2010 Board of Directors

Along with my husband Mark, I joined Beth Jacob in 1979, shortly before our first son was born. We have been active members ever since–having the joy of celebrating the milestones of life with the Beth Jacob community. Our three sons, now all in their 20’s, became B'nai Mitzvah in the warmth and support of the synagogue. Over our years at the synagogue, I have worked with other congregants to begin the toddler group and My Family and Me program, participated actively to promote USY through chairing the Youth Commission, and am now coordinating our Rockin' Shabbat each month along with a marvelous committee. It is also my pleasure to represent our synagogue on the community-wide Yom HaShoah committee. Participation in our Interfaith Hospitality Network program and our CBJ Sisterhood have both been sources of great satisfaction.

Mark and I were there at the inception of the Ronald C. Wornick Day School in1986 and remain active to this day. It is my honor to serve as a board member for the AIPAC of northern California. Long before we came to the Peninsula, I worked at Camp Arazim in Northern California where I had the distinct pleasure of having 9-year-old Rabbi Ezray as my camper!

I work as a lactation nurse at Kaiser Redwood City; there I have the great joy of helping new mothers breastfeed their children. I am also a social worker with the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program at Adopt International, facilitating the transition of young people who cannot return to their homes in war-torn or poverty-stricken countries, to foster homes in the Bay Area.

I look forward to continued service on the synagogue board of directors under the guidance of our president, Greg Sterling!

BERNARD ARFIN

My name is Bernie Arfin. I am originally from New York and came out to the Bay Area in 1951. My wife Joanne and I have been members of Beth Jacob since the late fifties. Two of our children, Mimi Arfin and David Arfin with their families, also belong to CBJ. A third son Joe lives in Seattle. My wife and I had adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s at TBJ. Our three children and thus far two of our four grandchildren have also had their Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s at Beth Jacob. We were residents of San Carlos for about 45 years until we moved to senior housing in Palo Alto about four years ago. I am presently on the administration and finance committees and the Israel Action Committee. I had previously been the editor of the “Voice.” I am involved with JNF and AIPAC. I am a retired Electronic Engineer.

MIMI ARFIN:

I “grew up” at CBJ, from nursery school, through Hebrew school, my Bat Mitzvah and USY. I am married to Bob Rebitzer and have two daughters, Elana, 10, and Maya, 8, both of whom attend the Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School.

I earned both a Law Degree and a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. After serving as a law clerk for a US Court of Appeals Judge, I worked as a litigator and then directed the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program at the US District Court in San Francisco. In that capacity, I designed and implemented ADR programs, served as a mediator, taught mediation and other ADR methods to lawyers, and served as a consultant to courts in the United States and in Israel.

When I was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in April 2005, I retired from my role at the court to focus on my treatment and on my family.

NEIL BLECHERMAN

HELEN DANCZAK:

My family joined the CBJ community nine years ago when we moved down the Peninsula from San Francisco. In addition to serving on the Board, I am currently a member of the Religious Practices Committee. Over the past few years I have served the CBJ community by organizing a Scholar-in-Residence event, helped out with the Purim Carnival, Second Night Seder, and various Religious School activities, such as baking challah and hamentaschen.

I am a native San Franciscan. My husband Ron and I have one child, James, who celebrated his Bar Mitzvah last year. This year he is enrolled in the wonderful 8th Grade Program. In my professional life I am a Project Manager at a local technology company.

What I like about our congregation are the people, the atmosphere, the opportunities to grow in our knowledge and practice of Judaism, the opportunities to participate in services and to read Torah and last, but certainly not least, Rabbi and Bill!

I look forward to this year’s Board service with Greg and the other Directors!

REUBEN DONIG:

I have been a member of Congregation Beth Jacob since 1965 when I was 14 years old. When I completed law school in 1975, I moved back to the Peninsula and joined Beth Jacob as a member on my own. Shortly afterwards I was asked to serve on the religious practices committee.

In 1978 I joined the Board of Directors, and was asked to be in charge of legal and insurance matters. I reviewed the insurance policy, and at my suggestion, the board increased our fire insurance coverage by $500,000. Three months later, our building was destroyed by fire. I am very proud of the work that we all did in the years afterwards to rebuild our synagogue.

I continued on the board for a few years, and served as vice President from 1980 until 1982, when I married and started my own family. Then I became involved in starting the North Peninsula Jewish Community Day School, (now known as the Wornick School) in San Mateo. I served as president of the Wornick School from 1988 until 1990.

I rejoined the Board of Directors at CongregationBeth Jacob in 1991, and served as vice president for 1996 until 1999. I then served as president of the temple from 1999 until 2001. I've rejoined the board again this year. I have acted as legal counsel to CongregationBeth Jacob since 1978.

My wife Vivienne is an attending physician in the pediatric ICU at Oakland Children's Hospital. We have three children, Deborah (age 24), Jessica (age 22), and Mark (age 21).
We all consider ourselves to be at home here at Congregation Beth Jacob.

JOE GRUBER:

Suzanne and I have been members at CBJ for approximately 30 years. I have been the president of the congregation twice, and secretary and treasurer as well. All of our three kids had their Bar and Bat Mitzvah at CBJ. I am a retired Superior Court Commissioner. I get called back to Court on too many occasions. I was a practicing attorney in San Mateo County for 5 years before starting to work for the court system.

Suzanne and I have been married for 38 years. We have lived in Menlo Park for 32 years.

I became the High Holiday Gabai somewhere around 10 years ago. There was no real training for it, although before I started doing it on the High Holidays there was a great temple member named Marty Bergman who was the High Holiday Gabbai when I was younger. The stain glass on the front door is in his honor. He was a great example to watch and I learned by watching him. I also fill in on Saturday when either Jon Levinson or Bernie Scheier are not there.

EMILY HALL:

My husband Ira and I joined CBJ in 1998 when we moved here from NYC. I worked with Bill Futornick at A.T. Kearney back when he was working for “The Man”, and he introduced me to the synagogue. Our first visit was a Friday night and we were invited to join a table for Young Family Shabbat. We met the Futornicks, Brian and Michelle de Haaff, Jennifer Friedman, Emily and Jim Scheinman, Ora and David Chaiken, and many others that night. We knew that night we had found the right place and are honored to count these amazing families as some of our closest friends today. Now with two children, Mathias (8) and Penina (4), we are also involved in Hebrew School and other kid-oriented activities at the Synagogue. I am in my second term on the board, am Chair of the Governance Committee, and am currently leading the next evolution of the Personnel Committee, including thoughtful evaluations of our staff. And, one of these days, I am going to go through the B’nai Mitzvah program. I also served for nine years on the board of IHN. Professionally, I founded and run a boutique consulting firm called Olive Grove Consulting that supports nonprofits in Northern California and nationally on strategy, leadership, operations, programs, recruiting, fundraising, governance, finance, IT, and other areas. Ira is an MBA/CPA and works in Revenue Recognition for Silicon Graphics. We feel incredibly fortunate to have become part of such a remarkable community at CBJ.

DARREN LEVA

My name is Darren Leva. I am a new Beth Jacob member and am honored to also be a member of the Board of Directors. I hope to bring a unique perspective to the board and am excited to learn about how a congregation operates. I grew up in a small conservative congregation in Spokane, WA and feel very at home and welcome at Beth Jacob. I currently work in the Biotech Industry for a contract manufacturer and am an aspiring entrepreneur. In my free time I enjoy cycling, snowboarding and anything outdoors with my dog.

CURTIS LEVIANT

My name is Curtis Leviant. I am the immediate Past President of Congregation Beth Jacob. I have served on the CBJ Board in one capacity or another for the past six years. This year I am lending my expertise to our fundraising efforts and helping our new President, Greg Sterling, transition into the job. I have been a member of Congregation Beth Jacob for over 50 years. I am married. My wife and I, Melissa, have two daughters, Erin and Carly.

PAUL MELMON

My name is Paul Melmon. My wife Nancy and our three children, Julia (13), Becca (12) and Eli (9), have been members of CBJ for 10 years. I actually met Rabbi Ezray well before he was a rabbi, growing up when we were both in the same bunk at the then Conservative movement–sponsored Camp Arazim. I am a native Californian. I grew up in the area, was active in USY, attended Kol Emeth, and graduated from UC Davis. Last year as our eldest daughter Julia was Bat Mitzvahed, I was reminded of what a special community we are fortunate to be a part of. All three of our children are in the religious school, and Nancy and I have helped organize the Mishpacha program the past couple of years.

Professionally, I have grown up in Silicon Valley as the software industry has evolved. I have been involved with several start-ups, where my primary role is software engineering leadership.

As a new Board member, I am looking forward to getting more involved at CBJ and excited by the vision of sacred community and the great leadership we have in place.

ERIC SAHN:

I have been a Board member at Congregation Beth Jacob since 2003. My wife Amy and I, and our two sons Zachary and Lucas, first joined Congregation Beth Jacob in 1998. My focus as a Board member has been financial strategy. I led the effort to launch Congregation Beth Jacob’s Endowment Fund, which is invested with the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. I have also been a leader in the Solomon Committee as the organizer of the sub-committee responsible for a Master Plan Design and the planned design, development and construction of the upcoming renovation. Amy and I celebrated Zachary’s Bar Mitzah at Temple Beth Jacob last year and we are looking forward to Lucas’ Bar Mitzah in 2010.

JAN SCHEER

I have lived on four continents and worked in all 50 states. 24 years ago, I took a one year sabbatical from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois where I was a professor, came to the Bay Area to do some work for a publishing company and never left. I am a mathematics educator who has taught all grade levels (Kindergarten through graduate school) in New York City, Syracuse, Israel (for 3 years), Arizona, and Illinois. In the mid-80s, I received a US government grant and went to Nepal for 9 months to write their elementary mathematics curriculum. I hadn’t returned to the States for very long when I was asked to move to Uruguay to offer Masters level courses to American School teachers.

I am currently an author on both an elementary and a middle school math textbook series in addition to owning a customized mathematics staff development company. In these capacities I travel 200,000 (mostly domestic) miles a year making presentations, training teachers, and working with school districts and state departments. Professionally, I am now in “winding down” mode.

My husband, Gerry Elgarten and I were bi-coastal for the first 6 years of our relationship which included the first 2 years of our marriage. He finally had the good sense to leave New York and move to the Bay Area. We joined CBJ in 2000 and have been very pleased with our decision. It’s a great community!

KEVIN SCHEIER:

I joined CBJ. in 1965. In my 42 years as a congregant I have celebrated sincha’s of my Bar Mitzvah, confirmation, wedding, the naming of my two children, and my oldest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Along with these milestones, I coached the 1976–77 CBJ basketball team to an undefeated season, culminating with winning the championship in the Jewish Youth Athletic League. I have been on Congregation Beth Jacob’s Board, the Executive Board, co-chaired the 75th Anniversary Celebration with Grace Rosenberg, and am currently the chair for the Solomon Steering Committee. Outside of synagogue I keep busy with family, friends, my work as G.M. for M.W.G., and I am involved with three internet start-ups.

JIM SCHEINMAN

My wife, Emily, and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary, which always bring back great memories of our wedding at CBJ, which also happened to be Rabbi Ezray's first officiated wedding at CBJ. We've been members of CBJ for as long as Rabbi Ezray has been the Rabbi. We now have 3 children, Jacob (11), Naomi (7) and Joshie (3). We're looking forward to Jacob's Bar Mitzvah in 2 years (January 2011). I lived in Israel on a Kibbutz for a year in high school and consider myself to be a passionate Zionist (or Israel lover). I created the AIPAC division on Duke's campus when I attended college there (many years ago). I also helped create the IAC at TBJ and was the first President of the IAC. Professionally, I have had a varied career--what I like to call career ADD. As a first year lawyer, I convinced the firm I was working with that a valuable pro-bono project would be for me to draft the CBJ Bylaws which I had the honor and privilege of working with Susan Golovin (then President of CBJ). I was fortunate to leave the practice of law and join the internet fun back in 1998 where I worked with several start-ups and public companies doing business development, sales, marketing and senior management & board work (snap.com, NBC Internet, Friendster, & Bebo). Looking to fulfill an interest in working in the Jewish Community professionally, I did a 2 year stint in between my internet work as the Executive Director of the non-profit, pro-Israel organization, the New Israel Fund in San Francisco. Now I spend as much of my time with my family and I also started Maven Ventures which invests and consults with Internet start-ups.

PATTI SMILOVITZ

I have been a member of Congregation Beth Jacob since 1980, when I married my husband, David. David and I have two daughters, Marisa and Shayna, who both attended the CBJ pre-school and completed their Bat Mitzvah in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Although involved in a variety of ways for many years, my primary interest and focus for the last two years has been Adult Education. As the chair of the Adult Education Committee, I have been instrumental in expanding the number and variety of programs offered at CBJ. I am most proud of completing the adult B’nai Mitzvah class and celebrating my own Bat Mitzvah in June 2007. I currently work in Human Resources at Stanford University, and enjoy frequent walks around the beautiful campus and the many learning opportunities available as a member of the Stanford community.

LISA LEVINE SPORER:

My name is Lisa Levine Sporer and I have been a member of CBJ for 11 years. This year my husband Michael and I celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We have 3 daughters, Zoe (age 15), Emma (age 13), and Naomi (age 7). My mother Lynn Levine is also a CBJ member.Professionally I am a Speech Language Therapist in private practice and I also am a direct sales rep for a women's clothing line. I grew up outside of San Francisco and remember coming to CBJ as a USYer after the 1978 fire to assist with clean-up and collection of burned prayer books. I was in New Frontier USY with Rabbi Ezray, his wife Mimi, and several other CBJ members, when we were teenagers. I have been active in CBJ religious school activities and presently co-chair the Education Committee. I also am a member of the Youth Committee and have served on the Board of Directors for 3 years. This is my 2nd year as a Vice President on the Executive Committee focusing my board responsibilities on our synagogue's vision of lifelong learning—18 months to 80 plus years.

GREG STERLING:

My name is Greg Sterling. I’m currently the President of the Board for Congregation Beth Jacob. This is my second year as President. I’ve truly enjoyed and I’m honored to serve our community in this role. I’m passionate about building community and I’m very proud of the wonderful community that we have at Beth Jacob as we strive for Kehillah Kedoshah. In my “spare time”, I’m an active Israel advocate. I co-lead the JNF Board for Northern California and I’m actively involved in a JNF program called Caravan for Democracy High School Edition that educates juniors and seniors about Israel. In addition, I’m a Community Board Member at the Hausner Jewish Day School. In my “play time” I enjoy road biking, running and snowboarding. The Sterling’s have been members of Beth Jacob for 13 years. My wife, Nancy, and I have 3 sons, Brandon –Senior at UCSB, Jordan –Junior at UCSB, and Scott – who is spending a gap year in Israel with Young Judaea.

Contact Greg Sterling

BARBARA WEBER:

My husband, Ken, and I met in college and moved to the Bay Area in 1981. We joined CBJ in 1995. Our children, Rachel (21) and Samuel (19) were educated in the religious school and became Bar and Bat Mitzvah at CBJ. Rachel taught me Torah trop. Since their simchas, Rachel, Samuel and I all read Torah. We are the first CBJ family with 3 members in the Yad Club! I joined the Board 3 years ago, and became the board secretary last year. I lead the Youth Committee, focused on keeping our high school and college students connected to each other and the Jewish community. In my work life, I am a project manager at a high tech company in Silicon Valley. My husband is a project manager and technical contributor, working at a technology company. In my free time, I enjoy reading and cooking.

PAST PRESIDENTS

JACOB LEVIN

MYRON FEINSTEIN, M.D.

NORMAN BERKMAN

JOSEPH BLECKMAN

NAT LANDES

STEVEN DEGRAFF

IRVING LEVIN

PAUL FULTON

ULRIC DENNIS

JULIUS HARBAND

ISAAC GOODMAN

GRACE ROSENBERG

AL EISENBERG

MARTIN BERGMAN

JOSEPH GRUBER

BERNARD SCHNITZER

ROYSTON LEE

RICHARD HARTE, O.D.

HARRY FELDMAN

HERBERT ROSENBAUM

Click here to email Greg Sterling, the Board President.

Upcoming Events

2010 Board of Directors

In the spirit of building a Beloved Community and as representatives of our broader membership, we wanted to let you know a bit more about each of us and to share the unique stories that inform our commitment to the synagogue.

MINUTES FROM PAST BOARD MEETINGS

Please Login on to the Members Only section of the website to read Board Minutes.

LEARN MORE ABOUT...THE BETH JACOB BOARD

THE BETH JACOB BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

GREG STERLING - President

KEVIN SCHEIER - 1st Vice President

LISA LEVINE SPORER - 2nd Vice President

EMILY HALL - 3rd Vice President

ERIC SAHN - Treasurer

BARBARA WEBER - Secretary

CURTIS LEVIANT - Immediate Past President

2009 BOARD MEMBERS

GILAH ABELSON: