The Women of
Rodef Sholom
2024-2026 Board of Directors

Thank you to the current Women of Rodef Sholom's Board of Directors for all your hard work, dedication and service to our wonderful organization. We appreciate you & everything that you do!

Please See Board Member Biographies Below

The Women of Rodef Sholom continues to recruit members to volunteer with several standing committees within our organization. If you are interested in sharing your talents with Membership, Programming, Social Justice and Fundraising endeavors, please email your contact details to wrs@rodefsholom.org.The Women of Rodef Sholom is now recruiting members to volunteer with several committees within our organization.

Meet Our New WRS President
Ingrid Tolson

Board Biographies in Alphabetical Order:

Suzanne Alpert

For the past three decades, Suzanne has been deeply involved in education and fundraising across various Bay Area schools and organizations. Notably, she loved her work as a site director and teacher at Aim High, a non-profit that enriches the lives of middle schoolers from low-income backgrounds through a transformative summer program. Additionally, her roles have spanned teaching, administrative duties, and fundraising, all driven by her belief in education as a pathway to opportunity, especially during critical middle school years. Currently, she shares her passion for the environment as a science teacher at Mark Day School in San Rafael.

Raised in a Jewish household in St. Louis, Missouri, Suzanne holds an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and a graduate degree in education from Stanford University. In her 20s, she lived in different parts of the world, including the Netherlands, and then she settled in the Bay Area, where she met her husband Gary at a Passover Seder at Temple Emanu-El. Ever since then, Passover has been a very important holiday in the Alpert house, and they have hosted many members of the CRS community at their annual Seder. She and Gary raised their daughters, Hannah and Abby, in Mill Valley along with their goldendoodle, Hallie. Throughout her daughters’ schooling, Suzanne actively engaged with parent associations and school boards, including serving as the Chair of the Tamalpais High School Site Council, contributing to the educational community.

Suzanne deeply values everything about Rodef Sholom, seeing it as a community for a lifetime. Her involvement spans two decades, including meaningful milestones like her daughters’ bat mitzvah ceremonies. Additionally, she traveled to Israel on a wonderful congregational trip with Rabbi Stacy, became an adult B’nai mitzvah with Cantor David, and served on the CRS Board of Directors for 6 years including serving as Vice President and Secretary. She's also been active in various leadership roles at the Jewish Community Federation, serving on the Diller Jewish Educator Award Committee.

With her background in fundraising as well as her dedication to education and community, Suzanne aims to leverage her skills to support engagement and growth within Women Rodef Sholom. With the vibrant community and new Sacred Space, Suzanne envisions CRS and WRS as beacons of light for current and future generations of Jews in Marin County.

Theresa Brady

Theresa was raised in Corte Madera and is a lifelong member of Rodef Sholom. Religious school, her Bat Mitzvah, and the Confirmation Israel trip were seminal experiences that shaped her love for and commitment to Rodef Sholom, Judaism, and Israel.

Theresa earned a B.S. in Cognitive Science from UCSD and a Master's in Social Welfare from UCLA and was an oncology social worker. She married her college sweetheart, Mark, and together they made their way back to their beloved Bay Area to raise two daughters, Sophia and Talia. Rodef Sholom again helped foster the next generation’s Jewish identity through a family Chavurah, Bat Mitzvahs, religious school, youth group, educational trips, and the Madrichim program.

As a soon-to-be empty nester, Theresa is looking forward to engaging morewith Sisterhood and other synagogue activities. In her free time, Theresa can be found on a hiking trail with her dog, reading a book, working in the garden, listening to music, and spending time with precious family and friends.

Rachel de Baere

Rachel feels honored that she grew up at Rodef Sholom. She became a bat-mitzvah, was confirmed there, and was married by Rabbi Michael Barenbaum. Rachel has three adult children in their 30s, who also were named at Rodef. While she was raised in San Anselmo, Rachel spent summers visiting her beloved grandmother and Sephardic family in Morocco, then later in France and Israel as the family migrated.

Rachel graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science and went on to earn her Master’s in Public Administration at New York University. In New York, she oversaw emergency services for the Victim Services Agency (now called Safe Horizon), which empowered crime victims and survivors of all ages to find safety and support through a wide range of programs, including shelters, hotlines, counseling, and advocacy.

Upon her return to California, Rachel worked with the International Women’s Writing Guild to lead writing conferences attended by women from around the world. She also worked as the Executive Director of the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, which supported women in having their voices heard through writing, audio, and theater performances around the world—all this despite their living under Taliban rule.

Rachel currently teaches 2nd grade across the street from the synagogue at Venetia Valley TK-8 elementary school and feels she belongs to both sides of North San Pedro Road. Her students live in Santa Venetia, as well as the Canal neighborhood. Her Guide Dog Breeder, a Lab/Golden cross, attends second grade daily. In addition to supporting Guide Dogs for the Blind, she has volunteered with the Canal Alliance as a mentor for unaccompanied minors who have arrived in the United States.

Rachel speaks fluent French and Spanish, can read and write in Hebrew, and has recently started to learn Arabic. She enjoys hiking, traveling, knitting and reading, and is an avid pickleball player. She also enjoys gardening, especially when it’s all done. She is grateful to have the opportunity to join the Women of Rodef Sholom as co-chair for the Social Justice committee.

Angela Giacomini

Angela grew up in Marin County, is a fifth-generation Californian and is a proud member of Congregation Rodef Sholom. Her parents joined the synagogue in the early ’70’s. Angela went to religious and Hebrew school, celebrated her B’nai Mitzvah, Confirmation and joined the youth trip to Israel.

Angela graduated from Sonoma State University, with a degree in Liberal Arts from Hutchins School. She spent a year in Sweden, as an exchange student, where she attended a folkhögskola and lived with a weekend host family. Angela spent over two decades working at the Stanford Hospital and Clinics at the Sleep Center, as Chief Registered Sleep Technologist. She transitioned to become a licensed Health and Wellness coach and now in her retirement years provides direct family support and care to her loved ones.

Angela joined the Women of Rodef Sholom’s Board of Directors in 2017 appointed first, as a Member at Large. She was elected as Co-VP of Programming in 2018, then as Co-VP of Programming/Social Justice and First Vice President from 2019 - 2021. Angela served as WRS President from 2021 - 2024, and is now Immediate Past President for the current term. It has been a full-circle experience for Angela to join her childhood synagogue. Being of service is a way for her to give back to her community! Angela cares deeply about people’s well-being, nurturing friendships and creating a welcoming community, that leads to creating a sense of belonging.

In addition to volunteering with the Women of Rodef Sholom, Angela is actively involved in political causes and campaigns. She enjoys singing, creating art, swimming, cooking and connecting with her family, friends and being a guardian to her beloved dog companion.

Toni Golbus

Toni is a long time member of Rodef Sholom having joined the congregation in 1978. She has been a choir member since 1980, served on numerous committees, chaired the Interfaith Connection committee for many years, and served on the Board of Rodef Sholom as First Vice President. Most recently she has been active in social action and social justice issues through the Every Voice Every Vote campaign in co- operation with RAC. In the Jewish Community, Toni was chairperson of Marin JCRC and taught the History of Israel the Land and the People in public schools under their auspices. Mickey and Toni led a mission to Israel during the 1991 SCUD war to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Israel.

On Mitzvah day, you can find her staffing the desk for Vivolent (blood bank),and she has been an active member of the Chevrah Kadishah since its inception. She was very pleased to be serving on WRS Board as Recording Secretary and looks forward to continuing service to our sisterhood through the office of Co-Vice President of Social Justice.

Jan Goldberg

Jan was born in Los Angeles and grew up in a predominantly Jewish area. Her family belonged to Temple Emanuel, a reform synagogue. While her older brother went to Hebrew School to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah, Jan went to Hebrew School too, although at that time girls were not allowed to become Bat Mitzvah. She is so happy that when her daughters were old enough, they were able to become Bat Mitzvah in the same way her son became Bar Mitzvah.

Jan left Los Angeles to attend UC Berkeley and soon met her husband, Hank (since deceased), who was a student at UCSF. In 1970, the family settled in Tiburon where Jan served on the Reed Union School District Board of Trustees. She found that public office was not for her, and she started Delicious Catering in 1975. The family joined Congregation Rodef Sholom in the early 70’s and have been members ever since.

Jan is grateful that all three of her children live in California, so she can see them and her grandchildren often. In addition to work and family, she is a member of the League of Conservation voters, and supports many environmental organizations. She is also a long-time supporter of the American Bach Soloists, an early music organization.

Lara Gremmels

Lara grew up in Tiburon and with Rodef Sholom. Her parents joined the temple in the early 70’s. She went to Sunday School, along with her brother Steve and sister Debra. She was a Bat Mitzvah under the guidance of Michael Barenbaum. She also went to Camp Tawonga for many years.

Lara moved up to Arcata, California and went to Humboldt State University, where she got her Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and was very active in the Marching Lumberjacks. After living in Lake County for ten years, she moved back to Marin County to help her mom with her growing catering business. During the 22 years she worked at Delicious Catering, she got to know the temple again and started her journey back to her Judaism. In 2020,

Lara started attending weekly Shabbat services on Zoom. She then reached out to Rabbi Stacy and Rabbi Elana about becoming a member. She was a part of the membership committee with the Women of Rodef Sholom, which brought her great joy. She is passionate about making sure new members feel welcome and part of the community. Lara is currently going to school full time to get her degree in Health Information Management. When she’s not studying, she loves to knit, sing, and garden.

She is very close to her family and is excited that her son Cameron and fiancé Alexis have moved to Rohnert Park, so they can see each other more often. She is excited to become the Recording Secretary and hopes this helps her understand the workings of the temple, and she can contribute her time to the Women of Rodef Sholom.

Toni Grimes

Toni and her family have been synagogue members for nine years. She believes that it is such a joy to be part of an inclusive and expansive community. The experience of her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah was pure bliss and cemented her family to Rodef Sholom.

During her career years in human resources at UCSF, Toni served in many roles from traditional HR duties for a variety of employees to organizational structure review for department/division growth well, as staff engagement lead, creating programing to build the ‘glue’ leading high retention rates. In 2011, Toni earned her Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certificate and recently complete a certificate in College Admissions and Career Planning (CACP) from UCB.

After retiring from her position at UCSF, Toni is branching out to new community roles, as well as starting a new venture as a college and career counselor, and feeling passionate about providing affordable and easily accessible knowledge. Toni also volunteers in the WRS gift shop and initiated once-a-month Rodef Sholom hosted brunch meal at Jonathan’s Place, a Homeward Bound Shelter located in San Rafael. This continues her commitment to her years volunteering in the former REST program for unhoused men. As an active reader, Toni is a member of the Jewish American Book Club.

Toni has been an active member of the WRS programing committee for the past three years. She has been nominated to serve a second term as Co-VP of Programing and Social Justice with Jan Goldberg and is excited to bring her organization and engagement skills from her career to this new community role. As bringing communities together is one of Toni’s core values, she is excited to bring this passion to her position and is looking forward to connecting with many fantastic and inspiring women.

BettyAnn Kram

BettyAnn was a Cross-Cultural Communications Consultant for a Swiss marketing firm following over 20 years as Director of Global Communications and Investor Relations for INFICON, a multi-national manufacturer of high-tech instrumentation. She is a founding member of the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology (Syracuse, NY) and continues on the Board of Trustees. Ms Kram is a professional voice talent for TV/radio commercials and records audiobooks for Learning Ally. She was an Adjunct Professor at the Whitman School of Management of Syracuse University and lecturer for EXPORT NY of the Central New York Technology Development Organization.

Currently, BettyAnn lives both in Sausalito and New York state. BettyAnn serves on the WRS Board of Directors, is Publicity Committee chair, and Newsletter editor.

Jen Levine

Jen retired in 2022 after more than thirty years of a professional career as a property and casualty actuary for several large insurance companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jen lives in Mill Valley with her husband and altogether too many pets. She misses her three grown children, who live in three different time zones: Mirabel (26) in St. Louis, Milo (23) in Boston, and Ili (23) in Los Angeles.

Jen has been a member of Congregation Rodef Sholom and the Women of Rodef Sholom (WRS) since 2007 and has been an active WRS volunteer since 2014. Jen currently holds the WRS positions of Co-Vice President of Membership and Gift Shop volunteer. Prior WRS roles include President, Treasurer, Walking Group Coordinator, and Gift Shop Volunteer Coordinator. Jen is eternally grateful for the support and perspective she received from WRS women while she was raising three challenging teenagers. She now simply enjoys the social connection, social justice initiatives, and other activities of WRS and Congregation Rodef Sholom.

Kris Malone Grossman

Kris Malone Grossman studied at UC Berkeley and Sarah Lawrence College, and is currently a doctoral candidate of Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she is researching how women artists in menopause engage creativity. Throughout her adult life, she has worked in book publishing, in libraries, in academia, and in the not-for-profit sector, where she served on the Mill Valley Library Foundation and also co-founded Seed Releaf, a Covid-19 mutual-relief organization supporting congregants, community members, local organic farmers, and restaurateurs. Recently, along with a circle of feminist scholars, Kris co-founded the Women’s Spirituality Studies Press, a nonprofit publishing house that will publish women’s work beginning 2025.

Kris and her husband, Ed, along with their sons Zev, Leo, and Sol, joined Congregation Rodef Sholom in 2012. Since then, she has served on the CRS Social Justice Steering Committee and the Chevra Kadisha, and she currently co-chairs the Green Team/Gan Mitzvah committee. During Covid-19, she helped to found the CRS Congregation Supported Agriculture program, which in turn supplied the CRS Community Fridge with sustainably-farmed local produce. When Kris’ son, Zev, underwent major surgery several years ago, the meals that CRS members brought to her family’s door brought her to tears every time. This is community. This is love.

Informing all of Kris’ work is her abiding love of women, women’s knowledge, and women’s circles. She looks forward to connecting with the Women of Rodef Sholom in service and in Sisterhood. 

Barbara Merino

Barbara has lived in the same community for 44 years, and through this time Congregation Rodef Sholom has become her second home. Her family joined in 1980. Just after her first child was born, she was asked to help with a rummage sale. Then, when she had two children in religious school, someone asked her if was interested in joining the synagogue Board of Directors.

Barbara served as recording secretary, first vice president, and then two years as president of the synagogue. During Barbara’s first seven years of board service, she learned a tremendous amount about the Union for Reform Judaism, about Judaism, about her community, and about herself. She was asked back on the board four years later to add her experience to the planning, recruitment, and transition from our senior rabbi of many years to a new senior rabbi.

 During her second round of board service, Barbara lost her husband and then was diagnosed with a serious illness, and the Rodef Sholom community stepped in to help her. When she recovered and retired from her full-time job, she found herself drawn to ways she could be involved with and give back to the community. One of them was the Sisterhood. She joined the board of the Women of Rodef Sholom for the same reason so many women do, because someone asked, because a number of the women who had been so helpful to her were active Sisterhood members, and because she saw the Sisterhood as a group of dedicated and caring individuals who were instrumental in the good work of her synagogue.

Barbara has served WRS in a variety of positions, including recording secretary, co- president, co-treasurer, and president. In 2021, she became a co-treasurer again and most recently has been nominated to serve as a Co-VP of Membership. She has enjoyed being involved both locally and at the WRJ Pacific District and National level. Since joining the District Board, she has served as an Area Director and Area Director Vice President. She currently serves as the Pacific District Liaison to Camp Newman. Barbara hopes to continue serving WRS in meaningful ways. 

Claire Mikowski

Claire is the proud mother of three sons and the Bubbie of six grandchildren. She has had several careers in her life so far, including, secular teaching, curriculum development, acting, producing and writing for television and radio, recording voice overs and being a Jewish educator. She has been a part of Rodef Sholom for 20 years, either as Associate Director of Education in the Religious School or as a member of CRS and teacher of the Women of Rodef Sholom.

Claire enjoys swimming, snorkeling, hiking, camping and travel. Nature and people are her reasons for being.

Alissa Ralston

Alissa began her professional career as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist.  She was a pioneer in HIV/AIDS education and was active in tobacco prevention education from 1999 until her retirement.   The last few years of her work focused on educating students, parents and educators about emerging nicotine products and electronic cigarettes. 

She enjoys most forms of fiber arts, baking, scuba, kayaking, hiking and travel.  She serves with her husband, Mike, on the advisory board of the San Rafael RotaCare Free Clinic.  They have three adult children and four grandchildren ranging in age from almost 19 to 16 months.

Alissa is a past president of WRS and served on the CRS board, once in that capacity and once as Social Action chair. Along with Joan Gosliner, she started the first CRS Mitzvah Day. Over the years she has worked on many WRS projects including retreats, the jewelry sale, Mitzvah Day, the Women’s Seder, a book sale, a rummage sale and leading workshops.

She is a 2018 graduate of Marin Master Gardeners, loves to propagate plants  and continues to learn how much she doesn’t know! 

Jeanette Rosen

Jeanette Rosen joined Rodef Sholom in 2010, finding a vibrant and welcoming Jewish community in which she and her husband could raise their two children. Through her children’s b’nai mitzvah journey and her own exploration of Jewish learning, observance, and prayer, Jeanette fell in love with the spiritual riches of Judaism and made the decision to convert. Jeanette continues to find many points of connection at Rodef Sholom, and has served on the High Holiday Committee since 2019.

Jeanette has lived in the San Geronimo Valley for 27 years. Her children attended Lagunitas elementary school where she served in various leadership roles from 2007-2016 including Treasurer and President of the PTA, President of the Lagunitas Schools Foundation, and Secretary of Schools Rule Marin. Jeanette currently serves on the board of SGVERG, her local readiness group.

Jeanette is a jeweler by trade, and ran a successful jewelry design, wholesale, and production consulting business for 18 years before starting a new business with her husband in the promotional products industry. Jeanette is currently a managing partner at their sustainability-focused merchandising company, managing finance and administration, compliance, supply chain, and product development.

Jeanette is thrilled to serve as Member at Large and bring her professional skillset, along with her passion for Jewish life and learning, to the WRS board.

Fanny Stein

Fanny Stein, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. worked as a reading and language specialist in the NYC public schools after college and later at Lenox School in Manhattan.

After moving to California and discovering that her teaching license was not valid in this state,  Fanny joined her husband in the art business. With two galleries, a publishing company, and three children, his sudden death at forty-three years old in 1990 was overwhelming. She is grateful that at that time they had just joined Congregation Rodef Sholom and were embraced by the community.

Fanny made a vow to give back to her community where she could. She found a home in the Women of Rodef Sholom, and she has worn “many hats” within WRS. Her positions included the Women’s Seder Chair, Gift Shop Volunteer, Gift Shop Volunteer Coordinator, Programming Vice President, and  Membership Vice President to name a few.

Fanny’s other activities have been teaching at the JCC preschool, teaching Sunday school, and volunteering at the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival. Last but not least, she is totally involved with her three daughters and five grandchildren who all live close by.

Ingrid Tolson

Ingrid was born and raised in New Jersey, graduated from Boston University in 1989, and moved to New York City. In 1997, she married Andrew Tolson, and in 1998 they moved to San Francisco. Andrew is a fifth generation San Franciscan, so there has always been a lot of family close by.

The Tolsons introduced Ingrid to Hadassah, where she became one of the founders of the L'Atid chapter in 1999. Ingrid also volunteered with the Jewish Community Federation Women's Alliance and helped start a mothers' group called Kids and Kibbutzing until moving out of the city.

In 2003, Ingrid and Andrew moved to Mill Valley, where they raised their two sets of fraternal twin boys, born in 2000 and in 2002. The children attended local public schools from kindergarten through high school. Ingrid was active on the PTA boards, the Kiddo! Foundation board, Cub Scouts, and the Tam High Foundation board, while the kids were in school and living at home.

The Tolsons joined Congregation Rodef Sholom in 2008, where the boys attended religious school and became b’nai mitzvah. As a family they attended retreats at Camp Newman and traveled to Israel with Rabbi Stacy and other Rodef families. Ingrid began volunteering in the Women of Rodef Sholom Gift shop in 2014, became its buyer in 2019, and during the Pandemic created a website for the shop with delivery and pick up available. Over the past several years, Ingrid has become more involved with the Women of Rodef Sholom board and the organization’s activities, has developed meaningful friendships through the Sisterhood, and is honored to serve as President for the 2024 - 2026 term.

Margaret Trezevant

Margaret is a native Californian, although coming from a military family, spent her early youth living in many different places, including Guam.  She is a nurse, graduating from San Francisco State University. She worked for the San Francisco Department of Public Health as a Nurse Manager in the ER at San Francisco General Hospital.  Her work there sparked her interest in persons experiencing homelessness. This led to her completing a dual Master’s Degree in both Community Health and Adult Psychiatric Nursing at UCSF.  She was a leader in the development of the Tom Waddell Clinic, which was the Public Health Department’s first clinic devoted to the needs of homeless persons.  She completed her nursing career as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Community Psychiatry for San Mateo County.

Following her retirement she served for several years on the Board of Episcopal Community Services, the largest provider of supportive housing in San Francisco, which has recently opened a housing facility in Marin.  When she and her husband Richard moved to San Rafael in 2015, she began working with the Ritter Center, the multi-service center for homeless and precariously housed in Marin.  She served on their board, and was Board President for 4 years, before becoming ill and having to step down. She and her husband continue to be avid supporters of their growing program. She currently serves as secretary of the board of California Interfaith Power and Light (CIPL), an organization mobilizing faith communities to address the issue of climate change through individual and communal behavior change as well as robust legislative advocacy.

She and Rich have been married for 41 years, and have one daughter, Molly.  They became active in the Jewish community through their daughter, who was involved in a program of Jewish Family and Children’s Services.  Though not Jewish, they both volunteered for JFCS.  Margaret is an active member of the JFCS Public Issues Committee, which she chaired for 2 years before her illness.  She and her husband joined Rodef Sholom 2 years ago, and Margaret is in the final stages of her official conversion to Judaism.  Both she and her husband have found a home in the Rodef Sholom community, and are eager to contribute to its social justice work.