Tamara was born and raised in the Bay Area, and has called Berkeley home for more than 20 years. She completed a Master of Public Affairs at The Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley in 2022. Her work now focuses on addressing climate change by supporting the transition of homes and businesses from gas to electricity. During her legal career, Tamara worked on domestic violence policy issues as an attorney for the California court system, taught seminars on domestic violence at Golden Gate University School of Law, and headed the legal program at the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention in San Mateo County. She spends most of her weekends watching her twin boys play baseball and enjoys hiking, backpacking, and spending time with family and friends.
Born in Chicago, raised in Wisconsin and Santa Barbara, Jason has called the Bay Area home since 1992 and has lived in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood for the last 20 years. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Jason’s passion for sports led him to a career in television broadcasting, first behind the scenes as an Executive Sports Producer, and later as a Sportscaster at both KRON-TV and KTVU. Inspired by both of his parents who were heavily involved in the civil rights movement, he has long been passionate about issues involving social justice and equity. Jason and his wife Sharon have a son and a daughter, and love catching as many of their daughter’s soccer games as possible, movie nights, reading, traveling, and spending time with their extended families and their beloved dog Cubby.
Rena Dorph Ph.D. has worked in the field of education with a focus on learning research, program design, and evaluation for over 20 years. She is currently the Director of The Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. She serves as the Principal Investigator for multiple STEM learning R&D projects including as a Founder and Principal Investigator of the Activation Lab and the Executive Producer and Co-Creator of the animated musical series, The Lawrence Rocks!. Rena serves on multiple governing and advisory boards across general and Jewish education organizations. She co-founded Edah and Studio 70, and was the Board President of Studio 70 before the organization merged with the JCC East Bay. In 2019 Rena was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
Steve is a fifth generation Oaklander and partner in his family business, Douglas Parking LLC. In addition to serving on the JCC Board, Steve is a member of the Guardsmen, a philanthropic organization dedicated to raising funds for underprivileged and at-risk children in the Bay Area. His community work includes the Board of Directors of the National Parking Association, the Oakland Museum of California, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the Lake Merritt/Uptown Business District, and Temple Sinai. He is passionate about baseball, and in particular, the Oakland A’s. He lives in Oakland with his wife and has two children. Steve has served on the JCC East Bay Board since 2013.
Aaron grew up in the East Bay, and attended preschool at the JCC in Oakland. As a teenager, he participated on a gold medal-winning basketball team in the JCC Maccabi Games®. Aaron graduated from UC Berkeley, and spent several years in New York City and Washington DC before returning to the Bay Area, where he works as a lawyer, mostly in the areas of disability rights and civil rights. Aaron, his wife, and two children now live in Berkeley. Both children attended preschool and now attend afterschool and teen programs at the JCC East Bay. Aaron has served on the JCC East Bay Board since 2016.
Matt is an attorney at Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, where he works in affordable housing development. His clients include a range of nonprofits, public entities, and for-profit housing developers. Before joining Goldfarb & Lipman, Matt practiced in the New York office of Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP as a real estate finance attorney. He settled in the East Bay in 2012, where he took a hiatus from the law to be a full-time at home parent. Matt connected with the JCC East Bay through the preschool program – both his children attended. Matt received his JD from St. John’s University School of Law, where he participated in the law review, and he received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied political science, history and psychology. Matt lives in Berkeley and works in Oakland.
Michael is a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Before joining Gibson Dunn, Michael was a litigation associate in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley where he graduated with High Honors in History and High Distinction in General Scholarship, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Michael lives in El Cerrito with his wife and two sons.
Josh previously served on the JCC East Bay Board for 15 years, including a term as Board Chair. Josh has served in multiple leadership roles in the Jewish community and is currently on the Board, the Community Impact Committee of the SF Jewish Federation, and the Board of his Aikido dojo. Josh is a private investor; a managing partner and instructor at the Berkeley-based startup accelerator, the Batchery; and has been a volunteer mentor at the Haas Business School. Josh remains convinced that a strong and adaptive JCC should be the cornerstone of Jewish communal life in the greater East Bay. He is originally from Baltimore, is married to Diane Halberg, and they have 2 daughters.
A Bay Area native, David has dedicated much of his time to causes aimed at strengthening the fabric of those who live in the East Bay. A lawyer since 1991, he is a private professional fiduciary for those who, because of cognitive difficulties, cannot manage their financial and personal affairs. From his early involvement at Jewish summer camps, Bnai Brith Youth Organization, as a professional with the Anti-Defamation League, and currently a member of the Development Committee with JFCS East Bay, David has committed his energy and passion toward serving community from that locus of values. David has two fairly sprung adult children and lives with his fiancée in Oakland as they plan busily for retirement and travel. He is currently appreciating swimming, hiking, pickleball, and his friendships.
Juliette was born in New York City and has lived in the Bay Area since 1990. She has a B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society from Cornell University and an M.S. degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University. She runs her own consulting business focusing on program evaluation and management consulting. She and her husband live in Oakland with their son, who has attended the JCC’s Summer Camp and Maccabi Sports Camp. Juliette has served on the JCC East Bay Board since 2016 and is thrilled to be a part of this dynamic and expanding organization.
Mark has worked as a volunteer in the Jewish community for over 20 years. He has served on the finance committees of Temple Sinai and the Contra Costa JCC. He was the Board treasurer of the Crowden Music Center. He served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay and was the chairperson of their Create a Jewish Legacy program. Mark also sings with the Oakland Symphony Chorus and with the Temple Sinai Choir, and is an accomplished bridge player. Mark has served on the JCC East Bay Board since 2015.
Nathan is a first-generation American and son of Holocaust survivors. He grew up on a dairy farm in Connecticut and moved to the Bay Area in 1993. Nathan is married with two children and one grandchild. He was a mortgage banker from 1993-2008, and has served as Vice President of Libitzky Property Companies since 2008. Nathan supports the community, education, and Israel, and previously served on the Jewish Community Federation of the East Bay’s Executive Committee.
Robin has extensive experience in the non-profit world serving in both professional and volunteer leadership capacities. She was born in Detroit, and has lived in the Bay Area for over 30 years. Robin has a B.A. from the University of Michigan, a J.D. from Case Western Reserve, a non-profit management certificate from CSU, and a California funeral director’s license. She is recently retired from years of service providing critical, compassionate support to families and is looking to be involved in work that matters. She believes that the JCC plays a huge role in the East Bay’s Jewish community and beyond. She and her husband live in Oakland.
Hillary grew up in Beverly Hills, graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Dramatic Arts, and has lived in Berkeley ever since. She and her husband, Jonathan, a Broadway theater producer, were members of Congregation Beth El, where their twin daughters were B’nai Mitzvah. She has extensive experience in the theater world, as an associate for Jonathan Reinis Productions, as a manager for non-for-profit theater companies, and as a Board member of the Aurora Theatre company. Currently, she is the managing partner for a family-owned shopping center in Los Angeles. With a passion for world travel, she thrives on a balanced diet of viewing excellent theater and playing frequent tennis games.
Jules is passionate about multimedia human-centered storytelling for social good. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of Foundation Rwanda, she has dedicated over 18 years to empowering women survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Jules served as Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of The Battery Candy and Brand Director of The Battery SF, and Creative Director for the Reboot Network. She is the co-author of “Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over.” Jules grew up spending her summers at the JCC day camp in Columbus, Ohio, where she grew up, and her two sons, nephew, and two nieces attended the JCC East Bay Preschool. She hopes to help foster a vibrant and inclusive JCC East Bay community for generations to come.
For more than 20 years, Rebekah has been heavily involved in her Jewish communities, including Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and now Oakland. She served in multiple leadership roles at the East Bay Federation, and as a Trustee and Executive Committee member of Tehiyah Day School. Rebekah’s maternal grandparents each fled Nazi Germany in the 30’s and met as adults in Chicago, where Rebekah grew up the oldest of four girls. Rebekah started her professional career on a CFO track, working for two Fortune 500 companies. She now advises owners of privately-held businesses on how to “up-level” their offerings. She enjoys hiking, biking, running, playing frisbee, rock climbing, gardening, and cooking with her partner and/or daughter.
From attending the JCC’s Camp Tzofim as a toddler to sending his own children to various JCC afterschool and summer programs, Michael recognizes the critical role that an active, welcoming, and vibrant JCC plays in our community. After college in San Diego and a brief stint in the wine country, Michael returned to the East Bay to manage commercial real estate and practice business law, where, amongst other things, he counsels clients on the development, construction, leasing, and sale of real estate property. Michael is a past Board member of Temple Beth Abraham and is married to Natalie, a strong supporter of the JCC East Bay. In his free time, he enjoys playing softball with the Minyan 580 softball team and watching his three children play soccer.