JEWISH COLLABORATIVE SERVICES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Adoption Options Coordinator
Carol Wild, MA, has experience in recruiting, training, and licensing foster families - many of whom ended up adopting. Though fostering-to-adopt and private adoption differ in some ways, the most important pieces are the same. This includes Carol's role in the process of walking alongside families, getting to know them, and working closely with them each step of the way. Carol considers it a privilege to not only write the home study, but to be a support, a listening ear, and a strong advocate for adoptive parents. As an adoptive parent herself, Carol understands what it means to build a family in a different way, and both the joy and challenges that it brings.
Catherine Braman, MSW, has worked in the field of adoption for thirty years. During her career in adoption, Catherine operated her own licensed adoption agency assisting hundreds of families with domestic and international adoptions. Her work has involved counseling birth parents, educating adopting families, and assisting with the adjustment of adopted children. Catherine has felt privileged to be part of the special process when families are formed through adoption.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Tamarisk Senior Living
Helaynel is the Executive Director of Tamarisk Senior Living on JCS's Warwick campus. She brings 20+ years of management experience in senior living and community services. She is licensed as a nursing home administrator, Assisted Living Residence Administrator, Independent Clinical Social Worker, and is Nationally Certified as a Dementia Practitioner.
Job Titles:
- Director of Community Services
- Director of Clinical and Community Services
As the Director of Community Services, JC is responsible for providing supervision and administrative oversight to four programs: Adoption, Jewish Elderacre of RI, the Kosher Nutrition, and the Kohser Food Pantry. JC's experience is in child and family welfare. JC also worked for Lutheran Social Service for 13 years as the Senior Director of Adoption and Foster Care. JC received her undergrad (B.A.) and graduate degree (M.S.) in Administration of Justice from Salve Regina University.
As the Director of Clinical and Community Services, JC is responsible for providing supervision and administrative oversight to six programs: Adoption, The Counseling Center, Kesher, Case Management, Partners in Care and the Food Pantry.
JC's experience is in child and family welfare. Prior to working at JCS, JC was the Director of Quality Management at Saint Vincent's. She was responsible for the agency's overall quality assurance, specifically state licensing, COA Accreditation, and internal investigations. JC was the Project Manager for Saint Vincent's strategic planning process. JC also worked for Lutheran Social Service for 13 years as the Senior Director of Adoption and Foster Care.
JC prides herself on her "approachability" as a leader and supervisor. She works collaboratively with staff and managers to ensure best practices are consistently being met.
JC received her undergrad (B.A.) and graduate degree (M.S.) in Administration of Justice from Salve Regina University.
As the Director of Community Services, JC is responsible for providing supervision and administrative oversight to four of our programs: Adoption Options, Jewish Eldercare, Kosher Nutrition, and the Food Pantry. JC's experience is in child and family welfare. Prior to working at JCS, JC was the Director of Quality Management at Saint Vincent's. View JC's full profile.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications
As the Marketing and Communications Manager, Jessica is responsible for developing and implementing the agency's communications and marketing strategies to further agency goals, brand recognition, and engaging target audiences. Jessica received her Masters from Merrimack College in 2016. [Email: Jessica@jcsri.org]
Pam is responsible for all business, finance and personnel operations for Jewish Collaborative Services. In that role, she oversees the agency and its professional staff in delivering the highest quality services to the community and all stakeholders. She also directs the planning process for the agency's future development and growth.
Prior to taking on leadership of JCS, Pamela served in increasingly high-level roles in the senior living field in NY, CT, and RI for more than 20 years. In her most recent position, Pam has acted as a Director of Senior Living, leading teams in multiple settings such as Assisted Living, Adult Day Health, Memory Support, Residential Care and Independent Living for the past ten years. In this role, Pam was responsible for Board relations, operational management, census growth, and regulatory compliance. She was instrumental in leading the teams in these communities during Covid and her teams were recognized by the Boston Health Commission as examples of excellence in dealing with the pandemic in a congregate care setting.
Pam holds a Masters of Social Work degree from Rhode Island College and a Post Graduate Certificate in Long Term Care Administration from Iona College in NY. Pam experience also includes work as a case manager specializing with older adults needing protective services as well as a social worker in the long term care and skilled nursing environments.
Pamela is a RI native with a long career in health and human services, particularly serving older adults. She holds a Masters of Social Work degree from Rhode Island College and a Post Graduate Certificate in Long Term Care Administration from Iona College in NY. Pam has experience working as a case manager specializing with older adults needing protective services as well as a social worker in the long term care and skilled nursing environments. View Pam's full profile.
Patty oversees the coordination, integration, and delivery of all programs and services at JCS. She also works to promote collaborative relationships between program areas and to ensure that services consistently meet or exceed the expectations of clients, family members, funders, partners and other stakeholders.
With credentials in RI and MA, Patty has been helping clients as a licensed independent clinical social worker for more than 20 years. Her experience includes work at the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs, Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, and Roger Williams Hospital in Providence. She started with Jewish Family Service of RI in 1999, taking on increasing responsibility to become Director of Older Adult Resources before becoming Chief of Programs at JCS.
Patty brings a combination of professionalism, skill, knowledge, and good humor to her work that makes her a favorite among clients and staff. In the community, she serves as co-chair of the Special Ed Advisory Committee for the East Greenwich School District. As a sister and mom of two wonderful people with learning disabilities, she finds it a labor of love to advise the school committee on policy and to support other parents in the district.
Patty received her BA in psychology, cum laude, from Boston College. She earned a Master of Social Work from Rhode Island College School of Social Work, with a concentration in health, aging, and disability.
Patty oversees the coordination, integration, and delivery of all programs and services at JCS. She also works to promote collaborative relationships between program areas and to ensure that services consistently meet or exceed the expectations of clients, family members, funders, partners and other stakeholders. View Patty's full profile.
Job Titles:
- Director of Housing at Shalom Apartments
- Executive Director of Shalom
Rachael is the Executive Director of Shalom and Shalom II on JCS's Warwick campus. Full Bio to come.
Renee joined JCS in December 2019. As CFO, she is responsible for the overall financial strategy and direction of the organization's business, finance and personnel operations. Within finance, she guides the staff, finance committee, investment committee and board of directors on all financial matters, including external audit functions, banking, investments, tax reporting and human resources. She also oversees the financial reporting of JCS's related entities Shalom and Shalom II Affordable Housing Complexes and Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence.
Renee Comes to JCS with over 20 years of experience as a CPA. Prior to this position Renee was the controller at Community Care Alliance, managing day-to-day finance operations and a team of staff members responsible for accounting, accounts payables, receivables, and payroll. Her 15 years of experience in audits of not-for-profit clients, comes from her time working with KLR in Providence as a senior audit manager in the Not-for-profit division . Renee has extensive knowledge in the nonprofit arena, with a strong record of building solid Not-for-profit accounting policies, and reporting procedures with compliance to appropriate GAAP standards.
Renee received her Bachelor's degree in accounting from Bryant University. She has also served on multiple boards and committees, while currently serving on the Board of Directors and Finance Committee for the Rhode Island Community Foodbank.
Renee joined JCS in December 2019. As CFO, she is responsible for the overall financial strategy and direction of the organization's business, finance and personnel operations. Within finance, she guides the staff, finance committee, investment committee and board of directors on all financial matters, including external audit functions, banking, investments, tax reporting and human resources. View Renee's full profile.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
Sara has a long history of helping nonprofits succeed financially, in both professional and volunteer leadership capacities. Before joining JCS, she worked for the Kehillah Schechter Academy in Norwood as Director of the annual campaign and major gifts, and then as Director of Development. During her years in that role, she managed all aspects of their annual giving program, including fundraising strategy, PR, operations, and events.
Sara's work focuses on strengthening communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in particular helping others in the spirit of Jewish values. Since 2014, she has worked to raise scholarship funds for the Massachusetts chapter of March of the Living, New England, which supports travel for teens in high school to heritage sites in Poland and Israel. Her experience includes working with stakeholders across generations, from children to seniors.
As a member of various professional groups and community organizations, Sara serves as a resource at the local, national and international levels; co-chairing the development affinity group for the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA), an international membership association of more than 140 nonprofit human service agencies in the United States, Canada and Israel. In addition, she presented at the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies national conference is an active participant of Rhode Island Foundation's Fund Development cohort program and is a member of the local chapter of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. Sara received her BA in psychology from Boston University.
As Chief Development Officer at JCS, Sara is responsible for planning and implementing innovative strategies to secure donors and contributions, ensuring the agency's long-term sustainability. In 2016, in her previous role as Director of Major Gifts, she secured a $2.5 million donation for Jewish Family Service of RI, the largest in its history, which allowed the agency to purchase and maintain the new JCS offices in Providence. View Sara's full profile.