Personnel — Wendy Lukas

Bio coming soon! 

Vice President Fundraising — Ellen Singer-Vine

Bio coming soon! 

Recording Secretary — Lisa Feldman

Lisa Feldman has a passion for creating collaborative environments and is looking forward to putting her energy and enthusiasm toward contributing to Beth El’s success.  With a background in high tech marketing and services strategy, Lisa is currently the Director of Recruiting in MBA Career Services at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. She has been a member of Beth El since 2009, attends Torah Study regularly, and has served on our Strategic Planning Committee. 

Treasurer — Stan Schiffman

Stan is a retired health care executive, as well as a former Enrolled Agent with the IRS. His grandfather, Nathan Seitzick, helped establish Beth El. He was a Bar Mitzvah, and Miriam and he were married in Beth El. They have lived in New York, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, and have two children who live out of state. No grandchildren (yet). They live in Alameda, and scull, hike, and attend cultural events. Miriam and Stan joined Beth El two years ago and are taking advantage of Beth El’s various opportunities to learn about our wonderful history and religion which we used to take for granted.

Vice President Membership — Nancy Turak

Nancy is a health care consultant and has been a member of Beth El about 20 years. Nancy has found a home at Beth El and wants all members to be able to say that. She hopes you'll work with her to recruit new members and keep our current 'family' together.

Immediate Past President — Joanne Backman

Joanne's professional career has focused on management of non-profit organizations, including finance, development, and executive management. More recently Joanne is consulting in the area of trust and estate administration with a private professional fiduciary in Oakland.

Having served as a board volunteer and in professional positions in Jewish and other non-profit organizations on both sides of the Bay, she brings a useful perspective to Beth El at a time of significant change for our congregation. In her leadership role on the Board, she is looking forward to working with our vibrant and highly talented community of members toward insuring a sustainable future for Beth El for the generations to come.

Joanne and her husband, Harry Pollack, members of Beth El for 22 years, have two daughters, Rebecca and Hannah, who have participated in the Nursery School, Religious School, Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, Midrasha, and KEE TOV. Rebecca is currently teaching 5th grade in the Religious School. Joanne was a member of Beth El's first Adult B'nai Mitzvah class of 2003, and she traveled to Israel with Beth El's first congregational trip in 2009.

House Chair — Allen Nudel

Bio coming soon! 

Campaign Secretary — Jim Offel

Bio coming soon! 

Director at Large — Steve Branoff

Bio coming soon! 

Director at Large — Amy Resner

Bio coming soon! 

Director at Large — Marc Derewetzky

Marc, a lawyer, is a partner at Morison Ansa. He and Jennifer have two children, India and Paisley, in religious school.

Director at Large — Lori Perlstadt

Lori and her husband Doug have been  Beth El members for 4 years, Lori served on the Executive Director Search Committee. Her son Elijah and daughter Ruby attend religious school.

Director at Large — Alison Fisher

Alison Fisher lives in Albany with her husband Matt and children Ari and Minna. She is trained as a research scientist but is currently taking time off to care for her young children. She has a PhD in Plant
Biology from UC Davis and a BA from Oberlin College. Originally from Philadelphia, she was raised in the Conservative movement and attended
Camp Ramah. As an adult, the rituals and practice of the Reform movement are more reflective of her Jewish practice. Alison has been a
Beth El member since 2009. As a member of the Board, Alison is particularly interested in the needs and interests of families with young children.

Parliamentarian - ex officio — Marv Pearlstein

Marv is an attorney who has been a member for 9 years. He practices law with the firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in San Francisco with a focus on real estate and financial services (they were Steefel, Levitt & Weiss until they merged into Manatt last year). He is the father of a 14 year old who was Bar Mitzvah'd and graduated from religious school at Beth El last year, and who is now participating in Midrasha at Beth El. Marv has sat on several other nonprofit boards, and currently is also on the Bentley School Board of Trustees. Prior to law school he lived in Israel for 2 years and led tour groups of American high school students to Israel.

Trustees

Ending 2017 — Jeff Brand

Bio coming soon! 

Ending 2016 — Michael Fajans

Bio coming soon! 

Life — Odette Blachman

Program Council

Program Council Co-Chairs — Beth Zeitman and Paul Sugarman

Adult Education — Bev Eigner

Bio coming soon! 

Camp Kee Tov — Paula Price 

Paula is a Clinician at San Francisco VA Medical Center in Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Planned Parenthood, Richmond. She has been a member of Beth El for 7 years. Paula's and Erik's two children, Ben, 11 and Sasha, 13, have attended Camp Kee Tov both sessions of every summer since they were in Rishonim. The camp has been an integral part of their childhood experience and has provided them with fantastic, lifelong friends.

Israel Relations — Miriam Rabinovitz

Bio coming soon! 

Library — Scott Spear

Scott, criminal defense lawyer, has been a Beth El member for 27 years. His and Ruth's children, Juliet and Mark, grew up at Beth El.

Men's Club — Steve Ominsky

Bio coming soon! 

Mitzvah Committee — unfilled

Nursery School — Jennifer Brand and Jessica Wolin

Bio coming soon! 

Religious School — Julie Pledger

Bio coming soon! 

Ritual Committee — Ruth Ehrenkrantz

Bio coming soon! 

Social Action — Emily Marthinsen

Bio coming soon! 

Volunteer Committee — unfilled

Bio coming soon! 

Youth — unfilled