FY23-26 PTBE Trustee Nominations (Slate)

Marla Becker – 3-year term, 2023-2026

Marla grew up in San Diego and resides in Belmont with her husband, Daniel. Her connection to Judaism has always played a central role in her life. She was a sleepaway camp counselor for many years at Camp Beth Israel, spent her junior year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was a participant and then a staff member at Brandeis Collegiate Institute, and taught Sunday School at Temple Beth Israel in San Diego after college while also working part-time as the Outreach Coordinator at San Diego State’s Hillel.  

Marla, Daniel, and their children Lucas (22) and Ellis (19) joined PTBE in 2009. Marla is a co-founder of Rodfei Tzedek and continues to serve on the leadership team, and has been a BE Mitzvah tutor at PTBE since 2017. She served on the Search Committee for the recent hiring of our Assistant Rabbis. Marla and her family participated in the Gesher Family Education program, and her kids subsequently participated in a variety of PTBE’s educational programs, including Rishonim, Confirmation, and the Tikkun Fellowship. 

Marla has worked in the field of Public Health for over 30 years. She is the founder of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, and now works as an Independent Consultant, primarily focusing on program development and evaluation, strategic planning, community engagement, and curriculum development, with a specialization in the areas of violence prevention, sexual health education, and youth development. Marla also serves on the board of Health Connected, a local nonprofit focused on sexual health education. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from UCLA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English and General Literature from Binghamton University in New York.

Gary Greensweig – 3-year term, 2023-2026

Gary moved to Montara in 2012 with his wife Barbara Greensweig. They were pleased to find PTBE and have been members of the congregation since that time. They lived previously in Santa Rosa for 33 years, where they raised their family and were members of Congregation Beth Ami.  Their three children were in religious school, had B’nai Mitzvahs, and participated in USY youth group.  Both Barbara and Gary served on the board of directors. Their children are grown and married; they have eight grandchildren.  They have traveled extensively in Israel over the years.

Gary is a Family Physician who cared for multigenerational families in Sonoma County, having the privilege of delivering hundreds of babies and caring for adults and children.  Occasionally, he acted as a mohel for members of the community as well as for his own grandchildren! He served as the President of a large Medical Group and Chief Medical Officer for the St. Joseph Health System in Sonoma County. 

Upon leaving Santa Rosa, Gary joined Dignity Health, and its parent company CommonSpirit Health, serving as National Clinical Leader for CommonSpirit Health’s clinical practices across 21 states. He leads clinical quality, safety, and the development of clinical standards, and also served as the as the national practice leader for COVID-19 during the pandemic.  Gary now has a small clinical practice with the Sequoia Medical Group, which is affiliated with Sequoia Hospital.

Through his career, Gary served on several not-for-profit health care boards, in director, trustee, and board chair roles. He actively participated in PTBE’s Covid-19 Task Force, guiding development of health and safety protocols for our community, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the PTBE Board. 

Scott Hartley – 3-year term, 2023-2026

Scott was born and raised on the Peninsula and lives in San Mateo with his wife Sharon and two daughters, Ariella and Elana, who both became Bat Mitzvah at Peninsula Temple Beth El. Scott co-chaired the Senior Rabbi Search Committee in 2021 and the Bonim B’Yachad Design and Construction Committee, and he served on the Board of Trustees in 2022-23 filling a one-year vacancy.  Scott is a past President of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center and served on the Boards of the Jewish Community Federation and the North Peninsula Jewish Campus. He is a Wexner Fellow, past president of the Rotary Club of Burlingame, and was a long standing member serving on the Bio-Ethics Committee of Mills-Peninsula Hospital.

Scott is an attorney specializing in estate planning, trust administration, and transactional work. After graduating from Carlmont High School, Scott received his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Berkeley, and his juris doctorate from Hastings College of the Law.

Ross Kirschner– 1-year term, 2023-2024 (Trustee Vacancy)

Ross lives in San Carlos with his wife, Rabbi Jessica Kirschner, two daughters, Hannah (Rishonim / first grade) and Maya (Shabbat Family Jam / TK), and two cats (Fred and George).  Ross is a lawyer who leads the regulatory, policy, and litigation functions at a financial services startup.  Ross previously worked on both the legal and policy teams at Meta (then Facebook), at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., and for the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.  Ross is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. 

Ross is a member of the PTBE Education Committee and previously served on the Security Council for Congregation Beth Jacob (while kids attended Nursery School there).  Ross serves on the San Carlos Parcel Tax Oversight Committee and is a youth soccer referee (San Carlos AYSO) and youth basketball coach (San Carlos Parks and Rec.).  This will be a return of sorts, as Ross served on his synagogue’s Board of Trustees in West Essex NJ when he was a senior in high school as the Youth Group President.