Jewish Community News

News: February 2008

Connections 2008 celebrates 25 years of honoring women

The Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley Women’s Philanthropy will host the 25th annual Women of Distinction Ceremony on Sunday March 9, at 1 p.m. in the Imperial Ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.  The couvert for this event is $65 per person on or before the RSVP date of February 25, and $75 per person after February 25.  The food will be supervised by the Vaad HaKashrus of Northern California.

This year 16  women and five teens will be honored for their exemplary service to Jewish life in the Silicon Valley. Each volunteer has devoted her time, energy, resources and talents to ensure the success of her organization. Their cumulative efforts help make the Silicon Valley a vibrant Jewish community.

“I was on the committee for the first Connections event and am thrilled to be chairing the 25th year of Connections” says Susie Weitzman, chair of Connections 2008.
    Since 1984, 374 women representing over 50 organizations have been honored as Women of Distinction – and 37 of those women have been recognized at least twice.  Beginning in 2006, 17 teens have also been honored.  In celebration of 25 distinguished years of Connections,  past Women of Distinction will also be recognized at Connections 2008.
    Connections 2008 will also feature the presentation of the second annual Janet Berg Award.  The Janet Berg Award was inaugurated and presented to longtime Jewish Federation employee Janet Berg  to celebrate her 31 years of service  as well as her countless volunteer hours with other local agencies.  The recipient of the Second Annual Janet Berg Award is Fagie Rosen.
     Rosen worked for the Addison–Penzak Jewish Community Center (APJCC) for 37 years before retiring two years ago.  Although “retired,” Rosen still works for the JCC on a contract basis coordinating trips for seniors.  While at the APJCC, Rosen organized two clubs that are still active today:  a couples club, called the ETC Group, as well as the Movers and Shakers Club for single women.  In addition to her years at the APJCC, Rosen is a life member of Sharone Hadassah, a member of the Brandeis University National Women’s Committee, a member of Temple Emanu-El and in July 2007, she joined the board of Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley.
      Connections is Women’s Philanthropy’s largest outreach event.  The focus of the afternoon will be on the honorees and their community organizations, culminating in a multimedia presentation.  The Women and Young Women of Distinction will receive a Certificate of Recognition from Congresswoman Zoë Lofgren’s office and a special gift donated by Tiffany & Co.

For reservations or ticket information go to  www.jvalley.org or contact Alyssia Berkowitz at (408) 357-7433/alyssia@jvalley.org.

Women of Distinction

Barbara Berlant Jewish Family Services, Temple Emanu-El and Women of Temple Emanu-El
Barbara Berlant is the chair of Knitzvah, Jewish Family Service’s knitters, crocheters and sewers who provide handmade items to chemotherapy patients, children and adults in shelters, refugees, isolated seniors, newborns, and hospitals. Barbara and her husband, Morton have been members of Temple Emanu-El for 38 years.  Barbara serves on the Board of Women of Temple Emanu-El and is a member of the Temple’s Caring and Tikkun Olam Committees.  On the latter committee she works to identify social action and justice issues of concern to her congregation.  

Thelma Epstein Congregation Shir Hadash
Thelma and her husband Ray joined Congregation Shir Hadash in 1980 - the year the congregation was founded.  She has always been an active member of the congregation and Shir Hadash has benefited over the years from her devotion to identifying and developing new leaders.  Thelma is currently a co-president of the Women of Reform Judaism, the Shir Hadash Sisterhood, which is attracting women of all ages from within the congregation.

Eve Kedar Congregation Beth David
As Sisterhood president at Congregation Beth David, Eve Kedar had a vision to revitalize the organization and then recruited and led her board to make that vision a reality.  Sisterhood Shabbat, holiday parties, fundraisers for Ma’alot (Congregation Beth David’s sister city in Israel), Jewish Heritage night at AT&T Park, and partnering with Hazak (members 55 years and older) to produce the first synagogue photo directory in a decade are just a few of Eve’s successes.  Her inclusive attitude permeates her board leadership and every activity she addresses.

Andrea Laber Yavneh Day School
Andrea Laber has become known around Yavneh Day School as the quintessential cheer leader. Two years ago, Andrea was elected  president of the Yavneh Parent Association (YPA) where she sees her main goal as ruach (spirit) creator, which she accomplishes on a personal and institutional level.  “Volunteering for Yavneh and the YPA brings joy and warmth to my heart, not to mention how much my girls love it! After each event or activity I always feel re-energized, a sense of kesher with the entire Yavneh body. Yavneh is the best a parent could ask or wish for their child!”

Barbi Lazarow Kehillah Jewish High School
A proud parent of two sons, a Kehillah junior and an 8th grader, Barbi is an active volunteer at Kehillah Jewish High School where she launched the new lunch program and is using her professional training as a librarian and rare book cataloguer in creating Kehillah Jewish High School’s library.
 
Jean Marxheimer Brandeis University National Women’s Committee
Jean Marxheimer and her husband, Rene, moved to The Villages in San Jose in 1999 and Jean immediately became active in the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of Brandeis University National Women’s Committee.  She has held numerous chair positions and offices including past president.  During her presidency the chapter earned two National Louie awards which are given when a chapter reaches all of their goals.  The chapter also was awarded Chapter of the Year during her presidency.

Holly Mendel South Peninsula Hebrew Day School
Holly Mendel grew up in Southern California and currently lives in Sunnyvale with her husband and two young sons.  Holly loves being a part of the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School community where she serves as a board member at large, Holiday Chair, and president of the Parents’ Association.

Rosemarie Mirkin Congregation Sinai
Congregation Sinai President Steve Dick characterizes Rosemarie Mirkin as “truly an amazing person” who has “served on numerous committees during the construction of the campus and continues to work to make sure the facilities remain beautiful…. Rosemarie can be found at Sinai on almost a daily basis doing all of the little things that generally go unnoticed and unrewarded.”

Joelle Pluemer Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
Joelle Pluemer is a dedicated volunteer for the Jewish Federation.  She currently holds the Executive Board position of vice president of Outreach and has been an integral part of the success of many Women’s Philanthropy events including chair of a Fall Outreach event showcasing Sephardic Heritage.  Joelle gives generously and passionately of her time and expertise. Her attention to detail and organizational skills are valuable assets in every project that she takes on for the community. 

Anita Salsberg Villages Hadassah
 Villages Hadassah has been very fortunate to be one of many lucky recipients of Anita’s skills and contributions.  Since moving to The Villages, she organized a group of women to make scarves and caps for Israeli soldiers.  She tirelessly creates articles for sale to benefit Hadassah and has helped raise thousands of dollars for Hadassah.  In only three years she has encouraged 14 Hadassah Life Members.

Vanina Jael Sandel Mutchnik Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley Young Adults Division
Upon moving to San Jose from Argentina at the age of 26 to begin a career in high tech, Vanina became involved with the Silicon Valley Young Adults Division (SVYAD) and has been an active board member and event organizer for three years.  In fact, Vanina met her husband, Sharon, whom she married last June, at an SVYAD event.  Vanina eventually changed careers to work for Hillel of Silicon Valley.  Vanina is currently the SVYAD social action chair. She is very proud of her committee, the events they organize and the strong partnership they are developing with other young adult community groups.

Eta Somekh American Israel Public
Affairs Committee
Eta was born in Israel and grew up in Tel-Aviv during the formative years of the state of Israel.  She has supported various Jewish organizations and served on the Boards of many local Jewish agencies as well as organizations in Israel.  Her great devotion has been to improve US-Israel relations through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  Eta joined AIPAC in 1995 and was elected as a director on AIPAC’s national Board in 2004.  Since then she has been traveling to Washington D.C. once a month for board meetings and advocacy visits to elected officials on Capitol Hill.

Lilyan Stavis Chai House
After living in New York, California and Florida, Lilyan Stavis returned to California in 2004, after her beloved husband of 62 years passed away.  She settled into a cozy apartment at Chai House where she is near her family of two sons and their wives, six grandchildren, three great-grandsons and dear friends.  Lilyan has become an active resident and takes advantage of the amenities and activities Chai House offers.  Lilyan has become a leader of the Chai House charity knitting group.

Sandi Weinstein Sharone Hadassah
Sandi has been a life member of Hadassah since moving to California eleven years ago. She is currently Sharone’s membership vice-president, has served as programming vice-president, and continues to be actively involved in every aspect of Hadassah. Sandi is also an avid volunteer knitter. During a recent Hadassah Yom Haatzmaut Mission to Israel, Sandi donated twenty hats for patients at the Hadassah Hospital Mother and Child Pavilion.

Pat Werba Hillel of Silicon Valley
Pat’s favorite volunteer activities are those that allow her to utilize her creative talents.  So when Hillel called, Pat was glad to decorate for their annual Pillars Brunch, host students at her home for a Tu B’Shevat Seder and cook Shabbat dinners at Hillel House. “Hillel played a vital role for our daughters when they were away from home. Alan and I feel compelled to return this support in our local community and are thrilled to see many more of our local community providing both volunteer and financial support.”

Kari Wolff Addison-Penzak Jewish
Community Center
Kari Wolff is married to Dean Rossi and has two boys ages 12 and 9.  In addition, Kari and Dean are expecting a third son in February.  Both of Kari’s sons attended the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center (APJCC) Preschool where Kari volunteered in their classrooms, coordinated room parents and later taught part-time.  She is looking forward to having her third son attend the APJCC as well and hopes to teach there again.  Kari enjoys helping raise funds for the new Levy Family Campus and was honored to chair the first (APJCC) Gala held at the new campus.  Kari currently serves on the APJCC Board.

Young Women of Distinction

Michal David Kehillah Jewish High School
Michal David is a junior at Kehillah Jewish High School, where she excels academically and leads activities that connect Kehillah to the greater community. Her love for Kehillah is infectious, and her dedication to service is genuine.  In her freshmen year, Michal co-founded STAND (Students Take Action Now; Darfur) and continues to organize STAND projects. Michal has performed in Kehillah drama productions, played on the varsity volleyball team and is a member of the speech and debate club. Currently, Michal serves as the social action coordinator for Kehillah’s student government. Michal has also coordinated a program where Kehillah students tutor young students in reading at an area low income school.

Danielle Fisher Congregation Shir Hadash
Danielle Fisher excels at time management and long-term planning and has applied those skills to maximize her participation in Congregation Shir Hadash’s teen youth group (SHAGY), where she has risen from social action vice president to programming vice president to president.  In addition to helping organize and plan SHAGY board meetings and events, she also participates in regional and national events.  Rabbi Fleekop says, “Danielle brings to her involvement in Jewish life intelligence, commitment, and a sense of purpose.  At the same time she never forgets that one of the goals is to have fun.”

Abigail Gavens Congregation Beth David
Abigail Gavens always asks, “How can I help you?”  She began volunteering for Congregation Beth David as a religious school teacher’s aide for two years and is now a fourth-year shadow aide for the award-winning M’yuchad program which teaches Jewish Studies to students with learning disabilities. M’yuchad director, Irene Swedroe says, “Abigail is terrific. I rely on her because she is responsible, flexible, and enterprising. She gains the confidence of her special students and is a role model for younger teens because she is calm, yet focused.”  In addition, Abigail is a skilled Torah and Megillah reader, an enthusiastic participant in Mitzvah Day, and a volunteer at High Holy Days youth services.

Jacqueline Haggerty Temple Emanu-El and Women of Temple Emanu-El
Jacqueline Haggerty has attended Jewish religious services all over the country as she has lived in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nevada, Hawaii, and now California where Jacqueline and her family are members of Temple Emanu-El.  In the past three years, she has enjoyed the enrichment of her Hebrew education and is excited about her Bat Mitzvah and a lifelong journey of studying her valued heritage.  Jacqueline volunteers in the Religious School office and as a Madricha in religious school classes. Jacqueline led the confirmation class in creating and distributing Purim mishloach manot bags for the temple members and shut-in elders.

Hillary Hess Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center