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.
Midori was born and raised in Japan and grew up as a teenager in Minnesota. After working in energy finance in Houston, Midori and her husband moved to Southeast Asia, where she worked closely with Peace Corp volunteers serving for the communities in need. In addition, she fundraised for self-income generating projects, as well as health, and educational initiatives for the children in Thailand. Midori and her family relocated to the East Bay in 2008. While raising her daughters, Midori has served as Executive VP and Board Member for The Jewish Federation of the East Bay and The Contra Costa Jewish Community Foundation. Midori brings a unique perspective on diversity and hopes to help JCC East Bay build an inclusive community. She enjoys playing tennis and hiking.
Rachel has been the chair of graphic design at California College of the Arts since 2014, and has taught in programs since 2010. As chair, Berger’s primary focus has been on developing innovative curriculum and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her creative practice, Berger investigates the relationship between design and culture through writing, self-initiated projects, and freelance work with non-profit organizations. Berger’s book, A Toolkit for Gathering was published by Art Practical in 2020 and her writing on design, culture, and education has been published by MIT Press, Bloomsbury, and Chronicle Books. She has a BA and MFA from Yale University. Rachel was in the inaugural cohort of LABA East Bay, and her kids have both attended JCC camp and afterschool.
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, and was Board chair for two terms.
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 currently attend afterschool at the JCC East Bay. Aaron has served on the JCC East Bay Board since 2016.
Matt attended the University of Pennsylvania as an undergrad before attending St. John’s University School of Law as a full tuition scholarship recipient. After law school, Matt joined the NYC-based firm of Schulte Roth & Zabel as a real estate attorney. He moved to the East Bay in 2012, took several years away from to be a stay-at-home dad, then returned to practice in 2019, with a focus on land use and zoning matters. Matt now works with Goldfarb & Lipman, where he is joining the firm’s affordable housing practice. He’s originally from New Jersey and is the grandson to two Holocaust survivors. Matt lives in Berkeley, is married to Lyndsey, and he enjoys backpacking, running, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Both of Matt’s children attended the JCC East Bay’s preschool.
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 of the JCC Association of North America, 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.
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 has served on the Jewish Community Federation of the East Bay’s Executive Committee.
Dara is the leader of the 40-lawyer group at Genentech. Prior to that, Dara was the Regional Legal Director for Global Innovative Pharmaceuticals for Pfizer. Dara has served in private practice, as a Federal Prosecutor at the Federal Trade Commission, and completed a Clerkship in The White House, Office of Counsel to the President under Clinton. Dara received her J.D. from the University of Michigan and her B.A. from Tufts University. She is originally from New York City, lived in Israel for 8 years, speaks four languages, and is married with two sons. She is a member of Temple Beth Abraham, sits on the Board at Contra Costa Jewish Day School, and was co-chair of the 2018 Limmud Bay Area Conference.
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 CA 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.
Greg is the General Manager, Culture & CSR for Chevron Downstream & Chemicals. Previously, he was the Policy, Government and Public Affairs General Manager for Chevron International Products. Greg spent six years on the faculty of Saint Mary’s College as Advertising and Public Relations instructor. He has a B.A. from Saint Mary’s College of California, a M.A. in Communications Management from The Annenberg School at USC, a certificate in Executive Management from Babson College, and a graduate credential in Executive Coaching from the Graduate School of Psychology at John F. Kennedy University. He has been on the Board of Seneca Family of Agencies and Family Life Center. Greg and his wife, Natasha, have two children. They enjoy travel, skiing, lacrosse, and hobby farming.
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.
JEWISH starts at the JCC
Your generosity sparks lifelong connections to Jewish community. Please make your year-end gift to the JCC East Bay by December 31.
