About  |  Staff  |  Board of Directors | Facility 

Paul Beck has spent the last 40+ years principally as an insolvency attorney specializing in business and individual Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies and workouts, business litigation, corporate and transactional work, and counseling with his clients. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Paul attended Harvard College (BA) and George Washington University (JD 1975), clerked 2 years for Hon. John W. Oliver, United States District Judge, Central District of Missouri, in Kansas City, and has been in private practice since 1978 in California.  
 
Paul is an active member of the Los Angeles Jewish community, as the former chair of the Community Service and Leadership Development committees of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation Council, a Board Trustee and officer of Leo Baeck Temple. He is currently serving on the Board of Overseers of Hebrew Union College – Los Angeles, on the Board and as Treasurer of NewGround:  A Muslim – Jewish Partnership for Change, on the Board of the recently formed Witness to Mass Incarceration headquartered in Manhattan.

Amy Friedman Cecil is the Director of Education at Jewish World Watch, overseeing all aspects of  JWW’s curriculum development and educational programs, with a special focus on teen education. She oversees JWW’s awareness building programs, writes grant proposals, and speaks frequently throughout Los Angeles on topics of genocide and mass atrocities and what we can do as global citizens to help those affected by its consequences. Passionate about education, Amy created and leads the Teen Ambassador Program (TAP), a leadership development program for high school students. Teen Philanthropy is her newest venture and she is incredibly inspired by what teens can do to change the world. Before joining JWW, Amy was a practicing attorney for more than 25 years. She has also been a public and religious school teacher. Amy obtained her MBA in Nonprofit Management from American Jewish University in 2013.

Laura Graduated from UCLA with a bachelor degree in psychology and a master degree in education. She is a former teacher of middle and elementary education, and past Executive Recruiter in the financial field. Laura is an active leader throughout the Jewish community: For over 10 years she has volunteered for the Jewish Federation in planning and allocations, she’s a board member at the Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, board member at Hillel – Cal Lutheran, and a Ritual Committee member and Adult Outreach Committee member at Temple Aliya.

Olivia is an editor and writer in the Marketing & Communications Department at CSUN. A journalist by training, previously she worked as Senior Editor at Mpls. St. Paul Magazine and Communications Director/Webmaster for the Jewish Federations in the Twin Cities. Her experience includes online and social media writing and editing, magazine editing, and custom publishing. She also worked as a daily beat reporter — on politics, environment, science, arts and education — for the Orange Country Register, Jerusalem Post, Chicago Tribune and Twin Cities Jewish Life. A Bay Area native, Olivia received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She also studied at the Pardes Institute of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem. Her husband is a teacher at Milken Community School, and they have two daughters. The family are active members of Valley Beth Shalom.

Deborah Kallick is the Vice President of Government and Industry Relations at Cedars-Sinai Health System.Deborah received her B.A. from Pitzer College and her MBA from USC. She has served as the Assistant Director of the Anti-Defamation League and with the Council for Peace and Equality in Education.  After completing her MBA, she worked in Corporate Marketing at Union Bank as well as consulting in the health care industry. From 1985-2000, Deborah was UCLA’s Executive Director of Federal and Health Sciences Government Relations.​She is active in numerous civic and community organization including the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Business Council, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, is a past chair of  the Board of Directors of USC Hillel, and sits on the Board of Hillel 818, the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Pitzer College, the Maple Counseling Center, International Board of Hillel, and Getty House Foundation.  In addition, she sits on the government relations steering committee of the AAMC and AHA and the CHA public advocacy task force. Deborah received the West Hollywood Women’s Leadership Award in 2006, the Thomas Crail Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chamber in 2008, and the Ray Reynolds Visionary award for leadership in 2015. She also received the 2006 American Hospital Association’s Grass Roots Champion Award and The Maple Counseling Center’s Community Spirit Award in 2012.

Kathi Mangel was born and raised in the West San Fernando Valley. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Spanish and Linguistics and spent her professional life working in retail for The Broadway and Nordstrom department stores, both in merchandising and human resources. After the birth of her third daughter, she ended her career in retail and began her life as a volunteer. She served as PTA president, Girl Scout Leader, Band Booster President and in several positions on the board of Temple Etz Chaim. Between 2007 and 2012, she owned and operated three weight management franchises in the Los Angeles area.
 
Kathi is the immediate former Board Chair of the board of Hillel 818 and has been a member of that board for the past 5 years. She also sits on the board of Sylvia Weisz Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. She is a member of SOAR, supporting the Jewish Home and a member of AIPAC.

Karmi Monsher has been active in the Los Angeles Jewish community for many years, mainly with the Jewish Federation.  Karmi has served as the Valley Alliance General Campaign Co-Chair, Major Gifts Co-Chair, Women’s Campaign Chair and Women’s Philanthropy President. Karmi is currently the King David Society Co-Chair. Karmi is also currently serving on the PK-12 committee of the Jewish Federation. Karmi is proud to serve on the board of Hillel 818. Karmi is active in her synagogue, Adat Ari El as well as serving on the Executive Committee of Camp Ramah.  Karmi worked for Camp Ramah in California as the Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator, doing her part to ensure a strong and vibrant Jewish future. Karmi is married to Harold Monsher and they have two wonderful sons, Jesse and Jaime.

Laura Ozer was raised in a family committed to Jewish Philanthropy, and has been involved in community service for as long as she can remember. Her involvement began within the realm of education, both during her own time in school, as well as that of her children. It is her honor to serve on the Board of the Hillel 818, and to work to support a strong Jewish life on college campuses. Now an empty nester, Laura is stepping up her personal commitment by working on several other boards within the Jewish Community. These include: Sylvia Weiss Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation, AJU’s University Women, Save a Child’s Heart, The Executives of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, and the Pico Union Project. She is the proud mother of two wonderful sons, who she considers to be her crowning achievement.

Ellen Silverman has been involved in the Jewish community for over 30 years. Over the years, she has been involved with Jewish Family Services, the Pico Union Project, University Women at American Jewish University and her synagogue, Adat Ari El, where she served as both Sisterhood and synagogue president. Her work at the Jewish

Federation has included terms as Valley Alliance Women’s Philanthropy Chair and Campaign Co-Chair. Currently, she sits on both the Federation Board of Trustees and its Campaign Cabinet, and is a mentor in the Community Leadership Institute program.

After completing his education in New York, Scott set out for Los Angeles to earn his real estate license and begin his trade. While he studied for his real estate license, he supported himself as the manager of Malibu Grand Prix in Northridge. Living in Studio City in 1991, he met his future wife Suzanne, an elementary teacher for LAUSD. Scott and Suzanne started their family in Tarzana before moving to Woodland Hills in 1997, where they have resided for the past 22 years with their beautiful daughters Carly and Hailey, and their treasured Golden Doodles.

Scott is an active volunteer and leader throughout the community. He currently serves as chairman of the El Camino Real Charter High School Board, he is a board member at the Child Development Institute, he serves on the board of the Southern California Referee Association – Ventura Chapter, and is on the Editorial Board of the Valley News Group. Previously, he served as Secretary and Chairman of the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council (WHWCNC).

Scott is a two-time finalist, in 2018 and 2019, for the Fernando Award - the most prestigious award for volunteerism and philanthropy in the San Fernando Valley.

Rich has been a Hillel 818 Board Member for six years where he serves as the finance chair.  Rich is passionate in his belief that we have a unique and perhaps fleeting opportunity to help college students explore and embrace their Judaism.

He is a member of Jewish Business Leaders 2, a Jewish Big Brother, has been active in the Jewish Federation for over 30 years, a former board member of his Temple, and a member of the UCLA Hillel Board.  Rich coached hundreds of baseball, basketball, and soccer games when his son Daniel was growing up.

Professionally, he does insurance, employee/er benefits, and college planning, primarily for owners of closely-held businesses and professionals.

Scott Westle is the Rabbi-in-Residence at Heschel Day School right here in Northridge. Scott received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Ziegler School at the American Jewish University and has a BA in International Security and Conflict Resolution from San Diego State University. Scott has worked with various synagogues and communities across the southern California Jewish landscape, including Camp Ramah, the Pico Union Project, Hillel at UCLA, Sinai Temple, Shomrei Torah and Temple Aliyah. He is still puzzled why LA will not embrace his beloved Chargers. 

Steven Windmueller is the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of HUC-JIR  in Los Angeles. Prior to coming to the Hebrew Union College, Dr. Windmueller had served on the staff of the American Jewish Committee (1969-1972) and directed the Albany (NY) Jewish Federation (1973-1985) and the JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Committee) of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation (1985-1995). The author of four books and numerous articles, Professor Windmueller holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.  His research has been primarily focused on Jewish communal trends, anti-Semitism, and Jewish political behavior. Currently, he is editing a volume for the Casden Institute of USC  on “Donald Trump’s Impact on American Jews” scheduled for release in the summer of 2021.