Board of Directors
July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013
Peter E. Metzner, President
Jeanne Reisman, MD, Vice President
Helen Bulwik
Rabbi Steven A. Chester
Fred Feller
Rabbi Yoel H. Kahn, Ph.D., D.D.
Rick Maisel, Ph.D.
Ruth Phillips
Norman Price, MD
Mark Reisman, MD
Carmi Weininger
Vicki Zatkin
Peter joined the JFCS/East Bay board in 2008 and became president in July 2012. He previously served on the board of Temple Isaiah, where he and his family are congregants. For the past twenty-five years, Peter has worked in the financial services/investment banking industry, and is currently President of Cypress Financial Corporation, a privately held investment fund manager in San Francisco. He is a graduate of University of Southern California and received an MBA from San Francisco State University. Peter lives in Orinda with his wife, Aliza, and has two daughters, Julia and Claire.
Jeanne is a primary care physician currently working in the chronic pain program and serving as Chief of Health Education at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. Jeanne has also been on the clinical faculty at UCSF and teaches medical residents. She has previously served on the boards of Tehiyah Day School, Congregation Netivot Shalom, and LifeLong Medical Center. Jeanne lives in Oakland with her husband, Len, and teenaged daughter, Deborah; all three of them are JFCS/East Bay volunteers. Jeanne joined the board in 2008.
Jane Rabinovitz, Secretary
Jane joined the board in late 2010. She is a Certified Gemologist and owner of a private jewelry boutique in Oakland. Jane has a long history of community involvement in the cities where she has lived, most recently in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the Jewish Federation of Charlotte, she served on the board of the Women’s Professional Network and co-chaired the Women’s Division annual spring lecture. Jane also served on the boards of directors of the Actors’ Theatre of Charlotte and of North Carolina’s Dance Theatre, Corps de Ballet. Jane holds an MA in counseling psychology and received additional training in marriage and family therapy at the Cambridge Family Institute. Jane lives in Oakland with her husband, Mark, and has four adult sons.
Jane joined the board in late 2010. She is a Certified Gemologist and owner of a private jewelry boutique in Oakland. Jane has a long history of community involvement in the cities where she has lived, most recently in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the Jewish Federation of Charlotte, she served on the board of the Women’s Professional Network and co-chaired the Women’s Division annual spring lecture. Jane also served on the boards of directors of the Actors’ Theatre of Charlotte and of North Carolina’s Dance Theatre, Corps de Ballet. Jane holds an MA in counseling psychology and received additional training in marriage and family therapy at the Cambridge Family Institute. Jane lives in Oakland with her husband, Mark, and has four adult sons.
Sheldon Kahn, Treasurer
Sheldon joined the board in 2011. He is a partner in Headwaters Holding, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in derivatives trading. He is currently on the board of several internet startups and previously served on the Board of Governors of the Pacific Stock Exchange. He attended the University of Illinois, where he received a bachelors degree in mathematics. Sheldon lives in Orinda with his wife, Sarah, and two sons, Ari and Oren. Sheldon, Sarah, and Ari all did volunteer work for JFCS/East Bay prior to his joining the board.
Sheldon joined the board in 2011. He is a partner in Headwaters Holding, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in derivatives trading. He is currently on the board of several internet startups and previously served on the Board of Governors of the Pacific Stock Exchange. He attended the University of Illinois, where he received a bachelors degree in mathematics. Sheldon lives in Orinda with his wife, Sarah, and two sons, Ari and Oren. Sheldon, Sarah, and Ari all did volunteer work for JFCS/East Bay prior to his joining the board.
Wayne joined the JFCS/East Bay board in December 2007 and served as president from July 2010 to June 2012. Since 1991, he has served as the president of Batavia Land Company, a real estate consulting and development company. Wayne has previously served on the boards of Temple Sinai in Oakland, the former East Bay Foundation for Diabetic Children, and the Diabetic Youth Foundation. Wayne also served for six years as a planning commissioner in the city of Piedmont. He holds a B.S. in business from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.S. in business, emphasis in Economic Equity Analysis and Advanced Appraisal, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Wayne has been married for more than twenty-five years, has two daughters, and resides in Piedmont.
Helen Bulwik
Helen is president of New Market Solutions and founder and president of the Pacific Art Group. Over the course of her career, she has served as CEO of six retailers and consumer product companies and has advised senior management of more than seventy top global retailers and consumer product companies. Helen is a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where she earned both her MBA and bachelor of science degrees. She has also served on the boards of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Berkeley Hillel. Helen joined the board in 2012.
Helen is president of New Market Solutions and founder and president of the Pacific Art Group. Over the course of her career, she has served as CEO of six retailers and consumer product companies and has advised senior management of more than seventy top global retailers and consumer product companies. Helen is a lecturer at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where she earned both her MBA and bachelor of science degrees. She has also served on the boards of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Berkeley Hillel. Helen joined the board in 2012.
Rabbi Chester is rabbi emeritus at Temple Sinai, having retired after a twenty-two-year, highly regarded tenure. He graduated from UCLA and was ordained at Hebrew Union in Cincinnati. He has collaborated widely in both the Jewish and general communities of the East Bay. Rabbi Chester is on the board of the Alameda County Food Bank and joined the JFCS/East Bay board in 2012.
Fred joined the board in 2012. He is a longtime partner of Buresh, Kaplan, Feller & Chang, a Berkeley law firm specializing in civil litigation. He has been involved with several legal assistance nonprofits, including longtime board service at Bay Area Legal Aid. Fred has also served on various City of Berkeley public bodies, including the Police Review Commission, the Housing Advisory Commission, and the Berkeley South Branch Library Campaign Committee. He has also served on the Aurora Theatre board of directors.
Rabbi Yoel Kahn serves as rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Berkeley. In addition to his work with several other congregations, Rabbi Kahn has also served as Executive Director of Stanford Hillel; Director of Curriculum for Synagogue 2000; and Associate Director of the JCC of San Francisco. He is also the former Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Jewish Community Relations Council and former host of Mosaic, a monthly public affairs TV program featuring Jewish community issues. Rabbi Kahn was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and received his Ph.D. through the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Rabbi Kahn lives in Berkeley with his husband, Dan, and their son, Adam. He joined the board in 2011.
Rick joined the JFCS/East Bay board in 2007. He is a clinical psychologist specializing in work with children and families and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Alliant International University in San Francisco and at the Wright Institute in Berkeley. Rick has taught at many Bay Area universities and has provided training and supervision for numerous Bay Area nonprofits. He is the author (along with David Epston and Ali Borden) of Biting the Hand that Starves You: Inspiring Resistance to Anorexia/Bulimia (Norton, 2004). Rick maintains an active private practice in Berkeley and Walnut Creek and has two delightful young daughters.
Ruth Phillips
Ruth was the program director of the JCC of the East Bay from 2000 to 2006. Previously, she served for over twenty years as the director of a federally funded program for low-income single parents and re-entry women at the College of Alameda. Her other professional experience includes career counseling, women’s studies instructor, and early childhood educator. She earned her B.A. from Roosevelt University in Chicago and her M.A in psychology from the University of San Francisco. Ruth and her husband, Barry, live in Berkeley and have three children and three grandchildren. She joined the board in 2007.
Norman was born in Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia). He graduated from medical school at Trinity College in Ireland in 1970; did his internship and residency in Miami and New York; and then came to the Bay Area in 1974 to join the faculty in Dermatology at Stanford University. Norman established a private practice in Walnut Creek in 1979. He is now on the clinical faculty at the University of California at San Francisco and practices medicine on a part-time basis. Norman has served on the Jewish Community Relations Council’s East Bay board and is currently on the board of the American Jewish Committee. Norman and his wife, Nancy, live in Orinda. They have two children: Jordana, a family practice physician, and Jacob, a U.S. Army captain and helicopter pilot. Norman joined the board in 2011.
Mark is a physician with Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay. He also serves as an assistant clinical professor at UCSF Medical School. In addition, he volunteers at San Francisco General Hospital, where he supervises medical students and residents. Mark attended the Medical College of Wisconsin and did his residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He joined the board in 2007.
Carmi joined the board in 2011. She owns and operates the ReactorPanel Saddle Company, which provides ergonomic saddles as well as education to riders in the Bay Area and beyond. Prior to starting her first business, Carmi worked in computer distribution as director of sales and marketing and then in the contract electronics manufacturing industry as director of program management. Carmi has served on the board of the Metropolitan Horseman’s Association and was on a special commission to identify and nominate board members for the California Dressage Society East Bay Chapter. Carmi was raised in Berkeley, where she and her family are active in the Jewish community, and currently lives in Oakland.
Vicki is currently Vice President, Board and Corporate Governance Services for Kaiser Permanente and has worked as an attorney for Kaiser since 1983. Before joining Kaiser, Vicki was a trial attorney for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and in private practice in Richmond. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and has her law degree from Hastings College of the Law. Vicki has served on the boards of Tehiyah Day School and the Judah L. Magnes Museum. She has also long been active with the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, currently serving on its Planning Committee. Vicki and her husband, Steve, live in Oakland. Her daughter, Rachel; stepson, Michael; and two grandchildren all live in the Bay Area. Vicki joined the board in 2011.
