COMINGS & GOINGS
Micah Parzen has been named the new executive director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. Parzen previously served as CEO of the Museum of Us in San Diego for 16 years. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1991 with an undergraduate anthropology degree before earning his Ph.D. in anthropology from Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University.
Teresa Drenick is the new Northern California regional director of the American Jewish Committee. Drenick previously served as deputy director of the San Francisco-based regional office. She also served as deputy director and interim regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Central Pacific region. Drenick succeeds Seth Brysk, who is now the AJC vice president of regional operations.
Sarah Tinsley is the new chief human resources officer at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. Tinsley’s leadership experience includes roles with the Skirball Cultural Center, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Curtis School in Los Angeles. Sally R. Porush, who held the chief people officer role at the JCC since 2014, retired in December.
Rabbi Debbie Israel, who became rabbi emerita of Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill in 2020, will rejoin the congregation in August as interim rabbi. The congregation is currently seeking a permanent rabbi to begin in July 2027.
Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area has announced four new board members. Avery Kaufman is a community leader with more than 16 years of service to Jewish Silicon Valley and the Addison-Penzak JCC; Rolando Cohen of San Francisco is a CPA and former CFO of Save the Redwoods League; Jason Porth of San Francisco is the executive director of the Newton & Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust and a former civil rights attorney; Melissa Cohen of Mill Valley is a writer for the Times of Israel and a former attorney. These officers began their tenures on July 1.
Avital Raff is the new California state organizer at Dayenu, a Jewish Call to Climate Action. Raff is a community organizer and educator who previously worked with Berkeley Hillel and The Kitchen SF.
Lior Tsafarty is leaving his role as Chochmat HaLev’s musical director to spend more time in Israel with his family, though he says he hopes to stay involved with the congregation. Chochmat HaLev is hiring for multiple positions; see Opportunities below.
Hazzan Kim Komrad will return as a guest cantor at Congregation Beth David in Saratoga for the High Holidays. Komrad, who serves Kehilat Shalom Congregation in Gaithersburg, MD, will receive an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary in November.
HAPPENINGS
Repair the World Bay Area held service and learning sessions honoring America’s 250th anniversary in June. On June 9, volunteers gathered to pack 200 sandwiches for shelter residents of St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. On June 16, volunteers and staff partnered with City Hope to serve restaurant-style meals to marginalized residents in SF’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Repair the World joined Refuse Refuse the following day to pick up trash under the Golden Gate Bridge. These local service projects were part of Serve 250, a national effort to support meaningful Jewish service across the United States.
AWARDS
Plant to Plate, an internship program in Richmond that trains young people in culinary and gardening skills, recently earned a $10,000 grant from the Jacques Pépin Foundation. The grant will support Plant to Plate’s mission to prepare “under-resourced youth for careers in the food industry through hands-on training, leadership development, and paid workforce opportunities.” Plant to Plate is part of Arnon Oren’s Anaviv Catering and Events organization. Oren also owns Sailing Goat, a restaurant in Richmond’s Point San Pablo Harbor.
OPPORTUNITIES
The JCC of Sonoma County seeks to hire a program coordinator to support day-to-day operations. The preschool program is also seeking applicants for multiple teaching roles. For more information, go to jccsoco.org/hiring.
Jewish Gateways is seeking applicants for two roles, a teacher and a song leader, in their Growing Together family learning program. Their classes are in Berkeley on Saturday mornings. For more information, email Rabbi Stephanie at [email protected].
The Anti-Defamation League’s Glass Leadership Institute is open for applications. Young professionals (22-40 years old) are invited to this leadership development program, which includes monthly hybrid sessions from October to April exploring strategies for fighting antisemitism and the National Leadership Summit in New York City. The application can be found online.
Chochmat HaLev is hiring in Berkeley. They seek a director of sacred music, an administrative assistant and two Hebrew school educators. Visit their website for more information at tinyurl.com/chochmat-musicdirector and chochmat.org/were-hiring.