It is an honor to serve as President of the Va’ad at Sha’ar Zahav. I’ve been a member of Sha’ar Zahav for over a decade and have served not only on the Va’ad as an at-large member and Vice-President but also assist in our development and fundraising efforts with our outstanding Resource Development Committee. I currently am an active member of the Finance Committee, Personnel Committee, and Building Committee. Being a part of our volunteer Tech Team has been incredibly important to me. I also enjoy being a part of our Theater Chavurah and the Disability & Accessibility Committee.

I bring to the Va’ad years of prior non-profit Board experience, including being a past Chair of the National AIDS Memorial. Currently I also sit on the Board of Directors of the Castro Country Club. I had the privilege of serving as a Board member of amfAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research). Before I retired, I served as the Special Adviser to the Mayor of San Francisco on AIDS and HIV Policy and was the co-director of the AIDS Policy Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) and the AIDS Research Institute (ARI). I was honored to serve as Health Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco.

We have made tremendous strides in our fiscal stewardship of the synagogue and are now in an incredibly strong position regarding our financial management of the shul. Our Endowment has grown tremendously, and that is a gift to the future of the congregation. My plan for the upcoming year is to not only continue our conversations and processes around access and accessibility, around Israel and Palestine, and around security, but also to have Leadership Development for the shul be a major focus of my presidency this year.  

I remain incredibly impressed by our dynamic staff. In partnership with them, with the Va’ad, and with our community, I will continue to work to strengthen our policies and procedures across all areas of life in the synagogue. I will also work to strengthen and grow this brilliant, vibrant community. 

I continue to be amazed at the incredible and consistent support of our congregation. Sha’ar Zahav remains a very important part of my life. Giving back to this community is the very least I can do to express my gratitude.

Contact Michael at [email protected]

It’s a different kind of unique pleasure, serving on the Va’ad for a SECOND year!  Now a member for 20 years, the past year has shown me many new aspects of the shul and it is gratifying to realize the depth and formidability of our community.  Having made many lasting connections with Sha’ar Zahavnicks I know I can give back to this wonderful and caring community as Treasurer, once again.  My background is in Accounting in the non-profit world.  For the past 14 years I have worked for a large private family foundation and my experience analyzing grantees’ financials statements and budgets serves me well on the Va’ad.  My non-work preoccupations include playing tennis, seeing movies (in theaters), politics (God help me), hiking, and spending time with my loving partner and longer-term Sha’ar Zahavnick, Jeff Piade.

Contact Marty at [email protected]

I have been a member of the congregation since 1993. Two volunteer activities that I find hugely satisfying are mentoring B’Mitzvah kids to prepare for their Big Day and showing up on many a Friday night to greet and welcome members and visitors. I earned my MPH at San Francisco State University and love my public health policy work, currently concentrating on legislation to end the sale of every tobacco product in every drugstore and retail space that contains a pharmacy throughout the State of California.

I joined Sha’ar Zahav in 2003 when my first child Emma started at Beit Sefer.  Over the years I have been on the Children’s Education Board (including as Chair) and the B’Mitzvah Committee, currently the Chair.  For several years, along with Karen Schiller, I coordinated the matching of B’Mitzvah students to mentors.  Both of my children were B’Mitzvahed at SZ.  I’m currently co-chairing the Israel Programming work group which has organized several speakers on antisemitism, history, media coverage, and geopolitics and dialogue sessions for SZ members.  I served on the Va’ad from 2013 to 2015.  My professional background is in non-profit health care management and consulting.  I was Chief Operating Officer of Mission Neighborhood Health Center from 2012 to 2021.  I currently provide project management, program implementation and leadership development support to Bay Area nonprofits.  I serve on the board of the Sanville Institute which provides continuing education and scholarships in Social Work and clinical psychology. I am honored to serve as a Vice President and member of the Va’ad.

I moved to the Bay Area in 2000, via Jerusalem and New York. I joined Sha’ar Zahav in 2001, and while it was not a perfect fit for me religiously, it was soon clear that I would put down roots in this community for the long term. Twenty-four years later, I think I was right. In those early years, I got involved in the life of SZ in many ways, including the Israel Committee, High Holiday logistics, and co-chair of a new Programming Committee. I was also a b’mitzvah mentor to three amazing young people.  I took a years-long break from official leadership roles, but during the pandemic I felt the pull to reconnect with SZ in a more consistent way.  So I tiptoed back in, and then one thing led to another, as it often does. I joined the Reopening Task Force and chaired its successor Health & Safety Committee; joined the Building and Personnel Committees; and came back to High Holidays as logistics co-chair, with my logistics partner Sara Haber. I will be honored to serve the SZ community on the va’ad and as vice president.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve my congregation as a member of the Va’ad and Vice Prez to the amazing Mike Shriver. I’ve been a member of Sha’ar Zahav since the early 1990s. I’ve served on the Dues, Membership, Social Action and Nominating Committees.  It has been my honor to serve on previous Va’ads with presidents Diana Bookbinder, Arthur Slepian, Ora Prochovnic, James Carlson, Nancy Levin and Marc Lipshutz. In recent years, Steve Mazer and I have been your ever-lovin High Holy Days logistics team.  We also coordinate greeters and security professionals for every service and event under SZ’s new security policy. I have the pleasure of organizing volunteers for our fabulous Community Seder on the second night of Passover. In addition to the wonderful volunteers that normally greet you at the door at services, I also coordinate (read nudge, nag and cajole) Tech Support volunteers for our synagogue Zoom services and events. (Please talk to me about joining either of these essential teams!) I cherish the ways in which our community brings challenge as well as joy and inspiration to my life.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve on the board at Sha’ar Zahav and give back to the place that has given so much to me since I first came to Shabbat services in 2017.  I grew up in San Jose where my family were members of Congregation Shir Hadash, but left Judaism behind when I went to college. Joining Sha’ar Zahav marked a return to my relationship with that part of myself, and our community has been the best place to re-engage the experience of being Jewish in all aspects. During the day, I work in San Francisco as a freelance Sign Language interpreter. I also serve on the boards of two smaller nonprofit organizations as their treasurer. In 2022, I graduated from UC Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in Economics.

Andrea has lived in SF most of her life, and works as the Director for the Center for Dementia Care and Care Management at Jewish Family and Children’s Services.  Her work is rooted in empowering individuals to live with dignity, autonomy, and purpose throughout the aging process.She and her family feel very fortunate to be a part of Sha’ar Zahav since 2022 when their 2 sons, Max and Jonah, started BSPM.   Andrea, her husband Oleg and the kids can be found hiking around the city, watching baseball games, and chatting endlessly with friends on the weekends. 

I started attending SZ Friday night services in 2002.  I met my husband Martin during a service in 2003; Rabbi Angel married us later that same year, and we now have one child, Lia (14) and one adult daughter, Sadie.  Through the years I have: been a teacher’s aide at BSPM, mentored three b’mitzvah kids (highly recommended!), co-chaired the old welcoming committee, helped develop Recovery Shabbat, and enjoy attending services and events. This will be my third stint on the Va’ad, including 9 months as the Recorder in FY 22-23.  In my professional life, I work for The City at the Department of Early Childhood (First 5 San Francisco) where I  am a manager of our city’s system of family resource centers.

I’m honored and excited to be joining the Va’ad at Sha’ar Zahav. My wife and I joined this community during my conversion process in 2021. Prior to joining we took the Intro to Judaism course as well as Journey to Judaism – both were wonderfully offered via zoom. Through taking courses, attending Shabbat and other holiday events, and attending committee meetings – all remotely, I started meeting people. Everyone, including our Rabbi, was so welcoming, I found an amazing community at Sha’ar Zahav that I never had before and didn’t know was possible. I felt so lucky to be a part of the family through my conversion process, getting married, and having my baby girl. Since then, I’ve experienced joy as a part of Sha’ar Zahav. I have remained very involved with the Disability and Accessibility committee, the Ritual committee, and have continuously attended monthly Va’ad meetings as a guest.

I am a fat, blind, (now) Jewish, lesbian attorney. I have practiced multiple areas of law. Currently, disability rights and discrimination are my main area of focus. I also have extensive experience in both immigration law and criminal defense.
I love spending time with my wife, our daughter, and our family, which includes our pint and pony sized pups. I have many hobbies; I enjoy swimming, shopping, drag shows (I spent the summers as a teen with my Grammie in Vegas, hanging out with the drag queens from La Cage on the Vegas strip), museums, and traveling.

I find the work that I do in the many capacities I do it in very rewarding. Specifically, the work that I do for fat and disability communities. As the Director of Fat Legal Advocacy Rights and Education (FLARE), a project of my law office (Solovay Law), which was originally founded by my wife, Sondra, over 20 years ago, I get to advocate for fat people and pass anti discrimination laws like the law my wife originally helped pass here in San Francisco.

I am looking forward to bringing my perspective through my experiences and expertise to the Va’ad and getting the chance to work closely with a great group of people.

I joined Sha’ar Zahav about 20 years ago, after an unintended 25-year vacation from any serious Jewish commitment. So what was it about Sha’ar Zahav that brought me back? It starts with people. We cherish each other for our uniqueness, for the neshama and ruach that makes each of us truly special – and yet we also share values and a philosophy that truly makes this a kehilla kedusha, a holy community.

Neil J Young is a retired tax accountant that has a broad range of tax and business experience in leading tax and treasury functions of multinational companies. He has lived in San Francisco for 30 years, and has been volunteering with many organizations throughout his life. For the last two years he had been the co-chairperson of the Social Action Committee and had been the team lead at Sha’ar Zahav accompanying LGBTQ+ immigrants and others seeking asylum in the U.S. (5 teams over the past 4 years),.  Working alongside other members of the Social Action Committee, Neil has assisted with numerous Open Shabbat services representing Sha’ar Zahav at the 16th and mission BART station, organized Social Action focused programs for Yom Kippur twice, and organized several pre/post Shabbat programs on homelessness, hunger and immigration.  He also participates in other activities with Sha’ar Zahav including as a wedding planner (along with Nancy Wecker) for an LGBTQ immigrant couple married by Rabbi Mychal.  Neil has been involved with several other charitable organizations over the years such as AJWS, AEPi fraternity, ADL, Jewish Federations, and many others. He has also been a volunteer and supporter of the Rainbow World Fund since 2015, and joined the Board in 2023, and currently serves as Treasurer and one of the leaders of a life saving refugee evacuation program.  This lengthy and boring bio was written while he was in Cuba with RWF visiting local humanitarian organizations supporting HIV/Aids, LGBTQ+ rights, women and children, and distributing aid to these organizations. Neil was also a leader of the Tax Executive Institute, Silicon Valley Chapter, a  not-for-profit providing training and networking opportunities for corporate tax professionals. He held the office of president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and served on the Chapter Board for 8 years.