Who We Are

Professional Team

Meet our team of bright, passionate and dedicated professionals who infuse their work with a fierce desire to create a better future for our community, our region and our world.

Tyler GregoryExecutive Director

Tyler Gregory

Executive Director

Tye joined JCRC as its fifth executive director in April of 2020. He was previously executive director of A Wider Bridge (AWB), a New York-based partner organization of JCRC that is working to advance LGBTQ equality and inclusion in Israel. During his six years as deputy director and later executive director of AWB, the organization grew from a Bay Area startup to a leading voice for Jewish and Israel inclusion in the fabric of LGBTQ and progressive America. Before AWB, Gregory spent several years working for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in San Francisco. He is a graduate of UC Davis, and a native of San Diego.
Hallie BaronAssociate Director

Hallie Baron

Associate Director

Hallie has more than 35 years experience in marketing, communications, strategy, management and problem-solving. She believes that all problems are really challenges, and that there’s an opportunity/learning experience/silver lining in all of them. Before joining JCRC, Hallie was a marketing consultant for nine years, working with many Bay-Area Jewish non-profits. After a career in the healthcare and financial sectors, she got her start in the Jewish communal world as the Marketing Director for the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation. Hallie has a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts and a Certificate of Management from Harvard University. When not working, Hallie spends as much time as possible on her bicycle and in her garden.
Karen StillerMiddle East Project Director

Karen Stiller

Middle East Project Director

Karen has been with JCRC since 2002. A native of Buffalo, New York, she moved to the Bay Area in 2000, where she worked in the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, a project run by former high-level U.S. Department of Defense officials. Karen started her professional career in social work and nonprofit management, and has worked as Development Director and Manager of a program for formerly homeless families. She has an MSSA with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University. In her spare time, Karen fiddles with photography and enjoys reading, hiking and traveling.
Jessica TrubowitchPublic Policy and Community Building Director

Jessica Trubowitch

Public Policy and Community Building Director

Jessica is the mom of two young boys and enjoys camping with her family. She has a strong background in public policy, advocacy, and policy-making through consensus. Jessica is a California native and has been living in the Bay Area for over ten years. She has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Governance from California State University, Sacramento.
Jeremy RussellDirector of Marketing and Communications

Jeremy Russell

Director of Marketing and Communications

A San Francisco native, Jeremy has been a communications specialist for more than twenty years. Prior to joining JCRC, he managed communications for a trade association. He has also worked as a general-assignment journalist for a daily newspaper, The Billings Gazette in Montana, and been a free-lance writer and illustrator for a variety of publications, including the late San Francisco Bay Guardian. He graduated (with honors) from the University of California, Berkeley with a double major in English and Interdisciplinary Studies, and is an award-winning author.
Jessica SterlingJewish Community and Education Outreach Manager

Jessica Sterling

Jewish Community and Education Outreach Manager

Born and raised in California, Jessica lives with her family in Oakland and loves to cook. It is this passion for food that led her to form a cooking chavurah with several friends from her synagogue, which is still going strong. Jessica has been actively involved in publishing for the past 30 years, beginning her career at the University of California, Santa Cruz Jewish quarterly, Leviathan: Jewish Journal, and later working for the San Francisco-based J Weekly. In addition, she worked for 10 years in the Creative Services Department of Pacific Bell Directory. She was educated at Parsons School of Design and UC Santa Cruz.
Carole-Anne ElliottGrants Manager and Writer

Carole-Anne Elliott

Grants Manager and Writer

Carole-Anne is originally from the Boston area and has made San Francisco her home since 1999. A former newspaper reporter and forever copy editor, she loves learning about people and writing profiles and feature stories. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and History from Allegheny College and a Master’s from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Carole-Anne has extensive volunteer experience in the education sector, having worked with kids at San Francisco’s Mission High, written and edited the newsletter of the San Francisco chapter of Room to Read and, most recently, served two years as an English Educator with the Peace Corps in Moldova. She is happy to be back home with friends and family and to be resuming her loves of running, dance, reading, going to music shows and singing on road trips to Sierra Nevada backpacking trails.
Judy Pam-BycelJewish Coalition for Literacy Program Manager, East Bay

Judy Pam-Bycel

Jewish Coalition for Literacy Program Manager, East Bay

Judy has devoted her professional career to education and fostering better relationships between people from all backgrounds. Prior to joining JCL she served as the Executive Director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) in Santa Monica for fifteen years, where she spearheaded new programs to fight bias and bigotry through education. She has also taught grades 2-12 in NYC, Larkspur and Santa Monica. She holds an undergraduate degree from University of Berkeley and Master of Arts in Education from the University of Southern California. Judy is an avid Israeli folk-dancer and enjoys her family, hiking, swimming and reading.
Tanya AvrutinDirector of Finance and Administration

Tanya Avrutin

Director of Finance and Administration

Tanya Avrutin joined JCRC in January 2018. She brings many years of experience in public and nonprofit accounting. Previously she worked as the Finance Director at Episcopal Impact Fund and as the Accounting Manager for the Diocese of California. Before that she was the Controller of Presidio Golf Club. She moved from Ukraine to San Francisco with her family in 1989.
Elina SterkinaStaff Accountant

Elina Sterkina

Staff Accountant

Elina Sterkina joined JCRC as its Staff Accountant in 2018. Originally from Ukraine, Elina has been a San Francisco resident since 1999. She holds her B.S. in Finance from Kyiv National Economic University. Prior to joining JCRC she worked as an accountant for several private and public companies and finance institutions. In her free time, Elina enjoys traveling, reading, watching good movies and music shows.
Serena ZhenAdministrative and Development Associate

Serena Zhen

Administrative and Development Associate

Serena was born and raised in San Francisco. She has a B.S. in Business Marketing from the University of the Pacific and loves to use her amazing organization skills in fun and creative ways around the office. Before JCRC, she held a variety of positions, including night-shift stocker at Safeway and director at a summer camp. A Chinese American, she enjoys Korean food, Asian television dramas and variety shows, and bonding with her family. She is passionate about singing, volleyball and her Christian faith, and understands deeply how important it is to be open to new experiences. She believes that one must step into a variety of roles in order to grow and learn, and that it’s also just as important to be able pass on the knowledge you obtain along the way.
Corinne Jaffe-GellmanJewish Coalition for Literacy Senior Program Manager

Corinne Jaffe-Gellman

Jewish Coalition for Literacy Senior Program Manager

Corinne, a recent transplant to the Bay Area, began her professional career in the healthcare industry. She has considerable experience in program management, strategic planning, marketing and social science research, and grant writing. But it was her role as a lay leader in her children’s school that ignited her passion in education and community building. Being a first generation American, she knows only too well the importance of childhood literacy. Corinne received a BA in Political Science and Economics from San Diego State University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She sees her position with JCL as an extraordinary opportunity to apply her educational background, and professional and community service experience to an area that she is committed to - literacy and education in underserved communities.
Angelica HomDevelopment Manager

Angelica Hom

Development Manager

Angelica is a native of San Francisco and has had the fortunate opportunity to also live in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Prior to joining JCRC, she worked as an analyst for advertising agencies pulling insights from raw data to help inform marketing strategies for clients. Angelica also previously volunteered for social good initiatives such as WeVote and CAAMFest. As Development Manager, she is excited to combine her tech skills with her passion for non-profit work. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Information Systems from San Francisco State University. Outside of work, Angelica enjoys traveling, cooking and going to concerts with her friends.
Julia AbramsonProgram Assistant

Julia Abramson

Program Assistant

Julia is new to the Bay Area by way of Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio. She is excited to combine her organizational and communication skills, honed in her past life as a recruiter, and apply them as a JCRC Program Assistant. Julia is also excited to engage in work that is more in line with her passion for politics and social justice. She holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University. While not at work, you can find her hiking, rock climbing, or at a concert.
Jonathan MintzerExternal Relations Director

Jonathan Mintzer

External Relations Director

Jonathan leads the organization’s engagement and leadership development efforts with elected and civic leaders across the Bay Area. Prior to joining JCRC, Jonathan served as Associate Regional Director at ADL Midwest in Chicago and worked as an attorney at the Sutton Law Firm in San Francisco, practicing political and election law. In addition, Jonathan took a sabbatical year in Israel to teach elementary school English and work at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Jonathan graduated with honors from the University of California Hastings College of the Law and the University of Southern California. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys cheering for his beloved Atlanta Braves and USC Trojans, improving his Hebrew, and traveling with his family.
Lisa PecklerJewish Coalition for Literacy Bay Area Director

Lisa Peckler

Jewish Coalition for Literacy Bay Area Director

Lisa’s role as Bay Area Director brings her full circle, since during high school she tutored children weekly at a Chicago community center called Onward House. JCL enables her to weave together many strands in her background – deep Jewish involvement, a career-long commitment to the non-profit sector, community building and fundraising. She was most recently director of institutional giving at GLIDE Foundation in San Francisco, after serving in a similar capacity at Dignity Health Foundation, San José State and the Foundation for Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She has also worked at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (DC) and at the New Israel Fund. Lisa pursued graduate study at Columbia University in Modern Hebrew Literature, and received a Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College with a double major in English Literature and Jewish Studies.
Nieema GallowayJewish Coalition for Literacy Progam and Communications Manager

Nieema Galloway

Jewish Coalition for Literacy Progam and Communications Manager

Nieema has had the profound experience of working as an educator in youth services and private and public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of San Francisco (USF). She earned a Master’s degree in Sociology of Education from New York University (NYU) and a Teaching Credential from the University of the Pacific. She taught at The Berkeley School and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. She served as the Site Coordinator for the Up On Top After School Program, a non-profit organization that provides literacy-based curriculum through art and enrichment activities for k-5 elementary students from low-income families in the Tenderloin and Western Addition in San Francisco. Nieema is committed to furthering literacy development and youth advocacy for students in underserved communities.