Ori Tzvieli
Ori Tzvieli was born in Israel and moved to the US at age 12 with stops in Louisiana and New Jersey before landing in Berkeley. It was during his first year at Cal that he first encountered Kehilla’s welcoming spirit while attending the community Seder. He re-engaged with the congregation later in life when Rabbi David officiated his wedding to his wife Lori and later when his daughters Hannah and Ruby went through Kehilla’s school and BBM program. He has always valued the social engagement and inclusive spirit of the community, and is excited to join the board to help further those values.
He works as a family physician and medical director in Contra Costa for the county public health system where his current focus is on homeless and addiction medicine. Over his career in medicine he has held a variety of roles as a hospitalist, a teacher for medical residents, a primary care physician, hospital chief of staff and medical director, and is hopeful that some of that experience will come in handy on the Kehilla board. Ori has had a longstanding interest in Dzogchen meditation, hiking, and urban farming.
As a new board member, Ori is looking forward to engaging with a broad group of congregants and helping support a stable foundation that helps the community translate its values to living action.
Stephanie Hochman
Stephanie has been involved with Kehilla since 1977! Coming to the Bay Area as a college student, she was immediately drawn to Kehilla’s commitment to social justice and political activism combined with spiritual depth. She knew this was the place for her to land for her Jewish community. She strengthened her relationship with Kehilla when her son entered Hebrew school in Kindergarten (he is now almost 21 years old) and post bar mitzvah, joined the B’nei Mitzvah Committee and organized a short-lived teen program.
Stephanie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is the East Bay Director of a large youth and family-serving non-profit, managing both organizational and clinical realms. In addition, she is a strategic planning facilitator and trainer. Stephanie is moved and inspired by the place that Kehilla holds in the community and the impact that we have. Stephanie looks forward to bringing her organizational skills and other passions to the Kehilla board, joining with others to create and repair the world. When Stephanie isn’t working and volunteering, she spends time with loving family and dear friends, reading, cooking, eating, walking, and whiling away hours cracking British-style cryptic crossword puzzles.
Stephanie’s excitement in joining the board was realized and enhanced by the camaraderie, intelligence and levity she experienced at her first board meeting.
Shoshana Finacom
Shoshana and her family joined Kehilla in June 2005. Shoshana and Dave had been involved with the Aquarian Minyan for several years, and when their daughter Becca came along, they began to search for a community with a religious school, which the Minyan was lacking. The family wandered from one community to another: from Kindershul, to Chochmat Ha Lev, to Temple Sinai, and ultimately to Kehilla after hearing of the building purchase in neighboring Piedmont. Upon joining, Shoshana dove into the community by becoming a kitchen angel and joining the then Youth Education Committee. She served as co-chair and then chair, and stayed on the YEC until Becca became Bat Mitzvah. In 2009, Shoshana was asked to join the Spiritual Life Practices Committee and has served on the committee ever since. About 7 years ago, the Board asked for an SLPC liaison in order to have a better understanding of the SLPC’s role at Kehilla and to coordinate its work with the work of the Board. As the SLPC’s co-chair at the time, along with Don Stone, she would often attend the Board meetings, and has done so ever since. She would joke that she was the “non-voting Board member.”
In 2014, Shoshana facilitated the second search for an Executive Director, when Michael Saxe-Taller was ultimately hired. In July 2016, Shoshana joined the Board as an official (with voting rights) Board member. She currently serves on the Personnel Committee.
Invitation to all to attend a Board meeting
The board meets the 4th Tuesday of each month (with occasional changes) at 6 pm in the back classroom. All Kehilla members are welcome – encouraged! – to attend. Meetings last 2-3 hours. No worries if you come straight from work; dinner is served. This is a wonderful opportunity to see into the operations of our organization, and to gain insight into how your dues and donations are used. Following the main meeting, the Board meets in a closed Executive session if there are confidential matters to be discussed.
Committees are encouraged to update the board periodically on their activities by submitting a report in writing. The Economic Justice Committee has been doing this, as well as having a member attend regularly to report back to the committee.
Questions? Concerns? Comments? Feel free to contact either of the co-chairs: Catherine Lyons calyons33@gmail.com or Karen Cohn karen_cohn2003@yahoo.com