Board of Directors
Board Chair
As an experienced attorney and economic developer with a passion for making a meaningful contribution to the community, Deborah has spent her career serving the people of Missouri. As VP of Business Recruitment & General Counsel for the Missouri Partnership, Deborah works with companies from around the world to bring investment and jobs to Missouri. She also manages all legal matters for the organization. Deborah began her career as an Assistant Attorney General prosecuting complex civil and criminal consumer fraud cases. She also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and then went on to serve for four years in the Office of Missouri Governor. Deborah currently serves as the President of the Women Lawyers’ Association of St. Louis, Chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), and Vice Chair of the Harris-Stowe State University Board of Regents (HSSU). From 2017 to 2021 she served as a special public defender representing criminal defense clients pro bono.
Vice Chair
Joel S. Iskiwitch, JD, CPA is an active volunteer with the St. Louis nonprofit community, having served as a Board Member/Trustee for many organizations. For over 20 years, he was an executive with two financial service firms, specializing in marketing and product development. He currently is a realtor associate with Coldwell Banker Gundaker working alongside his wife Joanne. He received his undergraduate degree from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, and his JD from Washington University. He and Joanne have two adult daughters who both live in Los Angeles.
Secretary
Dan serves on the Board of both the JCRC and Jewish Federation and is an alum of the National Young Leadership Cabinet as well as the Frank Family Fellowship. He is an Assistant Vice President of Business Development for Enterprise Rent a Car and is a St Louis transplant. Dan has been married to Kristin for 26 years and has 3 kids, Rebecca, Sarah, and Adam.
Treasurer
After a career in medicine of more than twenty-five years, Robert Tucker joined the advisory firm that had been very helpful to his family as a senior advisor in 2006. His work in finance has led to volunteer positions in synagogues and other not-for-profits. Having participated in JCRC sponsored events, he accepted an invitation to join the Board when the importance of maintaining community relationships became evident following the cemetery incident several years ago.
Assistant Treasurer
Jane Tzinberg Rubin is an independent consultant for higher education institutions in accreditation and assessment, both in the US and abroad. She oreviously worked in public accounting for KPMG, in industry for Monsanto, and in education at the University of Illinois, University of Missouri-St Louis, and for AACSB: Global Business Network. Active AICPA member having received the organization’s highest volunteer award for Distinguished Service, and recently completed term as an AICPA National Accreditation Commissioner. Current Board member and Audit Committee chair of JCC Association of North America. Current Board member and officer of St Louis JCRC. Current Board member of St Louis JCC and NCJW. Long-time City of Frontenac Ways and Means Committee member. Married to Ken Rubin and have two daughters (and families) living in San Francisco and Chicago.
Governance and Nominating Chair
Nancy Solomon Desloge is a freelance communications strategist who recently retired from Saint Louis University as the Public Relations and Communications Director where she managed a team of four who handled traditional media and public relations and internal communications. Prior to joining SLU in 2001, Nancy worked as a freelance writer, editor and communications consultant and journalist. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. An active community volunteer, Nancy serves as advocacy and policy co-chair of the JCRE and is on the communications advisory committee for the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Nancy is a member of the advisory board of Cultural Leadership, which teaches students to fight bigotry. Nancy volunteers with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, lobbying Congress to increase federal medical research funding. The cause is personal; she lost her husband Rick Desloge to pancreatic cancer in 2012 and mother to pancreatic cancer in 2021.
Programming Chair
Paul Sorenson founded and leads the collaborative St. Louis Regional Data Alliance (RDA) at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. The RDA supports local governments, nonprofits, funders, and universities in using data for community benefit. The RDA is also actively involved in building public health data infrastructure to address COVID-19 and beyond, and works closely with United Way 2-1-1 and its partners on establishing the St. Louis Community Information Exchange (CIE) to share referrals across health and social service providers. Before coming to UMSL, Paul previously founded and ran GoodMap, an online tool for nonprofits to organize information about community services, and also served as the Director of Strategic Planning at Grace Hill Settlement House, which provided a wide range of services for families and communities. Paul is also a co-founder of MaTovu, a Jewish community center in St. Louis City.
Development Chair
Julia Mendelow has devoted her career to nonprofit management and fund development. She has served in leadership roles at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, Danforth Plant Science Center, The Foundation for Barnes Jewish Hospital, University of Washington, Harvard University and UCLA. She is also a mediator and volunteer with the Conflict Resolution Center, St. Louis, and will be receiving a degree in Communications at MSU in Conflict/Dispute/Resolution in May. Julia has a MPA from USC, and a BA from UCLA. Julia serves on the boards of Congregation Shaare Emeth, JCRC, Issue Exploration Committee St. Louis Forum, and the Israel and Oversees Committee of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Her commitments have focused on education, medical and scientific research, patient access and care, social equity, and justice. Julia was awarded an OnBoard Fellowship and the Newmark Emerging Leader Award through her board leadership with JCRC.
Immediate Past Chair
Joe Pereles is now a full-time community volunteer after retiring from Drury Hotels Company in December 2019. Joe is immediate past Chair of the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council and is a co-founder of the new national Jewish charity called Student to Student, Inc. which intends to take the well known St. Louis Student to Student program nationwide. He has been a Red Cross volunteer for over 36 years. Joe was a member of the National Board of Governors of the American Red Cross from 2005-2014 and served as Vice Chair of the Board for 4 years. He currently is chair of the American Red Cross National Philanthropic Board and serves on the Compliance and Mediation Committee of the International Red Cross. Joe is also a member of the St. Louis Jewish Federation Board of Directors.
Sally has worked in health care, in St. Louis and across the United States, since 1974. For the past decade, she has consulted with organizations, including For the Sake of All at Washington University, on policy matters concerning public health, social justice and racial equity. She is currently working with Before Ferguson, Beyond Ferguson, a non-profit she co-founded with her husband, Richard Weiss. BFBF tells multi-generational stories of St. Louis families and their efforts to overcome systemic racism.
From 2010-2016, Sally managed news partnerships at St. Louis Public Radio and worked as health, science and technology editor at the St. Louis Beacon, a non-profit, online news source.
Sally has served on the boards of Oasis, Teach for America, Midwest Health Initiative and the Signature Foundation. She is a past-president of Central Reform Congregation. She currently serves on the executive committee of the St. Louis chapter of J Street. She is the president of the board of Crown Center for Senior Living. Sally served as an At-Large member of the JCRC Council for three years.
Susan E. Block, attorney, Paule Camazine & Blumenthal, has practiced in the areas of family, probate and juvenile law. She is considered a zealous advocate for her clients, a devoted mentor to younger lawyers and a lawyer’s lawyer to anyone seeking her advice. Formerly, she served as a judge for 25 years, presiding over civil, criminal and family law cases. As Administrative Judge of the Family Court, she initiated programs to serve youth and families. She is a board member for the Missouri Foundation for Health, the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund and the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Pepe Finn is the Chairperson of the Board and CEO of Stern Brothers, a Woman Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Investment Banking Firm. A former securities broker for Merrill Lynch and municipal investment banker for Boatman’s Bank (now Bank of America), she has been a member of the Missouri Bar since 1987. She is active in the St. Louis community serving as both a trustee and Chairman of the M.S.D. as well as on the boards of Nine Network of Public Media, Temple Israel, and the National Council of Jewish Women – St. Louis section. She served on the Advisory Committee for the Jewish Fund for Human Needs and her children participated in JCRC’sStudent to Student program.
Laura Horwitz (she/her) is a catalyst for learning, change and giving. She has more than 17 years of experience in community organizing, training and capacity building, program design and evaluation. She currently serves as the Senior Manager of Planning and Partnerships at Generate Health, an organization focused on closing racial disparities in infant mortality in St. Louis, and maintains an independent training and consulting practice through which she supports organizations and individuals committed to racial equity. After the Ferguson uprising, Laura co-founded and served for four years as the Executive Director of We Stories, which engages white families in changing the conversation about and building momentum toward racial equity.
Paul Kravitz has strong commitment to volunteerism. This has led to a distinguished career serving in leadership positions on multiple Jewish and community non-profit boards in St. Louis.
Paul is currently President of the St. Louis region of the Americana Jewish Committee (AJC) connecting the premier global advocacy organization with local religious, governmental, and educational leaders. He helped launch and currently chairs the Advisory Council for Maryville University Hillel. Previously, Paul forged a partnership between Maryville and the JCC for the St. Louis Maccabi Games. He is a vice president of United Hebrew Congregation where he recently co-chaired a search committee for a new associate rabbi.
Paul has served as Board Chair of MERS Goodwill (board member since 1978), the second largest non-profit in Missouri, and has chaired the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library.
As a JCRC board member, he has taken a special interest in the Student to Student Program and has utilized his research skills to help assess the program’s impact on student attitudes toward Jews and Judaism.
David G. Rosenstock has worked in the business of chemistry for 35 years. He worked for the Dow Chemical Company for 20 years in a variety of sales and business management roles, and now works for Minneapolis-based Hawkins, Inc. as a business vice president. David has served on the board of United Hebrew Congregation since 2012 and served as president of UH 2018-19. He was an At Large member of the JCRC Council 2015-18. David was in the 2014 cohort of the Millstone Fellows program. David also held leadership positions on non-profit boards for organizations focused on community theatre, advocacy for individuals with developmental disabilities, and support of public school music programs. He earned a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA in finance/marketing from the Anderson School at UCLA. David is happy to have been married to his wife Lisa for 31 years. They have delightful young-adult children Jacob, Greta, and Maggie Rosenstock.
Anna Shabsin has served as a member of the Environment Policy Subcommittee and is excited and honored to have the chance to continue her work with JCRC. She has served on committees and Boards of multiple Jewish and non-Jewish organizations in the St. Louis region and nationally. During the day, she is a Professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, focusing on policy, lobbying, economics and Constitutional law.
Council At Large
Tammy Arnow has a passion for public health and for improving the systems that serve the most at-risk among us. Most recently, Tammy served as the president of the board of the University City Swim Club, helping the club to better serve the broader University City community with an eye toward reducing racial disparities in access to lifesaving swimming skills. A writer and editor by nature, she has worked for the Anti-Defamation League, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and the Medicare Rights Center. She also completed two 400-hour units of a chaplaincy training program in nursing home and hospital settings. Tammy grew up in St. Louis, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and received a Masters in Public Health degree from Columbia University. Tammy and her husband, Noah, a rabbi of Kol Rinah, have three children and live in University City.
Monique Levy, Founder, Levy Consulting Co., is an innovative thinker and adept problem solver. As a lover of relationship building, process improvement, and collaboration, Monique has an eye for balancing strategic planning with operational effectiveness to create organizational harmony. By analyzing data, identifying inefficiencies, and developing SOPs to execute both short and long-term goals, Monique helps individuals and organizations tap into their own abilities, empowering them to operate at their full potential. Monique prides herself in putting equity and inclusion at the forefront of her work by presenting fresh and modern ideas to help organizations genuinely practice and sustain their inclusion efforts. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Monique served as in-house counsel for both start-ups and established small businesses. She received her Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism from the University of Florida, and earned her J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law.
Lauren Rodriguez-Goldstein is a licensed clinical social worker and moved back to St Louis last year with her husband and son (now 19 months). As a social worker, she worked in forensic services at the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago contributing to fitness and sanity evaluations for detained individuals with a mental illness. Before that, she worked for a Jewish social service agency (EZRA Multi Service Center) in Chicago providing short- and long-term care. Additionally, as an associate at a private practice, she conducted interviews for clients and prepared their proof of burden reports for immigration court as evidence in their cases against deportation proceedings. Currently, she is enjoying raising her son and is excited to be involved in the local community.
Jen Newmark (she/her) is a former vice president of United Hebrew Congregation, Wexner Heritage alumnus, and community volunteer. After a career as a registered veterinary technician and sometimes writer, she returned to college and is currently working towards earning her BFA in graphic design at Maryville University. Jen and her husband John have wonderful, spirited twin children. Jenifer previously served as an At-Large member of the JCRC Council for one year.
Jack Seigel was raised in St. Louis. He currently serves as the Outreach Manager for the Missouri Nurses Association. He previously worked on a variety of political campaigns in St. Louis including Mike Revis’s special election victory, Lisa Clancy’s election to the County Council, and Sam Page’s successful campaign for County Executive. In 2020 Jack received his MSW from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. During his studies, he completed a Policy and Advocacy Practicum at JCRC. During that time he worked on gathering signatures for Medicaid Expansion, a monthly lunch and learn about regional current events, and legislative advocacy in Jefferson City. After graduation, he worked at JCRC as the Racial Equity Coordinator. He currently serves on the policy committee and on the JCRC council as an at-large member.
Dana Silverblatt joined the Behavioral Health Network in June 2019 as the Director of Youth Initiatives. Previously, she served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and School Based Health Care at COMTREA, a community mental health center and federally qualified health center in Jefferson County. Through her collective work experience, Dana brings an extensive background in project management and program implementation within a safety net in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
Dana earned a Masters of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors in psychology from the University of Michigan. Dana has deep roots in the St. Louis community and moved back after 16 years away from home. Dana is married and together they have a daughter and twin boys who keep them on their toes. In her free time, Dana enjoys exploring different neighborhoods in search of great food and live music.
Patrick L. Thimangu is the owner and master instructor of Arch Taekwondo. He opened the St. Louis-based school in 2009 after working as a journalist for nearly 15 years. Thimangu is internationally certified as a 6th Degree Taekwondo blackbelt by the Kukkiwon in Seoul, S. Korea, one of only 900 Americans currently holding that Kukkiwon rank. He has about 35 years of experience in taekwondo and is also a 2nd Class Kukkiwon International Master Instructor, a teaching designation held by few outside S. Korea. Thimangu, a native of Kenya, came to the United States in 1990 for university education and earned a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications-Journalism from Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Ill., and a master’s degree in Communications and Training-Media Communications from Governors State University. He began his journalism career at The Daily Journal-Kankakee. In 1998, Thimangu moved from Kankakee and briefly lived in Indianapolis, where he worked as an Associated Press newsman. The following year he relocated to Ohio and reported for three years at the Dayton Business Journal. Thimangu and his wife Rachel moved to Missouri in 2002, to both initially work as reporters for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Thimangu moved on to cover several beats at the St. Louis Business Journal until early 2009. The Thimangus live in unincorporated St. Louis County with their children Benjie and Eva, and their cat Jack. They are members of the Central Reform Congregation and Patrick and Rachel serve on its board of directors.
Rich serves as Vice President of The Family Business Consulting Group which supports multigenerational family enterprises in business strategy, ownership alignment, continuity/succession planning, governance planning, LeadingGen-NextGen development, family education and development, and conflict resolution.
Rich has been immersed in the family enterprise field for over 25 years in a wide variety of professional, leadership, operational, and management capacities in operating companies, holding companies, and single-family offices. He was a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell focused on domestic and international business transactions. Rich developed and led the firm’s international law practice group.
Rich has served as trustee and on the boards of directors, advisory boards, and as interim CEO for domestic and international growth companies, turn-arounds, and early-stage businesses. Rich also worked in The White House as staff attorney for the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Rich lives in Creve Coeur, Missouri with his wife of 30+ years and their two dogs. He was elected to the Creve Coeur City Council for 10 years and served on several municipal and St. Louis County boards and commissions. The St. Louis Business Journal named Rich a “40 under 40” in 2002. He is the father of three wildly successful, independent, and outspoken daughters — each of whom have different passions and interests — but together as a family, they enjoy politics, international travel, dogs, hiking, and all St. Louis sports teams and cuisine.
