2005-2007 Board of Trustees Biographies Dina Artzt Dina Artzt was born and grew up in Brooklyn, NY and married her high school sweetheart, Len Rosenduft. They have two children, Danielle (13) who became a bat mitzvah in January and Adam (10). Dina and her husband Len are committed to bringing their children up with a strong knowledge and understanding of what it is to be Jewish and to prepare them for their adult lives. Dina earned her Master's in psychology from Columbia University and a B.A. from the State University of New York, Purchase College. Her psychology background has helped her prepare for her 23-year career as a financial advisor. As a Senior Vice President at UBS, Dina carefully advises her clients on how to invest. Dina was recently nominated by UBS to appear in Barron's and the San Francisco Business Times as one of the top women financial advisors in her industry. In addition to being a PTA volunteer, Dina enjoys reading, studying antique jewelry, socializing, learning how to cook (finally!) and spending time with her family. Her new adventure is to travel the world with family and friends as much as possible over the next twenty years. Kathy Baron Kathy grew up not far from Jones Beach on Long Island, where she spent her summers flipping over horseshoe crabs and trying, unsuccessfully, to become a surfer. She graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a mildly useless degree in sociology and moved to California in 1982 to attend graduate school in journalism at Stanford University. After a few missteps - namely television news - she took a job in radio and made her way to KQED public radio where she's been morning anchor and education reporter for the past ten years. Kathy and her husband, Leon Cannon, have two children, 14 year old Leigh Ann and 10 year old Kevin. Kevin is a graduate of Ganon. Kathy and her family have been members of Peninsula Temple Beth El since 1999. Kathy is outgoing president of the Religious School Board. Lisa Bernstein Lisa Bernstein was raised in upstate New York. Her family has been members at Temple Berith Sholom in Troy, NY since the 1920's. During high school she was involved in NFTY and attended sessions at Joseph Eisner Camp and Kutz Camp. After graduating from Boston University, she worked for a Health Maintenance Organization and a medical software vendor. She was the temple's youth group advisor for BAYGL (Beth Avodah Youth Group League in Newton Centre, MA). Lisa relocated to the Bay Area over 14 years ago. She currently lives in Belmont with her husband, Bob, and their twin boys, Jeffrey and Miles. Lisa and Bob have been members of Peninsula Temple Beth El since 2000. She has worked on several committees at the PJCC and the PJCC preschool over the past few years and has been actively involved in the Beth El religious school during the past year. Nancy Bott Nancy is a native of the Bay Area and a life-long (aside from one year in Mendocino County) resident of San Mateo. Her parents, who are still active temple members, joined the congregation in its early years. She graduated from Aragon High School and San Francisco State University. She has 2 daughters with her husband, Howard, and 2 grandchildren. Howard's 4 children have provided 6 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Nancy's involvement with PTBE has included: chairperson of the religious practices committee, board member 5 terms, treasurer for 2 terms, assorted other committees and projects. Nancy serviced on the National Commission for Religious Living for 8 years, 2 Rabbinic Search Committees and the House Committee for Renovating the Sanctuary. After helping grow the then start-up Gymboree Corporation for 9 years, Nancy founded her own company. With the help of her 13 employees she does bookkeeping for individuals and small businesses and medical billing for doctors. In her spare time Nancy loves to hike, especially in the Sierra Nevada. Yitzik Brenman Yitzik and his family have been members of PTBE for 8 years. He is married to Fanlan and they have 3 children: Mica (age 15), Avi (age 12), and Eli (age 7). He completed a 4-year term on the Religious School Board, during which he chaired the Purim Carnival and was a member of the selection committee for the Religious School Educator. Most recently, he served on the selection committee for the new senior rabbi. Yitzik grew up in California, mostly in San Francisco and Eureka. In 1972, his family joined Temple Beth El, the small reform temple in Eureka, where they continue to be members. He attended UC Santa Barbara and graduated in 1988 with a BA in English. He moved back to San Francisco in 1989 and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. Yitzik is the manager of technical publications at Saba Software, a company that produces enterprise learning and performance management software. He has been at Saba for almost 9 years. Before Saba, he worked at Oracle as a technical writer. Bill Freeman Bill has been a member of PTBE since the mid-1980's. He has served on the Board of Trustees from 2001-2005 and since 2006, and has also recently served on the Finance Committee, the Bylaws Committee and the Executive Committee. Bill graduated from Harvard Law School in 1978, where he had the good fortune to meet his wife Beth. They were married in the temple's sanctuary in 1979 and moved to California in 1981. Their daughter Laura works in New York and their son Scott recently graduated from USC. Since moving to California in 1981, Bill has practiced law with Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, first in San Francisco and more recently in Palo Alto. He is the head of the firm's Securities Litigation Practice Group and represents public companies, venture capital investors, and officers and directors in shareholder litigation and SEC enforcement proceedings. Dick Heiman A member since 2003, Dick has served as President of the Brotherhood and a member of the Civic Interreligious Committee. He is also member of the Peninsula Jewish Community Relations Council and its Interreligious Committee. Previously, he was a founder and first President of the Columbus Hebrew Congregation in Columbus, Indiana, and Vice President of the Valley Temple in Cincinnati. His wife, Siva, is active in BEW and temple life. They are fortunate to have their children living in California. Dick's daughter, Laura, lives in San Francisco with her husband. She works in Oakland as a Project Manager with a public policy company. Dick graduated as a mechanical engineer from Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, and worked as the Chief Engineer of an appliance company in Columbus, Indiana for 12 years. For the 27 years before retiring to San Mateo in 2003, he worked for Campbell Hausfeld, an equipment company in Cincinnati that is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. For the last 16 years there he was President. He is an avid, though poor golfer, and an avid tennis player who went to Nationals with his team in 2005. He is especially interested in interreligious activities to foster better relations between those of diverse religions and cultures. Stephanie O'Rourke Stephanie and her husband, Jeff, have been members of Beth El for 15 years. They arrived when their oldest daughter, Alexandria, was entering the 4th grade. Stephanie got involved immediately as the Pocket Clown for the Purim Carnival. She graduated to be a Religious School Board member for a 5 year term. Stephanie worked on various Beth El Women committees including the Shabbat Service, the retreat and has spent the last two years as the Beth El Women Co- President with Mary Walsh. She has been on the board for the Hillsborough Schools . Stephanie and Jeff have raised their three children Alex, Michael and Rachel in this wonderful community. She has been a Landscape Designer for the last 9 years, loving every minute of it. Hannah Panger Hannah grew up in northern New Jersey and came to California to attend U.C. Berkeley. She joined PTBE in 1992 and converted to Judaism during the following year. She became a Bat Mitzvah in 1997. She has two children, Sarah (17) and Ben (13) and with some friends restarted the Pre-K religious school class in 1993. Since then she has attended and led a Rosh Chodesh group and most recently joined the Kedusha Committee. She practices medicine as an Ob-Gyn in San Mateo. She also spent 19 years as an OB-Gyn at Kaiser in Redwood City, where she accepted several administrative assignments including chief of the department. Hannah hopes to contribute to the continued well being of our congregation by serving on the Board of Trustees. Bruce Pasternack Bruce Pasternack is a Venture Partner at CMEA Ventures, specializing in cleantech energy investments. He served as President and CEO of Special Olympics from 2005-07, where he led the global organization that uses sports to improve the health and esteem of people with intellectual disabilities. He was Senior Vice President and San Francisco Managing Partner for almost 30 years with the international management consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton. Prior to that, he led the energy policy process in the Executive Branch from 1974-76 and was principal staff to the President's Energy Resources Council. He was a staff member of the President's Council on Environmental Quality and began his career as an aerospace engineer at General Electric. He is on the board of directors of BEA Systems, Quantum Corp, Symyx Technologies, and Codexis Inc. and has served on the Advisory Council of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and various other business groups. He is on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, The Cooper Union, and he has written two business books: Results and The Centerless Corporation. Bruce grew up in Brooklyn, NY and has always been committed to Jewish organizations. He served on the Board of Peninsula Temple Sholom and was President of the Board of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center when it constructed and moved into the Foster City campus. Bruce and his wife, Lynne, were married at PTBE and have just become grandparents to a wonderful little girl who was born last September. As he has more discretionary time these days, Bruce is looking forward to becoming more involved in our Temple and in helping Rabbi Eisner and the rest of the Temple's leadership team in fulfilling their vision. Richard A. (Rick) Raybin Richard A. (Rick) Raybin has been a member of PTBE for over 20 years. Rick has a son, Jason, and 3 daughters. Aleen, Shelby and Haley became B'at Mitzvah at the Temple. During the last several years, Rick has become more involved in Temple life. He has participated in spiritual retreats and has become an active member of the Brotherhood where he has served as Treasurer for the last two years. Outside of Temple life, Rick is a principal in Lifetime Capital Group, a private wealth management firm. As a former CPA and Chief Financial Officer of a national investment management firm, Rick has a broad range of financial expertise. In years past, he has been involved in other community organizations, such as the Friends of the SF Public Library and the Hillsborough Schools Foundation. When he's not busy at work or helping at the Temple, you can find Rick living in Redwood Shores or playing tennis - have racquet will travel. Bob Reisfeld Bob, his wife Leslie, and their two daughters, Stephanie and Eliza, have been members of PTBE since 1989. Bob has previously served on the Board of Trustees, and was on the Executive Committee and first Vice President of the Board. He was named PTBE Member of the Year in 2005/06. He has been the Chairman of the Cemetery Committee for 10 years. Bob is a physician, practicing as a psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente in the Redwood City Facility. He was the Chief of the Department of Psychiatry for many years. Leslie has been the President of the PTBE School Board, and also has served as a member of the Board of Trustees. She also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Carey School. Stephanie, 20, is a Sophomore at the University of Oregon, and Eliza, 17, is a Junior at Crystal Springs Upland School in San Mateo. Both girls became B'nai Mitzvah at PTBE, as did Leslie. Ellen Saliman Ellen Saliman has been a member of PTBE since 1983. She has been chair of the Religious Practices Committee, chair of the Task Force on the Role of the Non-Jew, co-chair of the BEW Service, on the Board of Trustees, and is a Purim Spiel regular. Ellen was a founding board member of the Wornick Jewish Day School and was on their board for 13 years. She has also served in many positions with the Jewish Community Federation. Ellen grew up in Palo Alto and was a Religious Studies major at Brown University. She received a Masters in Jewish Communal Service from the Hebrew Union College and a Masters in Social Work from USC. She currently does Older Adult Programming at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center. Ellen and her husband, Jerry, have three daughters. Dena was married last summer at PTBE, lives in LA, and teaches at a Jewish day school. Rebecca is studying for her Masters in Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College. Shira is a junior at Washington University in St. Louis. After all of her daughters left home Ellen discovered knitting and singing. Lorna Jan Siepser Lorna was born in San Francisco and has been a member of Temple Beth El For 50 years. She was active in both Jr. and Sr. NFTY Youth Groups from 7th grade through college. She was on the Board of both PTBE's junior and senior NFTY youth groups, and taught 7th and 8th grades for 9 years. Lorna graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and Santa Clara University Law School. She had a career in electronic banking law for twenty years. Lorna was married to Steven Klebe at Temple Beth El in 1983. They have two children, Larisa, 19 and Seth, 16. Lorna developed the Volunteer Music Program for Baywood Elementary School. She has served on the Religious School Board, the Rabbi Search Committee that resulted in hiring Rabbi Lezak, and a three year term on the Board of Trustees. Lorna has been the co-chair of our last two fundraisers, Cirque de Beth El and Dancing with the Starz. She has also been actively involved with Aragon High School, the Peninsula Girls Chorus, and the San Mateo/Foster City Education Foundation Board. David O Silber David, who resides in Foster City with his wife Maryanne, has been a member of PTBE since 1979. His two adult daughters went through Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation at PTBE. He sang in the High Holy Days choir from 1979 through 1998. He has served two previous terms on the PTBE board including chairing the Future Planning, Bylaws, Budget and Finance and Dues committees, and serving on the Executive Committee during both terms. This past year he has coordinated the Brotherhood-sponsored Speaker program. He and Maryanne have been members of PTBE's Maccabbees Havurah for many years. His family belongs to PJCC for whom he served as a pro bono consultant on its launch in the Foster City location. David grew up in London, England as the son of refugees from Nazi Europe. He holds Law degrees from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard. Living in the USA since 1966, his business career started in marketing and went on to general management in a broad variety of industries. He has been President/CEO of three different organizations. For the last six years he has been self-employed as an executive coach to the CEOs of small to medium-sized Bay Area companies. David's hobbies include bridge, choral singing, theatre, opera, travel and genealogy. Sharon Vinick Sharon Vinick grew up in the Bay Area and attended UC Berkeley. Sharon, her husband Arie Grossman, and their children joined PTBE in June of 1999. In the fall of that same year, her son, Reuben, began attending Ganon and her daughter, Maya, became student at the Religious School. Sharon joined the Religious School Board in March 2002. Two years later, Sharon became chair of the Religious School Board, a position from which she will be resigning in June. Sharon has been practicing law since 1987. In June of 2005, Sharon opened her own law firm—the Vinick Law Firm. Sharon represents plaintiffs in employment cases. Lori Wick Lori is a fourth generation San Franciscan. She graduated from San Jose State with a degree in Advertising. After many years with the San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner in restaurant/hotel/nightclub advertising, she retired and started a second chapter in her life as an elementary school computer instructor. She is also an artist who specializes in textile art with Jewish themes. Lori is married to Bob, and loves being mom to Kevin (almost 16), and Alex (10). Todd Young Todd has been a PTBE member since 2006 when he and his wife, Catherine, moved to the Bay Area from Northwest Washington State. Todd grew up in North Salem, NY and Manhattan. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Ecology and obtained his medical degree from New York Medical College. After medical school, Todd explored various medical-related paths including medical device equity research and investor relations for a biotech company and is currently a Senior Scientist in clinical regulatory affairs at Genentech. Todd and Catherine have a 22-month-old son named Sam. Sam attends Ganon, and Catherine is an active parent representative. In her spare time, Catherine is a general pediatrician for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and works in Sunnyvale. Todd loves playing sports and is often at his happiest on a playing field, tennis court, or golf course. He can't wait to take Sam fishing and hiking. Todd has always been interested in the flexibility of Jewish thinking and the progressive nature of the faith. He enjoys one's ability to continually ask tough questions about existence, God's meanings, and what lies ahead. Todd enjoys the smart, caring, and supportive group of clergy and temple members at PTBE and sees importance in building on PTBE's exceptional programs and infrastructure to further it as a spiritual and cultural center.

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