Comings and Goings
Three new board members have joined J.’s board of directors as of July 1. Sophie Hahn has been a community leader in Berkeley for 20 years, including eight years on the Berkeley City Council and seven on the Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board. Passionate about affordable housing, she was involved in the addition of more than 2,000 new units of affordable housing and a reduction in homelessness in Berkeley. She helped raise millions on the Berkeley Library Foundation Board and founded an urban farm, the Berkeley Basket, that provides backyard produce to local families. She also served two terms on the board of her local Planned Parenthood and on the board of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. “J. connects all Jewish people in the Bay Area in ways no other institution can, and does in-depth reporting not found anywhere else. I’m excited to support this important work of community building and meaningful journalism,” said Hahn.
Mike Freedman is associate vice president of marketing and communications at Santa Clara University, and previously held senior marketing and communications roles at SRI International, a nonprofit R&D institute, and Stanford University, where he served most recently as an associate dean at the School of Engineering. Freedman has worked as a writer, editor and foreign correspondent for Forbes and Newsweek and has written for the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal and other publications. His first journalism jobs were with the Atlanta Jewish Times and, later, as a founding member of the team that built Jewish Times publications in Boca Raton and Palm Beach in Florida. Through that job he met his wife, Rebecca Goldsmith. They live on the Peninsula and have two college-age children. “Not only do I have a strong personal connection to Jewish journalism,” he said, “but I’m inspired by the J.’s dedication to the power of storytelling to ask critical questions, elevate essential issues and bring the community together.”
Rebecca Shomair is a tech communications leader and Jewish community advocate — and a big fan of print journalism. She heads communications at Outshift, Cisco’s internal incubator for emerging tech. Her career in the tech sector focuses on telling stories through marketing and communication roles. Shomair previously served on the board of the Oshman Family JCC, where her roles included vice chair on the executive committee and early childhood education chair; she currently serves as co-chair of the OFJCC Board Alumni. She helped establish and co-chair the OFJCC Chai Giving Circle, a philanthropic initiative that has raised more than $200,000 for community causes. Her work with the Anti-Defamation League includes roles in Atlanta, New York and on the Central Pacific board. She is a member of Kol Emeth synagogue in Palo Alto, where she lives with her husband and two sons.
Debby Arzt-Mor has retired from Brandeis School of San Francisco after 22 years. Arzt-Mor taught Jewish studies at the school before becoming director of Jewish learning. “Debby has been at the heart of Jewish learning at Brandeis for over two decades,” said Dan Glass, head of school. “She has helped shape our curriculum, our community and our very sense of what Jewish education can be. She led with integrity, with compassion and with a vision that refused to draw boundaries around where Jewish learning should happen or who it is for.” Brandeis leaders commissioned Aimee Golant, a Brandeis alumni, parent and artist, to create a silver “Book of Life” sculpture in honor of Arzt-Mor, inspired by her love of the ocean, Torah and learning.
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller is the new spiritual leader at Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond. She previously served as associate rabbi at Congregation Sherith Israel for 13 years, leading family programming, teaching and collaborating on social justice issues. From 2018 to 2023, she was the senior organizer for the California Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, where she led advocacy in public policy and worked with congregational social justice teams across the state.
Rabbi Jeremy S. Morrison is the new senior rabbi at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa. He previously served in that position at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills and as executive director of Lehrhaus Judaica in Berkeley.
Rachel Charnick has been named managing director of Hadassah West, responsible for the operation of 145 Hadassah chapters comprising more than 40,000 members across 15 Western states, including California.
Charnick joined Hadassah’s staff in 2004 as a membership specialist. She progressed through roles including northern area director for Hadassah Southern California and, most recently, associate managing director of Hadassah West. Before joining Hadassah, Charnick was a staff writer at the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal. She succeeds Lauren Rothman, who has been named managing director of the Hadassah region that covers 12 states from West Virginia to Louisiana.
Honors
The Bronfman Fellowship was awarded to two Bay Area young adults, Myriam Bayen from Piedmont and Cruv Milgrom from San Francisco. Bayen runs Girls X Math, an afterschool program for girls in second to fourth grades that builds skills and confidence in math. She also conducts research to bolster services for community members with low mobility. She attends Head-Royce School, where she plays on the varsity lacrosse team. Milgrom is a varsity midfielder on his soccer team at Lincoln High School and serves as a referee in the youth league. He attended Spanish-immersion schooling through elementary and middle school, crediting the experience with giving him linguistic and cultural fluency. The year-long fellowship for 11th-graders from across the country teaches skills in leadership and provides teens learning and peer engagement opportunities.
Happenings
“Descarga Cubana,” an art exhibit organized by Rick Swig, opened at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa on July 12. The exhibit features 15 contemporary Cuban visual artists from Swig’s personal collection, accompanied by Swig’s own photographs of the artists. The works include sculpture, painting, printmaking and more. The exhibit runs through Sept. 28. dirosaart.org.
Opportunities
J Leaders Academy is accepting applications for its 2025-2026 cohort. The academy is a leadership program for Jewish young adults seeking to develop their professional and personal skills. Early-bird application deadline is July 31. Visit the website to apply.
Mitzvah Power, a multimedia educational enterprise, is holding its first-ever Jewish Kids Film Festival and now accepting submissions from young filmmakers ages 5 to 10. Participants are encouraged to submit short films (no longer than 3 minutes) that show what it means to be a mensch through skits, songs, puppet shows, artworks, stories and more (grownups can assist). Submit by July 31 to mitzvahpower.com/jffform.