Meet our board of directors

Karen Blauer, Chair

Karen grew up in Portland and has been deeply involved in the Jewish community. Currently, she serves on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. Now retired, her career focused primarily on community outreach and engagement, fundraising, and grant administration in the nonprofit and public sectors. She and her spouse Dvora live in Southeast Portland and enjoy spending time with family and friends, gardening, and exploring the world on foot and by bike.

Mia Birk, Treasurer

Mia was the founding Board Chair of Eastside Jewish Commons, and Interim Executive Director before transitioning to this role. She is a business consultant who has served as a coach, advisor, and mentor to many emerging companies. Her experience derives from 27 years leading the field of active transportation in various roles in research, advocacy, government, academia, and business. Mia co-founded and grew Alta Planning + Design to a 300-person consulting firm with 30 offices, serving as COO, CFO, President and CEO. She is a co-founder and former VP of Alta Bicycle Share, Inc., which launched 10 bike share systems in North America and Australia before being acquired. She led the creation of several academic and non-profit institutions and authored Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet. She is a community builder, investor, philanthropist, volunteer, independent corporate director, passionate tennis player, avid reader, hack gardener, and dedicated mom of three.

Hannah Berg, Secretary

Hannah is a native Eastside Portlander and resides with her family, including two little boys and husband Daniel Mandel in SE. She has worked in healthcare management for over a decade. Her eastside passion is strong; many of Hannah’s high school friends have “NEP” tattoos. For those that haven’t heard this, it means NE Portland- EJC’s new claim to fame. While growing up, Hannah was one of a handful of Jewish students at her public schools. In the past ten years however, Hannah has seen the Eastside Jewish population explode not only with transplants, but kids she grew up with at Neveh Shalom that would never cross the river. Hannah and Daniel found it hard to meet older millennials in synagogue sponsored activities and are hopeful to bring all generations together at the EJC to build up Eastside Jewish life and community.

Alysa Rose

Alysa Rose is a seasoned business and community leader with twenty-five years of marketing, branding, manufacturing, retail and executive experience in a variety of industries and environments. She has been deeply involved in building eastside community, and is a former Chair of Congregation Shir Tikvah’s steering committee. She and her husband David have two sons who attended Grant High School.

Tamar Wyte-Lake

Tamar Wyte-Lake moved to Portland in 2009, and immediately fell in love with the Eastside. She has been active in building community on the Eastside ever since. Tamar spends her working hours in the research world, and her play hours as much as possible in nature. She has two children who attend PJA, a husband who shares her passion for the outdoors, and a dog named Stanley.

Hope Peskin-Shepherd

Hope Peskin-Shepherd grew up in metro-Detroit and moved to Portland by way of NYC in 2018; since then she has been in Northeast. Hope helped start and was on the founding boards of the Jewish Young Professionals of Ann Arbor (JYP), where she also met her husband, Andrew. She works on health policy and public health. Hope enjoys hiking, singing, cooking, SUPing, reading, beer, and spending time with friends and family. She is excited to build on east side Jewish communal efforts and create connections.

Andrew Tertes Kedem

Andrew moved from Israel to Portland's Hollywood neighborhood with his spouse and 2 children in 2016. Novel writing orients his days. Edgy Jewish themes take primary interest. He served as founding Coordinator of Jewish Healing Programs in Berkeley for Chochmat HaLev. He's been keeping financial books for businesses the past 30 years to support his art and his family. He loves hiking, rain or shine, and baking and playing games with his family and friends.

Ellie Simon Goldman

Ellie Simon Goldman has called NE Portland home since 2017. She has proudly led programming with TischPDX, Moishe House, Tivnu: Building Justice, and Shir Tikvah's Nashira Project, and informally in the broader community. People also know her for her Shabbat potlucks, group singing events, and once-yearly rainbow challah. She is a Program Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest, and she has been described by loved ones as an exclamation point.

Brian Scott

Born in Portland, Brian comes from generations of Jewish eastsiders and has raised a family with his partner, Marianne in Portland for the past 30+ years. They have dreamed and worked on creating a Jewish entity on the east side for years and are super excited to be able to work with the EJC. Brian owns and runs a business in northeast Portland, and has purchased, renovated, leased and continues to own commercial properties. Other than work, he is into gardening, many outdoor sporty activities, and attending Timbers and Thorns games.

Leah Conley

Leah moved to Portland with her family in 2013. She has worked in the Jewish community for more than 20 years, currently as the Development Director for Camp Solomon Schechter. She believes that when we build Jewish communities of connection and belonging, we create the sacred environment where our best selves can unfold. She is excited to serve the Jewish community in this new role. She loves knitting, traveling, and snuggling with her dog (and her kids when they let her).

Jake Moffett

Originally from New York, Jake has spent the last 8 years in Portland with his fiance Daniel and their 3 cats, Bagel, Lox, and Goldie. In November 2022 he became an Israeli citizen, and plans on splitting his time between Tel Aviv and the West Coast. He's passionate about crafting, hosting music-based events, the queer arts, new technology, architecture and creating spaces, deep friendship, and discovering ways in which those areas connect. 

Mark Meyer

Mark is a native Oregonian. As an entrepreneur, he has run a number of small businesses including his current gig as co-owner of Lice Clinics of America Northwest. In addition, he is a business advisor and investor. Mark has been involved in many Jewish organizations including PJA, MJCC, Tivnu, OJCF and the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. He and his wife Marcia have two grown children. Mark’s real passions are his family, the Oregon Coast, photography, biking, hiking and tennis.

Eliana Temkin

Eliana is a member of Congregation Havurah Shalom and have served on the Jewish Federation board, the Allocations Committee, and chaired the Rogoway Jewish Professional Award committee. She has worked as  a Jewish communal professional for the MJCC and PJA. Today she works  for Kaiser Permanente as an Organizational Effectiveness consultant working with leaders and teams. She has a master’s degree in organizational leadership, and is a Professional Certified Coach. The mother of three adult sons, Elijah, Isaac, and Gabriel, Eliana is married to Alan Sprints, owner of Hair of the Dog Brewing Company. She enjoys reading, studying Jewish texts, making mixed media art, Pilates, yoga, movies, travel and sharing meals with family and friends.

Erik Richmond

Erik Richmond is one of the founding members of the EJC. He has been involved with the organization since the first meeting on April 26th, 2017. He is passionate about building the EJC  and committed to its longevity. He was the organization's first treasurer for five years. He has lived on the Eastside of Portland since 1995.  Over the years he has served as a volunteer board or committee member for Congregation Shaarie Torah, The Jewish Federation of Portland, and MJCC/PJA. He is married to Annette Demsey, and they have two adult children.

Thanks to our Founding Steering Committee/Board Members

  • Steve Albert

  • Joshua Bar-Lev

  • Mia Birk

  • Margot Feves

  • David Forman

  • Dan Gerber

  • Michael Hanna

  • Nan Lipton

  • Erik Richmond

  • Alysa Rose

  •  Lesley Sacks

  • Jonathan Singer

  • Robyn Tenenbaum

  • Jeffrey Weitz

Past Board Members

  • Walker Clark

  • Bonnie Newman

  • Lesley Sacks

  • Sharon Pollin

  • Sara Radcliffe