 Maurice Abrams
Inette Dishler
Inette has been a member of Chochmat since
shortly after moving to California 7 years ago, and
has been on the Board for 3 years. She has been very
involved in the strategic planning process, serving
on both the Strategic Planning and Transition committees.
She is also a member of the Personnel committee. She
brings a background in organizational development from
her work doing training and organizational development
at Cal.
 Janet
Falk
Janet Falk has been a member of Jewish Renewal
synagogues since 1985. She started attending services
at Chochmat four years ago and joined the board nearly
three years ago. She is now President of the Board.
In addition to participating on the Executive Committee,
Personnel Committee, and Finance Committee of the Board,
Janet attends the Monday night meditation group as well
as classes. Janet has been on several nonprofit boards
and has worked in affordable housing development for
the past 30 years.
 Jeffrey
Kessler
Jeffrey Kessler connected with CHL 11 years
ago -- drawn by the focus on Jewish meditation, chanting,
and prayer. He's done lots of study and some teaching
at CHL since then, and also served on the board for
several years. Currently Jeffrey leads a weekly meditation,
a monthly contemplative shabbat service; and is co-head
of the meditation center. He makes his living teaching
Tai-Chi Chuan and doing individual somatic therapy.
 Zelig
Golden
Zelig Golden is an active member of the Chochmat community
and a Maggid in training with Yeshivat Simchat Lev.
He facilitates morning prayer and meditation, works
to bring earth Torah to the community with events like
Sukkot on the Farm, and will begin leading vision quests
for the Jewish community this summer. During the day,
Zelig is a staff attorney with the Center for Food Safety,
where he works to challenge harmful food production
technologies such as genetically engineered crops and
to promote sustainable alternatives.
 Kevin
Morgan
Kevin first started coming to Chochmat HaLev
in Spring of 2004 and describes his first experience
at Chochmat as a homecoming, “returning to the
village I never knew before”. He continues to
deepen his Jewish practice with the services, classes
and lessons offered by the teachers and friends at his
spiritual home. Kevin led the Strategic Planning process
in 2005 and 2006 that created the new organizational
structure for the community. Kevin has been active in
other ad hoc committees at the request of the Board
of Directors.
Nancy Newman
Nancy joined Chochmat in 2000 after coming
to a Kabbalat Shabbat and realizing she'd found the
community she'd been looking for for many years. SheI
attended services, meditation, classes and co-lead Heart
to Heart. Nancy joined the board in 2004, where she
now serves as the Secretary and attends executive council
meetings. She's also on the Membership committee. Nancy
continues to come to services, meditation, classes and
depends on Chochmat for her well being and happiness.
 Jon
Rosenfield
Jon Rosenfield began attending CHL services
in 2000. These were the first Jewish services he had
ever attended and he was (and continues to be) drawn
by the strong sense of community and ruach he found
there. His spiritual path is one of several described
in the forthcoming book: Journeys to a Jewish Life,
by Paula Amann (Jewish Lights Pub.). A professional
biologist, conservation consultant, and outdoor enthusiast,
he believes the experience of wilderness is integral
to jewish practice and philosophy. Jon recently co-created
a Sukkot shabbaton on the organic CSA farm with which
Chochmat has partnered.
 Grace
Schoeniger
Grace Schoeniger taught college for 10 years
and previously ran EEO internship and scholarship programs.
She now works for the federal government. A member for
3 years, she is coordinator of Chochmat's Family Groups
Program.
Miriam Smolover
Miriam Smolover has been involved with CHL
since 1995. She completed the year-long Jewish Meditation
Instructor Training, and went on to become a Morah L'Hitbodidut/Certified
Jewish Meditation Teacher, in the first 3-year Teachers'
Certification Program. She co-directed the Jewish Spiritual
Immersion Program with CHL co-founder, Nan Fink Gefen,
and later was the director of the second cycle of the
Teachers' Certification Program. Miriam leads a monthly
chanting and meditation group, sponsored by Kehilla
Community Congregation. She is an MFT and has a psychotherapy
practice in Oakland. Miriam is the Clinical Director
of the John F. Kennedy University Center for Holistic
Counseling, in Oakland.
 Alexandra
Wall
Alexandra (Alix) Wall has been active with
Chochmat HaLev since 2000. While her initiation was
High Holidays, not too long after, she went on a trip
to Dharamasala, India, to help put on a Passover seder
there with a group of Chochmat people. She has long
been a regular at Friday night services, and most recently,
she volunteered with Chochmat's participation in Tuv
Ha'Aretz, a program of the national organization Hazon,
which has Jewish institutions supporting local farms.
While she worked as a journalist for the local Jewish
newspaper for many years, she recently become a natural
foods chef, cooking for families in their homes. She
lives with her husband Paul.
 Django
Zeaman
Django Zeaman has been enjoying the spiritual
community of Chochmat for 4 years. "Sometimes I
like to just sit and cry the whole service; other times
I'll get up and dance and laugh and bask in the swirl
of all these amazingly warm people around me. The best
part is that either one is perfectly okay and completely
supported. I've never had a spiritual home that allowed
me to go so deeply into my true self." Django works
in education, creating adult learning experiences for
large corporations and non-profits that focus on complex
skills such as therapy, brand management, mechanical
engineering or being a police officer.
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