PEOPLE

Chief Operating Officer

mvidibor@bethsholomsf.org
(415) 940-7092

Madeline Vidibor is a Bay Area native with operational and leadership experience in for profit and non-profit organizations. These range from the Jewish Community Federation to Just Date, a consumer packaged goods company. Madeline is passionate about people management, technology solutions, and, of course, Beth Sholom! She lives with her partner, Misko, and their dog (Poppy) and cats (Daisy and Bubbles). In her free time, Madeline enjoys baking, hiking, and spending time with the aforementioned family.

Director, Office of the Rabbi

helfman@bethsholomsf.org
(415) 940-7095

Hilary started her journey at UW Hillel where she honed her teaching and leadership skills. With an M.A. in Education, she taught for six years at SFUSD, bringing invaluable experience to her role as Director of the Office of the Rabbi and leader of our vibrant young adult community Youngish. Hilary supports congregants through life cycle milestones, offering compassionate guidance and logistical support. She is passionate about enriching our community both spiritually and organizationally.

Executive Chef

mmacmillan@bethsholomsf.org
(209) 740-8474

Marlene is a Bay Area native with a B.A. in Human Development from CSU, East Bay and a certification in Culinary Arts and Hospitality from CCSF. She started working in early childhood education at Beth Sholom in 2014, and began leading our kitchen as Executive Chef in 2018. Marlene provides meals for Kiddushes, life cycle events, and more. Her chili, burrekaas and mudslide cookies are legendary! Marlene enjoys basketball, hiking, catching sunsets, cooking (at home too!), doing puzzles, and singing.

Facilities Manager

alevy@bethsholomsf.org
(415) 852-3905

Allen Levy is an invaluable member of Congregation Beth Sholom. Working for CalTrans for 43 years makes his responsibilities as a Facilities Manager second nature. He is thrilled to be part of a fantastic team of professional, creative, motivated individuals who make this work a labor of love. Allen is motivated by performing the many maintenance, safety, and management tasks that promote a clean and safe working environment for our staff, preschool, congregants, and guests.

Director of Membership

apaz-priel@bethsholomsf.org
(415) 940-7097

Adie comes to us from the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation where she worked as the administrative coordinator in the early childhood education initiative for nearly 7 years. Originally from Israel, Adie was the first baby to be named in the conservative congregation her parents helped found in her hometown, Rehovot. She holds a master's degree in Geography from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, but her passion has been raising her four kids.

Membership & Finance Associate

akudlov@bethsholomsf.org
(415) 940-7123

Alla Kudlov is excited to be the synagogue's Membership & Finance Associate. She started her career as an event planner at the Jewish Federation of San Francisco, where she was passionate about honoring each individual’s contribution to the community. In her free time, she likes hiking, going to events, traveling, spending time with family, friends, and her dog, Daisy.

Reception & Events Coordinator

brubin@bethsholomsf.org
415-221-8736

Hailing from New Jersey, Beryl has lived in the Bay Area for 20 years. After studying Religion at NYU, Beryl studied Biblical and Modern Hebrew at Hebrew College. She then turned her focus to food and enjoyed a career as a baker, chef, and business owner. Her current passions include studying Yiddish, encouraging people to move to the Richmond District and cooking Shabbat dinners at home. Beryl is pleased to contribute to Beth Sholom’s vibrancy through coordinating its diverse array of events.

President

Jerilyn spent her career as a mediator and hearing officer for the California Public Employment Relations Board. Inspired by a Rabbi Lew sermon, she became a tutor with the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, a program of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). She served as JCRC Board President, also representing JCRC on the Jewish Coalition to End Human Trafficking and the Interfaith Committee of the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking. Jerilyn served as Board Chair of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee and Shalom Bayit, an organization working to eradicate domestic violence in the Jewish Community. She is a Regional Council member of the New Israel Fund.

Treasurer

Mark Gunther worked in staff or board roles in small businesses and nonprofit organizations for forty years. In 1999, he and his wife started the Eva Gunther Foundation, giving to girls and girls programs. He remains Managing Director there. Mark, a co-founder, chaired the Board of Alliance for Girls from 2012-2022. In December of 2015 Mark received an MFA in Creative Writing from USF. He has since been published in several literary journals, and in 2018 published his novel of child loss, Without Jenny. A member of CBS since 1986, Mark chaired the Building Committee throughout the reconstruction of the CBS campus (2000-2008), was a member of the Finance Committee for a number of years, and served one term on the board from 2009-2011.

Secretary

Raf grew up Orthodox in Johannesburg, South Africa. He and his wife, Clara Brenner, have lived in the Bay Area since 2011 and were married by Rabbi Glazer in 2017. They were attracted by Beth Sholom’s respect for tradition blended with a progressive determination to make modern Jewish life appealing and meaningful. Raf is currently a Policy Advisor at Google working to make the internet safer and more trustworthy. Prior to Google, he headed expansion for the Bay Area bike share system, Ford GoBike, and is proud to have delivered an affordable, sustainable, and regional mobility option to the Bay Area. He holds an MA from Stanford University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He is particularly excited about nurturing the young-adult segment of the community.

Ritual Committee Chair

David Bayer grew up at Temple B’nai Sholom in Rockville Centre, NY., where he studied under Rabbi Hillel Hyman z”l, a revered Professor of Talmud at JTS. David spent several summers at Camp Ramah, Berkshires; studied at Prozdor/JTS; and danced with the Fred Berk Israeli Dance Troupe. Residing on Potrero Hill with his partner Monica, David lives the contradiction created by identifying with the secular Jewish intelligentsia in Central Europe and how they grappled with modernity while honoring and practicing more traditional ritual and practice.

Education Committee Co-Chair

Jenny is a San Francisco native who has been part of the Beth Sholom community her whole life. She attended Hebrew School, had her bat mitzvah, and was a member of USY at Beth Sholom, and in 2012 married her husband Mark in the CBS sanctuary. She also served as a head teacher for over 8 years here at CBS Family Preschool. Jenny is currently co-chair of the Education Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development and a Masters degree in Special Education from San Francisco State University. Jenny is a kindergarten teacher at The San Francisco School. She lives in San Francisco with her husband Mark and their son Dylan who is in the 5th grade at The San Francisco school and attends CBS Shabbat School. Jenny and Mark’s blended family also includes 4 older children in their 20s — Anastasia, Alexander, Daniel, and Emma (all who had b’nai mitzvah at Beth Sholom), and two young grandchildren.

Education Committee Co-Chair

Nzinga joined Beth Sholom in 2007 after being inspired by the vibrance of the community, the teachings of Rabbi Alan Lew (z”l) and Rabbi Dorothy Richman, and the kindness of community members. She has since served on the Marketing Committee and the Education Committee. Nzinga is a Senior Vice President at M+R, where she helps organizations like the American Cancer Society, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and HIAS use digital channels to recruit supporters and raise money. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in both History and Studio Art from Williams College. She lives with her husband, Michael, and their children Noa, Asa and Eytan, in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

Village Committee Co-Chair

Janet Frost has been a member of Beth Sholom for over 35 years. She served on the Board as a member and as Secretary from 2003-2011. Janet is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and founder of the Student Intervention Team at the San Francisco Unified School District. The program, in conjunction with Bay Area universities, was designed to provide mental health services to SFUSD students and provides an outstanding internship training program. Janet is fully retired and fills her time with being a Bubbe to her three granddaughters. She is honored to be serving on the Board again.

Immediate Past President

Michael Rapaport has been a member at CBS since 2013, a board member since 2017 and served as President of the Board from 2021-2024. Professionally, Michael spent his career in financial services, including 14 years at FICO, where he helped develop the FICO credit score. Most recently, Michael was President/COO at Accion Opportunity Fund, a non-profit small business lender. Michael is also Treasurer at the Hebrew Free Loan Association. Michael and his wife, Ruth Katz, live in West Portal with their sons, Julian and Manu. Both Julian (Feb 2018) and Manu (March 2020) celebrated Bnei Mitzvah at Beth Sholom.

Board Member

Sam Berkowitz grew up in Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, PA, where he was deeply involved in his local Conservative congregation (also called Beth Shalom!), including serving as head of religious education for the shul's USY group. After stints in Chicago, Beijing, and DC, he moved to San Francisco in 2015. He and his now-wife, Yuxi, were invited to CBS by friends in 2020 and were immediately drawn in by the shul's history, knowledgeable congregants, egalitarian spirit, and warm intergenerational community. Sam disappeared for a few months in mid-2021 to solo mountain bike 5,500 miles across the country. Upon his return, he and Yuxi were married by Rabbi Russell on Mount Tam, after which they both dove into more active roles at CBS. These days, they are both regular Torah readers and serve as leaders in our young adult community, including creating and hosting the Third Fridays young adult Shabbat dinner series. In his professional life, Sam is a software engineer, though you're equally likely to find him working heads down on a bicycle project, brushing up on his classical Chinese, or playing a bit of music.

Board Member

Pat Blackburn, a member of Beth Sholom since 1977, converted to Judaism before marrying her husband Icek Moses (z”l). Her children Alex and Jessica celebrated B’nai Mitzvah at CBS under Rabbi Lew. Pat helped organize Purim Carnivals, and has recently taken on the delivery side of the Chicken Soupers program. She also volunteers with JFCS assisting in the food pantry and working with elderly/disabled adults. Pat dined often at Rhoda Goldman Plaza, her in-laws residence and retired in 2018 after a 40-year at Cardea Services, where she served as the Executive Director.

Board Member

Craig Cohen has been a member at CBS since moving back to San Francisco with his wife Elin in 2003. Craig’s family has over a 100-year history in San Francisco; his father had his Bar Mitzvah at CBS in 1946. Craig is a physician and professor of OB/Gyn at UCSF, and has committed his career to advancing health in low-income countries (mostly in Africa) and mentoring the next generation of global health leaders. Craig helps CBS to build a stronger Jewish future for every generation. With his youngest child (Ari) off to college in the fall, he serves as a bridge to families with school aged children, and early-phase “empty nesters.”

Board Member

Jonathan Crosby, along with his wife Susan Belau and their sons Simon (19) and Daniel (11), has been a member of CBS since 2014. Jonathan grew up in San Diego and attended UC Santa Cruz where he double majored in Filmmaking and Psychology. After college, he moved to San Francisco and began working in film and television with a focus on documentary. For the past 20 years, he has also been teaching documentary filmmaking and is currently teaching film and animation at San Francisco Waldorf High School. At CBS, Jonathan is a co-chair of the Chessed va Tsedek Committee and a member of the Education Committee.

Board Member

Gene was born in Czernowitz, then Soviet Ukraine, and emigrated to Brooklyn, NY where he grew up. Gene and his spouse, Eyal, joined CBS in 2019 after they and their twin boys started attending Tot-Shabbat, where they were introduced to the warmth and dedication of the congregation and its wonderful educators. Professionally, Gene has spent the last 17 years in marketing in the tech sector, which brought him and his family to San Francisco in 2014. Prior to that, Gene lived in Tel Aviv for 10 years after making Aliyah.

Gene also worked as a Jewish communal professional in the past at UJA-Federation of NY, ARZA/WUPJ, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Ensuring Jewish literacy for the next generation is another passion of his, leading to his current participation in the Education Committee at CBS.

Board Member

Sam Gaynor grew up in Newton, MA, attending a reform synagogue, Temple Shalom, where he had a basketball-themed bar mitzvah. Sam and his wife Caitlin joined the CBS community in 2021 as they were preparing to get married and raise their children in a Jewish household. They have particularly enjoyed socializing with the amazing group of congregants at Beth Sholom and their daughter is a huge fan of Tot Shabbat.

Professionally, Sam started his career in corporate strategy at The Boston Consulting Group and is currently a Partner and Managing Director at Altamont Capital Partners, a private equity firm in Palo Alto, where he has worked since 2011, overseeing their investing activities across all areas of financial services. In his role at Altamont, Sam has served on the board of directors of 13 different companies and is passionate about bringing his corporate governance and growth experience to the non-profit sector. Sam was also formerly on the board of Nuestra Casa, an organization focused on a variety of initiatives supporting the East Palo Alto population, where he helped to spearhead a business incubator program for women in the local community.

Board Member

Adam Hertz and his wife, Joan Gelfand, have been members of Congregation Beth Sholom since 1999. Adam and Joan were early and are still active members of Makor Or, the Jewish meditation group founded by Rabbi Alan Lew (z”l) and Zoketsu Norman Fischer. Rabbi Lew married Adam and Joan in 2002. Adam was a member of the CBS Board of Directors for 10 years, during which time he served as Secretary, Religious Committee chair and Co-president. He is a frequent lay service leader and Torah reader on Shabbat, High Holidays and daily minyan.

Joan and Adam have three children and four grandchildren. Their kids and grandkids live in San Francisco, Denver and Berlin. In his professional life, Adam is a retired. Engineering and Product executive, with over thirty years of experience in the software, consumer electronics and internet industries. His most recent professional role was Senior Director of Engineering at YouTube, where he worked on YouTube’s music services.

Board Member

Caroline Landau grew up in New York City and moved to San Francisco in 2010. She and her husband, Alex Goldberg, found an instant and warm community at Beth Sholom in 2019. Caroline and Alex, and their two kids, Zach and Gabriella, are avid Tot Shabbat attendees and preschool enthusiasts. Caroline serves on CBS’ development committee, and is committed to supporting CBS’ amazing rabbi, staff, and programming for the long-term. Caroline’s career is in biopharma marketing and strategy. She holds a BA in Brazilian history from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Board Member

Seth, his wife Jamie, and their three children (Kenny, Miles, and Tilly) have been Beth Sholom members since moving to San Francisco nearly 10 years ago. Kenny and Miles had their Bar Mitzvahs at Beth Sholom. As a teen, Seth was a youth leader at his Reform congregation in Providence, Rhode Island; he gravitated toward the Conservative movement after spending time in Israel and at the Conservative minyan in college. Seth enjoys this opportunity to give back to this warm and vibrant community.

Professionally, Seth has been in the consumer marketing world for more than 20 years and is excited to bring this perspective to the Beth Sholom board. He ran marketing at a number of companies large and small before starting a marketing agency for early-stage consumer health businesses. Seth has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Board Member

Liz Noteware joined Congregation Beth Sholom in 2009 with her partner Angie (a former CBS board member) and her son Ari (an alum of the preschool and current student at SF’s Jewish Community High School). Raised as a Methodist in Texas, Liz now lives Jewishly with her family. Liz is an attorney by training and currently works as the Director of Courtroom Operations for the federal trial court in San Francisco. Liz enjoys running, knitting, cooking, and Zumba in her free time.

Board Member

Joseph and Julie Ratner, came to San Francisco in 2011 and joined CBS, where all 4 of Joe’s maternal great-grandparents are on the Yarzheit wall. They have 3 daughters, Zehavah, Ellianah, and Adinah. Joe worked in retail management, buying, and product development with RadioShack and Walmart, Julie retired from medical ethics and patient advocacy at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Joe was a synagogue Board member for over 15 years prior to CBS with 2 terms as president, and has served 3 terms on the CBS board.

Board Member

Coby joined Congregation Beth Sholom in Summer 2022 along with his wife Naomi and children Ezra and Eliana. Coby grew up in Berkeley at Congregation Netivot Shalom. His connection to CBS started as a teenager when his mother Janet Harris worked as CBS program director, and Coby would tag along every so often to come visit his Camp Ramah friends. Since 2008, Coby and Naomi have lived in San Francisco where Coby works on state energy policy at the California Public Utilities Commission. CBS has been a special place for Coby and his family to call home — to daven, participate in community, deepen Jewish learning and more.