Welcome, Ravit Baer
Two months after arriving in San Francisco from Israel, Ravit Baer has her two kids settled at Brandeis San Francisco and the Jewish Community Center preschool, her husband is working at Intel, and she is ensconced in her new job as deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. A career diplomat, Baer held posts as deputy ambassador in the Ivory Coast and Cyprus before her most recent stint as desk officer at the Department for Multilateral European Institutions, where she coordinated Israel’s cooperation with the European Union and NATO, among other things. A lawyer by profession, Baer, 39, mused that her family’s new home is “the land of options. You can have everything, and you can have an app for everything.”
Singing Free Clinic’s praises
In just the last year, some 100 volunteers at Sonoma County’s Jewish Community Free Clinic provided free medical services to 2,500 adults and children. “It’s magical — and a source of pride for our Jewish community, which has really stepped up,” said executive director Donna Waldman, who co-founded the clinic in 2001 with Robin Lowitz and others. But magic aside, the clinic is having financial challenges. A benefit concert will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Santa Rosa, and in the clinic’s spirit of tzedakah and tikkun olam, musicians Gale Kissin and Mama Loshn, juggler Sara Felder, Jewish dance maven Bruce Bierman and others will donate their talents. “Gale graciously volunteered to give a concert and reached out to the other musicians,” Waldman said. In addition to the entertainment, a silent auction will be held and box dinners will be available. For tickets and information, visit www.jewishfreeclinic.org.
We Care Solar wins top prize
We Care Solar, a company founded by Berkeley’s Laura Stachel and Hal Aronson, has been named the first winner of the “Powering the Future We Want” award from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The award was presented to the couple for their pioneering work providing sustainable energy to improve maternal and child health. It comes with a $1 million grant in recognition of “innovative practices in energy for sustainable development.” Stachel, an obstetrician who has spent time in Africa assessing maternity care, and husband Aronson, a solar energy educator, created the Solar Suitcase, which provides equipment to bring solar energy to impoverished communities around the world. (See J.’s 2013 cover story at www.tinyurl.com/jweekly-solar-suitcase.)
Short shorts
Abby Michelson Porth, associate executive director of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council, was appointed to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission by Mayor Ed Lee on Oct. 7. Other Jewish community members who have served include Rita Semel, former JCRC executive director; Anita Friedman, executive director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services; and current member Michael Sweet, an attorney who chaired the group in 2010 … Genevieve Pastor-Cohen reports that Temple Israel of Alameda celebrated its 95th anniversary with a gala event on Oct. 17. Pastor-Cohen, an Alameda resident, is the new president of the board. Her husband, Josh Cohen, was the congregation’s president from 2002 to 2005 … In her talk with first daughter Chelsea Clinton (about Clinton’s new book) at the Oshman JCC, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg noted, “It is really exciting for me to be here. This is home here at the JCC.” … Aaron Katler has been hired as CEO at UpStart Bay Area, a hub for Jewish innovation. Katler previously worked at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation developing strategies to engage philanthropists.
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