Dear Friends,

Last week, representatives from nearly all of our member organizations convened in San Francisco for our final Board of Directors meeting of the year. The energy in the room was palpable, and we're fired up for our work in 2023!

We added new organizations to our coalition – bringing us to 33 members! – and welcomed our new Programs Associate, Helena Weiss-Duman. Read more about both exciting additions below.

We also voted in our 2023-24 Board of Directors leadership. I'm thrilled to introduce Marty Schenker as our incoming Board Chair, Debi Graboff as our new Vice Chair, and Jeff Maltz returning as Treasurer.
Finally, we honored our incredible outgoing Board Chair, Allison Gingold. Allison skillfully led JPAC through a tumultuous two years, which included the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ethnic Studies curriculum fight, and an Executive Director transition – stepping in as Interim ED for six months during the search process. She has also been an invaluable mentor for me in my first year on on the job.
Executive Director David Bocarsly presents a plaque to outgoing JPAC Board Chair Allison Gingold to thank her for her service
And despite the challenges, these two years have been some of JPAC's most successful yet. Notably, under Allison's leadership, we have secured over $200 million from the state budget for Jewish community priorities.

Fortunately, Allison will remain involved in JPAC leadership as our Immediate Past Chair and as Committee Chair for JPAC Capitol Summit – set to take place May 9-10, 2023!

There's a lot in store for JPAC in 2023. Thanks for being part of this movement.


Looking Forward,

David Bocarsly
Executive Director, JPAC
A Message From Marty Schenker, JPAC's New Board Chair
"I am honored to take over as JPAC’s Board Chair at this critical moment. As we face record levels of antisemitic incidents in California, JPAC’s role has never been more important.  As the child of a refugee from Nazi Europe, I have long been committed to fighting hate against Jews and other groups, and have been deeply involved with organizations that do so nationally and in the Bay Area. I am excited to embark on a new chapter and to work with JPAC’s professional staff, member organizations, and our many friends and partners advocating in Sacramento on behalf of the Jewish community’s concerns and values."

- Marty Schenker, JPAC Board Chair 2023-24
New JPAC Member Organizations
In 2022, JPAC added an astounding eight new member organizations. That brings our coalition to a 33 members — the biggest we've ever been!

Click on the logo of each new organization to learn about their important work:
Meet Helena Weiss-Duman, JPAC's New Programs Associate
Helena Weiss-Duman, PMP,  is a project manager, conference producer, and educator. As a past Capitol Summit attendee, she is thrilled to be more involved and support the work of JPAC. She is especially interested in immigration advocacy as her father was a Holocaust refugee.

Professionally, she has three decades of experience in public relations and event management, serving as the Deputy Director of External Relations and Marketing Communications at UC Berkeley. As a consultant, she teaches project management at UC Berkeley Extension and has produced conferences at Berkeley, Stanford, and MIT.

Helena loves entertaining, traveling, and studying the cultural anthropology of religion. She enjoys her new empty-nesting status with her husband in the San Francisco East Bay (Castro Valley) and is a member of Temple Sinai in Oakland, where she has served on the board and the education committee and chaired Mitzvah Day.

You can reach (and welcome) Helena at Helena@jpac-cal.org.
JPAC is the voice of California’s Jewish community to the State Capitol, and the largest single-state coalition of Jewish organizations in the nation. We advocate in Sacramento on behalf of the Jewish community’s concerns and broadly shared values. Our member organizations collectively serve hundreds of thousands of Californians of all backgrounds and represent the interests of California’s 1.2 million Jews.
JPAC is a Coalition of California's Leading Jewish Community Organizations:
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles • Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco – Bay Area • Jewish Family Service LA • Jewish Family and Children’s Services of SF • 30 Years After • American Jewish Committee • Anti-Defamation League • Bet Tzedek Legal Services • ETTA • Hadassah • HIAS • Holocaust Museum Los Angeles • JCRC of Jewish Silicon Valley • Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles • Jewish Center for Justice • Jewish Community Relations Council of Sacramento • Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay • Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Long Beach and Orange County • Jewish Family Service of San Diego • Jewish Family Service of the Desert • Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley • Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara • Jewish Federation of Orange County • Jewish Federation of San Diego County • Jewish Federation of the Desert • Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys • Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region • Jewish Free Loan Association • Jewish Long Beach • Jewish Vocational Service San Francisco • JVS SoCal • Rhoda Goldman Plaza