CCJDS: The School Board

Board of Directors

The School's Board of Directors actively contributes expertise in an array of fields - business, education, finance, law, and public service - as parents and as dedicated community leaders.

Colin Schlesinger , President - Executive Management, ICI South Africa (Ret.); former Business Development Manager, Chevron Chemical Company; Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Imperial College of the University of London; Post Doctorate, Rice University.

Paul Candau, Vice President – CEO and President, Marble Bridge Funding Group (commercial business finance); Board of Directors, Temple Isaiah; 2000 Lesser Symposium Nominee; Board Member of community-based organizations supporting small business; Partner with U.S. Small Business Association in Oakland One Stop Capital Shop; M.B.A., St. Mary's; M.A., Sports Management, U.C. Berkeley; B.A., Economics and Physical Education, U.C. Berkeley.

Jori Carmel, Vice President – Executive Director of several multi-site preschool/child care/school age programs; Board member, Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, Board member, Women's Division, Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay; M.S. Ed., Wheelock College, Boston; B.A., Anthropology, U.C.L.A.; M.B.A. coursework, Golden Gate, SF.

Ken Cohen , Vice President – President, Lehrhaus Judaica Board of Directors; Chief Marketing Officer at Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, CA; Adjunct faculty, Dominican College and San Francisco State University; B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY; M.A., Jewish Studies, Graduate Theological Union and U.C. Berkeley.

Steve Breitbart, Treasurer – President, TFC Credit Corporation; Former Treasurer and Board Member, Congregation B'nai Shalom; Certified Public Accountant; B.S. Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania; CPA from NY.

Julie Lerner, Secretary – Five years of non-profit fundraising, working both for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Chapter of American Society for Technion. Staff, American Friends of Technion University, Los Angeles; B.A., English, University of Oregon.

Mike Bandler, Executive At-Large – Former Vice President-Engineering for Pacific Bell; past President of Temple Isaiah and currently a member of their Executive Committee. He has been active for many years with Cornell, Cal Poly and U.C. Davis. B.E.E. from Cornell; M.B.A. from NYU.

Karla Smith, Immediate Past President – Educational Therapist; Board Member, Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living; Vice Chair, Center for Jewish Living and Learning; Board Member, Former Camp Ramah; Board Member, AIPAC; 1988-1998 Vice President of Congregation B'nai Shalom, serving on the Fundraising, Education and Membership committees; M.A., Curriculum and Education, Teacher's College, Columbia University; M.A., Educational Administration, St. Mary's College.

Mila Wichter, Founding President – Currently at Genetech; formerly a partner with ITA Consulting Group, IBM, Federal Reserve Bank, United Airlines and Kaiser; Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellow; Board Member, AIPAC; B.A. in Political Science, U.C. Berkeley.

Earl Agron - Security for American President Lines (APL), an international maritime transportation company; Member of several Federal advisory groups for Homeland Security based in Washington, DC; Former Board member of Congregation B’nai Shalom, where he served as Budget Chair. US Congressional nomination to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York, where he received his B.S. in Marine Engineering. M.B.A., Northeastern University, Boston, MA.

Dr. Steve Jacobs – Medical Director, Sequoia Surgical Pavilion, Walnut Creek, CA; Past president, Medical Anesthesia Consultants; B.S., Brandeis University; M.D., Harvard Medical School.

Eric Kleinman – Technology Support, Wells Fargo Bank, Concord. Director of Jewish Camps, National Director of Projects for Jewish Living, Hadassah; B.A.S. in Commercial Recreation, New York University.

Carol Lawton - Owner/CEO of Carol's Roman Shades, with production facilities in Northern and Southern California. Mother of two daughters – one at CCJDS and one at Jewish Community High School of the Bay.

Dr. Anita Roth – Physician in private practice specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Served on Congregation B’nai Shalom Religious Committee and Sisterhood Board. B.A. degree from Stern College for Women, a branch of Yeshiva University in New York City; M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.

Steve Rothschild – Senior Vice President -- Investments and Senior Portfolio Manager, Morgan Stanley; M.B.A. with honors, the Wharton School of Business, the University of Pennsylvania; B.A., Cornell University.

Susan Sasson – Former policy and program analyst, the U.S. General Accounting Office and CA Senate Office of Research and several Jewish not-for-profit agencies; Former member, Gan Mah Tov Preschool & Parent's Committee; Member, various school committees. M.A., Public Policy, U.C. Berkeley; B.A. in English Literature, U.C.L.A.

Dr. Jeffrey M. Schapiro –Physician at Kaiser-Permanente in Vallejo; B.A., U.C. San Diego; M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Amy Slater Ovadia – Western Regional Director of Beit Issie Shapiro, a not-for-profit community organization providing a range of services for children with developmental disabilities and their families; B.A., University of WI; M.S.W. Yeshiva University.

Dr. Marc Usatin – Retired physician as a Pediatrician and Neonatologist at the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals in Walnut Creek; Former Director of Neonatal Services for Kaiser in Northern California; served on the Permanente Medical Groups Board of Directors; 1981, founded Congregation Bnai Tikvah in Walnut Creek; 1981 - 1986 President B’nai Tikvah; Current Board member of the Reutlinger Center for Jewish Living and serves on its Health Care Committee; B.A., City University of New York; M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

Jeremy Weinstein – Attorney, Law Offices of Jeremy D. Weinstein, P.C., specializing in corporate and commercial finance, energy derivatives, and corporate actions to mitigate global warming. B.A, U.C. Berkeley, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa; B.A. and M.A., with honors, in law from Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, England; J.D., University of California.