Learn more about Kol Isha, an OFJCC Women's Leadership Program, here.
Yael Acrich
Moving to California was Yael's opportunity to change her career path, from a software engineer holding a master's degree in Instructional Technology to a holistic bodywork therapist, founding Hands2Heal. Judaism was always part of Yael's life; growing up in an orthodox family in Jerusalem, graduating Biblical criticism studies from the Hebrew University and participating in the Gvanim program in Palo Alto are only some examples. Yael is married and raised three beautiful, strong daughters. She likes to hike in nature and practice yoga.
Sharon Shakked Anolik
Sharon Shakked is an attorney living in Marin County with her husband, Orr, and their two teenage sons. Sharon's mother and husband are Israeli, so Sharon has spent a lot of time in Israel living, visiting and enjoying the falafel and borekas.
Juana Berstein
Juana Berstein was born in Argentina and moved to Israel after graduating from college. She lived in Israel for 14 years, got married and had three kids before moving to the US. Her family has expanded to include one son-in-law, two daughters-in-law and three wonderful grandkids. Juana worked in education and retired in 2016. The following year, her husband also retired. Her hobbies are travel, reading, movies, crochet and other different crafts.
Ellen Brown
Ellen Brown is a physician who has specialized in end-of-life care and geriatrics for the last 30 years. She enjoys working with patients and families as they deal with the difficult issues and critical conversations that arise at the end of life. She is a conservative Jew and has been a member of Congregation Kol Emeth for the past 20 years volunteering with adult education and teen programs. Ellen is a mother of three and new grandmother of one. She is passionate about social justice issues that deal with food and housing insecurity as well as access to health care.
Amy Bryman
Amy moved to Palo Alto with her husband Dov and their two kids three years ago after living in Los Angeles for most of her life. Her kids, Daniel, 20, and Shira, 16, have been her best teachers in life. Amy is a licensed clinical social worker and works as a supervisor in a community based organization serving underrepresented children and families. She identifies strongly as a Jewish woman, and is excited to learn and connect with other Jewish women across the world.
Emeri Handler
Emeri S. Handler, M.S., is a parent education and mental health consultant. Working in developmental and clinical psychology for 25 years, most recently she was the Parent Education Manager for Challenge Success at Stanford University. Previously, Emeri worked as a therapist for adolescents, and at the Anti-Defamation League in SF as Associate Director/Director for Education and A World of Difference. She is the founder and co-chair of a women's philanthropic giving circle which focuses on funding organizations serving women and children in the Bay Area. Passionate about community in general and the Jewish community in particular, Emeri has served on boards and committees of the following nonprofit organizations: Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, JFCS/Parent's Place, TheatreWorks, the Jewish Community Federation, Challenge Success, and Moving Traditions. Emeri is a Wexner Heritage Program alum and currently serves on the regional advisory board for OneTable. She lives in Palo Alto with her husband and three teenage children.
Sharon Hartley
Sharon Hartley grew up in Los Angeles where she attended Jewish day school. She then headed to Northern California to study political science at UC Berkeley where she met her husband Scott. Sharon studied in Haifa and Jerusalem for her junior year. She practiced law at the Attorney General's Office and for Kaiser Permanente. She is currently serving as a HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator. Sharon has two beloved daughters, Ariella, almost 18, and Elana, 13, and two black lab mix dogs. She is so excited to get to know everyone and explore Poland and Israel.
Linor Levav
Linor Tal Levav was born in Montreal, Canada to an Iraqi mother and an Argentinian father, and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. She has spent the better part of her career in business development roles in new media and technology startups and currently works in the Business Ideation group at Intel. Linor lives in Stanford, California with her husband Jonathan (a professor in the Stanford GSB) and her son Ben, 12, and daughter Noa, 10. Linor is an active member of the OFJCC community, a board member of the Anti-Defamation League, and cares passionately about finding ways to give back to her community both locally and globally. She loves to scuba dive and practice yoga, and her true passion is having adventures around the world.
Leslie Matlof
Leslie Matlof is a mother, active member of her synagogue and community volunteer. She is a native Californian and lives in Palo Alto with her husband Jason, teenage daughter Sophie and dog Riley. Her older daughter Lily and son Noah are attending college. After her own college experience, Leslie worked in various roles in the nonprofit world, including the field office of a California Congressman and as the Director of Fundraising for two branches of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Leslie has spent the last 20 years raising her children, volunteering as a board member and committee chair at her local synagogue, and tutoring underprivileged children. She was also an active volunteer within the Palo Alto public school system for many years. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running marathons and traveling.
Revital Panush
Revital Panush is an Israeli attorney, a California certified mediator and a marketing leader with business operational experience. Most recently, Revital co-founded a US branch of the Israeli emotional first aid organization, Eran. Prior to her relocation to Silicon Valley, Revital managed advertising at Israel prominent TV Channel 10. Born and raised in Tel Aviv, she holds a BA in Business and a JD. In her spare time Revital enjoys sports and music and spending time with her family.
Esther Rosenfeld
Esther Rosenfeld lives with her husband and daughters in Silicon Valley, California, where they just might be the lowest-tech people in the area. Esther grew up in New York in an Israeli/Hungarian household, is fluent in Hebrew and knows how to say "butter cookies" in Hungarian. She is strongly connected to Israel and her Jewish identity, and is eager to discover Poland. Esther has practiced law and mediation for many years and is also a writer. She loves singing, art, being in nature and running. She is excited to meet and connect with our Kol Isha counterparts in Poland and Israel!
Sara Schnell
Sara Schnell is a social worker specializing in the area of adolescent mental health. During her career, she has worked in pediatric and adult HIV/AIDS care, with pregnant and parenting teens, and in child and adolescent psychiatry. She is an active community volunteer having been a board member of The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Common Ground Speaker Series, The Menlo-Atherton Little League, and The Feminist Majority Foundation. Sara has spent all of her adult life working for feminist and social justice causes, and enjoys working with like-minded women. She lives in Menlo Park with her husband and 13-year-old son. They enjoy hiking, running and watching baseball, in particular her son and beloved San Francisco Giants!
Relli Siegel
Relli Siegel lives with her husband Aviv and four children ages 10 to 20. She grew up in Israel and has been living in the US for the last 19 years. Relli is passionate about women finding their voice, Jewish culture, building connection between people and communities as well as art of all sorts. In her professional life, Relli is a floral artist, who is always inspired by nature, people and creativity of all sorts.