KEHILLA COMMUNITY SYNAGOGUE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Board Member of Jewish Funds for Justice
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Spiritual Leader
Avi Rose, Spiritual Leader, first joined Kehilla in 1993 when he gave a Yom Kippur sermon about full inclusion and welcoming of lesbians and gay men. He has offered spiritual leadership in the congregation since the mid 1990's.
Avi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who currently serves as Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children's Services of the East Bay. He received his B.A. degree from Brandeis University in 1976 and later earned his MSW from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College. Much of Avi's career has been devoted to HIV/AIDS work as well as community-based health care for low-income people.
Avi is also known for having co-edited a groundbreaking anthology, Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, published in 1989. He has been highly involved as a writer, speaker and organizer with efforts to address LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues in religious communities and was a founding board member of the AIDS National Interfaith Network.
Avi is also a longtime board member of Jewish Funds for Justice and has served on several other boards of directors and planning and advisory bodies for agencies, foundations and communities. In 1995 he was honored with KQED's "Community Hero" Award.
Avi lives in Oakland with his partner, Ron Strochlic, and their children, Oren and Aviva.
Beth has been a joyous participant at Kehilla for the last 20 years, appreciating Kehilla's emphasis on both social justice and on music as a spiritual pathway. In her capacity as a Musical Prayer Leader, she has led Shabbat services and co-led High Holy Days Services, as well as weddings, b'nai mitzvah services and other lifecycle events.
Beth started her musical journey as a flautist and became a vocalist in her early 20's, singing with Molly Holm's Oakland Jazz Choir. She has led prayer and ritual singing in a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish settings. She is currently focusing on music as a healing force via the music therapy and sound healing program at the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS).
Beth has studied with local cantorial leader Julie Batz, Shulamit Wise Fairman, and vocalists Linda Tillery, Molly Holm and Carey Sheldon.
Dan grew up wanting to either be a teacher or else the next Johnny Carson. He went to Northwestern as a Radio-TV-Film major. But after a falteringly short career in broadcasting realized that education was his true calling. Dan started as a teacher and moved into school administration culminating in becoming president of a small two-year postsecondary School outside Philadelphia for nearly two decades.
While in Philadelphia, he attended congregation Mishkan Shalom and reconnected to a progressive Judaism he could finally relate to. When his wife Laura and he decided to move to Berkeley to be close to family, people at Mishkan told them they "absolutely must attend Kehilla." They've been members for about a decade now. Dan has served on Kehilla's Finance Committee for several years, recently shepherding the congregation's mortgage refinance as well as its participation in the Payroll Protection Program which helped Kehilla weather the storm of the pandemic. Dan is active with Kehilla's Immigration Committee as well where he has served on 4 accompaniment teams assisting immigrants as they try to build their lives in America.
Outside of Kehilla, he volunteers with Consider the Homeless where every few weeks Laura and he make enough soup to feed about 120 hungry people. He continues his "seemingly-still-fledgling-even-after-5-years effort" to learn Spanish, and spends time in a community garden.
Job Titles:
- Office Administrator
- Office Manager
- Contact Office Administrator
Contact office administrator Dee Ward by emailing dee@kehillasynagogue.org (please write "URGENT" in the subject line) and/or calling 510-547-2424 x 100. If Dee is out of office, please read her automated reply email to find the appropriate staff member to contact.
My name is Dee Ward and I've been with Kehilla Community Synagogue as a staff member for the last 6+ years. I am a native Californian originally from Los Angeles and I have lived in the Bay for 20+ years. I currently live with my husband Bobby, and our son Cota. In my years here at Kehilla I have broadened my knowledge of Judaism and although my family and I are Christians and a member of First African Methodist Church, at Kehilla I'm considered an "Honorary Jew of Color" and I say to folks that I am a Christian with Jewish tendencies. I continue to feel honored to work at Kehilla as I fully embrace my spiritual gift of helping others and this community allows me the ability to walk in my gift, as it embodies servitude for others.
Dina hails from Los Angeles where she grew up attending public schools and local beaches. She was an active member at Wilshire Boulevard Temple and the first girl in her family to become a B'nei Mitzvah. After attending college in San Diego, she moved to Oakland, which she thought would be a temporary lay-over until a big move to SF. Once she experienced Oakland's beauty and rich diversity, this is where her heart remained.
Dina attended her first Kehilla service in 1990, then housed in a little church in West Berkeley. She sang in High Holiday services with the Women's Chorus and enjoyed the spiritual and communal aspects of Kehilla membership. After brief stints in Los Angeles and Chicago, Dina returned to Oakland and Kehilla for good. She lives here with her husband, Alex, and daughter, Ruby.
Professionally, Dina has worked with children and families for over 30 years as an educator and advocate, in both the public and private sectors. As an attorney, she has practiced family law exclusively for nearly 20 years. Dina was raised in a home where volunteering in your community was encouraged, and she is excited and honored to have an opportunity to serve on the Kehilla Board.
Over twenty years ago, a few weeks after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a Muslim woman and her two grown daughters attended Montclair Presbyterian Church in an effort to create positive relations with Church members. From this simple beginning, an interfaith alliance of Muslims and Christians, and later Jews, was formed which became the Faith Trio and has continued for over 20 years.
Representatives from three congregations, the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC), Kehilla Community Synagogue, and Montclair Presbyterian Church (MPC) formed the Faith Trio. We have become a grass roots effort parallel to similar groups, locally and worldwide, that search for peaceful and deep dialogue, understanding and good will.
Job Titles:
- Building Custodian
- Custodian
Hi, my name is Fred Williamson. I am originally from Texas and I moved to the Bay Area in 1975 and have called this home with my wife Audrey and our four daughters and one son. I currently work full-time during the day at at Starr King School for the Ministry as the Building and Grounds Manager, where I've worked for the last 10 years. In my spare time, I enjoy going on walks or bike rides and watching the Dallas Cowboys.
Fresh "Lev" White is a love and compassion activist. He offers mindfulness, mediation, and diversity trainings as tools for shifting towards more authentic, conscious, and passionate living.
Job Titles:
- MUSIC DIRECTOR
- Musical Director
Hazzan Shulamit Wise Fairman, Music Director, hails from Mid-Missouri, where she began her personal and professional Jewish journey. Graduate studies in Boston led to a freelance career as a prayer leader, educator, and ritual creatrix. B'nai Or, the Jewish renewal community in Boston, became her spiritual home for six years, where she was mentored by her beloved Rabbis, Daniel and Hanna Tiferet Siegel. Since her youth, music and activism have been integral threads in the spiritual matrix of her life. Serving Kehilla since June of 2005, Shulamit continues to weave her vision of community building, personal healing, and world change through music and prayer. She was ordained through the ALEPH Cantorial Program in January, 2013.
Howard Hamburger, a now retired marriage and family psychotherapist, joined Kehilla soon after attending its very first High Holiday services, when Kehilla was a synagogue without walls. He has occupied many roles: congregant, co-chair of the first program committee, service leader, B'nai Mitzvah teacher, Torah study leader, and Lay Spiritual Leader. At Kehilla, he teaches and learns from within the intersection of social justice work, psychology, and spirituality.
While Jaime didn't grow up in a Jewish household, in her mid 20's she learned her great grandfather, Henry Jenett, was, in fact, a Polish Jew, originally named Henry Jacobson. Since learning about her heritage, Jaime began to explore her Jewish identity and strengthen her connection to Jewish community, including actively engaging with Kehilla for the past 10+ years. Jaime is on the Kehilla Health and Safety Task Force and Arc of Change Youth Education Committee. She and her wife, Laura Fitch, have an autistic son named Simon who attended Joyfully Jewish and was welcomed and celebrated at Kehilla School.
Jaime grew up in Palo Alto, graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Religion and UNC Chapel Hill with a Master's in Public Health (MPH) in Maternal and Child Health. She now works for Contra Costa Health Services Health, Housing and Homeless Services as their Community Engagement Specialist and has extensive experience with strategic planning, systems change, community process and public speaking. Her identities include cis gender, femme lesbian, anti-racist, parent of a child with special needs, public servant and goofball.
Jen Miriam Altman is a mom, doula, childbirth educator, puppeteer, percussionist and ketubah artist. She is part of the popular family entertainment band Octopretzel, and leads Tot Shabbat services at Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley and Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont - always with one of her favorite puppets, Raizel the Camel, in tow. She is a former music together teacher and has a Master's degree in Pre and Perinatal Psychology.
Her love of puppets and music goes back to her childhood, when she would put on musical puppet shows for the neighborhood kids in her backyard starting at age 5. She has been performing puppet shows ever since all over California and Oregon.
In 2008, Jen married Alon Altman, a musician, aquatic therapist and scuba diver. Alon grew up on a Kibbutz in Israel, playing music with his best friends and brother who are now some of the biggest names in Israeli rock music. He was the perfect fit to join with Jen Miriam as musician and all around funny person. They have been performing music and puppets together all around the bay area for the past 8 years. Their two daughters, Ellah and Tali, are often seen joining in with music and antics.
Job Titles:
- Technology and Operations Manager
Jonathan Ruchlis grew up in Berkeley, California as a lightly-practicing Jew in the Renewal community. He was Bar Mitzvahed by Bon Singer, and got some of his first videography gigs filming B-Mitzvahs at Kehilla. He studied film and video amongst other things at UCLA and afterwards embarked upon a career as a filmmaker and videographer.
Since then, he's worked many jobs, worked on short and feature films, traveled, re-connected with the saxophone and begun performing & writing music, lived at Urban Adamah, and developed the AV, live streaming and tech skill-set he uses in this role. He was referred to the job posting by his loving mother and Kehilla member Jan Ruchlis and he started in March 2023. You can view some of his work here.
Julie Nesnansky has been a Musical Prayer Leader at Kehilla since 2000. In addition to co-leading Shabbat and holiday services, she leyns (chants) from the torah during various services throughout the year. She also is a trope (the torah chanting system) teacher for students who are preparing for their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
Job Titles:
- Director of Kehilla School
Job Titles:
- School Administrator
- School Coordinator
Maria joined the Kehilla team in the summer of 2022, filling the new role of Kehilla School Administrator, working alongside Rabbi Gray Myrseth and Natalie Boskin. Maria has been an activist and educator since her youth, and loves helping shape the next generation of Jewish changemakers. Born and raised in the Ramaytush Ohlone territory commonly known as San Francisco, Maria has been attending services and taking adult education classes at Kehilla since 2015. She is an organizer with Jews On Ohlone Land, and a regular participant in Kehilla's White Folks Decentering Whiteness Affinity Group. She loves kids, community, and pizza-based pedagogy.
Michael grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and came to California in 1986 to attend Stanford University. After graduation, he moved to Oakland where he has lived ever since. Michael works at TECHsperience, the organization he started in 1995, which provides IT and MIS services to Bay Area non-profits. Prior to TECHsperience, he worked for a San Francisco non-profit as the lead on a training and advocacy project focused on improving the educational opportunities for children experiencing homelessness. He then served as the lead case manager for an East Bay organization where he provided counseling and case management services for adults with mental health and drug and alcohol issues as they transitioned back into permanent housing. Michael married his wife, Sarah Carnochan, in 1998. Sarah is the director of the Bay Area Social Services Consortium at the UCBerkeley School of Social Welfare. Their daughter, Anna, was born in 2003 and is a sophomore at UC Davis. Michael and Sarah attended High Holidays at Kehilla over the years and officially joined the congregation around 2012. Anna attended religious school at Kehilla, had her Bat Mitzvah in 2016, and was a member of JYCA. Michael provides occasional IT consultation to Kehilla, worked with Kehilla as it re-engaged with its use of Salesforce, is a member of the Budget Priorities group, co-chair of the Finance Committee, and co-chair of the Board.
Michael is a Berkeley native and has been connected to Kehilla in many ways over the last three decades. His mom, Dolores Taller, is a proud Kehilla member (as was his dad before he died 18 years ago). When he first met his wife and life partner, Julie, in 1989, she was teaching in Kehilla's religious school.
Michael loves working in and building communities, and has done so in many parts of the Jewish community, including at Berkeley and San Francisco Hillels, the JCC in Manhattan and at Congregation Kol Shofar in Marin. He has also been a community organizer working with churches, synagogues and community agencies in the North Bay, building political power for the common good.
Michael is an enthusiastic father (of his son, Sam), a passionate basketball player, a spirited singer and loves nothing more than hanging out and schmoozing. So give him a call or email him to set up a time to get together, or just drop by the office.
You can contact Michael by email at michael@kehillasynagogue.org, or call (510) 547-2424 x101.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of B'Mitzvah Program
- Assistant Director of Youth Programs
Natalie grew up at Kehilla. She has been a part of this community since fourth grade and join the staff (formally) in 2015. She plays many roles at Kehilla in addition to helping run the B'mitzvah program- she is a B'mitzvah teacher, does AV and Zoom tech work, fairy's for 700 benches, and loves to chant Torah. She feels honored and blessed to be so deeply involved with Kehilla's youth programs and to have the opportunity to grow as a Jewish educator in the context of the Kehilla community.
Nina Rennert Cohen grew up in Northern New Jersey and attended Workman's Circle Sunday School for her childhood Jewish education. By way of Washington, DC; Rouen, France; and Palo Alto, California, Nina finally settled in Berkeley in 2002 and joined Kehilla in 2016 when she and her husband, Jonathan, were in search of Jewish schooling for their sons. It was Rabbi Dev's open heart and mind that sealed the deal for Nina who was initially a reluctant Jew.
Inspired by the quality education her son was receiving at Kehilla and interested in developing her own Jewish identity separate from her husband's and sons', Nina started taking classes with Sharon, Bracha, Rabbi Dev, Hazzan Shulamit, and Rabbi Chaya and was slated to have her own adult bat mitzvah on March, 21, 2020 in partnership with fellow Board Member, Ali Cannon; though the pandemic thwarted those plans, Nina offered a drash on Zoom that day - the first Zoom Shabbat Service.
Nina is delighted to join the Board and the Personnel Committee and hopes to offer her experience as a career educator - teacher and principal - and business owner to the community as she, in turn, learns and listens to Kehilla's thoughtful community members, staff, and clergy.
Ore (formerly known as Wren) Ganin-Pinto (they/them) is an ordained Chaplain and Oreget Adamah (Earth Weaver). They currently serve as a spiritual care provider and death doula at Stanford Children's Hospital and Hospice of Santa Cruz, and as musical prayer leader at both Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland and Temple Beth El in Aptos. Ore lives in community and are grateful for the redwoods, ocean and expansive possibilities of love in action.
Rabbi Burt Jacobson was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1966. He was involved in the creation of both the Havurah and Jewish Renewal movements. In 1984 he founded Kehilla Community Synagogue in Berkeley (now in Piedmont).
Rabbi Burt currently serves as Founding Rabbi of Kehilla. He has been a student of the teachings of the Ba'al Shem Tov for twenty-five years, and is engaged in writing a book that reconstructs the life and spiritual philosophy of the Ba'al Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism. Rabbi Burt celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ordination as a rabbi in 2006. He has been greatly influenced by the work of Martin Buber, the Baal Shem Tov, and Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Job Titles:
- Rabbi
- Spiritual Leader Emerita
Rabbi Gusfield continues her long association with Kehilla through her periodic workshop and service offerings with her beloved friend, Eve Decker, dharma teacher and musician. She also offers teachings, ritual leadership, spiritual direction and service leadership when time permits. In collaboration with Kehilla spiritual leadership, if you know someone who could use support while in any of the East Bay hospitals where she works, please feel free to contact her.
Rabbi Chaya Gusfield joined Kehilla in 1997, initially for the bat mitzvah journey of her daughter Yeshi. As a result of that life changing journey for their family, she entered synagogue life and became one of Kehilla's lay leaders involved in all aspects of Kehilla Spiritual Leadership. Through Kehilla's Rabbi Zari Weiss' encouragement, she became a Spiritual Director in 2001 and provided group and individual direction to Kehilla members. After rabbinical ordination in 2006 from ALEPH, she served as rabbi at Beth Chaim Congregation in Danville for seven years until she began work as a hospital chaplain at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Kaiser Oakland/Richmond.
Throughout high school, college, law school and several years of practice as an attorney, David was involved in anti-war, anti-sexist, pro-LGBT and affirmative action struggles while becoming increasingly involved in the embryonic Jewish Renewal Movement.
Rabbi David credits his eclectic exposures for his familiarity with the varieties of Jewish liturgy and practice. He credits his years of inter-disciplinary study and his grappling with the realities of our post-holocaust generation for his non-conformist theological outlook and the variety of Jewish and non-Jewish religious practices which continue to influence his spiritual endeavors.
Inspired by Rabbi Burt Jacobson's vision of a community synagogue, Rabbi David became one of several co-founders of Kehilla in 1984. Prior to David's service as Kehilla's community rabbi-which began in 1999-he had various careers including political activist, community organizer, attorney, bookstore owner, religion/theology graduate student. He regards it as one of his highest joys that he has been able to be part of a synagogue of such wonderful, exciting and loving people.
Job Titles:
- Rabbi
- Co - Founder of Jews
- Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Dev is a co-founder of Jews on Ohlone Land, and of 700 Benches, Kehilla's Beit Midrash/House of Study.
An Oakland native, Rabbi SAM was ordained at Hebrew College in Boston in 2020, returning home to work as a Chaplain Resident at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. A long-time Kehilla member, Rabbi SAM was a graduate of our Bar/Bat Mitzvah program, a past Board co-Chair, a founder of Glitter Kehilla, and Kehilla's first Rabbinic Intern, during which they founded our Rad Trad Kab Shab experience and was a leader in the founding of our Belonging & Allyship Racial Justice Initiative. Rabbi SAM's work at Kehilla is focused on key programs and community "pockets," including our Conversion and Adult B'nei Mitzvah programs, Radically Inclusive Liturgically Traditional Kabbalat Shabbat (Rad Trad Kab Shab), and creating a chavura for folx withbabies and tots (age 0 - 4). After many years of being a professional circus performer, Rabbi SAM continues to climb on everything and prefers being upside-down.
Job Titles:
- Rabbi
- Spiritual Leader Emerita
Sandra Razieli began her connection with Kehilla in 2000 when she was looking to teach part-time and quickly realized that Kehilla was a place she could bring her whole self. Since that time, she has been proud and grateful to be a Kehilla member and served for over 15 years as B'Mitzvah Program Director and Spiritual Leader. She played a pivotal role in developing Kehilla's educational curricula and now serves as a consultant for Jewish Education and Spiritual Life.
Inspired by her time at Kehilla, Sandra received rabbinic ordination in 2021. She weaves her Jewish knowledge with her training as a Movement Educator and Cultural Anthropologist to create embodied learning experiences and meaningful rituals. Along with Hazzan Shulamit Wise-Fairman, she created the CD, "Moving with Morning Blessings."
Sandra lives on Maui and is the founding rabbi of mauijewishohana.org, a place for progressive Jewish life on the island. She officiates rituals and ceremonies for locals and visitors and teaches movement practices in-person and virtually. Sandra also spends significant time in her home state of Minnesota. She is grateful for the virtual offerings that allow her to continue to serve the Kehilla community and participate as a congregant. You can find more about Sandra at www.mauirabbi.com and www.raziyoga.com
Rachael Reiley (She/Her/They/Them-Its complicated) is an almost native San Franciscan having moved to the city in the summer of love (1971). She grew up in Diamond Heights and the Castro, then "left home" to attend Mills College then returned and earned a JD at USF. In the late-1980's she discovered the Jewish community of Sha'ar Zahav which is where she first met and studied with Rabbi Dev. In 2001 she married Emily Newfield, and their son Riley was born in 2006. When he was a few weeks old the family moved to Cambridge MA where Emily completed an ob-gyn residency.
Upon returning to the Bay Area they quickly found Kehilla where Riley attended the school and Bnei Mitzvah program. Riley loved his time at Kehilla school and Rachael loved sitting on the sofas with the Thursday afternoon Torah study whenever she could. Rachael has also enjoyed the opportunity to study with the Kehilla community at 700 Benches, the Kehilla retreats, and Svara, among other adult learning opportunities.
During the pandemic Rachael has been at her computer pursuing a Masters in Library Science through San Jose State University. She has a deep passion for middle grade and YA literature that she will talk about endlessly if you let her.
Rachael is excited to serve with such a vibrant leadership team at Kehilla this year.
Sharon Grodin, Spiritual Leader, is a home-grown leader of Kehilla, having been inspired by Kehilla services to learn and create with Kehilla's spiritual leadership. Serving in this capacity is the latest of Sharon's experiments in Kehilla volunteerhood; over the years she has participated as a volunteer in most aspects of Kehilla life. Sharon is a 3rd generation Oaklander, a former lawyer, a current knitter and accordion player. During her lawyer life she served on the boards of San Francisco's Bureau of Jewish Education and the Jewish Bulletin (the J. Weekly).
Job Titles:
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Stephanie has been involved with Kehilla since 1977! Coming to the Bay Area as a college student, she was immediately drawn to Kehilla's commitment to social justice and political activism combined with spiritual depth. She knew this was the place for her to land for her Jewish community. She strengthened her relationship with Kehilla when her son entered Hebrew school in Kindergarten (he is now almost 21 years old) and post bar mitzvah, joined the B'nei Mitzvah Committee and organized a short-lived teen program.
Stephanie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is the East Bay Director of a large youth and family-serving non-profit, managing both organizational and clinical realms. In addition, she is a strategic planning facilitator and trainer. Stephanie is moved and inspired by the place that Kehilla holds in the community and the impact that we have. Stephanie looks forward to bringing her organizational skills and other passions to the Kehilla board, joining with others to create and repair the world. When Stephanie isn't working and volunteering, she spends time with loving family and dear friends, reading, cooking, eating, walking, and whiling away hours cracking British-style cryptic crossword puzzles. Stephanie's excitement in joining the board was realized and enhanced by the camaraderie, intelligence and levity she experienced at her first board meeting.
Tadish was born in Oakland, and has spent most of his life here. He attended Pitzer College in Claremont where he studied Sociology. Tadish has also lived in Seattle, Ireland and Scotland. He now lives in Oakland with his wife Linda and their dog Sherman in the Cleveland Heights neighborhood. Prior to the pandemic, Tadish studied Aikido, a Japanese martial art, and he hopes to start that back up as soon as he feels comfortable doing so. Tadish also makes ceramics, and works out of a studio in Concord. He enjoys a lot of outdoor activities including skiing, SCUBA diving, backpacking and camping. Tadish hosts a Torah study group with other Kehilla members every Thursday evening. He also likes to cook. Tadish enjoys family get-togethers, and he especially enjoys hanging out with his 4 year old nephew, and has an infant niece whom he also enjoys.
Shortly after the 2016 election, Tadish's wife Linda told him she'd like to join a synagogue. It was her belief that in the coming years they would need the support of a Jewish community. Linda was born Jewish, and Tadish was not, but after meeting with Michael Saxe-Taller, they quickly decided that Kehilla was the place for them. It wasn't long after that that Tadish decided to pursue becoming a Jew himself. In 2018, he completed that process. Kehilla has become so important for Tadish in the intervening years. His spiritual life is more than he ever thought it could be. He feels like he has come to a place where he belongs. Tadish's values are Kehilla's values. He loves what Kehilla does as a community. So much in Tadish's life has opened up to him since he joined Kehilla.
Job Titles:
- Director of B'Mitzvah Program