Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Congregation Beth Am consists of 16 members and officers elected by the congregation and up to 5 ex officio members with vote. Elected board terms are three years and a board member may serve up to two terms (6 years). At Beth Am, the Board is responsible for managing the affairs of the congregation and working closely with the professional staff to create the foundation for a vibrant Reform Jewish community. Read our Mission Statement.
 

Congregational Bylaws (as of 6/2025)

Alex Antebi and his wife Nina Luu have been Beth Am members since 2008 and joined to participate initially in Shabbaton with their two daughters Dalia (17) and Sofia (19). He has continued to be involved as an active volunteer in Equal Start (promoting early childhood care), and frequently participates in Torah Study and the Thursday Minyan.   Alex was born in Mexico and is fluent in Spanish and French. He lived in Europe and NYC before settling down in the Bay Area, becoming a "native" Californian.  Alex studied Applied Math-Econ. and International Relations at Brown University, worked at Wall Street, and then earned an MBA at Stanford University. His favorite biblical character is Nahshon, who appears in Torah commentary as the first Jew to have the faith and courage to walk into the Sea of Reeds, being a courageous leader. Alex currently serves as an Investment Committee member for two organizations, as CFO of a start-up, and as a Partner at an investment manager. Alex most enjoys family time and staying fit with friends — practicing yoga, swimming and cycling. 

Ben Baum and his family, Heather, Hannah (14), Jack (12), have been active and enthusiastic Beth Am members for over 10 years since their return to Palo Alto in 2011 from living in Minnesota. They love travel, adventure, sports and the great outdoors! Hannah and Jack have been Youth Ed students for many years, with Hannah becoming Bat Mitzvah last year, and Jack scheduled to become Bar Mitzvah next year. Ben’s favorite Yiddish word? Naches — as he articulates it, he never quite knew a feeling of happiness and joy like being a parent watching one's children achieve their goals. Ben has served Beth Am as a member of the Atid class, search for our Director of Learning and Educational Innovation (that brought Sarah Lauing Cohen back to Beth Am), Hebrew Reimagine, and Security committees. He also served as the first Co-Chair of the Youth Ed committee.  Outside of Beth Am, Ben is passionate about hunger and child poverty causes. He has been an  active and sustained volunteer and contributor with Second Harvest Food Bank, LifeMoves,  National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Sharing & Caring Hands, Feed My Starving  Children, as well as other nonprofits including Minnesotans-in-the-Military Appreciation Fund,  Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE), the Foundation for Gender Specific Medicine, Temple  Israel of Minneapolis, Temple Emanu-El of New York, and the American Jewish Joint  Distribution Committee. Ben’s professional career has been in the consumer retail, fashion and beauty industries. He holds a BA with Honors from Princeton University and a JD from Harvard Law School. 

Jeremy Burns is a seasoned probate litigator who practices primarily in Santa Clara County. He and his wife, Liat Baranoff, met while attending Brown University and relocated to the Bay Area in 2002. They joined Congregation Beth Am shortly thereafter as they began establishing their roots in the community. Jeremy earned his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2005. Following the birth of their two children, Sammy and Mia, the family developed close friendships through participation in the Shabbaton program. Jeremy served on the Hazon Committee and currently serves on the Bylaws Subcommittee. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys walking his dogs, spending time with friends, attending spin classes at the JCC, cooking, and following the Golden State Warriors.

Jeff Carmel and his wife, Maddie, joined Beth Am in 1986. Both daughters became B'not Mitzvah at Beth Am and later taught Sunday School here. Both Jeff and Maddie have been active in the greater Bay Area Jewish Community as well as Beth Am. Jeff chaired the Peninsula Fund Raising Campaign for the SF Jewish Community Federation and was a member of its Board, served on the Boards of Stanford Hillel and the Oshman JCC, and at BA served on multiple committees over the years including the cantorial search committee and, currently, the Jewish and Israel Advocacy Committee (JIAC). His eldest daughter is a Chabad rebbetzin and lives in Tzfat, Israel, and his younger daughter resides in Jackson Hole, Wy. Jeff and Maddie are blessed with 10 grandchildren and their first great granddaughter. Jeff majored in English Literature at UC Berkeley, graduated UCLA School of Medicine, and did his residency and a fellowship at Stanford. He served as a physician in the US Army Medical Corps during the Vietnam conflict. Jeff previously served as President of the San Francisco Dermatologic Society and is currently an Adjunct Professor Emeritus at Stanford University following his retirement. School of Medicine.  For many years Jeff has been a regular at Torah Study and Talmud Study at BA. He loves to read, travel, garden, cook, and spend time with friends and family. At the request of Beth Am Women, he and Maddie designed and implemented the Beth Am Meditation and Biblical Garden behind the Beit Kehillah.

Loren Ford has been an active member of Congregation Beth Am since 2014. He is chair of the Beth Am Library Committee; leader and co-founder of the Sunday "Slow Torah" study group; a member of both the INCLUDE team and the Zoom / technology team; and has served the congregation's musical life in various ways, including as a singer in the Beth Am Choir and as piano accompanist for our Zimriyah junior choir. In his professional life, Loren is a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and loss, his second act following a 20-year first career as an attorney. In his legal career, Loren has been a trusted advisor to senior executives and boards in the media and technology sectors, ranging from startups to publicly traded companies like Google, as well as nonprofit and charitable organizations both large and small. Although his main career focus these days is dedicated to his psychotherapy practice, he remains connected to the business world through his work with the CEO of a local venture capital firm. Loren is in his second year on the Beth Am Board of Directors and serves as co-chair of the Board’s governance working group. He holds a JD from Yale Law School and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University.

Amy Gerstein and her family joined Congregation Beth Am in 2006. Amy, her husband, Richard Heintze, and young adult twin sons (Isaac and Gabriel) were active participants in the family education program Shabbaton. Isaac and Gabriel became B’nei Mitzvah and participated in the Beth Am Civil Rights program. Amy has volunteered for multiple programs and committees at Beth Am since joining, including the recent Senior Rabbi Search Committee. Amy is currently serving as Beth Am Board President. She brings extensive non-profit board service with local and national organizations including the East Palo Alto YMCA, serving as chair of the board for 5 years. In her professional life, Amy has been a non-profit executive director for more than 25 years including regional, national, and statewide organizations in the fields of education and philanthropy. For more than 13 years, Amy has served as the Executive Director of Stanford University’s, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities — a research and policy organization. She holds a PhD in Education from Stanford University and a BA in Geology-Biology from Brown University.  

Felisa Ihly and her husband Robert joined Beth Am in 2013, upon their relocation to the Bay Area from Orange County, California to be closer to family. However, their informal affiliation with Beth Am dates back to 2005, when Rabbi Marder married their son Aaron Nayfack and his wife Michelle. They are also parents to Ryan Ihly and his wife Claire Robinson, and Shakina and her partner Daniel Bracamontes. They are proud grandparents to Julia, Isaac and Annette. Felisa retired in 2013 as Supervising Attorney/Deputy General Counsel of Orange County Superior Court. She currently serves as Pro Bono Specialist at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, the largest provider of free legal services to marginalized communities in Santa Clara County. Felisa has served on board of Beth Am Women since 2014, where she has been the Social Justice Chair.  She also is part of the Beth Am Pursue Justice leadership team. Her past nonprofit experience includes the National Board of NCJW (National Council of Jewish Women), President of the Orange County NCJW Affinity Group, and the Board of Orange County GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network). She holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, and a Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. In addition to spending time with her family, Felisa’s favorite pastimes include photography, attending theatre performances and travel.

Barbara Illowsky and her family joined Beth Am in 1989. Their three children, Rachel, Matthew and Rebecca, became B’nei Mitzvah and continued through Confirmation and Havurah High, Beth Am’s Teen Israel trips, and Camps Swig and Tawonga. Barbara is currently co-chair of the Senior Rabbi Search Committee. Last year, she co-chaired the Search Advisory Group. When her children were younger, Barbara served on the Religious School Committee and other committees, including the Senior Rabbi Search Committee when Rabbi Marder was hired. Her mother, Judy Sack, was on the Board from 2000 to 2006 and is still actively involved. The baby namings of her two local granddaughters were held at Beth Am in the past few years, and her sister, Deb Sack, is quite involved. Barbara was previously President of Hillel of Silicon Valley and still serves on its Senior Advisory Board. She has been on the boards of California, national and international professional organizations, including terms as president. Barbara is Professor, Emerita, in Mathematics and Statistics for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. She was also "on loan" to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office as an educational policy advisor. She has a B.S. in Mathematics from SUNY Albany, an M.A. in Statistics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in Education from Capella University.

Arnie Kamrin Beth Am has been a central part of Arnie’s life and family since 1983. His daughter Jackie and son Rich became B'nei Mitzvah here. Arnie co-founded Gesharim, a program to explore the Jewish wisdom of facing our mortality and supporting individuals and families facing the end of life. Arnie marched and carried the Torah through Georgia with Rabbi Sarah Weissman for “America’s Journey for Justice.” He has been an active volunteer with Beth Am’s Honorable Mentschen, which has provided food and care kits to over 80,000 families in need, as well as our Tikvah emotional support program since it began in 2010. Arnie also works as a hospice volunteer. He has professional experience with commercial real estate development, serving as a business owner/CEO for over 50 years. This is his second year on the Beth Am Board. In addition to Beth Am, Arnie serves on the Board of Directors for Kidpower, an international non-profit organization devoted to helping children, teens, adults, and seniors be safe from abuse and bullying.

Irene Lefton joined Beth Am as a single household in 2002. She recently co-chaired the Hazon Task Force and regularly attends Friday night Shabbat Services where she is a Gabbaim greeter. Irene is involved at Beth Am through leading workshops; organizing events; baking; and teaching cooking classes. Her passion for tzedek, helping others, sustainability and her drive to get things done are rooted in her youth experiences growing up in Albuquerque NM. She facilitated the Racial Justice “Facing Our Truths” program and is a leader with Beth Am’s Dayenu Circle, focused on Financial and Youth Sustainability and engaging our teens with sustainability activism. Professionally, she is a semi-retired software executive who consults in projects that interest her. Working with startups to large public enterprises, she has held VP roles with a focus on customer engagement, facilitation and change management. She is known for understanding both the big picture and the details and bringing the customers voice to strategy. Irene blogs and mentors through an industry group, the Customer Success Leadership Network. She has both a BA in Economics and an MBA from the University of New Mexico and she chairs the local UNM Nor Cal Alumni Chapter. 

Karmi Leiman and his wife Robin moved to the Bay Area and became Beth Am members in 2009.  Together with their children, Nina and Alex (who are now young adults), they joined Shabbaton, Beth Am’s family education program, and participated in Beth Am family camping trips. For many years, Karmi was an active participant in the Beth Am biking group.  He attended Beth Am’s Atid program in 2015 and was a member of the Sh’ma Groups Leadership Team.  In 2019, he served on the Senior Rabbi Search Committee.  In his professional life, Karmi was the VP for Global Trade Policy and Compliance at GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor manufacturer, and now has a consulting practice on international trade matters.  Karmi has a BA in European History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Georgetown University.   
 
Dana Marks and his wife, Susan, live in Cupertino and have two grown sons, Craig, a composer of music for film and television, and Adam (z”l), a concert pianist.  They first joined Congregation Beth Am in 1969 as a newly married couple, left in 1973 when they moved to South San Jose, and rejoined again in 1992 at the request of their  younger son Adam, who wanted to belong to Beth Am because he had so many friends here from Camp Swig. In the interim, they belonged to Temple Emanu-El, San Jose,  where Dana was chair of the Religious School Board and served as vice president of  the congregation’s Board of Directors, and Susan was vice president of sisterhood and served as co-chair of the congregation’s Membership Committee. And why is Dana’s favorite yiddish word Farkakteh? Because it’s just fun to say! 

Dana and Susan had their B’nai Mitzvah at Emanu-El, and both of their sons, Craig and Adam, celebrated their Bar Mitzvot there and continued their education through Confirmation, with Adam being confirmed at Beth Am in 1994. Susan, Craig and Adam were all active at Camp Saratoga/Swig for many years and had leadership roles there,  and both boys were active in their temple youth groups with Adam serving on the BATY  board.    

Dana served as president of Beth Am Men for six years, is active on the Security Working Group, the Engagement and Experience Task Force and the Governance Committee. He holds a BA in Business and an MS in Cybernetic Systems, spending his career largely at IBM as a software developer and manager, and in software marketing. He is now retired after serving as Marketing VP for several Silicon Valley software startup companies, specializing at times in Industry Analyst Relations, and now, from time to time, dabbles in Voice Acting. 

Deborah Radin was six years old when her parents joined Beth Am and she, her husband, Jonathan, and sons, Mack and Josh, together with three generations of family members, continue their involvement in the Beth Am community. Deb has served as President of Beth Am Women, including being the ex-officio member of the Beth Am Board for two years,  and Co-Chair of Beth Am’s 60th Birthday Gala Dinner. She joined the Beth Am Board in 2021, and is also an active participant in Beth Am’s Chevra Kadisha (burial society) and our Legacy Committee. At Avenidas, she is a past board member, a current member of the Donor Engagement Committee, and volunteer speaker. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Plays Project. She is a past member of the executive committee of the North American board of Women of Reform Judaism, and was co-chair of WRJ’s Individual Member Committee. Deb is managing partner at Kramer Radin, LLP, a trusts, estates and probate law firm in downtown Los Altos, where she focuses on all aspects of pre- and post-mortem planning, facilitating vital conversations around end-of-life and values-based planning and supporting the aging process.

Susie Richardson joined Beth Am in the early ‘80’s and joined the Board in April 2021. Many years ago, her two sons Laren and Andrew each became a Bar Mitzvah. Andrew continued on through Confirmation. Laren and his family joined Beth Am when his daughters attended the Beth Am preschool. Susie was a very proud Grandma as two of her granddaughters each became a Bat Mitzvah at Beth Am. She has been active in the Palo Alto community serving on the School Board for 8 years and on the Boards of many non-profits. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Facing History and Ourselves which uses the the teaching of history and literature to address antisemitism and other forms of hatred. (Beth Am’s 7th grade teachers are using Facing History resources.) She is particularly concerned about the fragility of our Democracy. She is married to Hal Luft who has been an active member of Beth Am for many years. They are kept busy by their 11 grandchildren! Susie actually enjoys fundraising!

Tracy Tat joined Beth Am as a single household in 2020. She has been an active member of The Orchard and a regular attendee at Torah Study on Saturday mornings. Last year, she had the privilege of formally joining the Jewish people in conversion by having her Beit Din at Beth Am. She also volunteered in Israel with Taglit Birthright Israel Outdoors. Tracy believes that oral health is fundamental to overall health and well-being. She is a general dentist practicing as an associate in Cupertino, where she focuses on preventative and restorative procedures. Originally from Boston, Tracy moved to the Bay Area in 2015 after completing dental school. She has a myriad of interests that range from reading and traveling to gardening and exploring new bakeries/restaurants. She holds a BA in Biochemistry from Bowdoin College and a DMD from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

Ellen Waxman joined Beth Am in 1996, with her daughter, Abby, who now lives in San Diego. Ellen has a long history of service to Beth Am: she was a member of the initial Atid Leadership Class and served on the B’nei Mitzvah Pairing Task Force. More recently, she was a member of Hazon and is serving as a listener in the Shared Identity Project. For the past 30 years, she has worked at Stanford University; first as an ombudsman and now as Senior Director of Faculty Relations at the School of Medicine. She has served on numerous boards and task forces, including The Ombudsman Association, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, Nixon Elementary Principal Search Committee, and PAUSD Boundaries Task Force, among others. Ellen’s family is diverse and she believes in an atmosphere of comfort and belonging. She brings her mediation and listening skills to the activities she engages in. In her free time, she loves to spend time with family, friends, and her dog, and enjoys traveling, reading, knitting, watching movies, and visiting with Abby in San Diego.

Serena Weingrod and her husband, Isaac, joined Congregation Beth Am in 2009. They are currently raising their 3 children at Beth Am — Ira (7), Elza (11, who will become a Bat Mitzvah in 2025) and Adah (15, who became a Bat Mitzvah in 2022). Serena and her family have been involved in many iterations of Beth Am’s Youth Education Programs, including Gan Ami, Connections, Tot Shabbat, Camp Beth Am, Sunday Program, Zimriyah and Haggigah. Previously, Serena taught 1st and 2nd grades in Sunday Program, including during the Zoom years due to COVID. She has also served on the committee to celebrate Beth Am’s 60th Birthday, the board of Jewish Baby Network, currently serves on the Beth Am Youth Ed Committee and participated in the search for the first Executive Director of Jewish Baby Network. Outside of Beth Am, Serena is active with the Mountain View Girl Scouts, is the incoming co-president of Ira’s school PTA and worked at Blossom Birth and Family, a non-profit pregnancy and early-parenting education center. 

Serena earned a B.S. from Johns Hopkins University and M.S. from Northwestern University, both in Biomedical Engineering. She currently works as a Technical Writer in the Neuromodulation division of Medtronic. In the summer, Serena and her family can usually be found camping in the redwoods.

Barry Zwarenstein and his wife, Mahbobeh, joined Beth Am in 1996. Barry’s children Zachary and Amanda, grew up at Beth Am, becoming B’nei Mitzvah. Professionally, Barry has been CFO of six public companies and is currently the CFO of Five9. He serves on various public and private company boards. He brings financial and analytical skills to the Beth Am Board.  Barry has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa).  He spends his free time hiking, reading, watching rugby, traveling and entertaining.