Rabbi Cheri is the new spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El, having previously served as founder and spiritual leader of San Diego Outreach Synagogue, an independent “without walls” congregation. During her tenure at “SDOS” she taught B’nei Mitzvah preparation lessons, officiated at religious life events, provided support and counseling, and worked with congregants and the Jewish Family Service organization on service projects.
Michelle Bider Stone graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and received her MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Prior to entering AJRCA, Michelle worked as an investment banker and financial consultant at Credit Suisse, Leiiman Brothers, and the Salter Group.
Lisa Peicott earned her undergraduate degree and Master’s degree in Music from UCLA, where her operatic roles included “Blanche de la Force” in Dialogues of the Carmelites, “Tina” in the west coast premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Flight. and the title role in Handel’s Agrippina. She was a two-time musical fellow at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where she studied opera and performed in ret!ltals throughout Europe.
Stephanie Kupfer graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in Music. She continued her education at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, earning a Master’s Degree in Voice.
John F. Guest holds a Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Oberlin College, and a Juris Doctorate from Duke University. He practiced employment law with private law firms in New York and Los Angeles before becoming an executive in the legal department of a Fortune 500 corporation.
Jules King received his BS in Management from Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. He also graduated Wayne State University, School of Mortuary Science and has practiced as a licensed Funeral Director and Consultant. Jules’ business background includes working for Fortune 500 companies as well as non-profit organizations. This combination has led him to much success as an entrepreneur in business and synagogue life.
A recognized and respected expert in the field of Jewish education, Rabbi Yehoshua “Shuki” Gabbai has spent over two decades leading Jewish Day Schools both in Israel and the United States.
He worked for Bay Area Addiction and Recovery Treatment (BAART) as a Methadone Counselor in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco and also trained as an inter-faith chaplain in a joint Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Stanford University Medical Center and the VA Palo Alto Hospital.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, David Baron also received a Masters degree in Computer Science from that same institution.
She has worked her entire adult life in Jewish education and in a variety of organizations within the Jewish community as a teacher, educational director and head of school. This is her passion and her calling.