Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Board Members
Angela Giacomini - Women of Rodef Sholom President
BOARD BIOGRAPHIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Suzanne has been an educator and administrator at several Bay Area independent schools for the past 25 years. She was raised in St. Louis, attended Bowdoin College, and has an M.A. in Education from Stanford University. Currently, she lives in Mill Valley with her husband and two daughters and is on the Board of the Tamalpais High School Foundation and serves on the SF Federation’s Diller Jewish Educator Award Committee.
For years, Suzanne's involvement in Jewish life was hosting Hanukkah parties and Seders plus attending the short service at the end of religious school. But over the years, she came to realize, that those 15 minutes at services, were a highlight of her week. Her involvement then changed dramatically after a sudden loss in their family, when she began to accompany her husband to Shabbat services nearly every week for a year. This experience transformed her connection. Since then, she has attended family camps; celebrated both her daughters becoming Bat Mitzvah; traveled to Israel on a Rodef Sholom family trip and became a became a Bat Mitzvah herself in April 2017. Suzanne serves on Rodef Sholom’s Development Committee.
Ben is one of the owners of IWA Wine Accessories, which is a retailer and manufacturer of wine-related products, gifts and accessories. As President of the company since its inception in 2004, Ben has guided its rapid rise through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Prior to 2004, Ben spent five years as a CPA in Arthur Andersen’s small business practice and almost seven years as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley. Ben lives in Tiburon with his wife Bryn and their three teenage boys. They moved to Tiburon from San Francisco in 2007, and joined Rodef Sholom shortly thereafter. As the son of Israeli parents, Ben spent every summer growing up in Israel, as well as 10th grade in an academic year-long program on Kibbutz Kfar Blum. Like many of the other Board members, Ben is thrilled at the opportunity to give back to Rodef Sholom, with its amazing clergy and incredible community.
Josh was born in New York City, raised in Teaneck, N.J., and has lived as an adult in Israel, Japan, Manhattan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. He came to the Bay Area in 1997, resided in San Francisco for over a decade, and now lives with his family—Jessica, Hannah, Abby and their dog, Charlie—in Mill Valley.
Josh is a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where he directs the Center for Law and Ethics. He publishes on various topics and is currently writing a book for Cambridge University Press titled, “Unnatural Law: AI, Consciousness, Ethics, and Legal Philosophy.” He also consults as a legal ethicist and litigates class actions on behalf of victims of antitrust violations, and serves on the Board of Directors of Canal Alliance in San Rafael.
Josh and his family are delighted to have found a home at Rodef Sholom. The temple fits their values, providing them a sense of identity, a warm and thoughtful community, and a framework for discussing issues related to family, friendship, social justice, and living a meaningful life. Josh has helped to organize Sunday events at Rodef for children and parents, combining arts and crafts with efforts to make our community and society more just and caring.
Stephanie was born and raised in Tarzana, California. She has a BA in English Literature from UCSD and a JD from the USC. After moving to San Rafael in 2003, she practiced litigation in San Francisco, before founding Mischief Management, a large-scale event management company. She stepped down from the company in 2017 to focus on her family and community. She lives in San Rafael with her husband Ethan, and their two daughters, Sabrina and Audrey.
Growing up, Stephanie was very involved in synagogue life. She attended religious school from Kindergarten to Confirmation, went to Jewish summer camps, and spent a summer in Israel. She hopes to help make Rodef Sholom a place where her daughters and their friends can feel as connected to Judaism as she did. Stephanie currently serves on the Rodef Sholom Welcoming Committee and is an active volunteer at Mark Day School.
Jeff Fox is a practicing gastroenterologist in Marin at Kaiser Permanente, where he has served as the department chief since 2006 and as the Chair of Gastroenterology for the Northern California Kaiser Permanente region since 2014. In these roles, he has developed significant organizational leadership skills necessary to coordinate and deliver compassionate digestive disease care for over 4 million Kaiser members. He has a passion for teaching and is excited to be the associate director of Kaiser Permanente's new GI fellowship this summer. Jeff has also been a volunteer with Operation Access, where he has organized and performed hundreds of medical procedures for no cost, to Marin and Sonoma County residents who could not otherwise afford them.
A Bay Area native, Jeff, his wife Rena, and their children Natalie and David have been engaged with Rodef Sholom through Jewish education and by forging new friendships. He has been an active participant over the years in the High Holy Day services. Jeff believes that the Jewish faith provides so much of his family’s identity that devoting increased energy to Rodef Sholom feels like a natural choice. He plans to bring the same dedication that he has given to raising his children and building his career to the Rodef Sholom community. Jeff feels that with many transitions on the horizon, it is an important and exciting time to be part of the team that steers the congregation in the right direction.
Pat Goldman grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota. For years, she travelled the forty miles to and from Sioux City, Iowa every Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning to attend Synagogue. Her fondest memories are of attending different Jewish summer camps in Wisconsin as a camper and as a counsellor. The community she found at camp made her never want to leave.
Pat received her BA in Judaic Studies from Yale University, and her JD from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Since 1992, she has represented only employees in employment law matters, initially with a firm in San Francisco, and then opening her own practice in San Rafael in 2011. She has been active and on the boards of various employment law and trial lawyer organizations, mentoring law students and new lawyers, and involving herself in various social justice activities.
Pat and her wife, D’vora Tirschwell, initially bonded over their love for Jewish summer camp. In 2006, they moved to Greenbrae with their two children, Sydney and Nathan. They enrolled their kids at Rodef Sholom’s Sunday School, and, subsequently, Brandeis Marin. Both children are now seasoned Camp Newman-ites and have found their mischpacha at Rodef, Brandeis, and Newman.
Likewise, Pat and D’vora have found their mischpacha in the Marin Jewish community. Pat has been a member of Rodef’s Nominating Committee for the past three years, regularly has assisted in Rodef’s Pride services and is very excited to be joining the Rodef Board!
Pamela has participated in various volunteer activities through our beloved temple. For years she cooked for and dined with guests of the REST program with a group of friends, self-dubbed the "Mitzvah Mommas”. She co-leads the Mitzvah Day project for Marin Community Clinic where congregants of all ages make no-sew baby blankets for the young patients visiting the clinic. She deepened her understanding of our temple’s history through participation in the Visioning weekend and more recently in interviewing some of our oldest, founding members. She enjoys making and delivering meals and challah and supporting the new community pantry. Pamela is grateful for our incredible clergy and staff who cultivate a sacred and welcoming space. She is honored to help us move forward in this transitionary time of preparing our new temple building and shaping what it means to be part of this holy community.
Ed is the CEO and Co-Founder of Activate (Activate Marketing Services, LLC), a startup focused on combining deep buyer insights with a content-led nurturing methodology to engage prospects and convert them to customers. Ed’s background includes media, digital and editorial experience. Most recently he was the President of Business Technology Media at UBM Tech, where he was responsible for market-leading content brands such as InformationWeek.
Ed is the son of a Jewish father and a (non-practicing) Catholic mother; he was raised Jewish but without a regular temple. He says that while he grew up feeling “culturally” Jewish, he didn’t connect with Judaism in deeper, more spiritual ways. As Ed and his wife Kris have raised their children Zev, Leo and Sol, they have connected more deeply with Judaism - both spiritually and as a family.
Ed and his family live in Mill Valley and are regularly involved in and around Rodef Sholom. Some of the activities they are involved with include REST, Leadership/Nominating Committee, Gesher, Sunday School, Midrasha, Chavurah, and more.
Beth was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Boston University prior to attending law school at George Washington University. She practiced law at Baker & Hostetler in Washington, DC before moving to Mercer Consulting to work in healthcare and employment law consulting in Washington, DC and later in Chicago.
She moved to Marin 18 years ago to marry her husband, Marty Katz, and served as the director of the Marin office of Jewish Family and Children’s Services. In her position at JFCS, she had the opportunity to oversee services and programming for children and seniors. She was instrumental in bringing Cafe by the Bay to Marin for Holocaust survivors and collaborated with community partners to expand services for this special group of seniors.
Beth’s family has a long tradition of Jewish communal life. Her extended family has belonged to Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh for over 80 years and served on their Rodef Shalom board in various capacities for many years. Beth feels fortunate to be able to continue this legacy on the West Coast. While living in Chicago, Beth was actively involved with Jewish Federation. She served on the board of Jewish Child and Family Services and was a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet. She traveled to Israel, Russia and Eastern Europe on several Federation missions and had the opportunity to see the reemergence of Jewish life in these parts of the world.
While at Rodef Sholom, Beth has served on the Nominating Committee, Moreh Derech team, and is a member of the Campaign Cabinet with her husband. Together, Marty and Beth have shared many life cycle events with Rodef Sholom, including the celebrations of the B’nai Mitzvot of their children, Aaron, Rebecca, Nate and Rachel. She is passionate about building community and is excited to have the opportunity to bring her time and dedication during this exciting time of transition.
Darell is a founding member of Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC. Prior to starting Bel Air, he was a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co., overseeing Private Client Services for the Los Angeles office, where he started his investment career in 1981. Darell is on the Board of Directors of the Music Center Foundation in Los Angeles, where he is a member of the Investment Committee, and is a past Chairman and current member of the Board of L.A. Team Mentoring, an organization that provides mentors for approximately 1,200 students at 10 middle schools in challenging urban neighborhoods in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Darell holds a B.A. from Occidental College, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Management.
Darell is passionate about being part of and contributing to Jewish community, learning, and religiosity. He grew up with the temple community at the center of his family life. His parents were Presidents of the Young Couples Club and Sisterhood, members of the choir and on the Board of Directors. Darell sang in the junior choir, was a junior cantor, attended services most Friday nights as well as three-day-a-week religious school. He also attended several Jewish Camps, including Camp Ramah. Unlike many of his friends and siblings, he loved all of it.
Darell, his wife Elizabeth, and their son Eli moved to Mill Valley from LA in 2013. While in LA, Darell graduated from the Wexner Heritage Program in 2002. Shortly after their move to the Bay Area they became members at Rodef Sholom. In the last year at Rodef Sholom, Darell’s connections with the synagogue have grown deeper; Eli will become a Bar Mitzvah in 2020, and Darell joined Rabbi Elana’s course on Martin Buber. Currently, Darell serves on the Development Committee and Sacred Space Committee at Rodef Sholom.
Marin County has been a wonderful home for Ellen and her daughter Sofie for three decades. Shortly after moving here, she realized how disconnected she felt from a Jewish community and found Rodef Sholom. It was an answer to a prayer. She had never experienced services and Jewish life in such a joyous way. It brought back feelings from camp of being part of an uplifting and inclusive Jewish community. She became involved quickly and did two terms of service on the Rodef board. The highlight of her second term was co-chairing the Senior Rabbi search committee and securing our future with Rabbi Stacy. She recently participated in the Executive Director search.
Ellen is very excited to become part of the Board of Directors, especially at a time of such great change.
Over the years Gerri has been involved with the temple in a variety of committees. She has been on the Nominating Committee and is helping with the newly formed Cemetery Task Force to help beautify Sharei Shalom. She is incredibly grateful for the support she has received from our community since the passing of her husband. Participating on the Board is a way of giving back and she is eagerly hoping to do that.
Lynn began her working career as an assistant professor of finance at Brooklyn College and an adjunct professor and teaching assistant at Rutgers University. She has worked at Prudential Diversified Investment Strategies as a quant researcher and portfolio manager, Vestek Systems as Director of Research and Product Management, and as an Investment Strategist at Barclays Global Investors (BGI). Lynn left professional life and became an active volunteer at Marin Academy High School while she helped transition her two children to college.
While at Rodef Sholom, Lynn has served on the Sisterhood Board, Women’s Mikvah Committee, co-facilitated a Mussar Group, and participated in Elul retreats and the REST program. She currently serves on the Finance Committee..
Lynn spends most of her time nurturing her spiritual life, volunteering at CRS, and with families experiencing difficult life events. She is also a devotee to movement; dancing West Coast Swing, hiking, mountain bike riding, and practicing yoga. She continues to be delighted with what she is learning, who she is meeting, and the practice of Judaism here at Rodef Sholom.
Jodie was raised in New York and graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in Marketing and Statistics. Much of her career was spent in the retail industry leading sourcing, strategy and operational initiatives. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she met and married her wife Donna, and together they raised their son, Lucas.
Jodie became a stay-at-home mom and turned her passions and efforts towards volunteerism, focusing on mentoring youth, educational reform, and civil and community advocacy. Jodie has sat on the boards of The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Hamaqom (formerly Lehrhaus Judaica), The Osher Marin JCC, and The Parnow Friendship House.
Jodie was raised in a Jewish home that was not synagogue or ritually centered. She always felt that there was something more that she hoped to explore in her Jewish journey. The stars were aligned perfectly when she and Donna moved to San Rafael in 2015. They became members of Rodef Sholom. Since then, Jodie often remarked that her soul is entrenched in her Judaism. Jodie has an unbounded curiosity and quest for learning. She has been involved in many synagogue programs. Highlights include REST, Criminal Justice Reform, Immigrant Rights, Chevra Kadisha, Welcoming and Greeting New Members, and as many learning opportunities as possible. Jodie was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah, which was a life changing event.
Jodie is an advocate for social justice, racial equity, LGBTQ and all Human Rights. While this has not been her primary vocation, it has always been her avocation and passion. She cares deeply. Jodie is deeply honored to be given the opportunity to give her all and serve on the board.
Caren was Managing Director, Equity Research at Bank of America Securities, having moved to Montgomery Securities from PaineWebber in 1996. Her area of focus was financial services. Through her career, Caren honed financial, presentation/public speaking and marketing skills.
When her first child, Alex, was born, Caren became a stay-at-home mom and put her talents towards volunteer opportunities which include the Mill Valley Library Foundation Board, where she founded the Storybook Committee, a major fundraiser for the library, and being the co-chair of the Annual Fund at Marin Primary & Middle School, raising nearly $600,000 and achieving 99.7% participation.
Caren grew up in the rural South and her family worked hard to have a Jewish identity, driving 90 minutes to Sunday School each week. Caren grew up valuing her Jewish identity and valuing the role of synagogue in her family's life.
Caren, her husband, Nick, and their three children live in Mill Valley. At Rodef Sholom, Caren has volunteered with the REST program and the Mitzvah Kitchen. Caren recently joined the new Cabinet Committee for the new building. She feels very connected to the Rodef Sholom community and is committed to helping connect more people to Rodef Sholom and to one another.
Lynne is committed to social action, poverty alleviation and food justice. After 25 years in senior positions in advertising and tech, she began a second career in food. Professionally, Lynne is the Forager for Byte, where since the company’s launch in 2015, she works with local food makers and distributors to make healthy, fresh food available in businesses through unstaffed Internet-connected refrigerators. She is also a founding member of ExtraFood, a nonprofit food rescue organization in Marin, where she has forged perpetual partnerships with all Marin Farmers Markets, county schools, grocery stores, caterers and created marketing material including the iconic aprons. She continues to lead the market teams and recruit donors and volunteers. Byte is one of ExtraFood’s largest contributors, one of the circles of sustainability and community in which Lynne delights.
Lynne did not grow up at Rodef Sholom - or any other congregation - but after losing both parents (who were Holocaust survivors), she tiptoed in. Enveloped in the songs, the community and radical accessibility, she dedicated herself to a year of observing [almost] every Jewish holiday. Joyfully swept up in the social justice work and Judaism 101, 201+ with Rabbi Elana, the connection deepened. Lynne has been welcoming new members (Moreh Derech), working on the Women’s Mikvah, Tradition of Giving and various Interfaith initiatives. She travelled to Israel with Rabbi Stacy and congregants on a social action trip in 2017. Lynne is deeply committed to using her marketing, sales and fundraising skills in combination with her love of this community to help Rodef Sholom thrive as a welcoming, relevant sanctuary congregation.
Jeff and his family moved to Marin in 2013 from Irvine, CA after selling his marketing agency of 29 years. He accepted a position with a long-time client and is National Sales Manager for a division of Emerson Electric Co. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science and Business Administration from Michigan State University. He was elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business under two administrations.
When Jeff was young in Detroit, his parents belonged to an Orthodox shul. When he was five his family joined Temple Israel, now the largest Reform congregation in North America. His fondest memories at Temple Israel were Shabbat and High Holiday prayers and beautiful melodies many which are included during our Rodef Sholom services.
He served 5 years on the Board of Trustees at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. He is a graduate of SKILLSET NPO® Values- Vision-Leadership for a flourishing Jewish community, Jewish Federation of Orange County.
Jeff is co-chair of Rodef Sholom’s High Holiday Civic Center Welcome Committee, a facilitator for the Wise Aging Program, and a member of the Security Task Force. Jeff strives to obey the Jewish commandment “thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…”. For many years his daughters Danielle and Sarah have joined him at Torah Study first at Temple Bat Yahm and now at Rodef Sholom. Jeff and his wife Marianne live in Mill Valley.