Michael Amerikaner is Congregation Emanu-El’s Young Adult Community Coordinator.  Mike was born in Los Angeles, raised in San Luis Obispo, and lived in almost every corner of California including Berkeley, Davis, Fresno, and Sacramento.  Mike has an International Relations B.A. from UC Davis and began his career in professional sports.  He was the San Francisco Giants’ Emerald Bowl Marketing Assistant before becoming the Director of Merchandise for the Fresno Grizzlies.  However, Mike soon realized his real passion is in Judaism.  He spent many summers at camps such as Shalom, Swig and Newman.  In high school he was very involved with NFTY, and with Hillel and other Jewish groups in college.  In 2007 Mike returned to UC Davis as Hillel Program Director.  Finally in 2009, he made the drive west on the I-80 to San Francisco.  When he is not working with YALC on planning events, you can find Mike working out at the JCC (as much as possible), eating sushi, going to movies, and exploring new places in San Francisco.



Susie Berg is a Bay Area native and has been a member of Temple Emanuel-El since she was five years old. This is Susie's first year serving on the Young Adult Leadership Committee (YALC). Susie brings her enthusiasm for the outdoors to YALC by organizing the monthly "Second Sunday" cycling series. Susie also serves as a committee chair for the Junior League of San Francisco. When Susie is not working or volunteering she can be found outdoors hiking, mountain biking, skiing, competing in triathlons or traveling the world.



Arielle Bertman
Bio coming soon.



Katy Dinner grew up in Wisconsin and first came to Congregation Emanu-El for late Shabbat with her dear friend Josh Weinberg. Katy and Alec were married by Rabbi Mintz in the Martin Meyer Sanctuary. This is her third year on the Committee; she was Co-Chair with Jeff Levy in 5767. Katy is active in membership and enjoys hosting holiday events at her home. The Dinner's often host services and wear name tags. We encourage you to introduce yourself. They are tandem cyclists who rode with the first temple Aids/Lifecycle ride in the secular year 2007. Alec is really the avid cyclist. I am just along for the photographic opportunities. When Katy is not on the tandem or strategizing and negotiating real estate transactions, she enjoys scuba diving and taking underwater photographs.



Michael Findling
Bio coming soon.







Sarah Futernick
Bio coming soon.



Dana Goldberg is a San Francisco native. She grew-up in the halls and classrooms at Congregation Emanu-El, where she not only became a Bat Mitzvah but was also confirmed.  Dana is a recipient of the Congregation’s Hone Award and Rabbi’s Honor Cup.  In addition, Dana served as Co-Chair of the Young Adult Leadership Committee (YALC) from 2008-2009.  She attended Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and Occidental College in Los Angeles, where she played Division III intercollegiate volleyball and currently serves as Alumni Class Secretary.  She was the Founding Director of Admission as well as volleyball and basketball coach at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay. Dana earned a Master's in Education, with an emphasis in Organization and Leadership, from the University of San Francisco. She is now a school administrator at The Carey School in San Mateo. In addition to her YALC involvement, Dana is member of the Board of Trustees at Katherine Delmar Burke School. She loves playing competitive volleyball and is a San Francisco Giants fanatic, through thick and through thin.



David Koss
Bio coming soon.



Seth Linden (Co-Chair) is the Director of Tutorpedia, a private tutoring company serving students and families in the San Francisco Bay Area. He founded the company in 2005, after several years of teaching and tutoring in public and private high schools in Oakland, Atherton, and Providence, RI. He received his B.A. from Stanford and MA in Teaching from Brown University. He's lived in San Francisco for three years, but has been in the Bay Area for 12 years. Seth has been going to Late Shabbat services since 2000, and he just joined YALC last year.




Barbara Lowenstein (Co-Chair) grew up in Tokyo, Japan where she started going to the JCC and building her Jewish identity. She moved to the bay area with her family when she was 12. For the next year she learned how to read Hebrew for her Bat Mitzvah. Barbara received her Bachelors in Psychology and MBA in Marketing at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In 2005, she moved to San Francisco at which time she started volunteering at the JCC. It is her first year on the Young Adult Leadership Committee. Barbara loves sports, and spends her time as the captain of the volleyball team and catcher for her softball team. She also is an avid photographer.

Gabrielle Miller runs a business development consultancy, specializing in alliances, partnerships, channel sales and corporate event planning. She is also an active stock trader and follows the stock market closely. As an adventurous globetrotter, she has lived in France twice (speaks fluent French), and has collected 64 passport stamps. She devotes a significant amount of time to non-profit work in the Jewish and general community. She has served on the Young Adult Leadership Committee at Congregation Emanu-El since 2004 and also sits on the young adult Access Board of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Gabrielle served on the County board of directors for the American Cancer Society and was a top fundraiser with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. She frequently volunteers for eco/green/environmental causes, and actively participates in cultural organizations like the SF Ballet and the Fine Arts Musuems. She obtained her undergraduate degree in International Relations from UC Berkeley and went to Business School at Georgetown. Athletics have always been a big part of her life, and after years of running shorter distances, she's set her sights on becoming a marathoner. For fun she likes trivia games, wine tasting, jazz clubs, and playing with feline & fido fuzzy furries.



Silvia Oppenheim
Bio coming soon.



Andrea Pressman has been an active member of Congregation Emanu-El for five years after moving to San Francisco from Maine. She has served on the board for a little over a year, facilitating the lay-led minyan and leading games nights. Andrea currently works as an Interfaith Chaplain Intern at UCSF. She is into dance, music, yoga, meditation, reading, friends, and the ocean:).



Spencer Rosen
Bio coming soon.



Mathew Salter has been a member of Congregation Emanu-El over the past five years and is active in the young adult community. Originally from Santa Monica, Mathew has strong roots to the Los Angeles Jewish community and has been involved with numerous Jewish charitable organizations based there. Mathew is an investment banker and an avid sports fan. He enjoys running, triathlons, volleyball, skiing, hiking and international travel.



Erica Schoenberg has been a member of the Young Adult Leadership Committee for the past two years and has truly enjoyed getting to know members of the Young Adult Community of Emanu-El.  She has been a member of Temple Emanu-El since she was 1 month old, and considers the temple her second home. She has returned to San Francisco after finishing her undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz in 2006. Since then she has been working as a legal secretary for a Family Law Firm here in San Francisco. Her hobbies include hiking, hanging out with friends, eating at good restaurants in San Francisco and exploring what the city has to offer. She is incredibly excited and looking forward to another successful and amazing year with the Young Adult Leadership Committee.



Ariel Sugar
Bio coming soon.



Glenn Thrope
Bio coming soon.



Sarah Wall
Bio coming soon.



Amy Wolff grew up in Southern California where she received her Bachelor's degree in landscape architecture. She moved to San Francisco in 2001before heading to Boston for graduate school. Upon completing her Master's degree from Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Amy returned to San Francisco to continue her career in the bay area. Her participation in the leadership committee has enriched her life and continues to provide new experiences within the Jewish community. Look for her successful annual cherry picking event in the spring. In addition to her YALC involvement, Amy enjoys open water swimming and cycling.