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Rose Hornstein, Rodef Sholom's Communications and Marketing Assistant, chatted with our new campus Security Director, Scott McKenna. 

What is your experience in the safety and security field? I was a police officer and juvenile detective for Central Marin Police Department. I retired in April 2021, and my friend Bruce Goldberg reached out to me because he heard that the JCC was looking for a security director. I like working with the community and thought it would be a good match. I started May 2022. Brandeis Marin, Congregation Rodef Sholom and The Osher Marin JCC, decided because the three entities share the campus, they decided they should get one unified security, and start with a security director. So I am in charge of Brandeis, JCC and Rodef, one security system to watch the entire campus. 

What is your goal as Security Director of Rodef Sholom\JCC and Brandeis? Our goal is to create continuity and consistency of security on the campus. Make sure that all three entities that share the properties are safe and secure together.I am trying to build a team, get standard opportunities procedures established. We want to be proactive instead of reactive. Integrating within the community, and making sure people understand that we are there to support them. I’m a sheep dog, I want to protect people. I enjoy being here and helping people and protecting them from the wolves.

 How many people are on your security team?  Right now I have Travis, who has been here for a couple of years. The goal is to have 3 more underneath me, 2 on the weekends and 2 on the weekdays. Everyone is very capable of taking care of needs and are professional and composed. 

What is something you’ve learned and loved about Judaism? I like how welcoming everyone has been, no one has asked me, are you Jewish? No one asks that here. I was a history major, so I love learning about religions. Reality is we are all here to raise our family’s and enjoy our life. It does not matter what religion you are, you would not know if someone is Muslim, Christian or Jewish. That's what I noticed right away, I like being here. Also, the leadership has been fantastic, everybody is great, it's a good team.

What is your daily routine with regards to security at the three campuses? I get here in the morning, I check my emails, we are available for the drop offs for the school, Brandeis or summer camps. We do our patrols around the campus to make sure all of the gates are opened that need to be opened and closed if they need to be. During events we do our walk around, and assist elderly or people that need more help get to and from their car. When the need to ramp up security is there, we do so. 

What is something you look forward to with the new Rodef Sholom building? I think it will bring more membership and students at Brandeis. What a beautiful little area we have , it's a great spot to be, and the new building will be so nice! 

On a lighter note, what's your favorite restaurant in Marin? I use to like Mike’s Sourdough. I like turkey cheese, ranch and lettuce. I live in Petaluma and I like Risibisi and City Chopsticks.

Favorite artist\music? I listen to everything, I’m a big fan of Muse, Florida Georgia Line and Brad Paisley. Lionel Richie and Boys 2 Men if I’m feeling R&B. 

 What is an ideal day for Scott McKenna? My Graceland is Maui. I would wake up in a resort in Maui with my wife and my five-and-half-year-old-son, James. We head to breakfast and I order Loco Moco which is eggs over rice with gravy. We would go to the beach and go swimming, have lunch and go swimming, and have dinner and go swimming. We love playing cards and going to the ocean and going to the pool. My ideal day is only using my phone to take pictures.