Staff and Board

Administrator — Lillian Markind admin@orshalom.org

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Lillian has lived in a variety of places including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh PA, Manhattan, San Francisco, and rural Wisconsin. She returned to the Bay Area in 2014 and landed in Brisbane, just a few miles down the road. Formerly in biotech, she took many years off from the professional workforce and became heavily involved in school volunteering, teaching Zumba, and becoming a substitute teacher. She successfully ran for public office in 2016 and 2020 to serve as a Trustee of the Brisbane School District in which she served two years as President of the Board.

She shares her home with her husband Mike Lelivelt, who works in biotech, and Nora, her step-daughter, who goes to UC Davis.  Together they have David and Naomi, both students at International High School. 

Cantorial Soloist - Alison Faith Levy alison@orshalom.org

A longtime member of Or Shalom, Alison Faith Levy is a musician, recording artist, and Jewish educator based in San Francisco.  She has released many albums, both for children and adults, and played hundreds of concerts throughout the Bay Area and around the country. 

Alison spent several years as a music specialist in Jewish preschools and JCCs around the Bay Area, and helped create and lead the Sing Shalom music program at Or Shalom, as well as co-leading Or Shalom’s High Holy Days family services with Rabbi Katie. She was honored to sing the Kol Nidre for Or Shalom in 2019. 

In 2017, Alison was offered a Legacy Fellowship to pursue her Masters in Jewish Education through Hebrew College in Boston. She graduated with distinction in June 2020, and now works as the Young Families Coordinator at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo. 

“Or Shalom has been a place of inspiration, community, and joy for our family for so many years. To be able to lead this community in song, and partner with Rabbi Katie and the ensemble, is a dream come true. I have so much to learn, and also much to share. During this past year, connecting through prayer, even over Zoom, has brought me immense peace and comfort. I look forward to offering my own musical joy through the screen to the community, and hopefully someday soon we can sing together in person!”

Alison is married to Danny Plotnick, the Director of Film Studies at University of San Francisco. Their son, Henry Plotnick, who became a Bar Mitzvah at Or Shalom in 2013, is a Jazz Piano major at The New School in New York City. 

Board of Directors

The Board meets monthly to make the decisions that guide our community. The Executive Committee is comprised of the President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Secretary, and Treasurer. To place an item on the Board's agenda, contact a member of the Executive Committee.

Or Shalom Board of Directors

FY21, July 1, 2020– June 30, 2021

Officers (Executive Committee)

Chana Jacobs,President    

Judy Olasov, Past President   

Shelley Levine, Secretary  

Jonathan Denholtz, EC Member & At Large

Members

Paul Axelrod, Communications Committee Chair

Meryl Bennan, Membership Committee Chair

Max Bernstein, Member At Large

Jonathan Denholtz, EC Member & At Large

Stacey Leyton, Personnel Committee Chair

Rachelle Resnick, Chesed Committee Chair

Joel Rubinstein, Minhag Committee Representative

Joshua Babcock, Religious School Committee Chair  

Angelique von Halle, Member At Large

Staff Attending Board Meetings

Rabbi Katie Mizrahi

Lillian Markind, Administrator