Our Board

List of 21 members.

• 

  Rebecca Kekst 

  Bio

  Board Chair
  
  Education:
  

  • Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Barnard College; Columbia University

  Additional Information: 
  
  Rebecca Kekst has been an active member of Sinai Temple since she and her husband, David Kekst, joined the synagogue in 1999. She was a founding member of Dor Chadash and has held many roles in the synagogue, the Douglas Family Early Childhood Center, and Sinai Akiba Academy. She has served as gala co-chair for the Sinai Temple dinner, co-chaired the Shabbaton for 3 years and most recently chaired the Catering Committee. While a parent in the preschool, Rebecca served as both PTA president and then chaired the board of the preschool. During her time at Sinai Akiba Academy, she has chaired the PTA, Development Committee and 50th Anniversary Campaign and Celebration. Rebecca is currently the chair of the Sinai Akiba Board. Rebecca also serves on the PK-12 committee for the Jewish Federation and has served on the Camp Ramah board for many years. Rebecca is married to David Kekst and has three children who have all attended Sinai Akiba Academy.
  
  email
• 

  Michael Arnall 

  Bio

  Michael has been involved in the mortgage banking industry since having received his MBA from Pepperdine University (1996). Michael currently serves as President of Sinai Temple.  
  
  He was formerly a steering committee member of the JDC, helping develop ENTWINE, “a one-of-a-kind movement for young Jewish leaders, influencers, and advocates who seek to make a meaningful impact on global Jewish needs and international humanitarian issues.” Michael and his family have been active members of the Sinai Community for roughly two decades and their children attend(ed) Sinai Akiba Academy (Jeremy ’13, Rylan ’24, Avery ’27).
• 

  Sari Arnall 

  Bio

  Education
  

  • Bachelor's degree in Psychology, University of Florida
  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, University of Florida
  • Certified Public Accountant

  Current Role
  

  Director of Accounting and Finance - BAMKO
  
  Bio
  I started my career as an Auditor at Deloitte. After leaving Deloitte, I spent over 4 years at The Siegfried Group as an Associate Director. At TSG, I consulted for Fortune 500 companies such as DHL, Assurant and PwC and helped grow the company as part of the Business Development team. In 2009, I became the Controller at Cherokee Inc. I spent 2.5 years here and then took 4 years off focusing on being a mom for my 3 children. I went back to work 2 years ago and am currently the Director of Accounting and Finance for BAMKO. I have been heavily involved as a lay leader and volunteer at both Sinai Temple and SAA I served on the Dor Chadash Board for 5+ years and was a co-chair for 3 of them. I served on the ECC Board for 6 years and was a co-chair of the ECC tours for several years. Additionally, I became a Parent Ambassador for K-8 and previously chaired the Parent Ambassador tour group and served as Recruitment Chair for SAA.

   
• 

  Samantha Auerbach 

  Bio

  Education:

  • B.A. in psychology and history from the University of Pennsylvania
  • M.A. in Inclusive Elementary Education from Columbia University Teachers College

  Additional Information:
  

  Career as Elementary School Educator - taught in public schools in NYC in East Harlem and Brooklyn, then Rodeph Sholom School in NYC, then Brawerman Elementary School in Los Angeles; also served on Board of Directors for Camp Ramah in California, currently serving on PK-12 Board of Jewish Federation; former ECC Board Chair at SAA as well as other SAA volunteer titles (Alumni Committee Chair, ECC Recruitment Chair, etc)

   
• 

  Reuben Berman 

  Bio

  Reuben Berman has been a member of Sinai since the early 1980s and has fond memories of his experiences including religious school, Bar Mitzvah, and wedding. Reuben’s children are currently enrolled in Sinai Akiba Academy. He recently joined the school’s Board of Directors. He is a past president and board of directors member of the Haas Business School Los Angeles Alumni Chapter. He is also a member of the UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group’s Endowment Circle, the Jewish Federation’s Real Estate and Construction division, as well as AIPAC. Reuben is the co-founder of Entrada Partners, a real estate investment firm.
• 

  Sheila Bolour 

• 

  Linda Camras 

• 

  Linda Friedman 

  Bio

  Education
  

  • Graphic Designer, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City

  Current Position:
  Organizer, The Pleasure of Organizing
• 

  Robert Galperson 

  Bio

  Robert Galperson is a second-generation member of the Sinai Temple community and has always considered Sinai Temple his second home. He attended the Religious School, had his Bar Mitzvah at Sinai and continues his family’s long-standing dedication to the synagogue.  Robert is a member of the Temple Board’s Executive Committee, previously served as both Vice President of Development and Membership, and continues to serve on the Budget, Membership and Development committees. Robert is also a member of the Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks Cemetery Management Committee.  As current Temple Vice President of Education, he oversees all of the schools and youth programs.  Robert is a graduate from the University of Southern California with a degree in Communications. He is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising for a consumer product company.  His wife Jennifer is a Sinai Akiba Parent Ambassador. Robert and Jennifer have two children; Jonah and Brandon, who both attend Sinai Akiba Academy.
• 

  Mayrav Gaslin 

  Bio

  Education:
  

  • Bachelor's Degree, Journalism, Northwestern University

  Current Position: 

  • President, Kavanah Communications

   
  Additional Information:
  

  Mayrav is a communications strategist and content consultant working primarily in the health care industry. She is also a tireless volunteer, particularly for Sinai Temple and SAA. She is a past executive board member of Sinai Temple and has served many volunteer roles at SAA, including being a room mom since the Stone Ages (give or take a few years).

   
• 

  Liraz Harari 

• 

  Mehrnaz Javid 

  Bio

  Mehrnaz Kerendi Javid is an interior and events designer. Her career began with years in special events planning. She moved on to build her own interior and events design firm from the ground up with a commitment to transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Her extensive resume includes designing homes throughout Southern California and designing events for Los Angeles’ most influential crowds. Her reverence for old-world charm mixed with today’s most sought-after trends makes her work highly respected and unique.
• 

  Sarah Kamrava 

• 

  Marc Lindner 

  Bio

  Head of School, ex-officio
• 

  Sharon Meron 

  Bio

  Education

  • BA, Economics, Amherst College 
  • MBA, Finance, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

  Bio
  

  Sharon Meron completed a stint as a consultant for the Long Beach Health Department completing work she started as a FUSE Fellow creating a new approach to combating homelessness in the city. Prior to that, Sharon spent 10 years on the Education Team at the Broad Foundation overseeing the foundation's extensive grants and evaluation process. Sharon began her career as a consultant at Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett in London specializing in the telecom and energy sectors before moving on to work in development and acquisitions for RSL Communications, spearheading that company’s expansion into Latin America and collaborating on its successful IPO. After that she worked closely with the CEO of Advanced Monitored Caregiving, a New York-based healthcare services provider, to refine and implement the company’s business plan

   

  
  
• 

  Mayer Nazarian 

• 

  Elian Ohebshalom 

  Bio

  Elian is an attorney and currently works with a team of financial advisors at Morgan Stanley where she leads the team's trust and estate planning, legacy planning and charitable gifting strategies. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Elian pursued her passion of non-profit work as the Director of Engagements at United Way of Greater Los Angeles. While there she focused on homelessness issues and education for children in underserved communities and worked closely with community leaders and board members on policy initiatives to bring about change.
   
  Elian is also the Co-Chair of the Vantage Group's Women's Initiative - an educational and networking series with an emphasis on breaking down gender barriers and helping advance women economic empowerment. At SAA, she was previously a member of the Speaker Series and Pier Night and is currently a member of the Education Committee and has been the Co-Chair of the Community Engagement Committee for the past two years. She and her husband, Dan, have three children: Madison (2nd grade), Grant (pre-school), and Taylor (1 year old) who will hopefully become change-makers one day! Elian loves being part of the SAA community and is looking forward to her leadership role!
• 

  Hezy Shalev 

• 

  Brad Smiedt 

• 

  Andres Terech 

  Bio

  Education
  

  • PhD in Marketing from UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles
  • MBA from Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • BA in Business Administration from Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

  
  Current Role
  

  Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing, The UCLA Anderson School of Management
  
  Bio
  

  Andres Terech has been teaching graduate-level and executive courses at UCLA Anderson for more than 10 years. He has been voted teacher of the year by both Anderson’s Full-Time and Executive MBA students. Before joining UCLA, Andres was a member of the faculty at IAE Business School, Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has also been invited to teach at numerous programs around the world. Much of his work has been published in scholarly journals and specialized business publications, such as Case Research Journal, Marketing Letters and Harvard Business Review. In addition to teaching, Terech works as an independent consultant and participates in companies’ Advisory Boards. As a community leader, Terech serves on the Executive Board of B'nai David Judea and has been recognized by the City of Los Angeles for his contribution to the community.

   

   
• 

  Richard Weston 

  Bio

  Education:
  

  • Bachelor's degree in business administration, Baruch College of the City University of New York
  • Juris Doctor degree, Brooklyn Law School

   

  
  Current Employment: 

  Principal, dreamGEAR, LLC