Staff

The staff of the Jewish Community Foundation is here to serve the philanthropic needs of the community. Please feel free to contact our staff with any questions.

CEO
Marjory Kaplan

DONOR SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT
Charlene Seidle, Vice President, Philanthropy
Marissa Garfield, Donor Services and Grants Manager
Jamie Zander, Marketing and Donor Services Officer
Hana Kwon, Grants Associate
Julie Bronstein, Business Development Consultant
Alexandra Davis, Program Coordinator
Sarah Goldman, intern

ENDOWMENTS
Gail Littman, Director of Endowments

FINANCE
Jeremy Pearl, JD, LLM, Chief Financial Officer
Jeremiah Sacksteder, CPA, Controller
Meryl Goldberg, Financial Analyst
Zoraida Singley, Staff Accountant
Cynthia Zena, Senior Staff Accountant
Dave Bean, Systems Manager

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Emily Jennewein, Director of Marketing and Communications
Jamie Zander, Marketing and Donor Services Officer

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION
Traci Serrano, Office Manager
Briana Abrams, Office Associate


Marjory Kaplan
Chief Executive Officer
marjory@jcfsandiego.org
Marjory has served as chief professional of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego since 1994. During that time, the Foundation has awarded over $400 million in grants to charitable organizations in San Diego, the United States, Israel and around the world. During her tenure, assets have grown from $14 million to over $265 million. The Foundation now stands as the most generous grant maker in San Diego with more than $55 million in grants awarded to Jewish and general organizations last year.

Previously, Marjory was Director of Development for Scripps Foundation of Medicine and Science in La Jolla, California. Earlier in her career, she was a Vice President in the Bond Division of First Interstate Bank, Denver, and also held Human Resources management positions at Bank of America headquarters in San Francisco.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications at the University of Illinois, Urbana and held a teaching fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Charlene Seidle
Vice President, Philanthropy
charlene@jcfsandiego.org
As Vice President, Philanthropy, Charlene works with families to match their charitable interests with community needs. She also helps build strong partnerships with organizations in the community, across the U.S. and in Israel to further their charitable programs. Charlene oversees the Foundation's grantmaking programs, which last year awarded more than $46 million to projects around the world and directs the Jewish Women's Foundation. Charlene plays a key role in community planning and oversight through her positions on various committees.  

Charlene has served on the staff of the Foundation since 1997 when she joined as an intern. Over the years, she has held increasingly responsible positions including Director of Donor Services, Associate Director, and her promotion to Vice President, Philanthropy in December 2007.

Marissa Garfield
Manager, Donor Services and Grants
marissa@jcfsandiego.org
As Donor Services and Grants Manager since 2007, Marissa oversees Donor Advised Fund and Family Foundation grantmaking. In this capacity, she works with donors and community organizations to ensure the accuracy of the Foundation's grantmaking. She also coordinates the Community Youth Foundation.

Marissa joined the Foundation part time in February 2005 after participating in the Community Youth Foundation. After graduating from UCSD in 2005, she became full-time, working on Foundation marketing, Family Foundation grantmaking and supporting the Jewish Women’s Foundation, the Community Youth Foundation and the Foundation’s Grants Committee.

Julie Bronstein
Business Development Consultant
julie@jcfsandiego.org
Julie develops relationships with prospective donors to the Jewish Community Foundation and their advisors, and works with current families to expand and enrich their relationships with the Foundation.

Julie is a San Diego native. She served as Director of Government Affairs for Verizon in Los Angeles and Manager of Government Relations for the Motion Picture Association of America. As a consultant Julie worked for several non-profit organizations. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College (Claremont).

Gail Littman
Director of Endowments
gail@jcfsandiego.org
Drawing upon her experience as a Jewish educator and community volunteer, Gail directs the Create a Jewish Legacy© program, which was launched in 2004, also known as the Endowment Leadership Institute (ELI). It is a unique, results-oriented program in which the Jewish Community Foundation partners with agency, synagogue and day school lay and professional leadership to establish bequests and other estate gifts for our community.

She works with families, organizations, and synagogues in building endowments to support a strong Jewish future. Gail served as Director of Adult Education at the Agency for Jewish Education in San Diego before joining the Foundation.

Jeremy Pearl, J.D., LL.M.
Chief Financial Officer
jeremy@jcfsandiego.org
Prior to joining the Foundation, Jeremy spent six years in KPMG’s Federal Tax group. Jeremy's career has focused on tax, estate and financial planning. In addition to KPMG he has also worked with Heyman and Associates, Miller, Monson & Peshel, Home Federal Bank and Wells Fargo.

Jeremy, originally from London, England, received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom and, after immigrating to the United States in 1986, received his law degree and master’s in taxation from the University of San Diego. His professional affiliations include membership of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association and the San Diego County Bar Association. Jeremy is also past president of British-American Business Council San Diego, a transatlantic trade organization.

Jeremiah Sacksteder, CPA,
Controller
jeremiah@jcfsandiego.org
Jeremiah Sacksteder, Controller, joined the Foundation in 2007 from Crowe Chizek and Company LLC, the eighth largest public accounting firm in the country, where he managed the audits of nonprofit organizations and privately held for-profit corporations.

Meryl Goldberg
Financial Analyst
meryl@jcfsandiego.org
Meryl joined the Finance Department in 2006. She provides support in the accounting operations as well as investment analysis. Meryl previously worked for 15 years at the JCC MetroWest in New Jersey, where she was controller for seven years. Her additional work experience includes PricewaterhouseCoopers and Brylane, a division of The Limited.

Emily Jennewein
Director, Marketing and Communications
emily@jcfsandiego.org
As Director of Marketing and Communications, Emily develops marketing initiatives to support the Foundation’s strategic goals. She oversees advertising, publications, media relations and the Foundation’s Web site. Emily joined the Foundation in 2007.

Most recently, Emily operated her own Web development and communications company and also served as corporate webmaster for Knight Ridder, then the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States. Earlier in her career, she worked at The Coca-Cola Company as manager, shareholder services and managing editor, financial communications. Emily earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Jamie Zander
Marketing & Donor Services Officer
jamie@jcfsandiego.org
Jamie joined the Foundation in 2006 after graduation from the University of Arizona with a major in communications and minor in journalism. At the Foundation, she works in marketing and communications, writing copy for the Foundation's newsletters and brochures, and assisting with advertising, media relations, updating the the Web site, and developing content for the annual report. Jamie also supports the Foundation's works in Donor Services helping to build legacies.

Traci Serrano
Office Manager
traci@jcfsandiego.org
In addition to overseeing support staff, as part of her role as Office Manager, Traci is also responsible for Human Resources duties for the Foundation.

After studying English at Northern Arizona University and with experience at both Sharp Healthcare and Vista Hill Foundation, Traci joined the Foundation in 2000. Since then, she has worked in various roles in the Accounting and Development Departments before taking on the role of Office Manager in 2004.