The School’s Board of Trustees actively contributes expertise in an array of fields – business, education, finance, law, and public service – as parents and as dedicated community leaders.
OFFICERS
Anat Yoder, President
Co-Founder and Principal, Yoder Wealth Management. Formerly a structural engineer engaged in large-scale projects including the Bay Bridge. Certified Financial Planner™ and Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist. BS, Civil Engineering, and MA, Structural Engineering, University of California Berkeley.
Colin Schlesinger, PhD, Vice President
Former Executive, ICI South Africa. Former Development Director, Chevron Chemical Company. Former Vice President, Temple Isaiah. Former Chairman, Sandton Hebrew Nursery School (South Africa). Former President, South African Institution of Chemical Engineers. PhD, Chemical Engineering, Imperial College of the University of London; Post Doctorate, Rice University.
Nathan Petrowsky, Treasurer
Vice president of LPC Real Estate Corporation. Past volunteer roles include serving as a policy consultant to the CCJDS Finance Committee. Degree in Business Administration from University of Connecticut.
Deanne Raskin, Secretary
Co-founder and CEO of the Behavioral Intervention Association, serving children with autism spectrum disorder. MA in special education from Cal State-San Francisco and BA in cognitive science from University of California, Irvine. Also studied executive leadership at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley.
Jori Carmel, Past President
Founder and former Executive Director of several multi-site preschool/child care programs. Board member, Women’s Philanthropy Division, Jewish Federation of the East Bay. Former Board member, Contra Costa Jewish Community Center. MS Ed. Early Childhood Education, Wheelock College, Boston; MBA coursework, Golden Gate University; BA, Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Michael Conneran, Immediate Past President
Partner, Hanson Bridgett LLP. JD, University of California, Hastings College of the Law; AB, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.
Jay Koppelman, Past President
Former President (retired), Accent Mortgage Corporation, Walnut Creek, CA. Former Campaign Chair and Board Executive Committee member, Jewish Community Federation of the East Bay. Former Board member, Temple Isaiah. First Lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps. MBA, University of California, Berkeley; BA, University of California, Los Angeles.
Dara Pincas, Executive-At-Large
Head of the Healthcare Law Group, Senior Associate General Counsel at Genentech, Inc. Previously Regional Legal Director for Emerging Markets Europe and General Counsel of Israel subsidiary of Pfizer Inc.; attorney in private practice at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP; Federal Prosecutor; and Clerk in The White House, Office of Counsel to the President (William Jefferson Clinton). Co-chair of the 2018 Limmud Bay Area Conference and former member, Board of Directors at the American International School in Israel. JD, University of Michigan School of Law; BA, Tufts University.
TRUSTEES
David Bobrowsky
Certified Financial Planner™, Gateway Advisors. Chartered Life Underwriter™ and Chartered Financial Consultant™. Former member, Development Committee of Temple Sinai of Oakland and Community Investment Committee of the Jewish Federation of the East Bay. BA, Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles; MA and MPhil, Politics, New York University.
Leo Hmelnitsky
Head of Global Equity Trading, Mellon Capital. Board member at the Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay, member of the Advisory Board at the Chabad of Contra Costa, chair of Limmud Bay Area 2013 and co-chair of Limmud FSU West Coast 2016, member of the San Francisco Security Traders Association, former Board member the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay. MS, New York University’s Stern School of Business, with concentration in finance and computer science.
Lenny Katz
Vice President of Clinical Development, Myovant Sciences. Previously in leadership roles at BioMain, Amgen and Merck & Co. Member, Organizing Committee for Limmud FSU, West Coast. Clinical training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at University of California, San Francisco. BA, Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz; MD, University of California, Davis.
Ken Schmier
Bio coming soon.
Victoria Sherman
Public policy consultant with expertise in campaign management, voter outreach, and messaging. Volunteer and writer for local political campaigns. More than 20 years of experience as a Registered Nurse in academic and outpatient settings. Volunteer RN for The Order of Malta Clinic in Oakland. BS in Nursing, BA in Legal Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and an MA in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco.
Karla Smith, Past President
Board member of Congregation B’nai Shalom. Educational Therapist. Former Board member, AIPAC, Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay, and the Jewish Community High School of the Bay. Former Board member, Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living. Former Vice Chair, Center for Jewish Living and Learning. Former Board member, Camp Ramah. 1988-1998 Vice President of Congregation B’nai Shalom. MA, Educational Administration, St. Mary’s College; MA, Curriculum and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University; BA, Political Science and Psychology, USC.
Dena Stein
Major Gift Officer at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund. Over a decade of global experience in building and deepening relationships with donors, leaders, and community members. Past Board member, Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley and Contra Costa Midrasha. MA degrees in Religious Education and in Jewish Nonprofit Management from Hebrew Union College; BA in English and Judaic Studies from University of Connecticut.